James Hetfield

James Hetfield

In Brief:James Alan Hetfield Born: August 3, 1963 From: Los Angeles, California

Personal: Married, 1 Child Specialty: Angst-ridden, soul-rending, growling, loud-ass vocals

Instrument: vocals, guitars

Vitals: blue eyes, blonde hair, 6'1"/1.85 meters tall, weighs 180 lbs/81.65 kilos

Biography

"James is probably the driving creative force." - Kirk

"Hetfield brings the pride. He stands a very tall and strong guy over all of, not just the music, but all of what is Metallica." - Jason

James Hetfield is the voice, among other things, of Metallica's songs but it wasn't always planned that way... In the early days, Metallica tried a few different vocal/guitar configurations. Some of the experiments included adding another guitar player, or having then lead guitar player Dave Mustaine 21221n1318v play the sole guitar. John Bush from Armored Saint was even asked to sing for the band at one point.

Hetfield was born to a truck driver and light opera singer on August 3rd, 1963, in Los Angeles. His family's Christian Science religious beliefs are often mentioned as the root of James' "tortured soul" lyrics. Musically, he began at age 9 with piano lessons, then banging away on his brother David's drums and finally to guitar.

With his guitar in hand, James aspired to become a rock star in his first band, Obsession. The band was made up of the Veloz brothers on bass and drums and Jim Arnold on guitar. A pair of friends, Ron McGovney and Dave Marrs, acted as the band's roadies. This meant sitting in the loft of the Veloz garage running a control panel for makeshift lighting effects. After Obsession broke up, the Marrs-Hetfield-McGovney trio continued jamming together.

Phantom Lord was James Hetfield's second band. After moving to La Brea, James attended Brea Olinda High School and met up with drummer Jim Mulligan. The two would jam at lunch time with another guitar player, but eventually scared him away with their loud and heavy sounds. Hugh Tanner was discovered carrying around part of a flying V guitar at school.. and shortly thereafter, Phantom Lord was born. With Hugh on guitar and Mulligan on drums, James sang and played guitar. The group went through a few bass players until graduation when James moved back to Downey.

In Downey, James moved into a house owned by Ron McGovney's parents that was slated for demolition due to an expressway expansion. This house was the perfect place for James and Ron to crash and hold rehearsal and practice jams. James talked Ron into taking up bass, and promised to teach him...

And as Ron joined the group, Phantom Lord was no more.. they were now Leather Charm.

James Hetfield's third band overall, Leather Charm was formed from the members of Phantom Lord, except that James performed sole singing duties (no guitar) and Ron was added to play bass guitar. Completing the line-up were Phantom Lord carry-overs Hugh Tanner and Jim Mulligan.

Leather Charm was more of a glammy attempt at music. The band played originals and covers like Quiet Riot's "Slick Black Cadillac," Iron Maiden's "Remember Tommorrow" and a few others. The band managed to perform at a few parties and recorded a demo, but then began to fall apart.

First Tanner left the band and was replaced by Troy James. Then Mulligan left for a more progressive, Rush-like band. With no drummer, the band was forced to call it quits. Although it was Mulligan's departure that led to James searching for a new drummer, it was Hugh Tanner that introduced James to Lars Ulrich.

Ultimately it was Leather Charm's break up, through Jim Mulligan's quitting, that led James and Lars to meet... and to form Metallica.

From the very start, James has been the main songwriter in Metallica, from the riffs to the lyrics. When he's not writing, singing or playing, James indulges in hunting and various sports. He's recently taken up snowboarding, as he has hung up his skateboard after a series of mishaps.

Guitars are a major part of his life and he has started collecting older guitars... particularly those manufactured in 1963, the year he was born. He can be found in his garage working on a new passion: hot rods. He currently has a Chevy BelAir that he built himself.

James is married and has one daughter.

Jason Newsted

In Brief:Jason Curtis Newsted Born: March 4, 1963

From: Battle Creek, Michigan Personal: divorced Plays: bass

Specialty: Making sure Metallica thumps harder than ever

Vitals: blue eyes, brown-red hair, 5'8"/1.75 meters tall, weighs 150 lbs/68.04 kilos

Biography

He's always up for the show, no matter where or when it is." - James

"Jason is very much a musician's musician." - Kirk

Jason Newsted is the fourth person to play bass for Metallica. After a successful and happy tenure with Cliff Burton, a tragic accident took his life. The remaining members of Metallica felt Cliff would have wished them to carry on.

So carry on they did, with the help of Jason Newsted. He was hand picked by the band after a series of auditions of about 40 people that included Troy Gregory, Willy Lange and Les Claypool. Jason was suggested for a try-out to Lars by Brian Slagel. Brian was a bit reluctant since Jason's current band, Flotsam & Jetsam was signed to his Metal Blade Records.

Jason had some pretty big shoes to fill. Cliff Burton was always more then just the bass player in Metallica. Jason was up to the task and has definitely made his mark on Metallica.

