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, 1987's 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.

~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi