Paul Gilbert vs. Chris Impellitteri

"20th Century Greensleeves"

Technical SpeedRacers Stand In Millenium

(from "Young Guitar", February 2000)

Publisher: Young Guitar
Text: Masaki Fukuda
Translation(U.S. to Jap): Sam Katsuta
Re-Translation(Jap to U.S.): Michael Golubev
Photos: William Hames

Continuing from the previous issue where the talk battle of "Kings vs. Genius" took place in this, the very first issue of our magazine in the year 2000 we decided to organize the special conversation called "Paul vs. Chris" between two famous people who both managed to reach for the sky with their guitar technique in the 80's. As we all know there used to be lots of guitarists who had the technical ability to play at that time and the best of them was Yngwie. Those were the 80's when all those guitarists didn't only try to make something different and top each other no matter how silly it sounded but even overcame the technical and speeding level already established before them. That was a kind of 'competition' between them and nevertheless the guitar-oriented music grew up very well at that time. Among those musicians was Paul who started with Racer X and Chris who was nicknamed as the 'fastest guitarist of the world'. No wonder that both of them were somehow the phenomenons overwhelming the others. Though it seems really strange, Paul reunited Racer X and is about to release the new "Technical Difficulties" album while Chris is going to issue the new "Crunch" CD. And what is definitely worth mentioning is that in our times when many musicians try to resurrect the 80's sound both of those new albums don't just copy that good old stuff. For instance, Paul made Racer X a more technical band adding the melodious feelings he experienced in the times of Mr. Big and his solo career while Chris completed his music with various heavy elements of the 90's. In other words here we have two new guitar-oriented albums which reproduce the feeling of 80's filtered through the carriers of these bands' leaders. It all seemed very interesting to us and that's probably the sign of the way to go for guitar music nowadays. Below both of those guitarists discuss various things like the difference in their guitar playing styles, the way they felt about the super guitarists of the 20th century and the start of the new era.

YG - Young Guitar

PG - Paul Gilbert

CI - Chris Impellitteri

YG: First, please, send your message to our readers about the year 2000.

CI: Hi! Ace Frehley here. (laughs)

PG: OK, then I'm the God of Thunder, Gene Simmons. Let's unmask! (laughs) Well, first I'd like to say something about the seeming problem of the year 2000 'cause it's been around through the whole celebration period. I don't consider this to be any kind of problem and it's quite interesting to me to see the number '2' on the year table of the computer. I wonder how many years passed since the day rock music came into this world. It's about 50 years since the electric guitar was invented. Rock music developed many different styles and I guess it might be really interesting to know what will happen to it 50 years from now. I'd like to wish more licks and rhythms for all the readers of the "Young Guitar" magazine and feel the need to take part in their creation.

CI: I... Well, Happy New Year, people! We finally made it and that's the year 2000! (laughs) I personally feel the same thing that Paul does and I feel that the new millenium will come to the music world 'cause we experienced too many things about it from the past. Concerning this topic, the music world really changes all the time. Man, was the guitar really invented 50 years ago? I mean since that time the basic guitar was divided into bass and rhythm ones and many music styles were developed. We can see it everywhere, can't we? Concerning the solos... well, I'd like to wish everyone to create the fresh and exciting solos not forgetting about the past. Also I'd like guitarists, not Bill Gates to rule the world! (laughs)

YG: OK, the main theme of today is 'The Most Famous Guitarists of the 20th Century" and I guess the first one we have to speak about is Jimi Hendrix, the master. As far as I know, you Paul bought his records since you were 5 years old, but did you really understand his brilliance at that time?

PG: Well, the first time I heard him it was from my parents really, when I was 5 years old. You know, they had many records of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and also lots of blues and classic stuff. Right at that time I couldn't define one instrument from the other while listening to any record. The thing is that I didn't have any impression from any particular instrument whether it was guitars, bass or drums... I just heard them only altogether. Jimi seemed to be really great to me but definitely not the best. The Beatles were my absolute favorites, I liked their vocals so I didn't pay any attention to the instruments at that time. The first thing to appeal to me while listening to any record was the vocals. That's why I started listening to the bands like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith much later.

YG: So when did you realize the brilliance of Hendrix's playing style?

