“You start putting expectations on yourself. ‘OK, I’ve got to compete with Bach and Beethoven and Mozart and The Beatles!”: An in-depth conversation with rock guitar’s most maverick virtuoso, Paul Gilbert

Paul Gilbert wears a tricorn and period dress as he poses in shred mode with his signature Ibanez guitar.

It has been a while since Paul Gilbert last sang lead vocals on one of his solo albums. Ten long years, to be exact. He was a little out of practice when it came to writing lyrics, and so he did what anyone, really, would do in such a situation, and sought out the help of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Washington’s Rules Of Civility And Decent Behavior In Company And Conversation is an 18th-century work containing over hundred rules for etiquette in public, more than enough for Gilbert to work with.