KIRK HAMMET - The Biography


Kirk Lee Hammett was born on November 18th 1962 in San Francisco, California. He got his first own guitar at the age of 15, when he would buy a Montgomery Ward Strat copy from a friend for ten dollars and a Kiss album ("Dressed To Kill"). But he only started really playing it after about six months later. During his adolescence, Kirk was very introverted, as he had moved from San Francisco to a suburb, the East Bay. He suffered a lot from the culture shock, and the music he would listen to -Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix or Cream- set him apart from the other kids even more. But playing his favorite songs like "Purple Haze", "Wild Thing" and "Communication Breakdown" on the guitar made him feel closer to the music he was listening to. Together with John Marshall (from "Metal Church" -he replaced James Hetfield a couple of times when James broke his arm and when he had the accident with the pyrotechnics in Montreal in 1992) he would figure out songs and jam on them. The first real good guitar Kirk bought was a blonde Stratocaster with a maple neck, because of Hendrix. After listening to UFO, with Michael Schenker, he bought a black Flying V, which can be heard on the first three or four Metallica albums. By then, he had formed a band called Exodus, and they would play Thin Lizzy, UFO, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden cover songs, but also original ones. From the money they actually got for playing at garden parties or so they had to pay the PA they rented. Exodus opened a couple of shows with Metallica, and Kirk was very impressed by them, and their original sound. When lead guitarist Dave Mustaine got expelled, after a fight with James Hetfield, Kirk was invited to an audition in New York and he joined the band without thinking twice. Actually he found that he was more suited playing with these guys than with the band he himself had formed! In 1982, a few weeks before Metallica recorded their debut album, "Kill 'Em All", Kirk took lessons from Joe Satriani, from whom he also adapted that 12 hours a day playing routine. "Kill 'Em All" would then mark the beginning of an incredible Metalli-era! . In the band, when recording, Kirk used to play only the lead guitar parts ( until "Load") and eventually contribute arrangement ideas. He would compose up to 40 takes for one single solo, recording them on his portable recording machine. Kirk really considers his solos as "songs in the song", and so he would not stop working on them until he is fully satisfied with the result. ( Take for example the "Enter Sandman" solo. It's composed of several takes to give the perfect solo! ) His playing has quite evolved since the early years with "Kill 'Em All". So Kirk admits having overplayed on "...And Justice For All", where he tried to impress everybody and make proof of his virtuosity. But on the "Black Album" and especially on "Load"/ "ReLoad" Kirk dropped some speed in favor of a more bluesy playing style and experimental sounds. His song writing role changed too and he contributed some rhythm guitar work to the last two albums. His influence in the band has considerably grown this last years, as Metallica used to be fairly dominated by the duo Hetfield/Ulrich. But Kirk's charisma has always put him apart and has at least equally contributed to his popularity as his extraordinary guitar playing has. In his private life, Kirk got divorced from his first wife Rebecca (which he married on December 3, 1987) and wed his girlfriend, Lani, on January 31 1998 in Kailua, Hawaii.


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JOHN PETRUCCI - BIOGRAPHY

John grew up on Long Island, Kings Park to be exact, where he, John Myung & Kevin Moore all attended school together. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 (After a brief fling at age 8 when he noticed his sister got to stay up late for her organ lessons. His little plan didn’t work out being that his guitar lesson was after school, and soon lost interest.) He quickly realized his influences and was determined to reach their level of ability. Some early influences include Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy Rhoads, Iron Maiden, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Yes, Rush etc. As the rise of thrash & metal hit John expanded his influences to include bands like Metallica & Queensryche. Needing more of a technical challenge, his fingers demanded adapting the hammering speed & melodic style of players such as the Steves (Steve Morse & Steve Vai), the Als (Allan Holdsworth & Al DiMeola), Mike Stern, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon & Eddie Van Halen.

His musical education began with a great music theory class he took in high school. Being primarily self taught, he did receive a few lessons when he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he learned jazz composition and harmony. While at Berklee John and John Myung who was also attending, met Mike Portnoy and started a band called Majesty which would later turn into Dream Theater. John has recorded 8 albums with Dream Theater, and has also been involved in several side projects including Liquid Tension Experiment with Tony Levin, Age of Impact and even a Sega Saturn game called Necronomicon. His love for lyric writing combined with his unique composing style of progressive fusion shape the sound of Dream Theater. John lives with his wife, Rena, and 3 children, SamiJo, Reny and Kiara in New York. When he’s not playing guitar he spends most of his time with his wife and children inline skating, biking, working out and watching movies.

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Eric Johnson Biography

Eric Johnson is on the short list of all-time guitar heroes, but his creative path has taken some interesting twists and turns. He has earned critical and commercial success, a Grammy, accolades from his peers and unabashed devotion from his fans. However, his story as a guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer is not a "typical" one. But this three-decade journey has led to his new 2005 Favored Nations studio album 'Bloom.'