PG: I still do remember that moment. You know, I have the live record of the Monterey pop festival ("Monterey International Pop Festival", 1970) and one song among the others was "Rock Me Baby". So when I was 12 years old my parents took me to the movies late at night to see the "Jimi Hendrix Movie" film and there was the scene with the performance of "Rock Me Baby" there. That's when I understood everything. I always listened to the music before but never saw the performance of any song and that was like the giant blow to me. I immediately understood why many people were so influenced by him and how cool he was. That was a sudden revolution to me and I thought, "Now I do know everything about him! You see how great he is!" Jimi was really cool moving on stage all the time.

YG: And what about you, Chris? Do you listen to Hendrix since your childhood days?

CI: Well, not really... Telling the truth, the first time I heard Jimi it was the cover-version of "Purple Haze" performed by Frank Marino of Mahogany Rash. You may not believe me but it's really so, Frank's cover was the first Hendrix song I ever heard. However I liked it a lot. In fact when I started listening to Hendrix himself I really felt that he was the best musician back in the 60's. And though I truly respected him as the musician he didn't influence me that much. The main reason for that was probably that I didn't want to be influenced by anyone at that time. (laughs) That's why many of my friends couldn't understand my position. They always said, "You have to play Hendrix songs to get more skillful" but I never listened to their advice. OK, Jimi Hendrix is the really brilliant musician but I didn't want to be like him. That's why I wasn't a person to be heavily influenced by Hendrix's music.

YG: OK, I see, just like Paul you didn't understand his brilliance in the beginning but later you managed to realize what great music Jimi created, right?.. Well, then why do you think many people didn't understand his music in the beginning?

PG: Well, sometimes I divide not only guitarists but all musicians in two categories with a number of exceptions, of course. The first category includes those musicians who play technically good and can control their performance every time. The second one consists of those who give their best during the performance. That's how I think of it and according to it Jimi belongs to the second category. And some more facts about this category. It consists of those musicians who sometimes make mistakes while playing but thanks to them the music still has the ways of development and Jimi is one of such people. Listening to him you may notice some mistakes he does. Sometimes he even plays the wrong tunes but anyway he did everything really great. That's when you understand that if can't give your best to playing this way you better not start playing at all. In the beginning you try to play as clean as you can but then it all fades away. But Yngwie, for example, still can play quite clean and give his best to the music he creates. He sounds cool and has everything he plays under control. And he even gives his best every time and that happens quite rare at our times. Yngwie is the unique person who manages to unite both of those characteristics in himself.

CI: I agree with Paul. Jimi is that musician who could overcome the existing style borders. Concerning the technical side, he was definitely the best and he also discovered the new horizons for the rock style. And the style itself had many ways to go at that time. Only the musicians of genius could create the things Jimi did. Of course, he played in the long-before- established borders but it seemed very strange how he could play his songs with such limited abilities. Another person that needs to be added to this list is Eddie (Van Halen). He also was the kind of musician who showed the new ways for the musical world to follow. Anyway, my personal image of Hendrix is the person who considered music to be the most important thing in life

YG: OK, let's talk about another musician who played much cleaner than Hendrix, about Eric Clapton. What do both of you think of him?

PG: I remember one interesting episode about Eric. You know, I used to be the big fan of Van Halen when their first self-titled album came out in 1978... So one day I read an interview with Eddie where he was asked about the guitar players who influenced him most. He said, "One of my biggest influences was Eric Clapton". I thought he was joking 'cause nothing in Eddie's music could confirm that statement. (laughs) The same thing was with Jimi. When he was asked about his favorite musicians the answer was, "My favorite one is Bob Dylan". And well, you know, I was really surprised. (laughs)

YG: Then don't you think of kids being surprised with your biggest influence, The Beatles?

PG: Yeah, everyone will say, "What does this mean?" (laughs) But that's the way it is, if you were influenced by someone your music should sound closer to him... OK, speaking about Clapton I personally needed some time to understand his music but he definitely stepped out of the crowd creating his own style. Just remember his tunes from the Cream days ... and the way he plays live is also perfect. Of course, he used to make mistakes in his 'pure performance' but always amazed me with his rhythmical blues style. I know it 'cause I always play quite fast and sometimes forget the song's rhythm. And when Clapton plays guitar, bass and drums overcome his sounds but you can always hear the perfect rhythm even when he plays solo. He did it for many years and still does.

