DATE OF BIRTH: August 3, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH: Southern California
HEIGHT: 6 feet, 1 inch
WEIGHT: On tour weight - 175lbs, Off tour weight - 185lbs
MARITAL STATUS: James married his long time love Francesca on
August 17, 1997. He also is a proud father of Cali Tee who was born
on June 11, 1998. Cali weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces and was measured
at 20 inches.
JOB: Guitarist, vocalist, and creative genius behind Metallica.
Also scribbles words that resemble lyrics
SIDE PROJECTS/GUEST SPOTS: Between 1986 and 1990, James played
drums in the drunk, hardcore-esque band the Spastik Children with Fred
Cotton on vocals, and a handful of musicians who came and went along
the way including Cliff Burton, James "Flunky" McDaniel, Kirk
Hammett, Jim Martin, and Jason Newsted. James has appeared on Danzig's
self-titled debut album singing back up vocals on "Twist of Cain"
and "Possession." James also sings the chorus of the Corrosion
of Conformity song, "Man or Ash," which appears on CoC's Wiseblood
album. He has also appeared as a background vocalist on Milk & Blood's
debut album.
OLD BANDS: James played in Obsession with a few pals from Downey
High School. Obsession consisted of James and Jim Arnold on guitar and
Rich and Ron Veloz on drums and bass. After Obession came to an end,
James jammed with Jim Mulligan and a guy named Troy in a garage band.
Phantom Lord came next with the lineup of Jim Mulligan on drums, Hugh
Tanner on guitar, and Hetfield on second guitar and vocals. Bassists,
however, would come and go. After Phantom Lord came Leather Charm, which
was basically the same band with Ron McGovney on bass guitar. Finally,
after the demise of Leather Charm came his collaboration with Lars Ulrich
and the creation of Metallica.
SPORTS: James is a die-hard Oakland Raiders fan and cannot get
enough of the San Jose Sharks.
HOBBIES: Dangerous outdoor activites that include hunting, wakeboarding,
snowboarding, and working on his custom Harley. James hung up his skateboard
after his last wrist-shattering experience. Nothing, however, is as
dangerous as being on stage.
INFLUENCES: Black Sabbath, UFO, Motorhead, Ted Nugent, AerosmithHe
credits Black Sabbath, Motorhead,
PREVIOUS JOBS: James previously worked for a moving company.
He also worked in a sticker factory until one of the machines almost
severred his hand.
LISTENS TO: Corrosion of Conformity, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Misfits,
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Rocket from the Crypt and Venom.
ADDITIONAL TIDBITS OF INFO: Jaymz is the most injured member
of Metallica. Between being the subject of a bar-b-que party in Montreal
to various bar room brawls, he's lucky he still has his limbs attached.
Wondering what all has happened to Mr. Hetfield?
- An astronomical number of black eyes due to fighting and headbanging.
- Jaymz suffers from Tinitus in both ears. His constant ringing has
been caused by 135 db stage monitors for years and gunshots.
- Upper right arm burned.
- Right wrist sliced open by a broken beer bottle.
- Two broken knuckles from fighting.
- Inside hand had 6 stiches after falling down with a bottle of Vodka
on the first night of the Venom tour.
- 20 stitches in his right knee from a knife wound.
- Foot cut open by a broken beer bottle resulting in 5 stitches.
- Both hands have numerous knife wounds from hunting and fishing.
- Both bones of the left arm have had compund fractures from 2 skateboarding
accidents resulting in two metal plates with screws and 85 stitches.
- Pyrotechnic accidents caused deep second degree burns over left
arm with a questionable skin graft on hand.
- Left side of face burned during Montreal Bar-B-Que party.
- 40 stiches in head from an ATV accident.
- Beer bottle broken over head during a fight in Mexico.
- Hair damaged by tour lights, pyrotechnic errors, and scissors.
ODDS & ENDS: Jaymz was raised in a strict Christian scientist
household which further alienated him from the world and aided in the
death of his mother from cancer. After a few failed garage bands, he
met up with Lars Ulrich and began their extensive collaboration together.
Jaymz is the main songwriter of the band and driving force of Metallica.
He has since hung up his beer bottle. After numerous wasted days of
feeling like hell, Jaymz decided that it was time to quit drinking.
No more Jagermeister and no more alcoholic beer. Jaymz now only enjoys
the wonders of non-alcoholic beer and has to put up with Lars sober.
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