Bio

Paul Victor

The name Paul Victor is synonymous with musical virtuosity. Paul has described his style as a mix of fusion, soul, rock and blues music, utilizing a loaded amount of sweeping and legato in his playing. His main influences are Al DiMeola, Jimi Hendrix, Tony MacAlpine, JJ Cale, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert. Paul was born on the Island of St Lucia. At the age of seven, Paul started playing guitar. He attended high school in the USVI where he played guitar in the jazz band, impressing audiences with his amazing technique. From there, he went to university in Minnesota, where he performed regularly and had the opportunity to open for BB Winans and White Heart. In 1987, he was asked to audition for a funk band called FTE (created out of "The Time" Fame). His chops made him stand out in the clubs, and he developed a whole new following. Paul was soon asked to be the guitar teacher for Mercedes, an all-female band produced by Jam and Lewis. During this time, he was a sought-after studio musician in Minneapolis and was asked to join the band Alice. In 1991, Paul won the second of his four Guitar Wars contests; the last of which Al Pitrelli (TSO) saw as a judge. Al said he was, “blown away” by the chops Paul showed that night, as he played his signature two-minute solo, a medley of Beethoven’s Fifth, Fur Elise, the William Tell Overture, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and his dazzling speed arpeggio and Bach inventions. In the late 90s, Paul played to sold out shows with the musical Beehive, a theatrical production on the women who shaped music from the 60's to the 70's. He also played two concert events for Ron Kenoly, who was thoroughly impressed with Paul's skill, replicating Paul Jackson Junior for those concerts. In 2006 and 2007, Paul played concerts with Hillsong Church, led by Darlene Zschech; and by 2009, he was approached by Quickstar Productions to use his song "Send Me an Angel" on their compilation CD "Unified by Grace," a project in which proceeds would go to help the orphanages in Africa. Paul completed and released his solo CD, "Time Machine" in 2010, a CD from the heart where Paul shows his varied influences from the Scott Henderson-esque single, "Musetta," to the blues derived, "Dance Angel." Paul also shows the depth of his writing with the instrumental, "Farewell Don't Cry". His latest CD promises to be amazing and again eclectic, with instrumentals from smooth jazz to fusion.