CI: I don't know whether we both can judge him or not since he's not of the same musical period as we are but I can say that he always played every note different from each other. I heard many versions of this story like, "He plays every note in its time, it always fits in his phrases and goes along with the words really great." But I don't agree with this statement and guess that that's what people call Clapton's original style. But, you know, I could never play that stuff. (laughs) His phrasings are quite clean and always provide the impression of vocal-like sound. That's what I think of Clapton. He's the guitarist with the good taste for the music. I also respect his songwriting talent. For instance, his song "Layla" awakes many feelings in everyone and that's one of my favorite Clapton songs.

YG: The next guitarist coming to my mind is Jimmy Page. Some people think of him as of the professional guitarist and some consider him to be a good arranger and producer. So what do you think?

PG: I guess he's great in both songwriting and arrangements and his playing is also awesome. While being a teenager I used to play his songs standing in front of the mirror trying to copy his guitar playing from the live albums. I listened to his songs holding a child's guitar in my hands shredding it all the time. (laughs) It was my childhood fantasy and I dreamed of becoming someone like Jimmy Page one day. And you can't judge him just by his playing style. Nevertheless, I really liked him and he could make mistakes sometimes so when I played his songs I even copied his mistakes. Anyway, I always knew what note he had to play in this or that part of the song. (laughs)

CI: My personal thanks to him! He's my favorite guitarist!

PG: I don't know, many people may think he played perfect but the most important thing for me is that he could always express himself during the performance. It didn't matter whether he made mistakes or not but he was the one to show everything he wanted here and there. So I believe him to be a brilliant guitarist.

CI: That's right, he's a true showman. I still remember how surprised I was while listening to the first notes of the song "Whole Lotta Love" (from "Led Zeppelin II" (1969)). That's what got Jimmy Page on the top of my list of guitarists. You know, I was just 4 years old at that time. (laughs) So I considered Jimmy to be really cool since my childhood days. And he was definitely the good riff-maker. The song like "Whole Lotta Love" expresses some kind of 'eternity' feeling which no one else could ever show anywhere! Every guitarist was influenced by Led Zeppelin. Just listen to their songs and you'll see it.

YG: Speaking about the Led Zeppelin riffs, it's the well-known fact that most of their riffs were initiated by Jimmy Page. But recently when their former bassist John Paul Jones came to Japan I interviewed him and we talked on this point. So for now it seems that John Paul Jones wrote some simple riffs and was never mentioned in the credits.

PG: You said simple?.. Well, I don't know... Do you mean something like "Heartbreaker" ("Led Zeppelin II" (1969))?

YG: We didn't discuss that very song but it seems that, for example, the song "Black Dog" ("Led Zeppelin IV" (1971)) was composed by Jones. Jimmy always wrote chords and riffs to most of the songs.

PG: But Jon Paul Jones is also cool! (laughs)

YG: He managed to become a professional musician taking part in various recordings before he joined Led Zeppelin. He worked as the arranger and producer but he gained much experience playing with Led Zeppelin. He was very different to Jimmy Page, more good in producing.

PG: Well, all of the band members had perfect chemistry. Nowadays the American kids can listen to their songs on the radio. I mean, they consider Led Zeppelin songs to be written in the pop music style. And what happened in the past? They just listened to the albums. In other words the song can be good without the pop sounds in it. The improvisations also play a very important role in every song. That's what Led Zeppelin was all about and such brilliant members couldn't write bad songs. I still remember my guitar jamming with a friend when I was a 6 year old boy and I tried to explain to him what the jamming is. I said, "It's hard to explain. We can make it only after you listen to how Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones do it." (laughs)

YG: OK, we have to mention also the name of the 3rd guitarist that goes together with Page and Clapton, Jeff Beck. But I guess his name doesn't mean too much to both of you, does it?

