Metallica’s Hammett Recalls What He Told Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour When They Met, Names Iconic Rock Band He Wasn’t Fan of at First
The guitarist also names the Metallica solo that’s “just the culmination of Robert Johnson licks played fast and with distortion.”
During a conversation with So What, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett talked about performing at the London Palladium as part of the Peter Green Tribute show earlier this year.
As reported, the event featured a wide array of rock icons, including Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, The Who’s Pete Townshend, and more. Kirk played the show with his Gibson Greenie Les Paul, previously owned by Green himself.
Metallica is promoting the “S&M2” symphony record, you can check it out here via Amazon.
Asked how it felt like to perform with such musical giants, Hammett replied:
“It’s validation from a bunch of musicians who were the first part of my inspiration. When I first started playing guitar, I listened to Jimi Hendrix, I listened to Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Ritchie Blackmore, and so I was aware of the blues.
“And because I was aware of the blues, I was into B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Freddie King. So in that first two or three years of my guitar playing, I was just totally into British blues-based hard rock.
“And I learned how to play the blues; blues has always been a part of my technique. I played blues licks and heavy metal songs. The guitar solo on ‘Hardwired’ is just the culmination of Robert Johnson licks played fast and with distortion.
“So I show up at this thing, Mick Fleetwood invited me, and Mick is just the sweetest man you can ever meet. I’m sitting there with people like Billy Gibbons and Dave Gilmour. Then all of a sudden John Mayall walks into the room. Bill Wyman is there, then Steven Tyler walks in.
“And you know, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘OK, all these people are gonna watch me rehearse ‘The Green Manalishi’ with the core band.’ You talk about pressure and feeling eyeballs on you? That was probably one of the most hair-raising experiences I ever had, but at the same time, incredibly inspiring as well.
“And on top of that, a real vindication. The funny thing is I was, like, ‘the heavy metal guy,’ right? I show up and the guys who really didn’t know me were a little hesitant, and so you know what I started doing?
“I started playing a bunch of blues licks. I started playing Stevie Ray Vaughan stuff. I started playing a bunch of songs off the John Mayall’s ‘Blues Breakers’ album, and two or three minutes after they see that I knew the blues, all of a sudden it was like I was a beautiful woman or something!
“They all came toward me, they started talking to me, asking me questions, and it was a totally unexpected icebreaker, bro. It was totally, totally unexpected, and all of a sudden, they warmed up to me in a fashion that I could not believe.
“And then I hear over the next couple days, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s a blues guy, he can play the blues, he knows what he’s doing.’ It was amazing. I could not believe it.”
It’s very cool because it dovetails perfectly off what you were just saying about how playing is the best communication. It sounds to me like if you’d sat down and started talking to these guys first and foremost, they wouldn’t really have got it nearly as quickly. It’s like you spoke with the guitar.
“Exactly.”
And Gilmour. I mean how is David Gilmour?
“He was a very gracious guy, a gentleman. I saw him the next day and he goes, ‘Hey, how you doing, Kirk?’ And that in itself was like, ‘Alright, he actually acknowledged me two days in a row!'”
Yeah. I always imagine that if I met someone like David Gilmour, I’d end up saying something stupid like, ‘Wow, the spaces you leave in the songs and solos are really great.’ You didn’t say anything awkward, did you?
“No. You know, my safe thing, my safe approach to exactly that, is I’ll start talking about equipment and gear.”
Good man.
“And so I started talking to him about his amp, you know? And what was amazing was that every time he played, it went from playing a Fleetwood Mac song to all of a sudden Pink Floyd. Holy shit! Pink Floyd is in the room.
“Every time he played that guitar, man, it was as if we were in 1974 on the Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ tour. It was crazy. His guitar sound is so distinctive that everything it touches, you know, it’s reminiscent of Pink Floyd.”
That is great…
“One more other story, bro.”
Please.
“OK, so about a year ago I got heavily into The Who. I’d never really been a fan, but something happened, and I became the biggest Who fan. Last year, I called up Rob [Trujillo, bass] and I said, ‘Hey, I’m the biggest Who fan now!’
“He said, ‘That’s great because they’re playing this Friday at the Hollywood Bowl.’ I was here in Hawaii and I was like, ‘OK, I’m there.’ The next day I got on a plane, flew to LA, hooked up with Rex King [former Metallica tour manager] – because he’s their tour manager now, and went to go see The Who.
“It was at the Hollywood Bowl and it was with an orchestra, so I was just fucking so thrilled, and I got to meet Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey for the very first time. And you know, I was just shocked at how friendly they were.
“I’m always shocked at how friendly anyone is. So that was great. But then, fast forward four or five months to February 2020, we’re in rehearsal for the show, then Pete Townshend walks in; I forgot that he was a late addition to the whole event.
“And he walked right up to me and goes, ‘Good to see you again.’ I said, ‘Likewise.’ And he said, ‘I didn’t expect to see you so soon.’ I said, ‘Likewise.’ Then he played the song that he was gonna play, a song called ‘Station Man,’ and seriously, he positioned himself about five or six feet in front of me and played the whole song in front of me.
“And I was so blown away, bro. I got the complete Pete Townshend in that five minutes. By the end of the song, he even did a couple of windmills, and I thought, ‘He’s not doing that windmill thing for the show. That’s actually a part of his technique,’ you know?”
That’s very cool.
“I was blown away in a very quiet fashion. And then came the show, where I was super nervous and played ‘The Green Manalishi.’ I thought I played OK.
“Literally right afterwards, I felt someone grab my shoulder, I turned around and it was Pete! And Pete said, ‘Man, that was really great, that sounded really, really great!’ And I said, ‘Thanks, Pete!'”
Fucking hell!
“Yeah, exactly, that’s what I thought, fucking hell! And it was amazing, because I always thought that he was a somewhat extroverted character, but you know, the entire time he was very, very quiet, and just kinda sat in the corner, and was actually much more introverted than I expected him to be. Which I was able to relate to because that’s how I am.”
