Aid (Guitar)

AKA Captain Kirk or Kirk Hamster

Aid's tendancy to obscure prog/Power/ Melodic metal (Kamelot, Mystic Prophecy, Stratovarius, Angra, Dark Moor, Pagans Mind, Primal Fear, Helloween, Firewind, Psychotic Waltz etc) is of great concern to the rest of the band but that fear is partly allayed by his desire to turn his amp up to 10...mostly because of his deafness brought on by a freak salad in the summer of '92.

Aid has been playing guitar since he was 10 years old....
...unfortunately that means nothing as no one knows how old he is. He sold his passport and birth certificate to a German scientist in 1977 for 24 cans of Top Deck shandy, a bag of magic beans and a Copy of A Night At The Opera by Queen. Hence the interest in guitars began. His many guitar heroes include Brian May of Queen, Gary Moore, Thomas Youngblood of Kamelot, the bloke from Angra whose name he can't say let alone spell and many others from diverse musical backgrounds.

Aid was guitarist in Punk Metal misfits The Road Cones for Several years playing all over the UK with the high points being support slots for UK subs and Eddie & The Hot Rods, this was where Aid and Dave first teamed up together. Dave's (then) youthful exhuberence and stupidity (and now) being the perfect foil to Aid's always sensible approach (never).

Alas, as with all good things TRC passed away quietly in the night and people went their separate ways. A few years later Dave would start Mentallica. Aid joined another previous TRC bass player, Joules Hodgetts and Dave Hughes in an industrial electro-guitar band called Split. Gigs followed and Aid recorded and played with Split regularly until he climbed aboard the Mentalliwagon in December 2005. Recently Aid has joined up with the musical genius that is Paul Hodson (Hodson, Ten, Bob Catley) and they are currently recording some epic stuff. Hopefully the tracks will be available later in the year.

Aids choice of weapon is:

Jackcon DKMG with EMG Hz pickups
LTD KH203 Kirk Hammet Signature (the cheaper one!)
Jackson KV10 with EMG 81 active pick ups
Charvel Platinum Crackel loaded with Jackson hardware & pick ups
Arbiter(Aria) 1970's vintage Cherry Flying V
BC Rich Bich
BC Rich Custom Warlock with Seymour Duncan Pick ups
BC Rich Thinline Mockingbird Acoustic
A black Gould road worn Les Paul Copy that he bought to mutilate but loved so much he couldn't take a saw to it!
Marshall JCM900 Dual Reverb head
Demeter TG-2 Inverter 100W head
Trusty Marshall 8100 valvestate backup
Marshall 4x12(x2)
Korg AX3000G effects
AKG wireless technology
D'Addario XL Strings (.011 - .049 gauge)
Dunlop H3 tortex ridiculously small and thick pics


Favourite stuff:

Favourite food: Chilli

Favourite beer: Banks' Mild

Favourite other drink: Tea and Relentless

Favourite TV: Family Guy

Favourite film: Highlander, Dogma

Favourite current album : Roots, Rock, Riot - Skindred

Favourite all time album: Probably Painkiller - Judas Priest closely followed by The Black Circus - The Letters by Manticora

Favourite current song : This Godless Endeavour - Nevermore

Favourite all time song:Fade To Black - Metallica

Most recent CD Purchase - Ozzy - Scream

Musical Influences:Queen, MSG, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Judas Priest, Praying Mantis, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Gary Moore, Scorpions, Angra, Kamelot, Dark Moor, Pagans Mind, Dream Evil, Blind Guardian, Symphony X, Paul Hodson, Firewind, Gamma Ray, Iced Earth, J.S. Strauss, The Carpenters, Helloween, Children of Bodom. Loads of Punk ( Peter & the Test Tube Babies, The Lurkers, UK Subs, Anti-Nowhere League)...the list goes on and on and on and...............

Favourite current band: Manticora

Favourite all time band: You'd expect Metallica....They're up at the top with...Queen

Other interest: Strangling Cats, Golf and masturbating.

Aid enjoys: Getting drunk whilst watching good bands then eating junk food...everyones of idea of a perfect night isn't it?










The Fireblade


Go to Aids MySpace page