PG: Well, I heard "Blow By Blow" (1975) and "Wired" (1976)... You know, Jeff Beck's classic songs can't be sung without music. I probably didn't listen to his stuff properly 'cause I don't really like fusion. And as far as I know most of the fusion sounds are created on keyboards. It all reminds of the croaking frog. (laughs) His musical stuff might be really great but on the whole it doesn't appeal to me. Well, speaking of my favorite songs from Jeff... I heard a couple of songs from his tribute album ("Jeffology" (1995)) and became interested in the vibrato he used in the song "Heart Full Of Soul" which Jeff recorded with the Yardbirds back in the 60's. I do remember the vibratos used by Eddie and Yngwie and I suppose they make their sounds vibrate while playing wild and slow. And Jeff, he never lost the rhythm in the songs even though he played too fast. Telling the truth, I never liked him. Even when I tried to practice his sounds I thought, "It might be good but definitely not cool." Listening to that very song I understood the people's feelings about the guitar sound of the 60's. But right at that time I wanted to play something different to the ordinary things and that was the way to do it. It was really different to play each note different to the previous one and I guess Jeff was courageous enough to play that particular way. OK, he made the deep impression on me being one of the guitarists who helped me to grow.

CI: I agree with Paul, and you really can't sing Jeff's stuff without music. (laughs) I think the best record Jeff ever played on was that one with Jan Hammer. Long before when I was working in the record store and listened to this album very often when it was released. (Notes - Just think that when Jeff released his monstrous albums "Wired" (1976) and "Jeff Beck With Jan Hammer Group Live" (1977) Chris was working in the record store being born in 1964... And also don't forget about another couple of Jeff's glorious albums "There And Back" (1980) and "Flash" (1985)...)

YG: Ah yeah, before you said that you didn't want to sound like anyone so I see that you didn't listen to Jeff, right? (laughs)

CI: I probably listened to him a little. (laughs) You know, I was really interested in the harmonic tones and liked his lyrical parts very much. He didn't express many feelings in his songs but definitely had his own tones which seemed to be the most important thing to me. If you wanna become a unique guitarist you need to have your own tone. Recently I started studying his songs and he also helped me to grow. I always can define his playing from the others even if I never heard the song before. So I consider him to be a brilliant artist for those features.

YG: Well, those 3 guitarists created their music long before another 'nowadays' guitarist of genius appeared on the music scene. I mean Ritchie Blackmore.

CI: No, no, he existed long before those 3! (laughs)

PG: The first record I bought with Ritchie Blackmore was "Machine Head" (Deep Purple, 1972). It happened at the free market and I payed only 50 cents for it! (laughs) When I returned home I discovered that the B-side of that record was dirty and needed to be washed. However I wasn't really impressed with the solo part in "Highway Star". But the song that really got me into the band was "No No No" (Deep Purple "Fireball" (1971)) probably because of the video. I considered Ritchie's improvisation and tone there to be really cool. Only when I started learning Ritchie's songs I understood their brilliance. And listening to his albums you understand that the production and mixing there aren't so great as they could be, too straight. But consider that this sound wasn't created with the distortion and many modern technologies and that's what makes Ritchie's guitar sound very clean. Anyway, that's the pure rock music. You know, I was really surprised on hearing the songs like "Maybe I'm A Leo" and "Smoke On The Water" ("Machine Head"). He produced such a simple guitar sound with primitive amps but managed to create the true rock hymns! (laughs) And it doesn't matter what kind of sound he had 'cause his riffs are really cool and heavy and that's the actual way they sound. No other band could achieve the same level.

CI: The first song I learned from Ritchie was "Smoke On The Water" ("Machine Head") but I wasn't really influenced by the Deep Purple stuff, I was more into Rainbow music. My favorite tune is "Kill The King" ("Long Live Rock'n'Roll" (1978)), that's the real long-living rock anthem. I felt the same at that time. Ritchie's clean tone is his personal trademark. And like Paul said before, all the albums Ritchie ever played on feature the natural guitar sound.

PG: Yeah, his guitar sound is the perfect example of real playing.

CI: Listening to his records I thought that he just put the microphone in front of the guitar and recorded it. (laughs) But that was the typical aura for Ritchie. He always recorded everything the way it was so unfortunately he was the victim of that time technical equipment which was far from good. But however his guitar playing was awesome.

