Posted by Metallifreak on 15.01.2012 at18:57:
James' Celebrates Half Brother's 60th Birthday
According to
Beautiful Brea Old And New, METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield came to Brea, California several weeks ago for his half brother David Hale's 60th birthday. They jammed METALLICA songs as well as music from the '60s for two hours at Virtuo Music Studio in Brea, where James spotted a METALLICA poster on one of the walls of the practice room and signed it. Gary Hampson played bass guitar while Ed Soto, who had given James his first guitar lesson when he was a kid, played the lead guitar. David was on the drums. David's son, Daniel, also played a song on the drums.
One of the most influential figures in hard rock and heavy metal of the past 30 years, Hetfield was born in Los Angeles, California to parents who were devout Christian Scientists. A strict religious upbringing, which included seeing his mother die of cancer because their religion forbade medical treatment, fueled the lyrics of many METALLICA songs, including "Until It Sleeps", "The God That Failed" and "Fade to Black".
Hetfield learned to play piano and drums before picking up a guitar at the age of 14. His early bands during his high school years included OBSESSION, PHANTOM LORD and LEATHER CHARM. When LEATHER CHARM's drummer left, an ad that Hetfield placed in a local paper for a new drummer led him to meet Danish-born Lars Ulrich. The pair formed METALLICA in 1981 and remain its two original members. The group has since become one of the biggest rock bands in history, selling 59 million records in the U.S. and over 100 million worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in April 2009 along with JEFF BECK, RUN-DMC and others.
Hetfield battled for years with addictions to alcohol and drugs, finally entering rehab in 2001 during the turbulent sessions for the band's "St. Anger" album. He emerged clean and sober and remains so to this day.
Hetfield's struggle and the band's near-demise during that period was chronicled in the 2004 documentary "Some Kind of Monster".
Hetfield has been married to Francesca since 1997. They have three children, Cali, Castor and Marcella.
His hobbies include skateboarding, hunting, water sports, snowboarding, collecting guitars and customizing classic automobiles.
Hetfield has listed some of his main musical influences as BLACK SABBATH, THIN LIZZY, AEROSMITH, MOTÖRHEAD, QUEEN and LED ZEPPELIN.
METALLICA's ninth studio effort, "Death Magnetic", came out in September 2008.
Source:
Blabbermouth
Posted by Metallifreak on 15.01.2012 at18:59:
Did you know department? 30 years ago the forming of Metallica started in the home of David and Lorraine Hale on Evening Canyon in Brea. 1981 Brea Olinda grad James Hetfield the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica is the half brother of David Hale. James came to Brea several weeks ago for David Hale’s 60th birthday and to celebrate the 30 years as a band.
They jammed for two hours at Virtuo Music Studio in Brea. The owners of the music studio Dan and Kal Paviolo loaned them their practice room. James spotted a Metallica poster on one of the walls of the practice room and signed it unknown to the owners. The two brothers James and David never played together before and really enjoyed the session. Brea resident, talented Gary Hampson, joined in playing bass guitar, and Ed Soto, friend and fellow garage band member with David in high school, played the lead guitar, and David was on the drums. Ed had given James his first guitar lesson when he was a kid. David Hale’s son Daniel played a song on the drums also. They played Metallica songs as well as some from the 60’s. Needless to say a good time was had by all and it was nice to have the rockstar James Hetfield back in Brea again.
Source:
Beautiful Brea Old And New