Waiting for the end of the World...

Who the heck is Pablo Gilberto?

It's May 1988. The latest edition of Guitar World magazine is extolling the virtues of Steve Vai (Zen and the art of Steve Vai is the title of the article).

But hang on a second, what's this tucked away on pages 26 and 27?..

"Driller Killer!" Hmmm, let's investigate..

"They're fast, they're aggressive, they're outrageous and they're tearing it up on the L.A. club circuit. They are Racer X, a West Coast phenomenon that is just beginning to turn some heads outside of their own stomping grounds....."

Tucked away at the back of the magazine is a transcription of a Racer X instrumental called "Scarified". Looked scary, but I couldn't get a real feel for it without hearing it first..

So, next day, and having located a copy of "Second Heat" by Racer X in a local record store, I'm literally questioning why I bothered wanting to play guitar in the first place, these guys were (and still are), to me, absolutely awesome, really scary.. and they were both a damn sight younger than me.. How on earth!! I was HOOKED!

Racer X was the first outing for a young guitarist called Paul Gilbert. Recording their debut album in 1986, "Street Lethal" was essentially a showcase for Paul's talents.

Adding a second guitarist (Bruce Bouillet) to the line up, Racer X had moved on by 1987. Their second album, "Second Heat", released early 1987, was a far more rounded album than the first, rock/metal to be sure, but attention to the songs/tunes appeared to be taking more importance (an element sometimes lacking in other virtuoso type records of the time). Racer X were set to conquer..

Hmm, better not ask me to predict the Superbowl winner eh! A short time and a live album later, Racer X were no more. The mourning in this household was intense!!

Of course, Paul Gilbert went on to further success as a member of Mr. Big and, lately, as a solo artist (the futures of the other members of Racer X were also to include further success with bands such as The Scream, Badlands and Judas Priest amongst others). Listening now to the various Racer X recordings, I, for one, cannot see why they didn't conquer.. Compare these recordings to contemporary efforts from "so called" established acts and it's even more confusing?

Over the years, Paul's recordings have demonstrated a wide variety of styles, from the fast "shredding" of early Racer X, through the more melodic rock of Mr. Big, to the freedom of expression and songwriting heard on the latest solo releases (and via a few detours along the way...). You can check out Paul, and all of his latest news, at his official website www.paulgilbert.com and there is also various information to be found on the rest of this site (follow the links below).

If you want to see a larger, almost full size version, of the above Ibanez advert from 1988/1989: Cereal Killer, Paul Gilbert says "Eat a good breakfast and play an incredible guitar." just click on it. It's a bit large though so let it load a little time!

Have fun, David L, 1999

(oh, and yes, I'm still having a little trouble with Scarified..... 11 years on!!)

2001 update

Well, it's now 2001 and a lot has happened since I wrote this page.. Racer X are a band again!! Two Albums (Technical Difficulties at the end of 1999 and Superheroes at the end of 2000) have seen John, Paul, Scott and Jeff letting rip again in true style. It's unfortunate that Bruce has a problem with his hand and cannot play on the albums but he's there nontheless, producing. At the time of writing the guys have played live in LA earlier in the year, have a live CD/DVD (Snowball of Doom!) in the works and are planning a trip to Japan in early 2002..

There is also a Racer x website that can be found at www.racerxband.com

DL August 2001

March 2002 update

Since the last update the live CD/DVD (Snowball of Doom!) has been released and Paul has released a solo album with his uncle Jimi Kidd called Raw Nles Power.. They completed the Racer X trip to Japan in early 2002..

Latest news from Paul's site is "I have locked myself in the studio to start writing and recording my next solo CD. I'm not coming out until I have something that is faster than Yngwie, louder than Metallica, catchier than The Beatles, snottier than The Sex Pistols, sexier than Britney Spears, and longer than Beethoven's 9th."

I don't know about the music but the sex change will be interesting!

DL March 2002

February 2004 update

Well.. Three new albums since the last update and, according to Paul's web site, new music on the way..

"Burning Organ" and "Paul the Young Dude" were both solo albums and "Getting Heavier" was the 2002 release from Racer X.. Take a look in the discography to discover some of the special editions that have been available.. Valu-o-rama...

DL February 2004

The rest of this Paul Gilbert Site.