YG: I guess that vibes are the most important things for both of you. Was Ritchie that very musician who made you consider such things?

PG: Well, it's quite hard to say it so straight. As I mentioned above my parents listened to the classical music and that's what I started with. But Yngwie was the biggest shock for me. He was the one who inspired me 'cause he was the first guitarist to use the harmonic minor and played so demonic on stage. That was the brand new sound to me. And, as we all know, Yngwie was heavily influenced by Ritchie so I kinda feel the same.

YG: And as for you Chris, you gained the classical music inspiration from Randy Rhoads, right?

CI: I did... The best song from him I ever heard was "Revelation (Mother Earth)" (Ozzy Osbourne "Blizzard Of Ozz" (1980)). That's when I heard Randy using the harmonic minor tone for the first time. You know, I wasn't really influenced by classical music like Mozart or Bach. I could never read music and then play it. The coolest thing for me was the use of classical music elements in the heavy metal style. One day someone gave me an advice to listen to Uli Jon Roth. I guess it was Ritchie. (laughs) And of course, his playing also made a deep impression on me.

YG: Speaking about Yngwie, was he really such a gigantic blow to both for you?

PG: The first time I heard Yngwie's music it was on the phone. (laughs) At that time I still lived in Pennsylvania... I sent a tape to Mike Varney and he phoned me and said, "I really enjoyed your playing. Did you ever listen to this?" And then he let me listen to Yngwie. That was the time when nobody knew anything about him... even the Steeler album wasn't released. His picking style was absolutely brand new --no one at all, no Van Halen kind of stuff. I couldn't say a word listening to this. I never heard Al Dimeola before and couldn't imagine such picking style. And I said, "That's really awesome. I guess I can play like him." Yngwie played it live and I thought I could do this after some time of practicing but of course, I couldn't express the same feelings. I really like Yngwie as a musician. He definitely builds up a 'fire' in his guitar playing style. I can always define his music from the others and he plays many interesting things. He's a very passionate musician.

YG: What about you, Chris?

CI: I just thought of him as of another guitarist who experienced one style. The first time I heard Yngwie it was his Alcatrazz period... The most interesting thing about him is that many people thought they could play in the same manner but couldn't play as fast as him... so the only thing I personally learned from him was his speedy playing. I was more into Jimmy Bell.

PG: You mean that guitarist from Connecticut...

CI: You know him? He's from the south.

PG: What bands did he play in?

CI: Vellotrack and Joined Forces.

PG: Oh yeah, Joined Forces! Their guitarist really played like Bell! (laughs)

CI: I often went to see his great shows in various clubs when I was a child. I even felt he was the guitarist from hell! (laughs) I never saw anyone playing like him and he could make a break but soon faded away. And soon came Yngwie who produced the much better sounds, for sure.

YG: Did Bell record anything?

CI: Well... He didn't have the right chance for it. During my childhood he played in clubs throughout the town like an average rock star. His riffs sounded very close to the Ozzy's ones but he couldn't develop them further. He auditioned for Ozzy but Zakk Wylde was taken instead... He is a very talented musician and plays really great but... I heard that nowadays he's a music teacher and has his own music shop. If you have the chance to speak to Tony McAlpine ask him about Jimmy. He knows him very well. But that's not what we were talking about so let's return to Yngwie. When Yngwie started playing with Alcatrazz I heard Van Halen for the first time and thought that no one else could play like him. I mean, I really thought that no other guitarist could play better than Eddie and that's when Yngwie appeared on the scene. So I don't agree with Paul's opinion... I could never become the guitarist thinking of things like, "He's the best one and I can play only like Jimmy Bell. I don't even have a chance so I should forget about the breakthrough." (laughs) And I do really believe that the guitar itself changed my life.

YG: Chris, you worked with Graham Bonnet (vocals) on the "Stand In Line" album (1988). What did he think about Yngwie at that time?

CI: We discussed every guitarist Graham ever worked with. (laughs) He considered Yngwie to be a silly person and he also said many bad things about Ritchie and Michael Schenker. He seemed to be quite a sad. But I liked Graham very much 'cause he was easy to deal with and a strong experienced singer. For now... he finally managed to become much better than before .

