Blues in C With a Legend: Why My Lesson With Paul Gilbert Changed Everything

By Fernando Santomaggio

Ready To WROC: When Paul Gilbert is willing to share advice on guitar playing, everyone on the planet listens. [Photo By Joanie Cox Henry]

We have been warned to not take currency of wood as legal tender, to remove babies prior to discarding bathwater, of the importance of not rousing a canine from its slumber, that when it comes to time, the return on a single stitch is ninefold. All of the aforementioned “wiseries” represent sage advice, but none are as true as what is said of one’s heroes… Those we revere are faced with the sisyphean task of living up to the unrealistic, idealized image of themselves that we have created in our minds. In our hearts.

Occasionally, we must wake up the dog in order to vacuum the couch upon which it lay. In a volatile global economy, the actual value of a stitch in time can fluctuate wildly. Let’s face it, some babies totally deserve to be… Suffice it to say, there are exceptions to every rule. Re: heroes, to quote — well, paraphrase — Ryan Gosling, “Never meet your heroes, unless they’re Paul Gilbert!”

I had the opportunity to not only meet Paul, but was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one guitar lesson with him. Having been a fan of his from the Racer X days, I awaited the moment with great anticipation, but also, trepidation. What if??? Paul Gilbert’s Intense Rock Vols. 1 & 2 videos, his Terrifying Guitar 101 lessons in Guitar Player were passed around among guitar players everywhere during the late 80’s/early 90’s. In a time before Al Gore invented the internet, before YouTube, that meant borrowing a VHS copy from someone, and promising to pass it on in a reasonable amount of time, hoping they’d forget you had it. I subscribed to Guitar Player for years, mainly for Paul’s column!

On video, in print, Paul exuded a sense of humor somewhat at odds with the seriousness of his technical ability. He also seemed to have the qualities of a great teacher. He seemed to “care.” He was giving away his secrets, not keeping them locked away for only him to know. These disarming qualities, along with the depth with which he presented the material, made you think you could do it, even though, not so deep down, we all knew better!

Fast forward several decades. I was about to actually meet Paul for the first time! Could he possibly be as charming, as funny, as kind as he’d appeared in all the videos, articles, interviews? As I approached, from near the end of the line with various baubles and trinkets for him to sign, I reminded myself to not do, or say, anything to annoy him! He signed my stuff with a smile on his face. I even asked him to sign the inside covers of two of his signature pedals. As he reached over to grab a Sharpie from the pile on his table, I stopped him. I brought a gold and a silver paint pen which I had designated for each of the two pedals. He graciously acquiesced to my demands. I thought to myself, 'This is EXACTLY what I told you not to do!' But, Paul was more than happy to fulfill my requests. Thankfully, the “photo session” went off without a hitch. Onto the main event! It was now time for me and one other audience member to be escorted to the tour bus for our lesson with Paul. I let the other guy go first. Outwardly, it appeared a polite gesture. In reality, it was out of fear! In a few minutes, I was about to be judged by Paul Gilbert...not because of my choice of writing implement, or the faces I made in a photo, but my guitar playing, my value as a musician.

My time of reckoning had arrived. Ascending the stairs onto the bus had a rather metaphorical feeling to it. I was climbing to a higher plane. Then, finally, Paul Gilbert materialized. We exchanged pleasantries and got down to it. I nervously asked about one of my favorite Terrifying Guitar 101 columns, “Ba-Boom, Ba-Boom, Ba-Boom.” The reason it stuck with me all these years wasn’t because of the guitar lick. In fact, I hadn’t even tried to play it until quite recently, when I found the article online. It was, instead, because of the “Chick-in-Heart/Chicken Heart” punchline (IYDK, March, 1992 Guitar Player Magazine), and his mention of a photo shoot in which he “became” Punky Meadows, lead guitar player from a group called Angel. I asked if there was any photographic evidence of it. He pulled out his phone, and found the old Ampeg ad with the aforementioned photos.

At this point he suggested I check that my guitar was in tune. It was pretty close. I thought to myself, “At least, my guitar is in tune… That’s a good first impression, no???”. After tuning, I tried to offer any excuse I could conjure for the sad state of my guitar playing. At one point, Paul saw through my ruse, and shut me up with a single directive, “Medium-tempo blues in C…” Before I had time to run off the bus, Paul was playing a shuffle-groove in C. I took the bait. Almost immediately, I was at ease. I soloed over a few choruses. Thankfully, I knew better than to try and impress him. I tried to play like “me,” for better AND worse. I knew that this was meant to give him a “baseline” assessment of my abilities. 

Paul was listening, watching. He complimented me on my first-finger vibrato. I had no idea that I was using the “cool” part of the finger! The fact that Paul Gilbert hadn’t kicked me off the bus by that point, let alone complimented one of my fingers was a life-changing moment for me!

Following “Blues In C”, he offered a few tidbits. Some licks, finger-rolling ideas, etc. He repositioned himself often, so I could see the mechanics of what he was doing, not just, “play this lick”. He took the time and effort to ensure I understood what he was trying to convey. I realized, THAT is what made Intense Rock Vols. 1 & 2 so different to most other instructional videos of that era…Not only is Paul Gilbert a great player, he’s also a great teacher!

In the months leading up to this experience, I tried to come up with some ideas of what to ask, what to say, when I finally was face to face with one of my idols. I came to realize that what I admire most about Paul Gilbert has nothing to do with his technical abilities, it is his passion. He possesses that quality that all the “greats” seem to have. They genuinely love what they do. Paul, especially, always has a smile on his face. Whenever he has a guitar in his hands, he projects the enthusiasm of a young kid who just played their first power chord through a loud, distorted amplifier!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af9oIlCi018

I mentioned this to him, as if to ask, “How can I have that too???” Sensing this, he led into a simple answer to what I thought was a complex, existential dilemma. “The thing about jamming is…” He proceeded to lay down a riff. He specified that it was the middle section of Humble Pie’s I Don’t Need No Doctor… the live version, to be exact. Once again, I was making guitar noises while Paul Gilbert sat only inches away from me!

This time, we traded back and forth. I was first. I cautiously proceeded to play a few appropriate licks, like a fawn taking its first tentative steps. Then, it was Paul’s turn. As I played the riff, I was expecting to be crushed into submission by the weight of his virtuosity. Instead, he met me at my level. This wasn’t a competitive endeavour. It wasn’t about him flexing his guitar “muscles” and kicking sand in my face. He just wanted to talk. To have a conversation.

We continued trading back and forth, one of us playing the riff, the other improvising over it. I was struck by how at ease I was. Not because I felt what I was playing was any good, or because I thought Paul would be impressed, but because it didn't matter. “The thing about jamming is…”

All good things must come to an end. The great things always seem to end faster. After a few more bits of advice and encouragement, our time had come to an end. Paul cordially signaled that the lesson was over. As I was packing up my guitar, I noticed that his tuner was still clipped to the headstock. I returned it to him, we shook hands and I thanked him. As I walked off the bus, I let out a deep exhalation, as if I’d been holding my breath the entire time!

As I waited in line to enter the venue for the show, I reflected upon the question I’d asked prior to meeting Paul Gilbert. “Could he possibly be as charming, as funny, as kind as he’d appeared in all the videos, articles, interviews?” I now knew the answer, “no.” He wasn’t “as,” he was much more so!