Kirk Hammett before he was famous

The nobody years

1. 

   1977-1978 A shoebox amp

   His first guitar came by mail; a shoebox was his amp.

   His first guitar was a mail-order catalogue model, with a shoebox for an amp. Source

2. 

   late 1970s Burger King wages

   He took a Burger King job to save for another guitar.

   He took a job at Burger King, just long enough to save up for a better guitar. Source

3. 

   late 1970s A black Flying V

   A guitar trade and cash bought him a black Flying V.

   He traded in his Stratocaster copy plus a few hundred dollars for a black Flying V. Source

4. 

   1983 One Metallica audition

   Metallica called on April first. Ten days later, he auditioned.

   On 1 April Metallica called; on 11 April he auditioned in New York. Source

5. 1962

   Was born in San Francisco and raised in El Sobrante, California. Source

6. 1960s

   His mother was Filipino; his father was a merchant seaman. Source

7. late 1960s

   At five, home with a sprained arm, he discovered horror films and spent his milk money on monster magazines. Source

8. 1970s

   He sold his horror magazines to buy rock records. Source

9. 1979

   Formed the thrash band Exodus at sixteen, naming it after a Leon Uris novel. Source

10. early 1980s

    Took guitar lessons from Joe Satriani in Berkeley. Source

Reconstructions of documented moments, generated with AI. Not archive photographs, and not depictions of real people. © The Nobody Years