When we play music, it is our version of ‘howling at the moon’. My original idea for the ‘Werewolves’ was just the guys in my band and me. “I live in Portland and thought it would be funny to substitute the name of my much lesser-known city. The album title’s inspiration partly comes from the Warren Zevon song, “Werewolves Of London”. I used to play those in the early days of Racer X, so it was fun to have a guitar that reminded me of my early shredder style.” I also brought and modified a ’60s Epiphone Olympic. I brought some models from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s like the Ibanez Artist, Roadstar II and Ghostrider. “I’ve been collecting vintage Ibanez guitars lately, too. “I mostly used my Ibanez Fireman guitars,” he says. Recorded at Opal Studio in Portland with co-producer and engineer Kevin Hahn, Gilbert pulled out some of his current favorite guitars for the job. I haven’t heard much about North Dakota lately, which is good. I’m hoping to live somewhere that isn’t in the news so much. But if it stays like this, I may need to sneak away. I don’t want to kick Portland while it’s down.

Then there’s that other stuff you see on the news. Small businesses and wonderful restaurants. My musician and recording engineer friends. Driving to anything in less than 15 minutes. My local guitar repair shop, bakery, and grocery store. Gilbert states: “Let’s start with the things I love. The official music video for the disc’s latest single, “Hello North Dakota!”, can be seen below. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert has just released his 16th solo studio album, “Werewolves Of Portland”, via The Players Club.

Paul gilbert guitar solo you tube