“To me, it was like being asked to tour with the Beatles”: Paul Gilbert on why he turned down the gig of a lifetime – and why not maintaining his “Whitesnake haircut” was a barrier to career progression

Music history is full of sliding doors moments, when opportunity knocks for an artist at the most inopportune moment, an audition is flubbed, or someone has a last-minute change of heart.

And these paths not taken make for a great counterfactual – a “what if” conversation best discussed over a few cold ones. Like when George Lynch was up for the Ozzy Osbourne gig back in the day; what would Mr Scary and the Prince of Darkness have came up with? It would have been box-office. Lynch’s chops – his entire sensibility – would have been perfect for Ozzy.

Or, staying with the Ozzy theme, how would metal guitar history have looked if Randy Rhoads had joined KISS in 1979 when they were looking for a replacement for Ace Frehley?

Famously, Poison passed on Slash, preferring CC DeVille. Every rose has its thorn indeed. In 1970, Genesis reportedly tried to replace drummer John Mayhew with Queen’s Roger Taylor. That counterfactual actually was convened over a few beers; Taylor met with Genesis in the pub but thought it was “a bit too prog” for his tastes, and Queen was coming along fine. Enter, Phil Collins, and both parties came out none the worse for wear.

Michael Schenker was at one time in the running to replace Joe Perry in Aerosmith, Dave Navarro was close to joining Guns N’ Roses, and so it goes…

Speaking to MusicRadar from his home studio, Paul Gilbert says he has had “a few calls here and there” – and that should come to the surprise of no one. Gilbert is the shred trailblazer who put his name in lights with Racer X, demonstrating that he could also take those gifts mainstream with Mr Big. But there was one gig that got away, the chance to play with his hero. Looking back on it now, he doesn’t regret anything. It was just one of those things.

Paul Gilbert - Maintain a Sweet and Cheerful Countenance (Music Video) WROC - YouTube

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“Sometimes it’s about scheduling. I was doing a Mr Big album, and I got a call from Todd Rundgren, and he invited me out to tour with him,” says Gilbert. “And I mean, to me, it was like being asked to tour with the Beatles. I love Todd Rundgren so much. At that time, I was, like, into him very deeply. And so I wanted to do it so much, for no other reason than just to stand there and listen to him sing and play those songs. And I couldn’t!”

Gilbert ultimately did get to work with Rundgren. But it wasn’t performing with him. In 2024, he ended up interviewing him at his home for an exclusive feature for his ArtistWorks online guitar lessons page (Gilbert does quite a bit of teaching). As much as he wanted to do the gig, it was never an offer he could say yes to.

“I wasn’t gonna quit my band to do that. Even though it would have been great and fun, I had a band,” he says. “That’s kind of the responsibility – and, of course, I love my band, too! So that was the case where I couldn’t be two places at once.”

Gilbert is on the video call to talk about his latest studio album, WROC, an album that sees him in collaboration with the first president of the United States, George Washington, from beyond the grave.

Washington’s Rules of Civilisation (the WROC of the title), is kind of a self-help guide for those lacking in etiquette, and it provided the lyrics. Gilbert adapted them into song, and he duly uses the creative conceit to cut loose on guitar.

You’ll hear melodies and harmonies gleaned from a life spent nudging the FM dial on rock radio. You will here some passages of music that might only be described as lounge jazz. You will be reminded that, yes, Gilbert is a damn fine vocalist. Knowing that it was all pretty much recorded live, in session with his band in the studio (what you see and hear in the videos is what you hear on the album), it’s got a certain energy. And it has got some blazing shred.

Paul Gilbert - Keep Your Feet Firm and Even (Music Video) WROC - YouTube

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That might be Gilbert’s calling card. It is part of his brand; as the guy who pioneered the use of a cordless Makita drill as a tremolo picking electric guitar power move, it’s hard to get away from that. But speaking about the phone ringing with an offer to join, say, some blue-chip touring rock act, Gilbert admits that the virtuosity is probably a turn-off for many bands, as though he would somehow not be able to moderate himself in their company.

“That’s the thing is like with the faster stuff, a lot of the times that doesn’t really fit in an accompanist, because I think most calls you get, you’re accompanying somebody,” he says. “If it’s a band with a singer, the singer wants you to back them up, and if I’m known for solos only… I mean, obviously with Mr Big, I did a lot of accompanying, and I thought it turned out all right – and I’ve accompanied myself with what I’m singing! But that’s not really what I’m known for. I think most singers probably go like, ‘Oh, that guy, he’s just gonna get in the way.’”

Paul Gilbert — “Holy Diver” | Live at Sweetwater - YouTube

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And then there are all these second-order reasons, from the sublime (he’s too tall) to the ridiculous (his haircut).

“The other barrier is I haven’t maintained my Whitesnake haircut,” says Gilbert. “[Laughs] I imagine that’s a bigger deal than when you get a gig. I mean, I woke up this morning and my water heater was broken, so I couldn’t take a shower, so my hat is covering up insane-person hair. But at a certain point, it was just getting all scraggly and I thought, ‘Ah, I’ll just be a musician. I don’t need to be a rock star. But a lot of bands, you need to be a rock star to be in that band.”

And you have to be under 6’ 4” tall.

“I might be too tall,” he says, and he’s only half joking. “Because, if you’re onstage and I’m like a foot taller than everybody else, that doesn’t look great.”

Well, that kills one of MusicRadar’s favourite counterfactuals stone dead: What if… Paul Gilbert played with Ronnie James Dio? Gilbert’s 2023 Dio tribute album offers us a few clues, but as good a slide player as Gilbert is, nothing comes close to the steel pipes of the former Rainbow and Black Sabbath frontman.

WROC is out now via Music Theories.