One of the most challenging aspects of forming a band can be The Name. I say it with all seriousness. Put four or five guys in a room together, tell them to choose a name they all think sounds cool and you’ll get some absolutely laughable names.

Don’t think so? Try it, please. It’s actually pretty funny.

I remember when a few friends and I formed a band back in high school. We weren’t too bad, by my own admission I was definitely the worst. We were full of angst and eager to show the world how unhappy we were with bedtimes and eating all your vegetables.

Some of the band names we came up with were, looking back, hilariously bad and still shockingly embarrassing. To save my friends from a lifetime of shame, and also manage to get myself out of it, I’ll refrain from mentioning any. However, I can’t leave you with nothing. The name we finally settled on was To The Grave. It did well for a time, there was a record deal with a (really) small label, but ultimately we discovered a rather popular band in the UK with the same name. Bugger.

Some incredibly awesome bands have horrible names. Off the top of my head, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, R.E.M, Smashing Pumpkins and Artic Monkeys all make really great music, but the names? No.

Ever been interested in how your favourite band finally settled on their name? Take a look at these lists, it might not have them, but if it does it’s rather cool to know. Can’t get enough trivia!

Origin of Rock Band Names

List of Rock Band Etymologies

And the guys at Cracked.com have put out another freaking awesome list, The 25 Most Ridiculous Band Names in Rock History. Mega-funny stuff.

If any of you have stories on how you chose your band’s name, let me know!

]]> http://www.guitarzzz.com/2008/whats-in-a-name/feed/ 1 http://www.guitarzzz.com/2008/whats-in-a-name/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Guitarzzz/~3/m8m7sKbSMw8/ http://www.guitarzzz.com/2008/rise-of-the-theme-songs/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:11:30 +0000 Jason http://www.guitarzzz.com/?p=290

Theme songs are a tricky thing. Some theme songs are so annoying you contemplate a life as a hermit upon hearing them (or maybe that’s just me), while other theme songs are super catchy, fun and almost meme-like. Think of The Flintstones, who doesn’t remember that tune. Ninja Turtles! Power Rangers! Animaniacs!

Now, a classic equation is:
Something cool + something awesome + a dedicated Korean guy + Youtube.com = something so unbelievably, awe-inspiringly awesomely cool that it defies understanding in the everyday Joe’s brain.

Zack Kim is a South Korean guy, born in 1983, that has mastered the art of “Free Handing”. This is a technique pioneered by an Emmett Chapman in 1969. One has to see it to believe it, but for me, it’s as if someone is using the techniques for playing a piano on a guitar. In Zack Kim’s case, two guitars. Yes, two!

Here are two videos of Zack Kim playing theme songs. These are two of my personal favourites, but there are many more. I’d love to see someone upload something they’ve tried. If you can do this, you are a guitar god!

The Simpsooooons!

Who could forget Super Mario!

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a rockstar, the new Hendrix or a progressive god like Beck? Dreaming of doing stage jumps onto a crowd of adoring, beautiful Swedish girls? Don’t we all.

What you need first though, is a guitar! Yes, seemingly obvious though, isn’t it?
Well yes, but you need to get your hands on the right equipment. Buying some knock off piece of plywood that will warp in a month is not the way to go.

Three really easy steps that we all tend to skip on all make mistakes with, Patience! Control! Research!

• Patience – You really don’t have to buy the guitar on the spot, that day. Go home and sleep on it. Buyers remorse really sucks. Trust me.

• Keep your cool – Don’t let some snazzy salesman try and sell you a hunk of crap. If he or she is being pushy, tell them that. Commission does terrible things to a person.

• Research! – This is incredibly important. Read some blogs, guitar tech sites and general buyers guides. Make sure you know what it is you’re looking for and where to get it.

Here are five really great starter guitars.

