James
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
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.