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[ MetallicaHQ.com
] welcomes all the fans to one of the biggest Metallica sites on the net. Simply, We post daily all Metallica Live Gigs, Usually Pro Shot Footage, so sit back and enjoy.
- Haydn (Webmaster)
.: Lars Ulrich :.
One of Metallica's co-founders, Lars, is often called upon to serve as the bands spokesman. Talkative, insightful, and often intensely serious, expeciall when discussing the band, he can also be as wacky as the next Metallifuk when the situation calls for it.
Born in Copenhagen, young Lars followed in the footsteps of his tennis pro father and competed seriously in the sport right up until his family moved to Los Angeles in 1980. Upon realizing that his neighborhood alone was crawling with good tennis players, Lars abandoned it as a career and dove full-tilt into his other longtime passion: music, specifically drumming. Proficient on air-drums and hitting cardboard boxes with sticks at age 12, Lars talked his grandmother into buying him a drumkit in 1977 and practiced while fantasizing he was Deep Purple's Ian Paice.
Once in L.A., Lars was dismayed to find that hardly anyone had heard of Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motorhead and other European Metal favorites. He searched for a like-minded guitarist to jam with and found one James Hetfield, a guy who appreciated the finer things in metal. Some months later, they gave birth to Metallica in Lars' garage.
We doubt that the kid who dreamed of playing Wimbledon, regrets the career change that has him now playing stadiums (not to mention crowds) of a different sort.
Biography
Besides being one of Metallica's founding members and main songwriters, drummer Lars Ulrich is also the band's spokesman. Born on December 26, 1963, in Gentofte, Denmark, Ulrich's father (Torben Ulrich) was a nationally renowned tennis player, and it appeared as though Lars would follow in his father's footsteps, as the young Ulrich practiced hard on tennis skills. In 1973, his father took Lars to his first rock concert, to see the mighty Deep Purple in Copenhagen, which opened the youngster's eyes to hard rock and heavy metal. After he decided that the tennis life wasn't for him after all, Ulrich shifted his focus on music (namely the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement: Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Motörhead, Def Leppard, etc.) and took up the drums. His family relocated to California in the early '80s, as Lars promptly put an ad in the local music paper looking for other similarly minded musicians looking to start up a band (even though the NWOBHM had yet to make an impression stateside). One of the first replies he received was from guitarist James Hetfield, as the pair agreed that they should form a band that was a reaction against the glam metal that had infiltrated Los Angeles at the time. Soon after, Metallica was officially born.
Several other bandmembers came and went, until a lineup consisting of bassist Cliff Burton, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, plus Ulrich and Hetfield (the latter also doubling on vocals by this time) moved to San Francisco, building up a solid fan base due to their shows and a heavily circulated demo tape, No Life 'Til Leather. Metallica was offered a record contract with the independent label Megaforce if they agreed to move to New York, which they did, replacing Mustaine with Kirk Hammett in the process. Over the course of three releases, 1983's Kill 'Em All, 1984's Ride the Lightning (which was the group's first to be issued by a major label, Elektra), and 1986's Master of Puppets, Metallica became one of heavy metal's most promising new bands, until Burton's tragic death nearly derailed the group. With massive success just around the corner, the remaining members decided to carry on with replacement member Jason Newsted, resulting in such blockbuster releases as 1988's ...And Justice for All and 1991's self-titled release, which established the group as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. The '90s saw more sold-out stadium tours and further hit albums (1996's Load, 1997's Reload, etc.), before Newsted exited the band in early 2001.
Between Metallica tours throughout the '90s, Ulrich kept himself busy forming his own record label, Music Company (via Elektra/Asylum), and jet setting with other rock stars as well as movie actors. In the late '90s, Ulrich received criticism from rock fans when he publicly spoke out against the MP3 file-sharing Internet server Napster, attempting to lend a hand in closing down the server by prohibiting Napster from including any Metallica songs -- going as far as giving a list of Metallica fans who had downloaded songs of the group (which resulted in the ban of nearly 300,000 users from the service). ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
More Biography
Lars' father, Torben Ulrich, who was an acclaimed tennis pro from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, was also a musician, playing jazz with giants such as Stan Getz and Miles Davis; legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon was Ulrich's godfather. In February 1973, Torben Ulrich obtained five passes for five of his friends to a Deep Purple concert that was being held in the same Copenhagen stadium as one of his tournaments. When it was discovered that one of the friends could not go, their ticket was handed over to the nine year-old Lars. The young Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the performance, buying the band's Fireball album the very next day. The concert and the album had a considerable impact on Ulrich, inspiring his entrance into the world of rock and roll and later on, heavy metal. As a result of his newfound interest in music, he received his first drum kit from his grandmother at the age of thirteen, a Ludwig. Lars' original goal and reason for moving to America was to play tennis, but the plan was later changed when he formed Metallica.
