Fog riding the coastal marine layer through the Golden Gate at San Francisco, California.

Afternoon smog within a coastal marine layer in West Los Angeles

A marine layer is an air mass which develops over the surface of a large body of water such as the ocean or large lake in the presence of a temperature inversion. The inversion itself is usually initiated by the cooling effect of the water on the surface layer of an otherwise warm air mass.^[1] As it cools, the surface air becomes denser than the warmer air above it, and thus becomes trapped below it. The layer may thicken through turbulence generated within the developing marine layer itself. It may also thicken if the warmer air above it is lifted by an approaching area of low pressure. The layer will also gradually increase its humidity by evaporation of the ocean or lake surface, as well as by the effect of cooling itself.^{[citation needed]} Fog will form within a marine layer where the humidity is high enough and cooling sufficient to produce condensation. Stratus and stratocumulus will also form at the top of a marine layer in the presence of the same conditions there.

In the case of coastal California, the offshore marine layer is typically propelled inland by a pressure gradient which develops as a result of intense heating inland, blanketing coastal communities in cooler air which, if saturated, also contains fog. The fog lingers until the heat of the sun becomes strong enough to evaporate it, often lasting into the afternoon^[2] during the "May gray" or "June gloom" period.^[3] An approaching frontal system or trough can also drive the marine layer onshore. With Southern California's high concentration of military bases, a marine layer propelled inland can be colloquially described as "the marines coming inland".

A marine layer will disperse and break up in the presence of instability such as may be caused by the passage of frontal system or trough, or any upper air turbulence which reaches the surface. A marine layer can also be driven away by sufficiently strong winds.

It is not unusual to hear media weather reporters discuss the marine layer as synonymous with the fog or stratus it may contain, but this is erroneous. In fact, a marine layer can exist with virtually no cloudiness of any kind, although it usually does contain some. The marine layer is a medium within which clouds may form under the right conditions, not the layers of clouds themselves.

See also[link]

• Inversion
• June Gloom
• Santa Ana fog
• Marine
• Catalina eddy

References[link]

This climatology/meteorology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert with Mr.Big at Festivalna Hall, Sofia
Background information
Born	(1966-11-06) November 6, 1966 (age 45) Carbondale, Illinois United States
Genres	Instrumental rock, heavy metal, hard rock, neo-classical metal, speed metal, progressive metal
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, Percussion, Harmonica
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Universal Japan, Shrapnel
Associated acts	Mr. Big, Racer X, G3, Yellow Matter Custard, John Paul Jones, The Evil Stepsisters
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Ibanez PGM signature series, Ibanez Fireman

Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966 in Illinois, USA) is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr. Big, as well as many solo albums and numerous collaborations and guest appearances with other musicians.

He has been voted number 4 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time",^[1] as well as a spot in Guitar World's 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time list.^[2]

Shrapnel Records[link]

Gilbert was raised in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.^[3] Around 1981-82, he first contacted Mike Varney, founder of Shrapnel Records, asking for a gig with Ozzy Osbourne. At the time, Varney couldn't think why Osbourne would want a 15 year old guitarist, but after listening to his demo he changed his mind. Gilbert was featured in Guitar Player magazine at the age of fifteen.^[3] They talked for the next 3 years, until Paul went to L.A. for the GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), and then was ready to record Racer X's debut album Street Lethal.

Racer X[link]

Formed in Los Angeles in 1985, Racer X originally comprised Paul Gilbert (guitar), Juan Alderete (bass), Harry Gschoesser (drums) and Jeff Martin (vocals). They were heavily influenced by Judas Priest and Gilbert's playing was reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen, displaying fast-driven solos with extreme-level technique. Gschoesser was replaced by Scott Travis (later known for being the drummer for Judas Priest) in 1986, and Bruce Bouillet was added as a second guitar player. Bouillet was a very skilled player, as he had to play over Gilbert's always difficult and challenging phrases. Paul Gilbert gained recognition as one of the fastest guitar players in the world due to incredibly technical pieces like "Technical Difficulties" "Frenzy", "Scarified", "Y.R.O." and "Scit Scat Wah". Gilbert left Racer X in 1988. Racer X carried on for a short time with guitarist (and fellow GIT alum) Chris Arvin and vocalist Oni Logan (later of George Lynch's Lynch Mob) when singer Jeff Martin departed to play drums in Jake E. Lee's Badlands, in which he replaced Eric Singer who left to join Alice Cooper. Shortly thereafter, the members of the re-invented Racer X went their separate ways. The original band would eventually reform (although without Bruce Bouillet, who in-turn did produce the first reunion record).

Paul contacted the members of Racer X, and all agreed to return, with the exception of Bruce Bouillet. In mid-1999 the band recorded the album Technical Difficulties. Technical Difficulties went gold in Japan, and Racer X's new record label requested a follow-up. In late 2000, the band released another album, Superheroes. The record was mixed by former Racer X guitarist, Bruce Bouillet.

In order to further capitalize on their new-found success in Japan, Universal Japan requested that the band record a live show for another live CD and DVD. On May 25, 2001, the band played their first live performance in thirteen years to a sold-out crowd at the famed Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. The show was recorded for both audio and video, and in 2002, both the CD and DVD were released under the name Snowball of Doom.

In January 2002, in support of Superheroes and Snowball of Doom, Racer X toured Japan and Taiwan. The band performed these shows in their Superheroes costumes, and the final show, in Yokohama, was hastily recorded in two tracks on the sound board and was to be later released as Snowball of Doom 2. Later that year, Universal Japan pushed for another Racer X release. In October 2002, all four members of Racer X gathered at Gilbert's house in Las Vegas to record Getting Heavier, which was sold alongside Snowball of Doom 2 in a package deal. Although the album was a successful release in Japan, some fans were disappointed with the lighter tracks, which resembled a Paul Gilbert solo album more so than a traditional Racer X album.

Racer X performed at the 2009 NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Andy Timmons and his band opened the show, followed by a solo set from Paul Gilbert, and finally Racer X. The Racer X lineup consists of Paul Gilbert, Scott Travis, Jeff Martin and John Alderete.^[4]

Mr. Big[link]

When Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's band in 1988, he joined with Paul Gilbert, who had left his former band, Racer X. They founded Mr. Big, with Pat Torpey on drums and singer Eric Martin. The band was initially a huge success in Japan, and became famous internationally in 1991, with the release of their second album, Lean Into It. This album featured the ballad "To Be With You", which received strong media play and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Gilbert continued playing in Mr. Big until the late 1990s. He left the band in 1997 to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Richie Kotzen. Mr. Big disbanded in 2002.

In June 2009, Paul Gilbert reunited with original Mr. Big members; Eric Martin (vocals), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey, for a world wide reunion tour. They recorded a new album with producer Kevin Shirley.^[5] titled What If.... The album was released in Japan on Dec. 15th, 2010, in Europe on Jan. 21st, 2011 and in the USA in Feb. 2011. A tour to support the album kicked off at The House of Blues, in Hollywood, CA on April 2, 2011, followed by several dates in Japan in the same month. In May and June 2011, the tour continues in China, Korea, The Philippines and Europe.

Projects[link]

Gilbert performing on March 2, 2007

In May 2003 he played in an only twice-performing project called Yellow Matter Custard, a Beatles cover band consisting also of Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), Neal Morse (ex-Spock's Beard), and Matt Bissonette. In February 2011 Yellow Matter Custard re-formed for 3 Nights Across America. Kasim Sulton replaced Matt Bissonette in the 2011 shows due to other commitments. They took their name from a Beatles lyric in "I Am the Walrus": "Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye".

He rejoined Portnoy along with Dave LaRue and Daniel Gildenlöw for a Led Zeppelin tribute band called Hammer of the Gods in November 2003. The same year, he toured Japan with Linus Of Hollywood, TJ Helmerich, and Scot Coogan in support of his solo albums Burning Organ, Paul the Young Dude/The Best of Paul Gilbert, and Gilbert Hotel. In September 2005, he joined Portnoy, Sean Malone, and Jason McMaster in the Rush tribute band Cygnus and the Sea Monsters. In May 2006, he joined Portnoy, Gary Cherone, and Billy Sheehan to form Amazing Journey: A Tribute to The Who, playing three shows. The band (excluding Sheehan) destroyed their equipment after the show in homage.

He was also revealed to be the guest guitarist on the Neal Morse solo album, Sola Scriptura. In 2007, Paul Gilbert toured with Bruce Bouillet for promotion of his first instrumental album, Get Out of My Yard, which was released in 2006. Also joining him was his wife, Emi Gilbert, on keyboards. Paul Gilbert also joined Joe Satriani and John Petrucci in the 2007 G3 tour. This was the 5th North American G3 run and the 12th tour worldwide since its inception.

On January 23, 2008, Paul released an instrumental CD titled Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar. It was released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in America on April 8, 2008. This is Paul's second instrumental album.^[6]

On October 22, 2008, Paul released an album with vocalist Freddie Nelson entitled United States.^[7] The collaboration has been described as a cross of Queen and Mr. Big.^[8]

Paul with Racer X performed at the 2009 NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Andy Timmons and his band opened the show, followed by a solo set from Gilbert, and finally Racer X. This Racer X lineup consisted of Gilbert, Scott Travis, Jeff Martin and John Alderete.^[4]

Gilbert also joined George Lynch and Richie Kotzen on the Guitar Generation tour.

On June 30, 2010, Gilbert's new album Fuzz Universe was released in Japan, with a release in America and Europe soon after.^[9] It is Paul's 3rd solo album being entirely instrumental.^[9] A cover of Johnny Cash's "Leave That Junk Alone" is featured as a Japanese bonus track.^[9][10]

Influences and Style[link]

Talking about his influences, Paul mentions many different artists, including: Randy Rhoads, Kim Mitchell, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, John J Kirby, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Robin Trower, Ritchie Blackmore, Pat Travers, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, Judas Priest, Akira Takasaki, Steve Clark, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, and The Ramones. Paul has stated many times that he was heavily influenced by his uncle Jimi Kidd who was instrumental in getting Paul interested in playing the guitar. He is also a great fan of The Beach Boys and The Beatles. He states on the Space Ship Live DVD that George Harrison is one of his favorite guitar players. Guitar World magazine declared him one of 50 of the world's fastest guitarists of all time, along with Buckethead, Eddie Van Halen, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Gilbert composes music in a wide variety of styles including pop, rock, metal, blues, funk and european classical music, but is perhaps best known for his versatility and speed. He is noted in particular for his efficient picking and his tendency to pick many notes rather than relying on legato for fast passages.

Instructor[link]

Paul Gilbert wrote his own section of the British guitar magazine, Total Guitar, where he normally demonstrated guitar techniques in the magazine and accompanying CD. Even before that, he contributed instructional articles to Guitar Player Magazine in a late 1980s/early 1990s series entitled "Terrifying Guitar 101". His period of working with Total Guitar spanned thirty-one issues until the November 2006 issue. Paul also teaches at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) regularly, and is also an "honorary dean" of the GIT division in Japan. Paul visits Japan, enjoying the lifestyle like his Shrapnel labelmate Marty Friedman, who still lives in Japan and speaks Japanese fluently. Gilbert is known for his instructional videos, which are often comical in nature. One of his instructional videos includes him pulling a rabbit out of his guitar, putting his guitar in a straightjacket and having presents thrown at him by members of the film crew. Paul also was, for a short time, the guitar teacher of Buckethead, Russ Parrish (A.K.A. Satchell from Steel Panther), Michelle Meldrum (The late wife of Europe guitarist John Norum) and Nicole Couch of Phantom Blue. Gilbert now writes a column for Premier Guitar entitled "Shred Your Enthusiasm".

Gear[link]

Gilbert playing his signature guitar 2007

Paul Gilbert primarily uses his Ibanez PGM signature series guitars,^[11] identified by the unique painted on "F-holes". Although earlier PGM models featured the Ibanez Lo-Pro/Edge double locking tremolo system, many of his guitars (such as his main PGM300) were modified to accommodate a fixed bridge after he stopped using whammy bars in the early 90s, hence the Ibanez PGM301 guitar. Along with his signature guitars, Gilbert often uses his sticker-covered "Dino" Ibanez RG550, in addition to a wide variety of Ibanez solidbody and semi-hollow electric guitars. Recently, Gilbert has been using Ibanez "Fireman" (a reversed-body Ibanez Iceman with single-coil pickups and an extra cutaway) guitars, which he designed himself.^[12] A red version The Ibanez Fireman is to be mass-produced for consumers at a more affordable price than the Ibanez PGMFRM1 (current Paul Gilbert signature Fireman) in Fall 2011.

Regarding amplifiers, Gilbert used A/DA preamps (A/DA MP-1) and rack effects units early in his career prior to switching to Laney amplifiers. He praised the Laney amps as having "the best natural distorted sound of any tube amp ever heard" Since the G3 2007 tour however, Gilbert stated that playing with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci inspired him to take a closer look at his own guitar sound. As a result of his search he found the Marshall Vintage Modern series. He currently uses the Marshall Vintage Modern 2266c combo amps. Paul now uses the Marshall JMD:1 (specifically JMD501) amplifier along with his Vintage Modern amplifier. Paul uses Jim Dunlop Tortex picks, of which he prefers the orange (.60mm) picks. As far as cables Paul uses^[13] Bullet Cable 30' Coiled Cables, Bullet Cable SLUG DIY solderless patch cables for his pedalboard and effects.

Paul has been known to use the following effects:

Paul also used a modified vintage A/DA Flanger from the 1980s (source: Berlin VIP session interview). You can hear it on tracks like 'Bucket of Rocks', and he also uses it on the 'Snowball of Doom' DVD. Paul stated the flanger had been modified. He would set the flanger to self oscillate, which would make the pitch of the resulting signal alternate up and down to create a sound similar to a dive bomb or a pull up on a whammy bar. Unfortunately, during Paul's 2008 European tour, his trusty A/DA Flanger broke. Thankfully, before the pedal broke, he and Ibanez collaborated to make a similar pedal, with both a regular flanger mode and a mode which can be set to create a close approximation of the A/DA pedal's sound, and the pedal has been released as the Ibanez Paul Gilbert AF-2 Airplane Flanger. He also uses the Psilocybe phaser and THC chorus pedals from Home Brew Electronics.

In the intro to "Get Out Of My Yard" Paul uses a Boss DD-3 Delay pedal to achieve the altered pitch looped effect at the beginning of the track. This was also demonstrated by Paul on the instructional DVD of the same name.

He is also famous for using a Makita cordless drill with three picks mounted on the end of it, which he used most famously on the Mr. Big track "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy".

In 2009, Ibanez released a new PGM model, the Ibanez PGM401, which is rather different from most of Paul's previous models, with an ash body (most of his previous models were made of basswood, although his PGM800 guitar was made of lightweight ash, a similar but different wood than that used in the PGM401), Trifade Burst finish, Cosmo Black hardware and a regular headstock replacing the reversed one of the previous models. Also, rather than the DiMarzio PAF Pro, Tone Zone and Super Distortion pickups used in his previous models, the PGM401 comes with Paul's favorite humbucker model for the past five years, the DiMarzio Air Classic, arranged in a dual humbucker arrangement. Paul has stated that he had the bridge pickup moved 1mm closer to the neck, which he said results in a warmer and thicker sound, particularly for the high notes he often uses in soloing. The F-holes are 3% smaller, to make the look more balanced with the pickup mounting rings. But perhaps the biggest difference from other current Ibanez guitar models, is that the PGM401 uses the old late-1980s neckjoint, which is thicker than the current neckjoints on other Ibanez guitars.^[14]

In 2011, Ibanez released a new model for Gilbert the FRM100. The design of the FRM100 was inspired by many hours of playing and performance by Paul Gilbert with the original Ibanez Fireman model featuring a distinctive reverse Iceman body outline ^[15]

Discography[link]

Racer X[link]

• Street Lethal (1986)
• Second Heat (1987)
• Extreme Volume Live (1988)
• Extreme Volume II Live (1992)
• Technical Difficulties (1999)
• Superheroes (2000)
• Snowball of Doom (2002)
• Getting Heavier (2002)
• Snowball of Doom 2 (2002)

Mr. Big[link]

• Mr. Big (1989)
• Raw Like Sushi (1990)
• Lean Into It (1991)
• Raw Like Sushi II (1992)
• Bump Ahead (1993)
• Japandemonium: Raw Like Sushi 3 (1994)
• Channel V at the Hard Rock Live (1996)
• Hey Man (1996)
• Big Bigger Biggest: Greatest Hits (1996)
• Next Time Around Best Of (2009)
• Back To Budokan Live (2009)
• What If... (2011)

