PAUL GILBERT Talks MR. BIG Reunion

Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with MR. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert as part of a series entitled "Hit The Lights." Topics of discussion included the album "United States", working with Freddie Nelson, MR. BIG's reunion, and recording the group's Budokan performance for a future DVD and live CD. Several excerpts from the interview follow below:

On how "United States" came to fruition:

"Freddie grew up in the same town where I'm from, which is situated in Pennsylvania. Actually, I never met him in the old days, though all my friends knew him — my friends always told me, 'You gotta hear this Freddie Nelson. He's great.' Back when I was a teenager, I just heard rumours about Freddie's guitar playing, and didn't know he was a singer. He didn't either, I think, and just mainly concentrated on guitar. Years went by, and I moved to California, losing touch with Pennsylvania somewhat. Recently though, I thought about cutting a vocal record. A friend of mine sent me a demo which features Freddie's vocals, and I was blown away. His voice was great, I thought. I was surprised, since I thought he was a guitarist. Here Freddie was though, this amazing vocalist."

On how MR. BIG came to reunite:

"In short, we all had dinner at my house, my wife and I cooking a big meal for everyone. Everybody came over, and we just opened up a bottle of champagne. The more that time passed, the more comfortable we became, the more relaxed we became, and the more that trust between us started to build. Following that, we did more things together. We travelled to Japan, and conducted a week of promotion. We've performed together, have conducted interviews, and have done a video together. Everything we've done has been fun, as well as successful. Everyone's been cool. I think everybody's heads are really in the right place."

On whether Richie Kotzen was slated to be part of MR. BIG's reunion shows:

"I like Richie. Richie and I have done a lot of shows together recently, where we've jammed together onstage. Within any group though, I think the original members have a powerful impact. Take a group like VAN HALEN for example: certainly, Sammy Hagar was a great vocalist, and recorded some great music with VAN HALEN. As a fan though, I always preferred David Lee Roth. He was VAN HALEN's original vocalist, and the original lineup just formed the sound of the group, as well as the group's image. With MR. BIG, it's the same situation. Richie is very talented, and he's a great musician, though I think we really wanted MR. BIG's reunion to be comprised of the original members. There's a certain power to that."

On whether MR. BIG will record one of the group's forthcoming Japanese performances for a live CD / DVD:

"We're going to record our show at the Budokan. Since it's a live performance, the recording will be finished following the show. Hopefully, we can get those releases mixed pretty quickly, and obviously, those releases will be issued in Japan initially. Hopefully, those releases will be issued around the rest of the world as well."

On whether MR. BIG will record a new album:

"I would like to. Thus far, everything's been really smooth, and we're having a good time. There's a pretty good chance, I think."