'Bloom' features 16 new songs ranging the stylistic gamut, which has always been Johnson's approach on his solo albums. He is one of the precious few musicians to fully succeed artistically and commercially with this philosophy. The rock 'n' roll raveup "Summer Jam" fits comfortably alongside the bright Bob Dylan cover "My Back Pages," the hypnotic "Sea Secret," lyrically provocative "Sad Legacy" and the rollicking country jam "Tribute to Jerry Reed." His already-astonishing gifts as a songwriter and producer, in addition to his jaw-dropping guitar technique, have grown substantially on this album. 'Bloom' will appeal to Johnson's longtime fans while also bringing new ones into the fold.

Johnson is a native of Austin, Texas, which is steeped in blues and country music. But Johnson's music reflects a broader range of influences in addition to blues and country, particularly pop, rock and jazz/fusion. His meticulously-produced albums are almost always equally divided between instrumentals and vocal songs showcasing all of his musical interests.

By the time Johnson had reached his teens, he was making waves on the Austin scene. At 16, he was a member of a band called Mariani and by 21, he was part of Electromagnets, a jazz-rock band with an intense cult following.

He recorded his first album, 'Seven Worlds,' between 1976 and 1978, but it was not released until 1998. Ark 21 issued the album with Johnson's blessing. A previous manager owned the rights to 'Seven Worlds.'

Johnson's burgeoning reputation in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to session work with the likes of Cat Stevens, Carole King and Christopher Cross. In fact, he played on Cross' Grammy-sweeping, self-titled 1980 debut album.

One of the most important breaks of Johnson's career was a 1984 appearance on the PBS television show 'Austin City Limits.' Reportedly, Prince saw Johnson's performance and recommended him to his label, Warner Bros. Records. The Warner subsidiary Reprise Records signed Johnson, and 'Tones' was released in 1986. Prince band members Wendy and Lisa even sang uncredited background vocals. The song "Zap" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental. Johnson had already earned considerable coverage from the guitar magazines at this point, and their chronicling of his career increased rapidly.

Johnson's breakthrough into the mainstream occurred with 1990's Capitol release 'Ah Via Musicom.' The buoyant, cascading instrumental "Cliffs of Dover" enjoyed mountains of radio airplay across multiple formats. The platinum-selling album was nominated for a Grammy and "Cliffs of Dover" itself earned Johnson a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental, topping fellow nominees the Allman Brothers Band, Danny Gatton, Rush and Yes. The smooth, supple instrumental "Trademark" is another highlight. 'Ah Via Musicom' gave Johnson the distinction of over being the first artist to have three instrumentals from one album reach the Top 10 in any format. He spent three years on the road promoting 'Ah Via Musicom' and then toured with B.B. King and contributed to albums by Chet Atkins and Dweezil Zappa.

In 1996, Johnson returned with 'Venus Isle' on Capitol. Notable songs from it include "S.R.V." (a tribute to his friend, fellow Austin native and guitar legend, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan) and "Manhattan." This album illustrated Johnson's growth as a songwriter, producer, vocalist and, perhaps most surprisingly, keyboardist. He promoted the album with the massively successful, first-ever G3 tour, which also featured his friends and fellow guitar virtuosos Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. The live album and VHS home video 'G3 Live in Concert' followed in 1997; the DVD home video reissue came along three years later. The video has been certified platinum.

One of Johnson's favorite side projects, apart from his own albums and guesting on other artists' albums, is the blues trio Alien Love Child. The group's 2000 album 'Live and Beyond' was Johnson's first project for Favored Nations, Vai's label. The song "Rain" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental.

2002 saw the release of 'Souvenir.' This popular collection of 12 previously-unreleased demos, outtakes and live recordings spanning his entire career is available only through www.ericjohnson.com or at his shows.

Johnson went on to surprise his fans, yet again, with a solo acoustic tour in 2004 showcasing his acoustic guitar and piano skills. He was also honored by Martin Guitars with his own signature acoustic model. That summer, he was also invited by Eric Clapton to take part in the Crossroads Guitar Festival.

A perennial favorite at the Austin Music Awards, Johnson and his band members won a variety of awards in March 2005 for the 2004-05 time period. Johnson won Austin Musician of the Year, Best Electric Guitarist and Best Acoustic Guitarist, as well as placing high in male vocalist, keyboardist and songwriting categories. Chris Maresh was named Best Bassist and Tommy Taylor earned Best Drummer honors.

The release of 'Bloom' and the following tour will be the main highlights of 2005 for Johnson, but the year certainly kicked off on a high note. In January, he joined Fender at the NAMM trade show in Anaheim, California, to introduce his own new Fender Signature Series Stratocaster guitar.

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