Editing Kirk Hammett (section)

== Early life ==

Hammett was born on November 18, 1962, in [[San Francisco, California]], and raised in the town of [[El Sobrante, Contra Costa County, California|El Sobrante]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=VONGS |first=PUENG |date=February 22, 2019 |title=Photos: Metallica's Kirk Hammett sells San Francisco mansion for $11.7M |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/22/photos-metallicas-kirk-hammett-sells-san-francisco-mansion-for-11-7m/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128130652/https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/22/photos-metallicas-kirk-hammett-sells-san-francisco-mansion-for-11-7m/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=May 7, 2024 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}</ref> He is the son of Teofila "Chefela" (born Oyao) and Dennis L. Hammett (a [[United States Merchant Marine|Merchant Mariner]]).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CX9KAQAAQBAJ&q=%22Kirk+Hammett+as+born+onNovember+18,+1962,at+StLuke's+Hospitalin+San+Francisco.%22&pg=PT79|title=Birth School Metallica Death|via=google.ca|isbn=9780571294169|last1=Winwood|first1=Ian|last2=Brannigan|first2=Paul|date=October 31, 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber }}</ref> His mother is of Filipino, specifically [[Cebuano people|Cebuano]],<ref name="cebu1">{{Cite web | first=Ruben V. | last=Nepales | date=September 26, 2013 | url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/114133/metallica-in-a-50s-club-who-would-have-thought | title=Metallica in a 50s club: Who would have thought? | website=[[The Philippine Daily Inquirer]] | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20250422210422/https://entertainment.inquirer.net/114133/metallica-in-a-50s-club-who-would-have-thought | archive-date=April 22, 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=April 22, 2025 }}</ref><ref name="cebu2">{{Cite web | first=Diamon | last=Adrian | date=October 26, 2023 | url=https://queencitycebu.com/did-you-know-metallicas-lead-guitarist-kirk-hammet-has-cebuano-roots/ | title=Did You Know Metallica's Lead Guitarist, Kirk Hammet, Has Cebuano Roots? | website=Queen City Cebu | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20250422210416/https://queencitycebu.com/did-you-know-metallicas-lead-guitarist-kirk-hammet-has-cebuano-roots/ | archive-date=April 22, 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=April 22, 2025 }}</ref> descent and his father was of English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry,<ref>{{IMDb name|4987|section=bio}}</ref> although he has referred to him as a "a full-blooded Irishman who liked to drink and liked to scrap. He was always fighting people, even fighting his friends. He would get together with my uncles and it was just one big fucking toxic soup of masculinity, and that’s what I came out of."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://metaladdicts.com/kirk-hammett-i-butt-heads-with-james-hetfield-and-lars-ulrich-occasionally/ | title=KIRK HAMMETT: 'I Butt Heads with JAMES HETFIELD and LARS ULRICH Occasionally' }}</ref> 

He attended [[De Anza High School]] in [[Richmond, California]]. While attending De Anza High School, he met [[Les Claypool]] of [[Primus (band)|Primus]], and they remain close friends.

Hammett has a well-known passion for horror movies that stretches back to the late 1960s. After spraining his arm in a fight with his sister at age five, Hammett's parents placed him in front of the television. It was during this time that he first watched ''[[The Day of the Triffids (film)|The Day of the Triffids]]''. After that, Hammett found himself drawn to his brother's [[Frankenstein's monster|Frankenstein]] figures and began spending his milk money on horror magazines. For the better part of the next decade, Hammett dove deep into the horror scene.<ref name=GuitarWorld>Angle, Brad. [http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-metallicas-kirk-hammett-his-new-book-too-much-horror-business Interview: Metallica's Kirk Hammett on His New Book, 'Too Much Horror Business'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023165502/http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-metallicas-kirk-hammett-his-new-book-too-much-horror-business |date=October 23, 2014 }}, ''[[Guitar World]]'', December 21, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2015.</ref>

Hammett began showing an interest in music after listening to his brother Rick's extensive record collection (which included [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Led Zeppelin]], and [[UFO (band)|UFO]]).<ref name=Metallica.com>[http://www.metallica.com/band/band-bio-kirk.asp Kirk Hammett (biography)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012182637/http://www.metallica.com/band/band-bio-kirk.asp |date=October 12, 2015 }}, ''metallica.com''. Retrieved April 6, 2015.</ref> He began selling his horror magazines to buy music records,<ref name=GuitarWorld/> which led him to properly picking up the guitar at age 15. Hammett's first guitar was (in his own words) a "wholly unglamorous" [[Montgomery Ward]] catalog special, which was accompanied by a shoebox (with a four-inch speaker) for an amp.<ref name=Metallica.com/> After purchasing a 1978 [[Fender Stratocaster]] copy, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts before eventually buying a 1974 [[Gibson Flying V]].