Solo Albums[link]

• Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (EP) (1991) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #59)
• King of Clubs (1998) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #28)
• Flying Dog (1998) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #23)
• Beehive Live (1999) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #72)
• Alligator Farm (2000) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #24)
• Raw Blues Power With Jimi Kidd (2002) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #94)
• Burning Organ (2002) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #27)
• Paul the Young Dude/The Best of Paul Gilbert (2003) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #31)
• Gilbert Hotel (2003)
• Acoustic Samurai (2003) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #94)
• Space Ship One (2005) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #53)
• Get Out of My Yard (2006) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #52)
• Tough Eskimo (limited edition EP) (2007)
• Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar (2008) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #39)
• United States With Freddie Nelson (2009)
• Fuzz Universe (2010) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #57)

Other appearances[link]

• Trouble In The Streets- Black Sheep(1985)
• Atomic Basement Tapes - Missing Lynx (1985)
• Revelation - Darrell Mansfield Band (1985)
• Pump It!' - Jeff Berlin (1986)
• Out of the Sun - Joey Tafolla (1990)
• Humanary Stew - A Tribute to Alice Cooper
• Guitars That Rule the World (1992)
• Smoke On The Water: A Tribute (1994)
• Samad: Samad Lead Guitar on "Joget" and "Animo" (1994)
• Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle (1996)
• Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus (track "Dislocated") (1996)
• Akira Takasaki - Wa (1996)
• Merry Axemas - A Guitar Christmas (1997)
• Mikazuki^{[disambiguation needed ]} "In Rock" Sound Track, Guitar on tracks "Crescent Moon" & "Theme for Kazeo" (2000)
• Becker 2001, Warmth in the Wilderness -A Tribute to Jason Becker(Guitar and vocals for Hawkin)
• Hughes Turner Project - HTP (2002)
• Battle Gear III: The Edge (played on "Charge and Discharge," "Morning View," and "The Machine of Rage" bonus tracks) (2003)
• Kim Fox Return to Planet Earth (2003) Guitar on track 4
• Guitar Wars (2003)
• Return to the Planet Earth - Kim Fox (2003)
• One Night in New York City - Yellow Matter Custard (2003) Available @ MikePortnoy.com
• Mieze - Marco Minnemann (2004)
• Five Feet...No Inches - Pintsize (2005)
• Contraire de la chanson - Marco Minnemann (2006)
• Parador (track "Joke") - Wisely (2006)
• Light at the End of the Tunnel - War and Peace (2006) (with Richie Kotzen, John Norum, Jeff Pilson)
• Two Nights In North America - Hammer of the Gods (2006) Available @ MikePortnoy.com
• One Night in Chicago - Cygnus and the Sea Monsters (2006) Available @ MikePortnoy.com
• Live with Sex Machineguns - Tokyo (2005)
• One Night in New York City - Amazing Journey (2007) Available @ MikePortnoy.com
• Spin The Bottle - An All Star Tribute To Kiss (guitars on "I Want You") (2004)
• Numbers from the Beast - An All Star Tribute to Iron Maiden (guitars on "The Evil That Men Do") (2005)
• Evil Lives: A True Metal Tribute to Black Sabbath (with Racer X on Track 4: "Children of the Grave") (2006)
• The Fool - Jeff Martin solo album (2006)
• Sola Scriptura - Neal Morse (2007)
• G3 Tour (2007)
• Lifeline - Neal Morse (2008)
• Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Doesn't Make You Slash) - MC Lars (2008)
• Bowling for Soup - Merry Flippin' Christmas Volume 1 (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause) (2009)

Videography[link]

• Intense Rock Jams - Sequences & Techniques VHS version
• Intense Rock II featuring Paul Gilbert VHS version
• Guitars from Mars Japanese DVD release
• Guitars from Mars II Japanese DVD release
• Terrifying Guitar Trip VHS version
• Eleven Thousand Notes DVD
• Guitar Wars DVD
• Space Ship Live DVD (2005)
• Complete Intense Rock DVD (2006)
• Terrifying Guitar Trip DVD (2006)
• Get Out Of My Yard Guitar Instructional (string skipping) DVD (2007)
• Get Out Of My City Guitar Instructional DVD/VCD (2007)
• One Night In New York City - Yellow Matter Custard (2003)
• Two Nights In North America - Hammer Of The Gods (2006)
• One Night In Chicago - Cygnus And The Sea Monsters (2006)
• One Night In New York City - Amazing Journey (2007)
• Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar Guitar Instructional DVD And Shred Annex (2008)
• The Last Note of Freedom

