classic Hammett . And yeah , there was some wah involved !
As noted in the below photo , Kirk and I have continued to bump into one another over the years , so it is with great pleasure that he is the first cover story for [ GTR ]!
Joe Satriani + Students // Warfield Theater 1988 Photo : Pat Johnson Studios him how much I enjoyed his playing . A month or so later I went to buy a Marshall head I saw advertised in the paper , and the guy who was selling it was the guitar player in Trauma – and there was Cliff again ! That was the great thing about the Bay Area then … you couldn ’ t help but run into all of these amazing people .
[ Kirk ] Around 1979 there was a place called the International Café in Berkeley that used to let us teenagers in , and they had tons of bands who played there . One night I saw a band called Easy Street , and there was a bass player in a denim jacket with long red hair , and another guy on guitar with short , super curly hair , and sunglasses . There were three or four other guys with them too , but that guy with the red hair was Cliff and the guy on guitar was Jim Martin – they were in a cover band together .
During the second song , Cliff ’ s amp head blew up , and instead of leaving the stage , he just sat there in front of the amp and head-banged while the rest of the band played . It was the craziest thing ! Then , about a year and a half later people were saying , “ You gotta see this band , Trauma ! They have a great guitar player , and this roaring bass player !” I was at the Keystone Berkeley show , and sure enough ,
[ GTR ] How did the “ Bay Area Brotherhood ” impact you as musician coming up in the Bay Area ?
[ Kirk Hammett ] The Bay Area has always been super supportive of local musicians , bands , clubs and venues . Growing up , I had friends who were taking music lessons , and their parents were all musicians . It just kind of rubbed off on all of us . It felt like a very natural thing for us to start playing music . Everyone that my brothers were hanging out with were in bands , or they were going to see bands . They were playing in Golden Gate Park , Delores Park , and other places . There were free concerts everywhere , and at the street fairs there were always bands . The music scene was super rich and there were always places to play . San Francisco was known as one of the best places to get music gigs , along with L . A . and Seattle . San Francisco was a regular stop for traveling musicians too . I also got to see some incredible local bands during those years , some of which I can ’ t even remember the names of .
[ GTR ] One band I remember seeing at The Keystone Berkeley was called Trauma . I went up to the bass player after the show and told