PG: I heard that you both had some relation problems. (laughs)

CI: We never did! He was drunk all the time and couldn't escape it. So he couldn't explain anything to me. (laughs)

YG: Well, you already mentioned this name several times and do you really think that Eddie Van Halen was so unique for both of you?

PG: Sure! His first album is the pure masterpiece and the best guitar album in my opinion. What playing, what a sound! Every time I record the album I think, "Can I create anything close to the first Van Halen album?" (laughs)

CI: I feel the same.

PG: The release of that first album changed many things in the music world. Musicians changed their opinions about the tone itself. Tapping appeared in the guitar playing style as the new technical thing and the band's sound really came from the heart. The best rock albums by that time were well- produced masterpieces of Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick and Heart... The high-hat in drums always sounded very tight and people overdubbed many guitar parts to make them sound better. But with Van Halen the whole situation was different. You know, we aren't in the studio now but if you listen to Van Halen albums you'll hear the near-live sound of his albums. The Alex's high-hat sounds very loose and his cymbals are shaking all the time. Also you won't hear the heavy guitar sound on the back during the solo part. And that's what makes everything sound live. The Van Halen albums were the most exciting ones at that time and almost 'pushed' everyone to start recording live in the studio. Anyway, I was really amazed by his first album.

CI: Right at that time my girlfriend told me about Van Halen but I always had the kind of attitude to him like, "Well, it's good, so what?" and still feel something like this. Later many people suggested me to listen to his stuff and I finally bought one with the songs like "I'm The One" and "Eruption"... I was really surprised and became his fan. Going to the studio I even started playing the way he did. (laughs) Of course, that was different to his playing but I couldn't stop copying him. (laughs) So I do feel the influence of his first two albums. (Note: the second "Van Halen II" album was released in 1979.) Now I can't leave it behind, I feel like Paul... Every time I mix my albums I think, "The vibes must sound closer to Van Halen's ones. Either way I'll have to do everything again." After the mixing is done I think, "No, that's not him. I better stop conducting the engineering process." (laughs) So he influenced me not only from the technical side 'cause thanx to him I learned many things about tones and vibes.

YG: Well, among the rest of guitarists of the 20th century who was also as good as the previous ones according to you, Paul and to you, Chris?

CI: I'm really jealous of one guitarist. (laughs) His name is Tony McAlpine and his first album was released almost at the same time with Racer X's one. Its title is "Maximum Security" (1986).

PG: I know this one, with a picture of legs on its cover.

CI: Yeah, that very one, really awesome. However it sounds pretty close to the Yngwie classical stuff. I had the same feeling while listening to the first Racer X album. The rhythm and tone sounded like AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" album (1979) and that all seemed really cool to me. I was very surprised on hearing Yngwie-like sounds from Paul and felt pretty excited. Too many players sounded quite average at that time. I can't remember any other musician who could be so good technically and musically and I was really amazed by Paul and Racer X. Even the melody was there but nowadays many musicians including me forget about this important feature at all. That's why I enjoy listening to the bands that can play so technically good and make the songs which you remember for a long time then.

PG: Well, the best Impellitteri album I know is that one with Graham Bonnet, "Stand In Line" so shame on me. (laughs) I mean that one created in the aura described before. (laughs) I really enjoyed the guitar playing there and, you know, Pat Torpey who later became the Mr. Big drummer did a great job on that album. Many fans came to him during the Mr. Big tours and said, "Your work with Chris Impellitteri was awesome!" and that impressed me so much.

CI: And he might answer something like, "Please, forget about that awful album!" or "It's a pity I can't escape it!", right!? (laughs)

PG: (laughs) OK, the guitar playing on that album was very clean and firing. That was very important to me 'cause I knew that Chris played very difficult things. In fact I worked as a teacher in G. I. T. for more than 2 years and saw many guitarists who tried to play fast but couldn't do that. It takes time and patience to learn to play so fast. They all took it wrong and thought, "Oh yeah, all we need is just make the left hand work as fast as the right one." That's why they often made many mistakes while playing fast and Chris really spent so much time on it being concentrated on his guitar. So the feeling I had for this album is that the guitarist there took his time and all the efforts to make it really great.

