Gibson Publishing presents The Collection: Kirk Hammett, available in Custom, Deluxe, and Standard Editions now in The Metallica Store and at Gibson.com.
In a new interview supporting the book, Hammett spoke with Forbes about his vintage guitar collection, musical legacy, and why he still holds great value to the power of inspiration. An excerpt follows…
Forbes: Apart from your unique style of playing, one thing that has always separated you from other iconic guitarist has been your consistent enthusiasm and love for the guitar as an instrument. How have you maintained such a healthy relationship with the guitar and guitar playing after all these years?
Kirk Hammett: “I’ve been this way ever since the very beginning. Ever since I first saw a guitar it looked like a hot rod or a rocket ship or something. It looked like something that had momentum and speed, and it was some sort of vehicle. And, I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always just loved my guitar and my amp. And I love music, and I love playing, and I love learning things. I love playing with people, I love discoveries. I’m inspired a lot. I’m inspired almost every day and just like my whole world is wrapped up in music. And ever since I could remember, you know, I’ve had music in my head. I’ve had a jukebox in my head.
“I can recall songs and listen to them completely in my head, which I think a lot of musicians can do. Music is constantly playing in my head. And, you know, when I want to, I can just daze off and just listen to the music in my head for it seems like forever. And so when a guitar came into my immediate orbit, it made sense. It made perfect sense because ever since I can remember there was music in my house, whether it’s classical music, bossa nova, jazz, you know, freaking opera, which I cannot sit through even to this day.
“But, I’ve always had music around me and in my head. And even today, I woke up and there’s f**ing, like, three riffs in my head. I had to grab my guitar and just pound them out. Like it’s who I am. And I have so many goddamn guitars, I have to tell myself, don’t look at guitars, don’t buy any more guitars.
“But for me, I’ve done a lot of investigating and research. Music is ancient. There’s no point where anyone can pinpoint the beginning of music. It’s freaking ancient, and the guitar is almost as ancient as music itself. You know, people say the first guitars were rabbit traps. They’d put a carrot in a box with strings over the hole, and the rabbit would squeeze through the strings but wouldn’t be able to get back out.
“The guitar and the kithara have always been around ever since the gods. And the gods are depicted holding lyres and kitharas, and those two instruments were the precedent for guitars. Those little instruments that Pythagoras split into, he took the tension of the string and split it and created the octave, and then he split it three more times to create the first, the second, and the third, and then he split it more to create arpeggios and scales.
“So my point being is that I’m just a part of a freaking long legacy of people who just love music and just feel like their whole life revolves around music from beginning to end. And we can get even deeper metaphysically and I could say, you know, it feels like I’ve always been a musician through all these countless lifetimes I’ve been through.
“It just feels like I’m always returning back to the guitar and that sense of familiarity when I hear music. It’s crazy and it’s insane and I don’t really know what to say about all these feelings other than it’s what I feel, and those are the thoughts that pop into my brain.
“I believe in the power of inspiration and that’s because the power of inspiration hit me so hard when I was 15 years old, whether it’s Hendrix or Michael Shanker or Jeff Beck or Richie Blackmore. That power of inspiration hit me like a brick, and it still motivates me to this day. And I hope and I hope that if I have just 10 percent of that inspiring sort of ability in other people, I’m gonna freaking pass from this earth a happy happy man. Because I’ve contributed a lot in the world of music, in the world of art and expression, but man the real ace in the hole is inspiring other people to make music and the music of the future.”
Read the complete interview at Forbes.com.
The 400-page luxury coffee table book, The Collection: Kirk Hammett, explores Kirk’s extraordinary arsenal of guitars in unprecedented detail. It includes exclusive new interviews conducted by Gibson Editor-in-Chief Chris Vinnicombe and Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi, alongside stunning new and archival photos from Ross Halfin.
The limited Custom and Deluxe Editions are signed by Kirk Hammett and include plenty of other goodies any collector will love. Check out each version now in The Met Store for complete details.
Shop here.
