BIRTHDAY WISHES: Lars Ulrich was born today in 1963 in Gentofte, Denmark. Lars Ulrich is the drummer of the American heavy metal band Metallica. Besides being one of Metallicas founding members and main songwriters, Lars is also the bands spokesman. The son of former tennis pro Torben Ulrich, Lars was himself a tennis player in his youth and it appeared as though he would follow in his fathers footsteps. However, this all changed in 1973 when Lars father took him to his first rock concert to see Deep Purple in Copenhagen. This experience made Lars more aware of rock and heavy metal. After he decided that the tennis life wasnt for him after all, Lars shifted his focus on music, namely the New Wave of British heavy metal music that included bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Motörhead, and Def Leppard. It was at this point that Lars seriously took up the drums. At the age of 16, Lars family relocated to Los Angeles, California, at which time Lars promptly put an ad in the local music paper looking for other similarly minded musicians looking to start up a band. One of the first replies he received was from guitarist James Hetfield. The pair agreed that they should form a band that was a reaction against the glam metal that was popular in 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. Metallica 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 with Mustaine leaving in the process. Over the course of three releases, 1983s Kill Em All, 1984s Ride the Lightning (which was the groups first to be issued by a major label, Elektra), and 1986s Master of Puppets, Metallica became one of heavy metals most promising new bands, until Burtons 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 1988s And Justice for All and 1991s self-titled release, which established the group as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. Along with drummers like Charlie Benante of Anthrax, Lars Ulrich is considered one of thrash metals early pioneers and has left an indelible mark on drumming history. Earlier this year, Lars was voted one of The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time by the readers of Modern Drummer Magazine. Im no Joey Jordison. Im no Mike Portnoy, and I have nothing but love and respect and admiration for all those guys. When I hear some of the young dudes, they blow my mind with what they can do with their feet and stuff – but its not something that makes me go, I need to feel better about myself so Im gonna learn how to do what they do with my feet. Im not a particularly accomplished drummer but I am very, very, very good at understanding the role of the drums next to James Hetfields rhythm guitar. I guarantee you Im the best guy in the world for that, and thats enough for me! - Lars Ulrich
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 19:59:03 +0000