“I’ve missed it since – I almost wish I’d never played it!”: Jake E. Lee reveals Kirk Hammett let him play Greeny backstage at Black Sabbath’s final show
In guitar circles, Greeny – the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard once owned by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green and now by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett – is sort of like the One Ring from Lord of the Rings; when players get their hands on it, they’re never quite the same again.
It’s a lesson former Ozzy Osbourne six-string sidekick Jake E. Lee learned the hard way, after Kirk Hammett let him play the guitar backstage at Black Sabbath’s recent farewell show in Birmingham on 5 July.
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As he recalls in a new interview with Guitar World, Lee explains how Hammett let him play Greeny while rehearsing for his performance at the event, and the experience left an indelible mark.
“I can confirm that it’s a magical piece of wood,” he says. “I didn’t want to put it down – didn’t want to leave it. I’ve missed it ever since! It’s so resonant; it just sings. I almost wish I’d never played it! [laughs] Nah – I’m glad I got to bask in its magic, if for just a while.”
While undoubtedly one of the most fabled electric guitars in existence today, Kirk Hammett is generally pretty generous with whom he lets play the Greeny Les Paul. Earlier this year, he recalled lending the guitar to Jack White, who played it for a few songs onstage.
But while Hammett and Greeny are not tied at the hip, he has acknowledged the lasting effect the guitar has had on him since owning it.
“People say a lot of things have changed about me since I got that guitar,” Hammett said last year. “My playing has changed, my attitude has changed, my tone has changed, my approach has changed. All those things have changed over the last five or six years because of this guitar. I’m really happy about it.”
Elsewhere in the Guitar World interview, Jake E. Lee recalls his performance at Black Sabbath’s monumental final gig, which would also serve as Ozzy Osbourne’s last live appearance before his death.
“I was backstage, and I knew my guitar needed tuning,” he remembers. “And I kept saying, ‘Where’s the rest of the band? Shouldn’t I be out there?’ But they said, ‘No, we’re not ready for you?’ I was like, ‘Okay… can I go out now?’ They said, ‘Okay, you can go.’ Then they led me to stage right, and I said, ‘Shouldn’t I be stage left? I’m playing over there…’ But they said, ‘No, you’ve got to go this way…’
“So I came out, and I hadn’t heard anything, but Nuno [Bettencourt] had the crowd chanting my name. And I walked out and Lzzy [Hale] and Nuno are doing little bows to me. [Laughs] Then Nuno grabbed me and gave me a kiss on the cheek!”
He continues: “The crowd was chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down! But because of all that, I was a little out of tune – but it was worth it. To have that introduction and reaction was good for my soul.
“And then, with Shot in the Dark, we rehearsed it a certain way, but I think David got a little excited and jumped ahead. So I didn’t get to do my cool harmony at the beginning, but that’s okay! Did I play my best? Maybe not. Was I in tune? Maybe not. Was it fantastic and amazing? Absolutely.”
The post “I’ve missed it since – I almost wish I’d never played it!”: Jake E. Lee reveals Kirk Hammett let him play Greeny backstage at Black Sabbath’s final show appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