1. Squier Fat Stratocaster
“Squier Strat”
This are one of several Squier models available that offer a pretty good product for a reasonably low price. The pick-ups and hardware are sometimes suspect, and the workmanship varies from instrument to instrument, but for the price, these are a very good beginner guitar choice. The look of the instrument is appealling – Squier Fat Strats are similar in appearance to the much more expensive Fender Stratocasters.

2. Epiphone G-310 SG
“Epiphone SG”
Modelled after the much more expensive Gibson SG guitars, the Epiphone SG G310 keeps it’s cost low by using cheaper hardware and lower quality humbucking pick-ups. The G-310 features an alder body, a mahogany neck, and a dot-inlayed rosewood fingerboard. The buzz on this guitar is it’s a very good value for the money.

3. Yamaha PAC012DLX Pacifica Series HSS Deluxe
Here’s another guitar many people feel is a great value. This Pacifica features an agathis body, maple neck, and rosewood fretboard, with two single coil pick-ups, and one humbucker. The consensus is the guitar is reasonably well made, and the quality of the wood tends to be high. Those who go on to become serious guitarists might want to consider upgrading the electronics of the Pacifica HSS.

4. Squier Affinity Series Telecaster
Guitarists like Keith Richards, Steve Cropper, Albert Lee, and Danny Gatton favor the look and sound of the Telecaster. If you’re a fan of any of those guitarists, this beginner guitar may be for you. The Affinity Telecaster features an alder body, with a maple neck and fretboard.

5. Epiphone Les Paul Special II
The Les Paul is perhaps the most famous guitar in rock and roll. Epiphone has done a good job of visually re-creating the Les Paul in this lower-cost guitar marketed towards beginners. The Special II features a laminated alder/maple body, a magogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, and two open-coil humbucking pick-ups.
These might be slightly pricier than basic entry-level guitars, but they’ll pay off in the long run. Just keep practicing those chords!

Stay tuned for a post on what amp to buy. Remember, you could have a great guitar but with a shoebox amplifier, you’re not going to get many bras thrown your way.

With the U.S elections looming, one can’t go anywhere or do anything with hearing something about Obama’s family, McCain’s time in a POW camp or Palin’s wardrobe. Sick of it? You wouldn’t be the only one.

Everyone seems to be highly clued up to what’s going on, well, except McCain. (Oooh).
Even two astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be voting via a supposedly secure electronic uplink. Damn, that’s impressive.

Musicians and actors from across the board have been supporting both sides.
One Obama’s team is the Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne (who was more than a little annoyed by McCain’s use of his song), Heart (another act who’s song was used without permission), alt-country icon Steve Earle, Tom Morello, Barbara Streisand (although I think that might be more hurtful than helpful), Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. Now isn’t that a list. Obama even had to distance himself from a track of Ludacris’ who was a bit… overly excited.

On the red team is John Rich from Big and Rich, who is an ardent Republican and huge McCain fan, ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, a longtime Republican, was okay with the usage of the track “Right Now” to introduce running-mate Palin even though the rest of the band were rather peeved.

Other artists include LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, John Rich and believe it or not… Daddy Yankee. Yup, the reggaeton artist is surprisingly an passionate McCain. He’s held free concerts for both Republican delegates and reggaeton fans alike. It’s a rather awkward situation with Daddy Yankee awkward at social functions and McCain having to pretend he knows who Daddy Yankee actually is.

Outspoken hard rocker Ted Nugent is a huge fan of both McCain and Palin, but then he would be seeing as he advocates the NRA. He’s such a dedicated supporter of Sarah Palin that he’s actually sent her an advance copy of his book, “Ted, White & Blue: The Nugent Manifesto.”

Crazy.

Tomorrow, on the 3rd of November, on the Japanese network NHK, the former Megadeth guitarist, Marty Friedman will appear on a special two-hour program call “The Power Of Presidential Speeches”. He will discuss his views and supposedly give a “gives a rare and unique in-depth commentary” on the elections. Hmm… I’ll have to see it to believe it.

He’ll be up along side top Japanese Political analysts discussing the presidential race in all its entirety.

Marty, now with Lovefixer, has been busy man with the new project in pre-production, tentatively due in early 2009.

Lovefixer is said to be the first-ever American/Japanese collaboration in Japanese rock, which features Marty on guitar and Shinichiro “Sin” Suzuki on vocals. The group made its live debut in Sapporo in August 2007.
Infamous rap rock legends, Rage Against The Machine, who’ve always had something to say on U.S political ideals, have been vocal about the notorious Iraq-war, saying that both Obama and McCain have to agree on getting troops out of there as soon as possible. They’re not even happy with Obama’s 2010 withdrawal plan.
So with the election on everyone’s lips, it seems even the stars have something to say. Hold thumbs for your candidate, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

Say what you want, but U2 are awesome. From the early days right until How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, U2 have remained a consistently cool rock band, something that many of their peers have struggled to achieve.

With 22 Grammy’s behind them, they have proven to be a band to be named for many decades to come. Yes, Bono can be slightly annoying, with his preachy messages. What we forget is that they’ve got more money they can spend, and yet they still care about us common folk. Yay for a conscience!

Although Bono and his sunglasses attract the most publicity, another side of U2 is equally important, that of The Edge.

Born David Howell Evans in Barking, Essex, in East London to Welsh parents, Garvin and Gwenda Evans. When he was just a year old, he and his family including his older brother Richard (Dik) and younger sister Gillian moved to Mahalide in County Dublin Dublun.

The Edge went to St. Andrew’s National School where he received training in guitar and piano and frequently performed with his older brother, Dik Evans. The Edge, Dik Evans, Adam Clayton and Bono answered an advertisement by Larry Mullen, Jr. to form a band.
This band would go through many different forms until in March 1978,U2 emerged. Dik Evans had left the band before the name change. U2 then began playing shows all around Ireland, and released Boy, their debut album, in 1980.

In 1981, The Edge came very close to quitting U2 for religious reasons but was luckily persuaded to stay. Him, Bono and Larry Mullen, Jr. started a side project called Shalom Tigers around this time. After his decision to remain with the band, The Edge wrote what was to become Sunday Bloody Sunday. The Edge married his high school sweetheart, Aislinn O’Sullivan on the 12th of July in 1983. They had three daughters together. They separated in 1990, and when Irish law allowed divorce, settled apart in 1996.

On the Zoo TV Tour, what Q magazine called “still the most spectacular rock tour staged by any band”; The Edge met Morleigh Steinberg, a dancer and choreographer. The couple began dating in 1993 and had a daughter in 1997 and a son in 1999. They were officially married on the 22nd of June in 2002.

As a guitarist, The Edge is known as having a trademark sound typified by understatement, a shimmering, chiming sound (in part, created with the VOX AC-30s) accomplished by the extensive use of digital reverb, delay effects and a focus on melody and texture.
To achieve an “Edge-like” sound, the digital delay’s delay is set to a dotted eight note (3/16 of a measure), and its “feedback” adjusted until the number of repeats is about 2 or 3.

The Edge’s guitar technique has been shaped by many different influences. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar, with which his brother Dik Evans and he experimented. 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.”

The Edge’s guitar influence can be heard in bands such as Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay, Angels & Airwaves, progressive metal pioneers Dream Theater, and much of the indie and alternative scene, such as current acts Editors and Switchfoot.

If all the above was cool enough, in 2002 The Edge was given his very own Irish coin. He has had his face minted onto a coin currently in circulation. How awesome is that, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind my ugly mug on a coin forever.

A while ago this music video by DragonForce did the rounds on Digg and Stumbleupon. People were posting it on their MySpace and Twitters. If you hadn’t seen it, you sucked. End of story.
Well, I feel a bit bad for those of you living in a bunker for fear of the Reds coming, so we’re posting it again.
Legendary power metal band, DragonForce have made a relatively simple music video that just screams awesome. The highlight is definitely the solo. Try and see if you can follow those finger movements. I sure as hell know I can’t.

DragonForce have just released a new album, I haven’t got around to listening to it yet, but if it’s anything like their previous work, you can expect epic solos, pounding drumwork, fun-as-hell lyrical themes and the usual video game sound they’re loved for.

Something that for me is even more awesome is the fact that ZP Theart, the DragonForce vocalist, is from good ol’ South Africa here on the tip of the dark continent. We don’t export many cool entertainment figures, let alone metal legends, so for me to say that ZP Theart came from the one horse (now deceased) town of Clanwilliam is pretty nifty. By the way, Charlize Theron was never, and will never be cool.

Oh, and before I forget. I challenge you guys to upload a fan video. If you can play Through Fire and Flames you definitely rock bigtime.

So here it is in case you missed it! Go out and get some albums!

Personally, whenever I think of Queen I always remember We Will Rock You. I know it’s because during my earlier years at school, it was always (ALWAYS) the theme song at interschool events. It wasn’t until I grew a little older that I learnt to enjoy Queen, now I can’t get enough. I blame my infantile behavior on the jocks. Perfect scapegoat!

Besides Freddie Mercury, who we all know of and dig. You can’t not like the guy. Well, his legacy at least. Brian May, the guitarist is occasionally overlooked, not often, but often enough. Here’s a little bio-piece on one of the most famous guys out there.

Brian May is a world-renowned guitarist and songwriter with four decades as a musician behind him. The many recordings of him, with performance and production credits, have sold over 100 million copies around the globe.

Some of May’s most well known tracks are ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘Save Me’, No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’ and ‘I Want It All’. Talk about having street cred to your name.  As a solo artist he has released Another World (1998) and Back To The light (1992) as well as scoring the film, Furia.

Born as Brian Harold May in Hampton, Richmond, May went to Hampton Grammar School and started his first band with vocalist Tim Staffell that was called 1984 (after the George Orwell novel of the same name). He graduated from the Hampton Grammar School with ten GCE Ordinary Levels and four Advanced Levels in Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Additional Mathematics

May has often said that in the 1980’s he siuffered from sever depression and often-contemplated suicide. He believes that any drug use would have worsened his problems.
May went on to study Physics at Imperial College London, and graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) degree and ARCS with Upper Second-Class Honours. May then went on to study for a Ph D degree again at the Imperial College London’s department of Physics and Mathematics and was halfway with his degree when Queen made it big. He has authored many scientific articles relating to phyics and coauthored the book, Bang! – The Complete History of the Universe.

Queen originally started in 1971 when May and drummer, Roger Taylor, who had been in bands together before decided to start another band with vocalist and piano player, Freddie Mercury. Bassist John Deacon joined Queen in 1972 and they signed to EMI Records. The first album, Queen, was released in 1973, a mixture of glam rock and hard rock.
Queen went on to release to 15 more studio albums as well as becoming pop culture icons. They not only released a huge amount of videos that are to this day still popular, but also influenced countless acts.  In July 2005, Guinness World Records announced that Queen had overtaken The Beatles to become the most successful albums act in UK chart history. They were not without their controversial aspects though, such as Freddie Mercury’s homosexuality, his reluctance to state that he had AIDs and their performances in Sun City, South Africa whilst Apartheid was still in power.

May has influenced many musicians from many generations. These include Def Leppoard, Shirley Bassey, Elton John, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and even controversial rapper Eminem. May has performed with many artists as well, these include Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Luciano Pavarotti, Robbie Williams, Cliff Richards and Diana Ross. He even played guitar for the opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics. May has also worked and scored for theater. Together with the other members of Queen, May set up the Mercury Phoenix Trust, named after Freddie Mercury. Together they have raised over eight million pounds.
Overall, no one can say that Brian May has not been a successful man. Not only was he a member of one of the most influential bands of the century, but he is also a pretty smart guy. In 2008 he finally graduated with his Ph D.

We here at Guitarzzz.com love lists. They’re fun and don’t hurt our lil’ brains. Some of the most important things ever written were in lists; think of the 10 Commandments! Life would be pretty easy if everything were in lists.

If there is something I like more than a good list, it’s a funny list, especially if it’s poking fun at something.

Nu-metal. Hell, to be honest, this is an embarrassing blotch for the metal scene. Most metal heads start out listening to Slipknot, Mudvayne and Spineshank thinking they’re the meanest, darkest kids on the block. Nobody understands what I’m going through, etcetera… etcetera… However, it sure as heck beats the current trend of emo/scenester whining we have these days. “Oh no! My makeup ran! Damn, my fringe doesn’t hang just right!”
Give me dimwitted metal fans who can’t count without their fingers any day, they’re much cooler than My Chemical Romance fans.

Back when MySpace hadn’t tried it’s best to kill originality, you could go to a show and not care about whether or not some 14 year old is going to try and flash you to death with his camera trying to take top angle photographs.

So here are another 101 Rules of… list. I love ‘em. They’re funny, and like I said, my brain doesn’t hurt! Thanks to Metalstorm for originally making this list!

101 RULES OF NU METAL
1. When asked who your musical influences are, say Black Sabbath — always Black Sabbath.
2. Make sure you don´t sound like Black Sabbath at all even though you said that they´re your musical influences.
3. Make fun of popular music especially Britney Spears and any boyband. This is non-negotiable.
4. When conducting interviews always say the words “@#%$”, “fag”, and “@#%$”.
5. Accept interviews only from the following music magazines: Metal Edge, Revolver, Alternative Press, Hit Parader, Guitar World, Kerrang! and Rolling Stone.
6. Pay them $50 to mention the word “metal” in correlation with your music, in every single interview.
7. Add another $50 if they are able to invent a new genre dedicated solely to your band — ie. Death Metal Disco (Static X), Melodic-core (Thursday), Christian Rap Metal (POD).
8. Make sure that at least one of your band members have an existing side project, or at least planning to start one.
9. Ask your mom to go to the nearest “Ross” beauty shop to buy six boxes of Lander hair gel.
10. Use the word “gay” when referring to anything you don´t like.
11. No guitar solos.
12. Your drumming techniques must consist of “bass-snare, bass-snare” drumming only.
13. In order for your bassist to win a “Best Bass Player Award”, make sure that they…
14. …are female or…
15. …use the “slap and pop” playing style.
16. Jump in the air while playing your guitar, and while in mid-air place the guitar on your side.
17. During concerts, ask your audience to sing along…
18. …jump up and down…
19. …put their hands in the air…
20. …flash their middle-fingers…
21. …and be careful not to hurt each other.
22. In the liner notes of your album, dedicate it to your parents, and to more than 15 different nu-metal bands with at least 4 bands which you borrowed your sound from.
23. Your second album must be weaker than the first one.
24. Make sure that at least one band member…
25. …has been previously arrested…
26. …drinks beer…
27. …or smokes marijuana.
28. During interviews deny any form of drug-use in your band.
29. Say you hate Limp Bizkit, then contradict your statement by sticking up for bands like Taproot, Drowning Pool, and Primer 55.
30. When describing bands which you think are good, end every statement with “kicks ass”.
31. When describing bands you hate, end every statement with either “sucks dick”, or “@#%$ sucks ass”.
32. Pretend that you´ve been abused as a child and when no one believes you, hold…
32. …your depressing song lyrics as evidence, and if that doesn´t work…
33. …donate 3% of your earnings to anti-child abuse foundations.
34. Your record label must be either one of the following (and there subsidiaries): Sony, Interscope, Warner, Geffen, Virgin, Roadrunner, and Island/Def Jam.
35. Wear baseball caps, shades, wallet-chains, or any other fancy-schmancy fashion accessory EVERYTIME.
36. Your pants must be 3 times larger than your original waist length.
37. Say “shaznit”.
38. Say “tight as @#%$” whenever possible.
39. Pretend that you hate MTV, and say that you detest the playing of your videos without your consent — but deep down inside you really like the way they promote your music.
40. When meeting up with Kurt Loder and Carson Daly, be sure to meet up with Fred Durst to ask for pointers.
41. Always give credit to Korn and say they brought back “metal” from the dead.
42. Make sure you have at least one female member.
43. Be at every single “Ozzfest” tour.
44. Your t-shirts must be plain black with your logo in front and a teen-angst quote in the back.
45. Pretend that you design your own website.
46. Get Ross Robinson, GGGarth, or Brendan O´ Brien to produce your record.
47. Always make sure that you delay your album release. If it´s scheduled for June 5, move it to July 7. Do this at least twice per album.
48. Ask guest rappers or any member from another nu-metal band to participate on your album.
49. Always whine.
50. Close your eyes when singing to show how “depressed” you are — ie. Staind
51. Body piercings are a must.
52. Make sure that you have at least one band member that´s bald…
53. …or have a goatee.
54. Pretend that you hate the world.
55. During live shows, make sure that you dive to the crowd and ask them to return you back.
56. Your pants must be low-waist, and must show your boxers underneath when you lift your shirt.
57. Your drummer must be topless during live concerts.
58. Bite the microphone when singing.
59. Swing the microphone stand while headbanging in unison.
60. Always suck up to the crowd during a live performance — ie. “its a good day to be here in Los-@#%$-Angeles!”
61. Insert the word “@#%$” in the middle of two words — ie. “I like coco-@#%$-nut”
62. Zildijan must be your official cymbals.
63. Your guitars must be Ibanez or Fender. Accept no substitutes.
64. Always use seven-string guitars.
65. The more stomp boxes and pedals you have, the bigger the chances of you winning a “Best Guitar Player” award. So get to it!
66. Wear facepaints or masks, and when someone labels you a Slipknot rip-off say that you existed as early as 1977.
67. When someone asks how your next album is going to turn out, say that its going to be the “heavy-@#%$-iest album of all @#%$ time”.
68. Read #67 but add more of the word “@#%$” as much as possible for emphasis.
69. Make sure that when it comes out, it doesn´t sound as heavy as you said it would be.
70. Your song lyrics must have the word “@#%$” on at least 3 songs. This rule only applies to pretentious “tough-as-nails” bands.
71. Pick fights with random bands to show how “bad-ass” you are.
72. If you intend to copy someone else´s sound — don´t use any form of profanity whatsoever when writing song lyrics, so the attention of the critiques will be focused on the lyrical content instead of your music. For more information, ask Linkin Park because they are considered as the “masters” of this art.
73. When kids start calling your band “sell-outs”, reply that if they were on your position they´d do the same thing as well.
74. When kids start calling you a copycat, say that the band you´re being compared to is one of your musical influences or….
75. …its just a coincidence.
76. Make fun of gay people at all times. This is a perfect way to hide the fact that you´re a closet gay.
77. When your parents tells you to go to your room — go to your room.
78. You must have a studio album out every year. If you can´t pull a studio album in just a year, an album with demos and remixes of old songs will do.
79. Make sure that you get into a scuffle with security on every single concert you partake in to cause a “scene”.
80. Wash your sneakers only 4 times a year.
81. Wear clothes from a particular clothing company — and soon they will ask you to endorse their wardrobe. Perfect choices are Adidas and Puma.
82. Release a video that contains nothing but backstage footage of your band making asses out of themselves.
83. During live shows say that you´re about to perform a song they already know. Utter the first word of the song title then ask the fans to complete the name of the song by pointing the mic towards them. Keep on doing it until they scream the title crystal clear, or if you´ve wasted 5 minutes just getting them to complete the task.
84. Your fanbase must comprise of 90% morons that have usernames on the internet patterned after your band (ie. Mudvayne fans – DeathBloomsDig99) and the last 10% with smart guys that use original names.
85. Your band name must be a mispelling of an original word.
86. When parents start blaming your band for having songs that incite violence, turn the blame back on them by saying “you never spent time enough with your kids”.
87. When someone points out the similarities of your music with another band which rose to popularity just recently, pretend that you´ve never heard of them before.
88. Cancel at least 5 of the tour dates you intend to play in the near future.
89. Claim that the posturings of anger and depression in your songs are genuine.
90. Insist that your band is “metal” at all times.
91. Best Buy and Hot Topic must be your core album distributors.
92. Say that you´re going to commit suicide whenever no one pays attention to you.
93. Your idea of being unique is donning black and white facepaint and acting like a depressed troll in your bedroom.
94. Pretend that you like Kittie´s music but in reality you just want to score on at least one member.
95. Say that rule #94 is a lie! Then stomp your foot on the ground repeatedly while screaming “that´s not true! that´s not true!” over and over again.
96. Your first radio single must have clean vocals or at least melodic riffing.
97. Waste your time writing a song dedicated to taking potshots at the critiques and the people that make fun of your otherwise STUPID music.
98. If you are a new band, cover an old 80s song and make it as catchy as you can. Ship this song as your first radio single – instant success!
99. Participate in as many compilation albums as you can.
100. Strictly no guitar solos.
101. You are offended personally by every single rule written above.