YG: While listening to all those albums both of you felt the need to practice forgetting about the talent thing. What can you say about it? Do you think many musicians became better thanx only to their patience in practicing? And what about the natural-born talents?

PG: You know, long before I heard a tape where a guitarist played quite bad and I decided to do my best to make it better than him. (laughs) When you start playing guitar you really need to practice 1 hour a day for about 2 years. I didn't feel the need to become the guitarist but it appealed to me more than anything else so I started doing it. However I had many troubles in the beginning 'cause I wasted too much time for making efforts to reach the better technique. So I prayed for making it better all the time. And what all the people call 'talent' which was gifted to a person or not became the strong wish in my case. That's not just the question of technique. That strong wish is the most important thing you need while trying to become a professional guitarist. It may sound strange but I practiced 8 hours a day like Eddie did. I read it in the interview with him and it didn't surprise me at all. You can hear it in his playing. When you really enjoy playing guitar it's like the note that you can't get out of your head. At that very time I studied in school so I couldn't play guitar 8 hours a day but spent much time on it and that was very important to me. If you can make progress you better continue practicing. That's like the primitive equation. You have to listen to the records and go to see the live concerts. It's very important to know that all the ways are acceptable when improving your guitar playing. And you also should be satisfied with what you do.

CI: Quite the same thing happened to me. I started playing guitar when I was 9 years old and had many personal troubles at that time. My parents committed suicide so I was brought up by my grandmother. The situation was awful and she always worried, "What kind of future will this boy have?" and that's when I started taking guitar lessons. I had the same problems as Paul in the beginning, everything seemed so difficult. Anyway, I didn't think about the reason for it but dedicated myself to that instrument and wanted to be the best. That's when I realized that guitar music is that very thing that I really wanted to make. Then I concentrated on my wishes and lessons. Later it became really interesting and I managed to become keen on the guitar sound.

YG: Well, Yngwie is the eldest guitarist, he was born is 1963. Then came you, Chris, in 1964 and then you, Paul, in 1966. So comparing all these events to the previous rock years many technical people were born together with 3 of you. Nothing of such kind happened neither before nor after, no sudden changes in the music history! What do you think was the main reason for it?

PG: The technical music period. (laughs)

YG: Of course, the wish thing plays the very important role when a person wants to become a good guitarist. But I guess the musical background also means too much for everyone, doesn't it?

PG: When a new musician appears on the scene he always looks back on those who came before him. The main reason to play this kind of music for me and Chris was just that we were the fans of the previous period guitarists. We listened to people like Van Halen and enjoyed them very much so we became musicians due to our likes of the idols we praised. I mean, every period has its background in the previous one. Yngwie caused that technical period but the foundations for it were established much earlier. All those guitarists we discussed before influenced many teenagers of the next period. And I still don't know what kind of music teenagers would play nowadays. The 90's were so different and not many people in America wanna be musicians anymore so it's quite hard to make any prophecies. On the other hand when we all were teenagers we could hear guitar music on the radio and many guitarists really had the abilities to play technically good. Chris and me were just influenced by this music and happened to develop it our own way.

CI: I never thought about this problem but I guess Paul is right. Right at that time I just became somebody and started leading my own life apart from my parents. (laughs) So I took influence from various places and got to planning my future myself without any help from aside.

PG: I think some time later we'll see many maestro-DJs. They'll be influenced by someone like Snoop Doggie Dog and become the best technically- experienced DJs! (laughs)

CI: And what do you think about the turn-table arpeggio? (laughs)

PG: Oh, it sounds quite slow, something like Nivrana. (laughs)

YG: OK, the guitar music reached its top in the 80's and both of you came from the American scene of L. A. What do you think is different there nowadays?

PG: Well, it used to be a very exciting place. You know, yesterday I went to walk around Hollywood, went through many streets and through the places I still have brilliant memories of. When I moved to L. A. many years ago I was the absolutely unknown musician searching for a record contract. Then I formed Racer X and then went to play in Mr. Big... it all was so exciting, too many memories come from that time. You couldn't see lots of people anywhere but when you climbed the stage in any club many people came to see you. I was really happy that I could experience my music in the times of such a strong interest to the guitar music itself.