Later on in life, in 1981, Lars discovered a British heavy metal band called Diamond Head. He was so excited about their style of music after getting hold of their 1980 debut Lightning to the Nations that he traveled all the way from San Francisco to London in order to see the band perform live at the Woolwich Odeon. However, the young Lars had not planned the trip out particularly well and was left without anywhere to stay after the gig. However, he managed to meet the band backstage and explain the lengths he had taken to see them. The band warmed to him and lead guitarist Brian Tatler let him stay with him in Birmingham,[1] where Lars spent the next few weeks touring with the band. Lars still remains a big fan of the band and even helped mix their Best Of album.
Lars spitting water on his fans during a show in London, 15 September 2008.In the same year Lars met James Hetfield in Downey, California and formed the thrash metal band Metallica. He got the name "Metallica" from a friend, Ron Quintanna, who was thinking up names for a heavy metal magazine he was starting up, and Metallica was one of the options, the other being "Metal Mania". Lars encouraged him to pick Metal Mania, and kept the name Metallica for himself. He became known as a pioneer of fast thrash drum beats, featured on many of Metallica's early songs, such as "Metal Militia" from Kill 'Em All, "Fight Fire With Fire" from Ride the Lightning, "Battery" from Master of Puppets and "Dyers Eve" from ...And Justice for All. He has since been considerably influential due to both the popularity of his band, as well as his various drum techniques, such as the double bass in the song "One" (...And Justice for All) and the opening of "Enter Sandman" (Metallica / "The Black Album"). Since the release of Metallica, Ulrich adopted a more focused and precise style of drumming, and reduced his kit from a 9-piece to a 7-piece.
Napster controversy
In April 2000, Ulrich became a vocal opponent of Napster and file sharing as Metallica sued the company for copyright infringement and racketeering. In July 2000, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee after Metallica's entire catalogue was found to be freely available for download on the service. The case was settled out-of-court, resulting in more than 300,000 Napster users being banned from the service.[2] Due to his high profile role in Napster's legal troubles and subsequent demise, Ulrich faced significant criticism and ridicule from users of the service.[3] Since the Napster ordeal, Ulrich was quoted by LAUNCHcast as having some regrets:[4]
“ I wish that I was more...you know, I felt kind of ambushed by the whole thing because I didn't really know enough about what we were getting ourselves into when we jumped. [...] We didn't know enough about the kind of grassroots thing, and what had been going on the last couple of months in the country as this whole new phenomenon was going on. We were just so stuck in our controlling ways of wanting to control everything that had to do with Metallica. So we were caught off guard and we had a little bit of a rougher landing on that one than on other times than when we just blindly leap. But you know, I'm still proud of the fact that we did leap... and I took a lot of hits and it was difficult. ”
Ulrich later admitted that he had gone into the Napster controversy somewhat uneducated, and as revealed in an interview with Eddie Trunk on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" and posted on Blabbermouth.net on March 3, 2009, he pirated Metallica's ninth studio album "Death Magnetic" shortly after it was leaked on the internet.[
Personal life
Ulrich has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1988 to Debbie Jones, a British woman he met on tour, but they were divorced in 1990 because of Ulrich's constant absence due to touring and then recording The Black Album. His second marriage was to Skylar Satenstein, an emergency medicine physician, from 1997 to 2004. They had two sons, Myles (b. August 5, 1998) and Layne (b. May 6, 2001). Satenstein was the inspiration for "Skylar", the love interest for Will Hunting (Matt Damon) in the movie Good Will Hunting, as Satenstein and Damon dated during college. Ulrich and Satenstein divorced in March 2004.
Ulrich has dated Danish actress Connie Nielsen since late 2003, early 2004 and the couple had their first child, Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen, born in San Francisco on May 21, 2007.[6] Nielsen also has another son named Sebastian (b. 1990).
Ulrich is also a noted collector of art. His father, who owned a jazz club, was also very fond of art and paintings, so Ulrich grew up surrounded by art and music, and both have always been a part of his life. After founding Metallica, he began visting museums and art galleries during the band's long periods on the road. In an interview from 2002 Ulrich said: "I felt I could lose myself in art and get away from the music world. It became this great hiding place."
