He's famous for being the guitarist in Racer X, a solo artist and most recently a blues guitarist. Busy as he may be, Mr. Glbert found time to answer a few of our questions! 1. You've released a couple of albums recently, the live Racer X album and the blues album with Jimi Kidd. What next? I`ve released two new CD's every year for the past four years! I don`t plan on stopping, so right now I`m working on a new solo CD and I hope to do another Racer X album after that. 2. Do you find it hard to divide your time to all the ongoing projects of yours, and do you somehow prioritize them? I do whatever I am most excited about. If I`m excited about something, then it makes the work easy. It does get a little crazy sometimes though. Last year I was rehearsing my solo band for the "Alligator Farm" tour in one room, and then I would run into the next room to help mix "Superheroes" with Racer X. Sometimes the only time I can relax is on the airplane! 3. From pure guitar shredding to more melodic rock of Mr. Big to Heavy Metal of Racer X to blues - is there a style that you like the best? Is the heavy metal more fun to play than the Mr. Big style "wimp rock"? :) Wimp rock! That`s my favorite!!! Actually, I like so many things. I love good melodies, I love the power of heavy metal, I love to be inspired by watching a virtuoso musician, I love to hear good vocal harmonies, interesting arrangements, and thoughtful lyrics. I am in a great situation because I can do so many things. Racer X is really fun. I feel like a teenager in that band. I love to be able to explore different styles as a solo artist. If I have a favorite, it`s The Beatles. But, I can`t be them. I have to be me. And I play crazier guitar! 4. On your last album you covered a Spice Girls tune "2 become 1". Where did you get the idea? And can we expect more pop covers? It`s a great song! I heard it, and I wanted to learn it, because the chords were cool. I thought it would be cool to play it because it would surprise so many people. Expect the unexpected! 5. Your solo material seems to be quite different from Racer X or Mr. Big, more like Cheap Trick with a modern edge or something. Where does this sound originate? I am the lead singer as a solo artist, so I have to do music that fits my voice. The vocal style of Robin Zander and John Lennon fits my voice better than the high heavy metal singers like Rob Halford or Ronnie James Dio.6. Racer X...you started in the eighties, went into different things and got back together a few years ago. Do the original fans make up most of the audience or is there a lot of youngsters in there too? It`s hard to tell. I can`t see so well with my bat costume on! Actually, on our last tour of Japan and Taiwan there were a lot of young kids. I`m glad we have new fans too! 7. Would you say that Jeff Martin is a way better vocalist than drummer? He`s great at both! But his style is very different. As a drummer his influences are from the late 60`s. Guys like John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell, and Ian Paice. As a vocalist his influences are from the late 70`s. Rob Halford, Glenn Hughes, Klaus Meine. 8. Why did you name the live album "Snowball Of Doom" and what's the idea behind the flashy frontcover, with two foxy women with guns? What could be better for a heavy metal album cover than two foxy women with guns?! Ha! Ha! The title came from Jeff remembering his experience as the drummer for "Badlands". He described the situation within the band as a snowball of doom. I heard him say this and I shouted, "That`s the title! It`s great!". :-) 9. Do you have any interest in making an instrumental album? Or are the days of "widdly widdly shredding" gone? As a rock music fan and listener, I have always like bands with singers. I can enjoy a couple instrumental breaks, but a whole album of the stuff can get boring. I`ll have to think of some way to not be boring, and then I can make a whole album. 10. Honestly: what do you think about the future of Mr. Big? Is it gonna be one of those "great reunions of rock" in 2012? I would rather not play with Mr. Big again. 8 years was enough. Plus, we have so many live albums that anybody can hear what we sounded like live. I did have some really good times with the band, and I think we made some cool music, but I`m on to other things... 11. Anything else you'd like to say to our readers? A website to plug? Please listen to RAW BLUES POWER. I`m so happy with how it came out. My uncle Jimi and I had some amazing musical moments jamming together! Plus I think the songs are very good. It`s actually more of a rock album than a blues album. It`s much more rock than Muddy Waters, and it`s more bluesy than Racer X. I hope you dig it!

Interview by Kimmo Toivonen, with the assistance of Urban & Bandi, pix borrowed from www.paulgilbert.com