Essayer OR - Gratuit
THE BIG GOODBYE
Guitar Player
|December 2024
As Mr. Big calls it a day, Paul Gilbert reflects on hearing loss, his vintage Ibanez guitars and the good times ahead.

MR. BIGHAS always blended dysfunction with virtuosity. That probably wasn’t the intent when bassist Billy Sheehan, vocalist Eric Martin, drummer Pat Torpey and guitarist Paul Gilbert got together in Los Angeles in 1988. In the years since, the hard-rock group has navigated music’s changing styles, from the shred badassery of their 1989 self-titled debut and 1993’s Bump Ahead to their hit power ballads “To Be With You” and “Just Take My Heart.” At the same time, they’ve endured more than their fair share of inner turmoil. Gilbert left in 1999 and was replaced by Richie Kotzen before Mr. Big called it quits for the first time, in 2002.
But there’s something about the original quartet’s “occasional dysfunction” (as Gilbert calls it) that has kept them coming back for more. They reunited in 2009 and toured Japan, where — true to the phrase — they remained big. The group went on hiatus in 2018 following Torpey’s death from Parkinson’s-related complications, but they regrouped in 2023 with Nick D’Virgilio on drums. That resulted in their latest album, Ten, which the band intends to make their last. It’s quintessential stuff, but like most of Mr. Big’s records, it took work.
“There’s a price to being in a band,” Gilbert tells Guitar Player. “You get great things from it, like the irreplaceable characters of these various musicians. But sometimes it can be really stressful on the heart. So I look forward to a calmer heart and doing my own stuff.”
Ten maybe Mr. Big’s final record, but there’s still a slate of shows to wrap up on the Big Finish tour. From there, no one knows if additional dates will be added or if the band plans to walk away quietly. Regardless, Gilbert is at peace. “This is a nice way to finish it,” he says. “Everybody has pulled together for one last time to do something where there are no apologies. I’m very proud of what we’ve done as Mr. Big.”
Cette histoire est tirée de l'édition December 2024 de Guitar Player.
Abonnez-vous à Magzter GOLD pour accéder à des milliers d'histoires premium sélectionnées et à plus de 9 000 magazines et journaux.
Déjà abonné ? Se connecter
PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE Guitar Player

Guitar Player
How I Wrote..."Year of the Cat"
AI Stewart reflects on his beguiling hit, some 10 years in the making.
3 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
UAFX
Teletronix LA-2A Studio Compressor
2 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
LINE 6
POD Express
2 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
MAN OF STEEL
He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
8 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
HIGH TIME
The new MC5 album took more than 50 years to arrive. The band members have all passed on, but the celebration is just beginning.
15 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
58 YEARS OF GUITAR PLAYER
As Guitar Player moves full-time to its online home, we look back at some of its greatest stories in print.
5 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
DRAGON TALES
In a Guitar Player exclusive, Jimmy Page sheds light on the amplifiers behind his Led Zeppelin tone and how they live again in his line of Sundragon signature amps.
15 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
CLOSER TO HOME
Rehearsal space, studio, vessel and abode Diego Garcia's boat is the home base for his new album, as well as his musical life as the seafaring Spanish guitarist Twanguero.
6 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
Funk Noir
With The Black Album, Prince made his greatest-and most infamousmusical statement.
2 mins
December 2024

Guitar Player
Medium Cool
Striking the middle ground between its Thinline brethren, Gibson's ES-345TD remains a versatile, if underrated, gem.
4 mins
December 2024