drgamble
Well-Known Member
I remember being a we lad, I heard "Fade to Black" and I was like WTF? I had never heard anything like that. It was probably around 1986 or somewhere thereabouts. Anyway, I remember getting the tab books and recording the rhythm parts to cassette on a boom box, and learning the solos over the backing tracks that I had recorded. This was my first foray into recording. I borrowed a friends 4 track years later and I could record rhythm tracks and harmonize leads. I learned so much about guitar playing from James and Kirk. I eventually learned the first four albums using tabs (even though they were wrong) and it helped me to learn how to start writing my own riffs, harmonies, and leads. I got mad respect as a guitar player back in that day because I could play "One" front to back and everyone just thought that I was an amazing guitar player because of it. Yes, Kirk Hammett got my teenage self laid more than a couple times because of my guitar prowess. Keep in mind, this was probably 10+ years before the internet was around. It was hard to find lessons back then and a lot of times, we had no idea how some of our guitar heroes got the sounds that they did.
In those days, the stuff that Kirk played was considered very technical. Years later, we got some of the Shrapnel Records guitar players that brought things up several notches, but compared to the music of the day, the parts that Kirk played were on another level. One thing that I figured out as a young guitar player was that live performances did not require the same kind of precision that a recording did. We tried to be the loudest and fastest. At the volumes that our live shows were, it was not readily apparent how accurate all of the parts were played. In modern days, live shows have become more about fidelity. Guitar players are generally more skilled because the keys to the Ferrari are readily available on YouTube. Back int he 80s and 90s, you had to pay money to learn the "advanced" techniques of guitar playing. Metronome practice was relegated to classical guitar/piano lessons. For the most part you could not hear a metronome over the stack of Marshalls that you played, so it just was not a thing.
Kirk was a godsend to my guitar playing and I probably would not have pursued guitar playing as much as I did without the influence. I understand where they are now. They actually predicted the current state of the music business years ago. I respect the fact that they record albums now just because they want to. Metallica has become such a force that they have actually created generational wealth from their music. For all of the haters, this cannot be said for a lot of the modern musicians. Metallica are lucky enough that their early work is popular enough that they can do what they want now. Anyway, I appreciate Kirk for his contributions to music and guitar playing. I know he gets a lot of flack now but I know that at one time he was at the top of the mountain. I wish I could say the same about myself but I'm just a regular Joe that had a band and ended up getting a regular job.
In those days, the stuff that Kirk played was considered very technical. Years later, we got some of the Shrapnel Records guitar players that brought things up several notches, but compared to the music of the day, the parts that Kirk played were on another level. One thing that I figured out as a young guitar player was that live performances did not require the same kind of precision that a recording did. We tried to be the loudest and fastest. At the volumes that our live shows were, it was not readily apparent how accurate all of the parts were played. In modern days, live shows have become more about fidelity. Guitar players are generally more skilled because the keys to the Ferrari are readily available on YouTube. Back int he 80s and 90s, you had to pay money to learn the "advanced" techniques of guitar playing. Metronome practice was relegated to classical guitar/piano lessons. For the most part you could not hear a metronome over the stack of Marshalls that you played, so it just was not a thing.
Kirk was a godsend to my guitar playing and I probably would not have pursued guitar playing as much as I did without the influence. I understand where they are now. They actually predicted the current state of the music business years ago. I respect the fact that they record albums now just because they want to. Metallica has become such a force that they have actually created generational wealth from their music. For all of the haters, this cannot be said for a lot of the modern musicians. Metallica are lucky enough that their early work is popular enough that they can do what they want now. Anyway, I appreciate Kirk for his contributions to music and guitar playing. I know he gets a lot of flack now but I know that at one time he was at the top of the mountain. I wish I could say the same about myself but I'm just a regular Joe that had a band and ended up getting a regular job.
You lost me there, boys.