Not many bands have been as influential as Metallica, one just has to ask any heavy metal fan, or even just a music enthusiast to know that Metallica have been the reason for many kids wanting to be rock stars. From Simpson cameos and having an insane amount of tribute albums, Metallica really have proven their power.

Besides a tumultuous lineup change (resulting in the formation of Megadeth) and James Hetfield’s seemingly constant boozing, Kirk Hammett has remained one heck of a lead guitarist. So much so that Rolling Stone placed him at 11 in their list, The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time as well as having his own guitar range, the ESP Kirk Hammett (or just ESP KH).

Hammett was born at the St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco at about 3am on Sunday, the 18th of November in 1962 to a Filipino mother and an Irish American father. His mother worked for the U.S government while his father was a Merchant Marine. Kirk has an older brother, Rick and a sister named Tracy. When Hammett was just 11 years old he tried to play piano but quit after only three lessons because he disliked the teacher so much.

As a young child, Kirk showed a lot of interest in his brother, Rick’s large collection of guitars, Rickenbacker bass guitars and hard rock records such as Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, UFO, Led Zeppelin, Status Quo and Jimi Hendrix. Jimi Hendrix was in fact one of Hammett’s biggest influences.

Kirk started playing guitar at the age of fifteen, starting with a Montgomery Ward catalog special and no more than a shoe box with a four-inch speaker as an amplifier. Talk about a shoestring budget.

After playing a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, Kirk tried his hand at customizing his sound with different guitar parts, eventually settling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. Hammett spent so much on equipment that he started working at Burger King to pay for a Marshall Amplifier

In 1982 Kirk Hammett formed a band called Exodus with friends Tom Hunting and Gary Holt. Exodus is widely known as one of the main pioneers of Thrash metal, especially in the Bay Area Thrash movement. Hammett played on a demo of Exodus’ in 1982.

In 1983, on the first of April, Hammett was offered the position of lead guitarist in Metallica, replacing Dave Mustaine. Kirk at first thought this was an April fool’s joke. After accepting he caught a flight to New York to begin recording with the band.

Although Hammett is primarily Metallica’s lead guitarist, he has also written and added riffs for Metallica tracks since the middle of the 1980’s, especially during the 1990’s Load and ReLoad period. One of the above mentioned riffs was used in Enter Sandman, one of Metallica’s most well-known and loved songs. Enter Sandman was the first single off Metallica’s self-titled album, also known as the Black Album, and was ranked by Rolling Stone at 399 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Kirk and his first wife settled for divorce at the end of 1990, during the recording of the Black Album. Hammett now lives with his second wife, Lani, in San Francisco. On the 29th of September in 2006 became the father to a baby boy called Angel Ray Keala Hammett.

Kirk Hammett has been behind some of the best Heavy Metal tracks of all-time. Personally, I don’t think there is anyone who can dispute the fact that he is one of the best guitarists to come out of the last century. The Grammy’s say it all!

We here at Guitarzzz.com are trying something new. On a somewhat regular basis, you can expect a short bio piece on a famous or infamous guitarist. Looking for the facts, a no frills lesson? This is where to come!

Jimmy Page, a name that invokes thoughts of epically progressive guitar riffs, ridiculous amounts of hard drugs and myth almost to the point of legend.

Page, founding member of famous rock and roll band Led Zeppelin and a member of The Yardbirds, was born James Patrick Page on the 9th of January 1944 in the north London suburb of Heston in Middlesex-Britain to an industrial personal manager and a doctor’s secretary.

Page began learning to play guitar at around the age of 12. His first electric guitar was a 1949 Gibson Les Paul. He was highly influenced by the guitarists of the rockabilly genre, James Burton and Scotty Moore, both who recorded with The King, Elvis Presley, as well as Johnny Day, guitarist for The Everly Brothers. Page went on to be influenced by the blues sounds of B.B. King and Elmore James.

After Page graduated from school, with the aim in mind to work as a lab assitant, he started playing for the Beat poet, Royston Ellis, and then went on to join his first band Red E Lewis and The Red Caps. The first time he toured was with The Crusaders, he also released a single in 1982, “The Road To Love.”
Page disliked the touring life so much he left it and went to Sutton Art College to focus on painting and occasionally playing with fellow students.

One evening Page was spotted by John Gibb of The Silhouettes who asked him to feature as a session musician on singles for EMI. It was only when Mike Leaner from Decca Records asked Page to record that he agreed.

Page became a fulltime session musician and grew from strength to strength. His friendship with other guitar legend, Eric Clapton, whom he met in the days of art school, also grew. Page’s success as a session musician was so wide that it is often remarked that he must have appeared on 60% of all rock music from the 60’s.

After declining the chance to replace his friend Clapton as the guitarist for The Yardbirds, Page went on to experiment as a session musician. After being once again asked to be a member of The Yardbirds, Page first tried his hand at bass and then moved on to twin lead guitar player with friend, Jeff Beck. The Yardbirds broke up relatively soon after and despite the departure of Jim McCarty and Keith Relf in 1968, Page wanted to carry on as The New Yardbirds. They would become what we know as Led Zeppelin.

Due to Page’s great experience in the studio as a session musician and from his days with The Yardbirds, helped ensure Led Zeppelin’s critical success in the 1970s. His work as a composer, producer and guitarist for the band was highly important. He was also one of the main motivating forces behind the rock sound of that age with his trademark Gibson Led Paul guitar and Marshall amplification. His use of distorted fuzz guitar, eastern scales, slide guitar, acoustic guitar and experimental recording methods made Led Zeppelin a first of its kind. Jimmy also experimented with unusual playing styles such as his bow technique as well as the use of a theremin.

After Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, Page attempted to form a supergroup, XYZ, with former Yes members. Unfortunately, the band never came to anything.
Page was then asked to compose the soundtrack to Death Wish II by Michael Winner. Page has gone on to perform at many charity events as well as being the main force behind the remastering of Led Zeppelin’s older records.

Page has won numerous awards in his life, from being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, not once, but twice. In 2001 he was voted London’s greatest guitarist in Total Guitar magazine’s poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists and in 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him number nine on their list of the “100 greatest guitarists of all time”.