Kirk Hammett Tells His First Meeting with METALLICA
Legendary guitarist Kirk Hammett talks about how he felt when he heard the name METALLICA and his first meeting with METALLICA.
We can all answer when you ask us who are the members of METALLICA. (James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo) But do we know how they got together? At least today we will find out how Kirk Hammett met METALLICA and how he got involved in the group.
Yesterday (December 22), we shared my favorite 3 solo articles by Kirk Hammett. Click here to read this interesting article.
Kirk Hammett recently spoke to Gibson and recalled a bit of the past. Kirk Hammett heard the name METALLICA from EXODUS lead singer Paul Baloff. He thought this name was totally crazy and was the best music band name on earth. Of course, we also agree with this thought; “That is the best name I think I’ve ever heard for a metal band – METALLICA.”
He went to see METALLICA‘s concert in San Francisco before he was in the group. He says there are only 15 people there, but it doesn’t matter because the band very impressed him.
A few months later, they took the stage as the front band of METALLICA at a concert called ‘Metal Monday’. “We were, like, ‘Oh, this is cool – we’re going to be playing with METALLICA, that’s great.’ And I remember when we played that show, there were maybe about a hundred people in the club. And then METALLICA went on, and the place was packed. I don’t know where the people came from, but all of a sudden, they just showed up.”
How Did Kirk Hammett Met METALLICA?
He explains this in a very entertaining way because every time he told it, people were surprised. This meeting was not an incredible moment, actually funny. That’s why Kirk Hammett thinks it’s fun to answer this question; “I met those guys for the first time in the dressing of the Mabuhay Gardens, which wasn’t much of a dressing room at all – it was like an indoor alley. That was the beginning of my relationship with them.
“And it’s hilarious because years after that, people would ask me, ‘When was the first time you ever talked to those guys?’ And I would say, ‘I first met ’em at the Mab.”