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Gilbert

• The official Paul Gilbert site
• The official Racer X site
• Paul Gilbert - Rock Squad Interview
• Gilbert's solo on Mr Big site
• Paul Gilbert on Last.fm
• Paul Gilbert artist page at Guitar Video Channel

Dane Reynolds
Personal information
Born	(1985-09-07) September 7, 1985 (age 26) Long Beach, California
Residence	Ventura, California
Height	6 ft 00 in (1.83 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Surfing career
Years active	2008-present
Best year	4th - 2010 ASP World Tour
Career earnings	$357,325
Sponsors	Quiksilver, Vans, Monster Energy Drink, Channel Islands, and Boost Mobile
Surfing specifications
Stance	Regular (natural foot)
Website	Marine Layers Productions (his blog)

Dane Reynolds (born September 7, 1985 in Long Beach, California) is a professional surfer from Ventura, California^[1]. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers^[2].

Reynolds started surfing at the age of 10 after he moved from Bakersfield, California to Ventura^[3]. It was here on the point breaks around Santa Barbara and Ventura that he honed his progressive style of surfing. Reynolds first started competing at age 13 and at 16 had dropped out of school to surf^[4].

Reynolds competed in the 2003 and 2004 X-Games and received the highest single wave score both years^[5]. The 2008 ASP World Tour marked his rookie year on the esteemed tour after finishing 2nd on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) behind Jordy Smith. His ranking on the WCT in 2008 was 19th with 4066 points, then he moved up to the coveted "Top Ten" (10th) in 2009 with 5219 points^[1]. In 2010 Reynolds had a breakout year, ending up tied for fourth in the 2010 ASP World Tour with Taj Burrow. His 2011 tour started disappointly missing the first three events due to a knee injury.^[6]

Reynold's first video, "First Chapter", won Best Male Performance in a Video and Video of the Year at the 2006 Surfer Poll Awards^[5].

Major sponsors of Dane Reynolds include Quiksilver, Channel Islands, Vans^[7]

Films[link]

• Damage inc.
• First Chapter
• Young Guns
• Young Guns 2
• Young Guns 3
• Dude Cruise
• Stranger Than Fiction
• Days of the Strange
• The Present
• The Collection
• Modern Collective
• Castles in the Sky
• Thrills Spills And What Not
• Lost Atlas

References[link]

External links[link]

• Reynold's bio page on Quiksilver.com
• Dane's blog: travel, music, art and surfing
• ASP Surfer Profile

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This biographical article related to water sports is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

The Edge
Background information
Birth name	David Howell Evans
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 50) Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Origin	County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Island, Mercury
Associated acts	U2, Passengers
Website	www.u2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gretsch Country Gentleman Gretsch White Falcon Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),^[1] is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record Zooropa, and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

The Edge at a U2 concert in Anaheim (2005)

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,^[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.^[1] When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.^[3] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change).^[3] U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.^[3] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.^[4] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".^[3] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.^[5] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.^[4] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.^[4]

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999),^[4] before marrying on 22 June 2002.^[4] He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.^[6] The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California.^[7] The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location."^[7] The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.^[7]

Music style[link]

Guitar playing[link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.^{[citation needed]}

On 1987's The Joshua Tree, The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."^[9]

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique.^{[citation needed]} His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument.^[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."^[9] The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals[link]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".^[4] He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday).^[10] He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down.

Other instruments[link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of The Batman. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge was released digitally.^[11] The music video was released on July 28, 2011.^[12]

Musical equipment[link]

Edge's 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour.

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.^[13]

See also[link]

• Timeline of U2
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Edge

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Edge

• U2.com, official U2 site
• Music Rising
• The Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Edge – Album Credits
• A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay
• The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'
• Food Bank For New York City public service announcement
• Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound