Watch Paul Gilbert Play Slide Guitar in the Studio on New Song, “I Own a Building"

Paul Gilbert has shared the video for a new song, “I Own a Building.” The track comes off his recently-released album, Behold Electric Guitar. You can check it out above.

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Gilbert discussed writing “I Own a Building” as a vocal song, but turning it into an instrumental.

“The truth is, I’m coming to terms with the limitations of my voice, but I’m still trying to express the melody with my guitar,” he said. “When I sing, there is an almost constant struggle with pitch and with reaching notes in the higher register. On guitar, high notes aren’t a problem at all. They’re there for me whenever I need them, and that’s kind of wonderful.”

Regarding his slide playing on the song, Gilbert explained: “When I was working on my last record, [2015’s] I Can Destroy, I discovered I play slide much better when I use my middle finger. Because I’ve been listening to so much blues, I think my ear was also primed for slide. 

"Recently, I had some powerful magnets glued into the lower horn of a few of my guitars. This holds a metal slide in place so I can easily get to it and put it back, even in the middle of a song. So I’ve been able to spend a lot more time with the slide since it’s always within reach. The challenge is that I’m always playing slide with standard tuning and light strings. I keep my action on the high side, which is not only good for slide, but it’s also good for vibrato and bending when I’m playing normal guitar without the slide.”

Gilbert also recently announced North American tour dates in support of Behold Electric Guitar. The outing kicked off May 25 in Denver and wraps June 30 in Portland, Oregon. 

You can check out the full itinerary here.