PHOENIX
04-05-2006, 11:14 AM
KIRK HAMMETT INTERVIEW
Therese Owen from the South African newspaper Tonight did an interview with Kirk when Metallica played in South Africa a few days ago. Here are some of his comments.
So how does the band maintain that chemistry and energy?
We definitely have a ritual," Kirk tells me. "We get together beforehand in one room where we just jerk off - ours, someone else's. We just jack off for about 20 minutes. Then we go through our own warm-ups, physical exercises, that kind of thing. I do yoga.
Aha, that could explain his zen energy. I ask why Metallica have chosen to play in South Africa over a week.
We've always wanted to come here but we never though black people liked our music. At the moment we are busy writing songs for an album so we had time to come out here. Plus, we get to go on safari because we have free days between the gigs!
Did Kirk ever think that 25 years later that Metallica would be a sell- out ?
I was telling James today that I think we are in it for the long haul. I can't see us stopping any time soon. When I started playing guitar I just wanted to play my guitar well now i just wanna sell lots of albums.
Growing up I loved Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Kiss. I just wanted to be a great guitar player. When Metallica started we were the outlaws, the rebels. No one wanted to have anything to do with us. We were too harsh and thought of as the lowliest of the low. All those beginning years we thought we were never getting anywhere or making an impact. Then one day we woke up and it was like, 'Oh my God - we need to mellow out; so that everyone can listen to us.
And now speak to any musician in any band on planet earth who began in the last 14 years and they will cite Metallica as an inspiration. In fact, many of them learnt to play the guitar just so they could play tracks from the Black album.
It tells us we're doing something right," says Kirk.
But I know the power of inspiration. It's pretty strong and it's an honour that we have inspired so many people. I was inspired by Black Sabbath and the other day we played a tribute to Black Sabbath and the whole band were all there watching us. It felt really strange... They of course were very embarassed by the idea that we were playing their songs for them.
Therese Owen from the South African newspaper Tonight did an interview with Kirk when Metallica played in South Africa a few days ago. Here are some of his comments.
So how does the band maintain that chemistry and energy?
We definitely have a ritual," Kirk tells me. "We get together beforehand in one room where we just jerk off - ours, someone else's. We just jack off for about 20 minutes. Then we go through our own warm-ups, physical exercises, that kind of thing. I do yoga.
Aha, that could explain his zen energy. I ask why Metallica have chosen to play in South Africa over a week.
We've always wanted to come here but we never though black people liked our music. At the moment we are busy writing songs for an album so we had time to come out here. Plus, we get to go on safari because we have free days between the gigs!
Did Kirk ever think that 25 years later that Metallica would be a sell- out ?
I was telling James today that I think we are in it for the long haul. I can't see us stopping any time soon. When I started playing guitar I just wanted to play my guitar well now i just wanna sell lots of albums.
Growing up I loved Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Kiss. I just wanted to be a great guitar player. When Metallica started we were the outlaws, the rebels. No one wanted to have anything to do with us. We were too harsh and thought of as the lowliest of the low. All those beginning years we thought we were never getting anywhere or making an impact. Then one day we woke up and it was like, 'Oh my God - we need to mellow out; so that everyone can listen to us.
And now speak to any musician in any band on planet earth who began in the last 14 years and they will cite Metallica as an inspiration. In fact, many of them learnt to play the guitar just so they could play tracks from the Black album.
It tells us we're doing something right," says Kirk.
But I know the power of inspiration. It's pretty strong and it's an honour that we have inspired so many people. I was inspired by Black Sabbath and the other day we played a tribute to Black Sabbath and the whole band were all there watching us. It felt really strange... They of course were very embarassed by the idea that we were playing their songs for them.