In 2008, in an interview with Stereo Warning, he said: "We had art all over the house when I was growing up. It's been a passion of mine for 20-25 years. It's one area where I can go and be myself. It's not about being in Metallica or being the drummer in a rock band. I'm accepted for who I am in the art circles. I love going into artist spaces and galleries and auction houses. It's great because it has absolutely nothing to do with Metallica. It's my place of sanctuary."
When he and the rest of Metallica were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Ulrich was the first Danish person to receive the honor.
In popular culture
Ulrich's involvement in the conflict with Napster was parodied in "Christian Rock Hard", an episode of the satirical animated TV series South Park. In the episode, the children are taught not to download illegally because multi-millionaires like Ulrich now have to wait a little longer to buy extravagant things (also, when Kyle has his "weekly epiphany" and proclaims that bands should be about music, the artists react with "we're just about the money," with Ulrich nodding). Another such reference is in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Don't Download This Song".
Lars made a brief appearance on the Linkin Park live DVD, Live In Texas, dressed up as a green fisted bunny man during their performance of "From The Inside".
He was also mentioned in the Family Guy episode FOX-y Lady, where it is revealed that Ulrich is, in fact, Fred Savage in disguise.
Lars is featured, along with the other Metallica members, in the film The Darwin Awards. He portrays himself at a concert when two of the film's characters are involved in a freak accident as the band performs on stage.
Lars also appears with his band Metallica in The Simpsons episode "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer".
Lars also made an appearance on the television show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Lars made an appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show on April 27th.
Lars made an appearance on the Iron Maiden film, Flight 666.
Lars made an appearance in the film Anvil: The Story of Anvil.
Lars made an appearance on the Sam Dunn film, Global Metal.
Lars has also been announced to have a cameo in Guns N' Roses' new video "Better", which is yet to be released.
Equipment
Ulrich endorses Tama Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Remo Drumheads. He is rarely, if ever, seen without these brands onstage. He has, however, been known to use a mixture of brands when recording in the studio, including Ludwig Drums, Gretsch Drums and Sabian Cymbals. Ulrich was an endorser of Calato Regal Tip drumsticks, but changed to Easton Ahead in 1994. Tama Drums has produced two Lars Ulrich Signature Snare drums, one with a steel shell (with diamond plate-like finish) and another made out of bell brass which currently is Tama's most expensive snare drum on the regular catalogue. Both snare drums measure 14x6.5".
Current Tour Kit (2008–2009)
Tama Drums and Hardware, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads:
Drums – Tama Starclassic Maple, LU Magnetic Orange (finish #LUM) [7]
10" × 8" Tom
12" × 10" Tom
16" × 14" Floor Tom
16" × 16" Floor Tom
22" × 16" Bass Drum (x2)
14" × 6.5" Lars Ulrich Signature Snare Drum
Lars' Famous Black And White Tama Drums Granstar II Kit specs are as follows:
12x11 Tom
13x12 Tom
14x13 Tom
16x15 Tom
18x16 Floor Tom (x2)
24x16 Bass Drum (x2)
8x14 Birch Snare Drum
Note: He used the same cymbals then as he does now.
Note: Ulrich uses the standard Lars Ulrich Signature LU1465 snare live on tour (diamond plate), while he uses both the LU1465 and LU1465BB (bell brass) in the studio, depending on what type of sound he wants.
Cymbals – Zildjian [8]
14" Z Custom Dyno Beat Hi-Hats
19" A Custom Projection Crash
18" A Custom Projection Crash (x2)
17" A Custom Projection Crash
18" Oriental China Trash
20" Z Custom China
Note: In concert sometimes Lars will use a 20" A Custom Ping Ride.
Drum Heads - Remo
Mounted Toms - Coated Emperor | Clear Ambassador
Floor Toms - Coated Emperor | Clear Ambassador
Bass - Clear Powerstroke 3 | Ebony Powerstroke 3
Snare - Coated Emperor X | Clear Hazy Ambassador
Hardware - Tama and Drum Workshop
Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide Kick Pedal (x2)
Tama Iron Cobra Lever Glide Hi-Hat Stand
Tama Roadpro Cymbal Stand w/Counterweight (x3)
Tama Roadpro Cymbal Stand (x2)
Tama Roadpro Double Tom Stand
Tama Roadpro Snare Stand
Tama Cymbal Holder
Tama Multi-Clamp
Tama Hi-Hat Attachment
Tama Ergo-Rider Drum Throne
DW Drop-Lock Hi-Hat Clutch
Sticks - Ahead
Lars Ulrich Signature 16-1/4" length, .595" diameter
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