The post METALLICA’s KIRK HAMMETT On His Relationship With The Guitar – “Music Is Ancient… And The Guitar Is Almost As Ancient As Music Itself” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
In a new interview supporting the book, Hammett spoke with Forbes about his vintage guitar collection, musical legacy, and why he still holds great value to the power of inspiration. An excerpt follows…
Forbes: Apart from your unique style of playing, one thing that has always separated you from other iconic guitarist has been your consistent enthusiasm and love for the guitar as an instrument. How have you maintained such a healthy relationship with the guitar and guitar playing after all these years?
Kirk Hammett: “I’ve been this way ever since the very beginning. Ever since I first saw a guitar it looked like a hot rod or a rocket ship or something. It looked like something that had momentum and speed, and it was some sort of vehicle. And, I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always just loved my guitar and my amp. And I love music, and I love playing, and I love learning things. I love playing with people, I love discoveries. I’m inspired a lot. I’m inspired almost every day and just like my whole world is wrapped up in music. And ever since I could remember, you know, I’ve had music in my head. I’ve had a jukebox in my head.
“I can recall songs and listen to them completely in my head, which I think a lot of musicians can do. Music is constantly playing in my head. And, you know, when I want to, I can just daze off and just listen to the music in my head for it seems like forever. And so when a guitar came into my immediate orbit, it made sense. It made perfect sense because ever since I can remember there was music in my house, whether it’s classical music, bossa nova, jazz, you know, freaking opera, which I cannot sit through even to this day.
“But, I’ve always had music around me and in my head. And even today, I woke up and there’s f**ing, like, three riffs in my head. I had to grab my guitar and just pound them out. Like it’s who I am. And I have so many goddamn guitars, I have to tell myself, don’t look at guitars, don’t buy any more guitars.
“But for me, I’ve done a lot of investigating and research. Music is ancient. There’s no point where anyone can pinpoint the beginning of music. It’s freaking ancient, and the guitar is almost as ancient as music itself. You know, people say the first guitars were rabbit traps. They’d put a carrot in a box with strings over the hole, and the rabbit would squeeze through the strings but wouldn’t be able to get back out.
“The guitar and the kithara have always been around ever since the gods. And the gods are depicted holding lyres and kitharas, and those two instruments were the precedent for guitars. Those little instruments that Pythagoras split into, he took the tension of the string and split it and created the octave, and then he split it three more times to create the first, the second, and the third, and then he split it more to create arpeggios and scales.
“So my point being is that I’m just a part of a freaking long legacy of people who just love music and just feel like their whole life revolves around music from beginning to end. And we can get even deeper metaphysically and I could say, you know, it feels like I’ve always been a musician through all these countless lifetimes I’ve been through.
“It just feels like I’m always returning back to the guitar and that sense of familiarity when I hear music. It’s crazy and it’s insane and I don’t really know what to say about all these feelings other than it’s what I feel, and those are the thoughts that pop into my brain.
“I believe in the power of inspiration and that’s because the power of inspiration hit me so hard when I was 15 years old, whether it’s Hendrix or Michael Shanker or Jeff Beck or Richie Blackmore. That power of inspiration hit me like a brick, and it still motivates me to this day. And I hope and I hope that if I have just 10 percent of that inspiring sort of ability in other people, I’m gonna freaking pass from this earth a happy happy man. Because I’ve contributed a lot in the world of music, in the world of art and expression, but man the real ace in the hole is inspiring other people to make music and the music of the future.”
Read the complete interview at Forbes.com.
The 400-page luxury coffee table book, The Collection: Kirk Hammett, explores Kirk’s extraordinary arsenal of guitars in unprecedented detail. It includes exclusive new interviews conducted by Gibson Editor-in-Chief Chris Vinnicombe and Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi, alongside stunning new and archival photos from Ross Halfin.
The limited Custom and Deluxe Editions are signed by Kirk Hammett and include plenty of other goodies any collector will love. Check out each version now in The Met Store for complete details.
Shop here.
The post METALLICA’s KIRK HAMMETT On His Relationship With The Guitar – “Music Is Ancient… And The Guitar Is Almost As Ancient As Music Itself” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
