Werewolves Of Portland

Gitarist Paul Gilbert brengt met ‘Werewolves Of Portland’ alweer zijn 16e solo-studioalbum uit, waarmee hij aan iedereen te bewijst dat hij verbazingwekkend genoeg de lat blijft verleggen. Toen de internationale lockdown de wereld op pauze zette, besloot Gilbert om in plaats van te wachten, alle instrumenten op het album zelf in te spelen. "It took me about six months to think of it, but it finally occurred to me that I could play all the instruments myself. I've always loved playing drums, and I can play bass and keyboards well enough to get the job done," vertelt hij.Als het op schrijven aankomt, onthult Gilbert dat het verrassend genoeg niet de gitaar is die de aanzet geeft. "Mostly, I write by singing. I use the lyrics to give myself a structure where I can hang the notes. Once the melody is long enough to have some life in it, my musical instincts can take over. I can often finish the song without needing more words. But if I get stuck, lyrics will always get me going again. My guitar can hit the high notes! It's amazing to have the physical limitations of my voice… gone! The challenge is to be expressive, with all the slides, vibrato, dynamics, and tones that a voice has. I'm constantly learning vocal melodies on guitar, so I get used to playing with the kind of expression that singers have. "Het album is opgenomen in Opal Studio in Portland met co-producer en engineer Kevin Hahn, en Gilbert gebruikte een aantal van zijn favoriete gitaren. "I mostly used my Ibanez Fireman guitars, I've been collecting vintage Ibanez guitars lately, too. I brought some models from the '70s, '80s, and '90s like the Ibanez Artist, Roadstar II and Ghostrider. I also brought and modified a '60s Epiphone Olympic. 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."De inspiratie voor de album title komt van het Warren Zevon nummer, "Werewolves Of London". "I live in Portland and thought it would be funny to substitute the name of my much lesser-known city. My original idea for the 'Werewolves' was just the guys in my band and me. When we play music, it is our version of 'howling at the moon'. Unfortunately, Portland has become more 'known' in the last year for events that are pretty sad to watch. And 'Werewolves' could take on other meanings that I certainly hadn't anticipated. But the title, to me, st