by Jason Ankeny
Metal guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert was born November 6, 1966 in Carbondale, IL and raised primarily in Greenburg, PA; he began playing music at age five, and by age 15 was not only touring local clubs with his band Tau Zero but was even spotlighted in Guitar Player magazine alongside fellow up-and-comer Yngwie Malmsteen. In 1984 Gilbert relocated to Los Angeles to attend the Guitar Institute of Technology, becoming an instructor there the following year; concurrently he formed the band Electric Fence, which by 1986 evolved into Racer X. Their debut album Street Lethal appeared later that year, but in the wake of the follow-up, 1987s Second Heat, Gilbert exited to join Mr. Big, which in 1992 topped the pop charts with the ballad To Be with You. Mr. Big disbanded in 1996, and a year later Gilbert made his solo debut with King of Clubs; Flying Dog followed in 1998, trailed by Beehive Live in 1999 and Alligator Farm in fall 2000.