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Artist
Racer X
12+ albums
heavy metalspeed metalhard rockShredmetal
about
Racer X was an American heavy metal band formed in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. The group has gone through a hiatus, and a few lineup changes with bassist Juan Alderete and vocalist Jeff Martin being the sole constant members. The band is signed to Shrapnel Records. Guitarist Paul Gilbert first gained notoriety when he was featured in Mike Varney’s Spotlight Column in the February 1983 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Gilbert was 16 years old and was living in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), part of the Musicians Institute. After graduating from GIT, Gilbert was hired as an instructor and recorded the album "[album artist=Black SheepTrouble in the Streets[/album]" with Los Angeles metal band Black Sheep, released on Enigma Records in November 1985. While at GIT, Gilbert met fellow student Juan Alderete. Searching for a drummer, Alderete and Gilbert first turned to Scott Travis, who was living in Virginia at the time, but he turned down the offer due to his commitment to the band Hawk. Travis was receiving a salary from Doug Marks, the band's lead guitarist, and would not turn down the income. Alderete and Gilbert instead sought the services of fellow student Harry Gschoesser. After acquiring Gschoesser, Gilbert, with the help of Varney, recruited Jeff Martin of the Phoenix metal band Surgical Steel. Martin, who still lived in Phoenix and could not regularly write songs with Racer X in Los A
