Page Nye Hamilton[1] (born May 18, 1960)[2] is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet, which he founded. Most of his work has been in the hard rock and alternative metal styles, though he trained in jazz guitar and has substantial connections with avant-garde music and film soundtrack composition.
Meantime was the band's principal commercial success, being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[8] The album was well received by music critics and is seen as an influential metal record and earning a Grammy nomination in the Best Metal Performance category for 1993.[9]
Since 2004, Hamilton has been the only founding member left in Helmet, and after the departure of guitarist Chris Traynor in 2006, he has been the only member to have been involved with Helmet during its original run in the 1990s. Hamilton has said that he hopes to keep playing with Helmet until he is "physically incapable".[10]
Gandhi
Following Helmet's temporary dissolution in the late 1990s, Hamilton formed another rock band, Gandhi,[11] with former Liege Lord guitarist Anthony Truglio, John Andrews (guitar), Christian Bongers (bass), and Matt Flynn (later the drummer for Maroon 5). Though the band did not release any music officially, several demo songs were leaked. Many of these were later recorded for the Size Matters and Monochrome releases by Helmet.
During Helmet's hiatus, Hamilton performed as lead guitarist for David Bowie's band on the singer's Hours Tour.[12]
He has collaborated with German avant-garde guitarist Caspar Brötzmann on the live improvisational album Zulutime and performed on a number of other artists' works, including trumpeter Ben Neill's Goldbug, alt-country songwriter Joe Henry's Trampoline, Northern Irish rock band Therapy?'s Troublegum and British post-punk group Wire's Object 47.[14]
As a jazz musician, he has performed with his own groups, the Page Hamilton Quintet[15] and the Jazz Wannabes,[16] and with fellow guitarist and mentor John Stowell.[17]
He has also produced a guitar instruction DVD, Sonic Shapes: Expanding Rock Guitar Vocabulary, published by Hal Leonard Corporation.[18][19]
During the spring of 2008, Page provided guest vocals on post-hardcore band Norma Jean's fourth studio album The Anti Mother as well as contributed to the writing of track 8, "Opposite of Left and Wrong".
Hamilton was married during the 1990s, but later divorced.[20] At the beginning of 2002, he moved to Los Angeles,[21][4][22] citing the rising cost of living in New York as a reason for the move.[10] The following year he entered a year long relationship with American actress Winona Ryder. According to Hamilton, she was a listener of the band, and many of the lyrics on Helmet's 2004 comeback Size Matters were reportedly inspired by their relationship.[23][24] Hamilton has mentioned that he has been mistaken for a woman at times because of his name, which is pronounced the same way as the female name Paige.[25]
Equipment
Hamilton endorsed ESP Guitars in the 1990s, and is best known for playing ESP Horizon guitars with either a Floyd Rose or Wilkinson tremolo, and DiMarzio Airzone pickups. In 2006 ESP announced a Page Hamilton signature model, featuring a single DiMarzio Airzone pickup and Wilkinson tremolo. In 2009, ESP announced a further signature model guitar, this time modeled after Page's own ESP Horizon Custom, featuring a distressed magenta finish emulating the original guitar's road wear and character and, again, a single DiMarzio Air Zone pickup.[26] He has also used guitars by PRS and G&L.
For live performances, Page Hamilton uses a Fryette Pittbull Ultra-Lead into a Fryette Fatbottom 4x12 cabinet.[27] In the 1990s, Hamilton used a Harry Kolbe preamp into a Marshall 2204S (small-box head) with its gain all the way up, then into a dummy load, then into a noise gate, then finally into a Mesa Boogie Simul-class 290 power amplifier that fed four Harry Kolbe 4x12 cabinets.[28]
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