Helmet's founding member and guitarist Page Hamilton might be one of the most enduringly influential guitarists from the North American alt-metal movement of the ’90s. His heavier approach might not make him one of the first guitarists that come to mind as a potential David Bowie guitarist, but he was handpicked by the chameleon of rock as his guitarist for 1999’s tour. “He told me he was a fan the first time I met him in '97.
And then I got the call from him a couple of years later,” Hamilton reveals in a new interview with . “He was really complimentary about my guitar stuff. One thing he said I'll never forget was, ‘It sounds like it's very abstract what you do, but it's very thought out.
’ He said, ‘You remind me a bit of Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music,’ and I was like, ‘Thank you. That's amazing.’ Yeah, he told me I nailed the guitar sound on , which we did on SNL.
” David Bowie parted ways with longstanding guitarist Reeves Gabrels in 1999. Immediately after, he got Page Hamilton on board for the tour and TV appearances in support of his 22nd album . “Reeves, who’s been a friend of mine for many many years, was going through a very difficult time in his life and he and Bowie parted ways after 13 years,” Hamilton said in a 2016 interview with .
“Bowie knew Helmet – we had met two years earlier at a festival in Germany – I met him and he was like ‘Helmet? I love Helmet!’ And I start laughing, like ‘Yeah...
right. Right!’ And he sa.