Page Hamilton

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Page Hamilton
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Page Nye Hamilton
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1960|5|18 Portland, Oregon
Instrument =Guitar Vocals
Genre = Alternative metal Heavy metal
Occupation =
Years_active = 1981 - present
Label = Amphetamine Reptile Records Interscope Records Warcon
Associated_acts = Helmet David Bowie Gandhi
URL = http://www.helmetmusic.com
Notable_instruments = ESP Page Hamilton

Page Hamilton (born May 18, 1960 in Portland, Oregon) is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet. Most of his work has been in the heavy metal or hard rock styles, but Hamilton, who was trained in jazz guitar, has also worked in other genres.

Biography

Raised in Medford, Oregon, Hamilton moved to New York to study jazz guitar in the early 1980s. While there, he "discovered distortion" and worked with composer Glenn Branca. Hamilton then joined Band of Susans for their "Love Agenda" album, after which he started Helmet.

Helmet recorded four albums in the 1990s: "Strap It On", "Meantime", "Betty", and "Aftertaste". They had moderate chart success, with their last three albums reaching the "Billboard" top 100, but difficulty keeping his bandmates together caused them to disband in 1999. After Helmet split up, Hamilton started Gandhi, and toured with David Bowie. About this time he recorded with Ben Neill.

He recorded "Zulutime" (duets with Caspar Brötzmann), played guitar on Ben Neill's "Goldbug" and Joe Henry's "Trampoline", and wrote some music for the movie "Heat". Hamilton has also made appearances on "Unbeliever" by Therapy?, "No, You Don't" by Nine Inch Nails, and "God Forbid" by P.O.D..

In 2003, Hamilton and Charlie Clouser recorded the song "Throwing Punches" for the movie soundtrack, "Underworld", which marks the first time the song was credited as a Page Hamilton track - mainly because it was about to be released as part of his "solo" album. However, when Hamilton restarted Helmet with an altered line-up in 2004, the song was released as part of the band's comeback album "Size Matters".

On 18 July, 2006, Helmet, with further lineup changes, released its most recent album, "Monochrome".

Hamilton has also been involved in music production, most notably producing "Distort Yourself" by Gavin Rossdale's band Institute, Bullets and Octane's second album, "In The Mouth Of The Young", released in 2006, and the Classic Case album Losing at Life.

During the 2008 tour of Australia, Hamilton told fans that he is going to work on a new Helmet album with the band over the next 18 months.

In 2008, Hamilton recorded guest vocals on the most recent Norma Jean album entitled "The Anti-Mother". He is featured on the eighth track titled "Opposite of Left and Wrong."

Equipment

Hamilton uses custom ESP Horizon guitars with a Wilkinson Tremolo, Sperzel locking tuners, and DiMarzio pickups. It is also reported at "Guitar Geek" that Page has used Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Daniel Johns of Silverchair recorded "Freak Show" with a green Paul Reed Smith guitar which used to belong to Hamilton and still owns the instrument.

For amplification Hamilton used a complex setup including a Marshall head and Harry Kolbe Preamps and Speakers. He now endorses and uses VHT amplifiers.

In 2006 ESP announced that there would be a new Page Hamilton signature model. This signature model differs from most standard ESP guitars in that it uses DiMarzio pickups rather than Seymour Duncan or EMG pickups.

External links

* [http://espguitars.com/guitars_page.html ESP's Page Hamilton Signature Model]
* [http://guitargeek.com/rigview/560/ Page Hamiltons's Guitar Rig]
* [http://imdb.com/name/nm0358091/ Page Hamilton's IMDB Page]