Jason was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, and raised in Niles. At age 14, the Newsted clan packed up and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. There he grew up within 5 miles of the Gibson Guitar Company.

His reasons for picking up bass began and ended with Kiss' Gene Simmons. His roots of 'speed metal' could be traced back to playing his father's player piano at faster than normal tempo. After an initial unsuccessful attempt at bass, he picked up the instrument again a few years later when he received his first bass guitar.

Jason saved up money for a better bass, then hooked up with local band Gangster, which included guitar player Tim Hamlin. Hamlin became a mentor and a teacher of sorts to the young aspiring bass player.

Suprisingly, Jason quit High School just 3 months shy of graduation, and spent time away from home, living with the Gangster guys (He has since received his GED, an does not recommend anyone quitting school).

In 1981, Jason and Hamlin left Michigan for California. They made it as far as Phoenix, Arizona on Halloween, 1981. In Phoenix, Jason kept himself busy with odd jobs including a stint at a Subway sandwich shop. He and Hamlin drifted apart and Jason hooked up with drummer Kelly David-Smith.

With David-Smith, Jason jammed for awhile with Paradox, but that amounted to little. Eventually he moved in with David-Smith in Scotsdale, Arizona. There, the they dug up guitarists Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton. With Jason on bass, and often singing, the fledgling band dubbed themselves Dogz. Horton was soon replaced by Ed Carlson, and this line up played various gigs and recorded some demos.

In 1983, vocalist Erik A.K. joined Dogz, and shortly after they changed the name to Flotsam & Jetsam. Jason acted as bass player, chief songwriter, band manager, fan liason, and lyricist.

Flotsam & Jetsam got a spot on the same Metal Massacre compilation that spawned Metallica's career a few years earlier, and the band was soon signed with Metal Blade records. They released one album, Doomsday For The Deceiver with Jason, and released another with songs written with him. On Halloween night, 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam & Jetsam.

For his audition for Metallica, Newsted learned all of Cliff's parts, but also added some things to show that he was his own person and a capable bass player. The audition was stretched to the next day and finally that evening at Tommy's Joint.. he was finally asked the big question:

"Do you want a job?"

Jason's response? A yell that nearly scared off the other people in the bar.

His quick ascent to Metallica, which was his favorite band, was not easy. He went through a year of hazing and abuse which bordered on ludicrous, absurd and amazing. But Newsted proved himself capable.

Today Jason is an integral part of the band, and as a former fan himself, is widely respected for his ongoing commitment to the fans.

Lars Ulrich

In Brief:Lars Ulrich Born: December 26, 1963 From: Gentofte, Denmark

Personal: Married, 1 Child Specialty: Pounding, driving rhythms Plays: drums

Vitals: green eyes, blonde/brown hair, 5'7"/1.7 meters tall, weighs 130 lbs/58.97 kilos

Biography

"The detail that he pays attention to in music and things like that. That's where I learned alot from him that way." - Jason

"Lars isn't as snotty as he used to be." - Kirk

Lars was barely 10 years old when he attended a Deep Purple concert and learned what music could be. This was no small feat when you think of the music that young Lars had been exposed to up until that time. His father ran a small jazz club and was very involved in Europe's jazz scene. The legendary sax player Dexter Gordon is even Lars' godfather.

It was Deep Purple and Ritchie Blackmore that changed the world for Lars. He was impressed enough from their concert that he purchased their Fireball album the next day. Three years later at age 13, he persuaded his grandmother to buy him his first drum kit.

Drums and music took a backseat to tennis, his father's profession. Lars was a ranked junior player in his native Denmark when the Ulrichs moved to Newport Beach, California. There, Lars was just another tennis player, not the notable player he was in Denmark.

Shortly after, tennis became less important, and Lars fell prey to the guilty pleasures of southern California: sex, drugs and rock n' roll... Lots of rock n' roll. Lars' passion for music grew, and he began trading tapes to obtain his beloved blend of European metal.

In June of 1981, Lars, the ultimate fan boy, flew to England to catch some shows by his now favorite band, Diamond Head. Somehow, some way, Lars managed to talk his way into living with the band in England until he had had to return to California. Back home, he found his tape trading friend Brian Slagel looking for bands to record tracks for an album that would be released on his new Metal Blade Records. Lars secured himself a spot on that album.

But, Lars had no band.

Before going to England he had jammed with a James Hetfield, a singer and guitar player. That jam had its share of problems... Lars' timekeeping wasn't that solid and the cymbals fell victim to gravity a bit too often. But now, he had bait: a spot on an album.

Hetfield took the bait, and Metallica was born.

Music now shares the front seat with Lars' wife and child, and the drummer has learned to relax a bit more, but he's still very much in the driver's seat.

Kirk Hammet

Kirk Lee Hammett  Born: November 18, 1962 From: San Francisco, California

Personal: married Specialty: kick-ass, full blown lead guitar vocals Plays: guitar

Vitals: brown eyes, brown hair, 5'8"/1.75 meters tall, weighs 134 lbs/60.78 kilos