CI: Well, for me the 80's weren't so happy. After coming to L. A. I recorded a demo-tape with Rob (Rock - vocals) and soon we released the self-financed "Impellitteri" mini-album in 1987. Thanx to it I got many chances to become a famous guitarist but ended up as the party fan. It was my main problem. I didn't take drugs but almost lost myself. Right at that time I formed the band with Graham but didn't know what to hook on and went to clubs every day. I stopped writing songs and became quite a useless person. And that's the way it was! I just had fun. Though I had many chances to release another perfect album but couldn't do anything like "Stand In Line" which Paul liked so much (laughs) anymore. But soon it came the time when I had to think of my future and asked myself, "What do I want? Do I want to become someone like Van Halen or Yngwie or just be another Motley Crue or Poison clone?" It was a problem of going to buy a hair spray or concentrating on my guitar. So for me the 80's were really troublesome times.

PG: It was a very weak and quarrelsome period in rock history. However it had many good and serious points.

YG: What about the 90's?

PG: Nowadays we have many people who dislike grunge and alternative music and I guess the main reason for such bands popularity was their musical passions. The heavy metal bands were never taken too serious from the very beginning. The quarrels Chris just talked about really existed and that's how the new music styles were born. Many heavy metal bands of the 80's didn't play this music from their hearts and fans realized it really soon. So when bands like Nirvana or Pearl Jam appeared on the scene people thought, "Oh yeah, these guys sing about the things they really feel" and that was the most important factor for any band, I think. In the second part of the 80's I often bought various LPs at record shops and there I discovered many musical ways I could never imagine before. It wasn't the specific genre but later it parted ways with heavy metal. So I can understand the reasons for such crazy interest to these bands. People needed a change 'cause they listened to too much music in one style.

CI: Well, the music world faced many changes in the 90's. The hard rock music suddenly stopped being so popular like it used to be before and changes came as fast as the days change. So we faced the problem of adding new elements to our music. (sad laughing) I personally wasn't in any way nfluenced by the 90's music but I guess that bands like Pantera and White Zombie use some awesome elements in their music... That's why I tried to include some of them on the new "Crunch" album. (Note: The release date is 21.01.2000. Expect to see the interview with the band and tabs analysis in the March issue of our magazine.)

YG: Well, recently many things happened in the rock music world. Dokken and Ratt reunited, Yngwie released the new Rising Force album and the same thing happened to Racer X while Chris decided to add some 90's elements to his music... I guess the guitar scene doesn't resurrect but it seems to be born again, right?

PG: You know, I personally still enjoy listening to good pop music as well as to heavy styles. And I'm having a good time playing the music which is based on my roots. So I don't care about the trends or about people who gave up on them. (laughs) OK, I also may give up to these trends but still believe in my new product, the "Technical Difficulties" album.

CI: I feel the same. If those old trends come again I'll be really glad. So for now I'll prepare the ground for their return and will be a lucky person to see it. And I'm really happy to hear many different attitudes to the guitar-oriented music. This music wasn't here for a while and that's really great for it 'cause nowadays it faces the different time. It makes progress all the time and I'm really glad to know it.

PG: I don't know what particular styles will come but I know that many people are interested in that kind of music. I'm not only the musician, I'm the music fan as well and will be really glad to hear some new interesting sounds in the new styles. Recently I listened to The Wildhearts and enjoyed their music very much. As far as I know they're quite popular in Japan, right? I was really surprised to get this tape from one of my Japanese fans. I know that there exists many bands of such kind and I guess they'll make it really soon. So being a music fan I'm searching for new sound now. That's why I promise to listen to the new "Crunch" album of Chris! (laughs)

CI: What about me, I'll listen to all the Racer X albums. And about the 21st century... for me it's no surprise to see many guitarists who are be able to play very fast. (laughs) Nowadays many people are influenced by bands like Korn or Limp Bizkit like we were once influenced by Van Halen. And I don't know what will happen to the traditional guitar playing in the case of adding those new elements. That's what I think. I remember listening to the "Slippery When Wet" album (1986)and of Bon Jovi thinking, "Will this man ever change?" He still provides the image of a really strange person. (laughs)

PG: I never thought he would never make such a big hit as Poison... and that was my big mistake! (laughs)