Dare to Dream Big

“No life ‘til leather, we’re gonna kick some ass tonight!” These prophetic words are the first verse of their first song, ‘Hit the Lights.’ Little did anybody know just how much ass they would kick as these words have since ushered in three decades of heavy metal madness. Throughout their career they’ve done just about everything, yet they strive to attempt new challenges and explore new avenues. They are ambitious, unpredictable, and passionate about what they do.

Many things have led up to Metallica’s 30 years of metal ambassadorship. In 2009 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They brought about the Big 4 shows which put the four biggest founders and pioneers of thrash metal together on one stage: Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer, and Metallica. They collaborated with Velvet Underground genius, Lou Reed, held a four night anniversary bash at the Fillmore, are planning a 3D movie, and after years of headlining every festival in the world imaginable from Monsters of Rock to Bonnaroo, decided to throw their own.

When they announced the Orion Music and More Festival to take place at Bader Field in Atlantic City, NJ on June 23 & 24, I attempted to get tickets but the confirmation button wouldn’t allow it. I figured it was a sign that I should be more responsible and just save my money. Then I came home late one night from work to find a contest. The prize was a three night hotel stay, airfare, two VIP passes, and a chance to meet the band. Metallica was set to play their thrash classic, Ride the Lightning, in its entirety on Saturday night and their blockbuster, The Black Album, also in its entirety on Sunday night. You could enter the contest via Twitter or Facebook, but the rules were to pick a song off either of those albums and explain why it made you want to attend the festival, made you a Metallica fan or influenced your life. Half in the bag, I entered the contest. I felt like I was taking the SAT test again as I chose the song ‘Wherever I May Roam,’ explaining that if you really want something, you’ll go as far as and as long as it takes to get it, using my Metal Massacre project as an example.

In 1982, Metallica released their very first song on a compilation album titled Metal Massacre on Brian Slagel’s fledgling label (at the time), Metalblade Records. There were about 2,500 copies of the first version pressed, and specifically unique to that pressing is a five-piece Metallica lineup of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Ron McGovney, Dave Mustaine, and Lloyd Grant. I got my hands on one of these records back in high school, and it became my first ever music project. It was an insane idea, but my goal became to track down all five members listed and have them sign the album. Nobody has ever attempted this feat nor completed it, however, a guy I met from Metclub named Michael ‘Lurch’ Robinson had the same idea and we’ve worked together for many years. He needs only Lloyd to cross the finish line. Over a decade-plus span, I tracked down everyone but James and Lars. When I got the news that I had won the contest along with my shot as finishing the album, I immediately put a handle of Captain Morgan’s to my face despite having to work at 8 a.m. the next day.

The Friday before the festival, my friend Shelley and I flew out of Logan Airport early in the morning and landed at Philadelphia International. From there we took the first train to the Amtrack. From there it was another train ride for an hour and a half. When we arrived in Atlantic City it was pouring so we took a taxi to the hotel to check in, freshen up, and get all our crap together. Then we took a shuttle to the Resorts Hotel on the strip once it stopped raining. I had never been to Atlantic City before. Shelley and I went half and half on Blackjack and walked away with $30 each. By the time we left the table, I drank a good amount. We walked a portion of the strip before stopping into the Hard Rock Café to get some eats. The place was packed to the brim with people wearing various Metallica and other heavy metal band t-shirts. We had our food while they played music videos on the screens. Then someone realized it would probably be a good idea to put a Metallica video on. When they did, the place erupted. Everybody started singing along and banging on tables. Any time they changed the video to a non-Metallica act there were hollers of “BOOO!!!!!!!”

We decided to head up to the bar because that was where all the action was. It was a Metallica sing-along for the rest of the night. What happened next, we definitely were not prepared for. This couple from Central PA came up and started singing and chatting with us. Of the four of us who were there, no one can properly recall how we met. The beers and shots just kept coming. Deana Rodkey and Adam Washell swapped numbers with us and after a while, we threw in the towel.  It took me everything I had that night to make it through.

The next morning, Shelley and I had breakfast, encountered some zombies (from Kirk’s Crypt) and split a cab with two other guys from the hotel. We hit Trump Plaza first and exchanged numbers in case we might split a cab again. We went to a beach bar and started to drink early. I had this grape drink that was amazing. We threw in at Bally’s for some more Blackjack (we broke even) and a bit more of the boardwalk before meeting up with Deana and Adam at the Resorts bar. You can guess what happened next.

We intended to head to the show, but spent another hour in their room getting liquored up. When we finally made it to the field, Adam realized he left his and Deana’s tickets at the hotel and had to make another trip back for them. When everyone had their tickets, we walked in to hear Suicidal Tendencies finishing up their set. Shelley and I ran to check out Kirk’s Crypt and were blown away by Kirk Hammet’s horror memorabilia collection then saw some of the Arctic Monkeys set before making out way over to the stage Metallica would be playing at.

            After making our way up front on the left side of the stage, we met people from New Orleans to Brazil. Our swapping of stories came to an abrupt end as the lights went down and AC/DC’s classic ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)’ played over the PA which cut out to ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ and the graveyard scene from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly being played on three large screens.

            The boys took the stage and busted into ‘Hit the Lights’ followed by ‘Master Of Puppets,’ ‘The Four Horsemen,’ ‘Sad But True,’ and ‘Hell and Back’ before footage and an introduction to the Ride the Lightning days. The band played the entire album in reverse order, and a highlight for everyone was when they finally took the plunge and played ‘Escape’ live for the first time ever. “This is historical,” James told the audience; it was a song they had never wanted to play live. The person standing to my left actually caught the pick James used for ‘Escape’ while the girl on my right caught James’s wristband. Tons of pyro, double bass, and guitar solos were executed as they finished off their set with ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ ‘Enter Sandman,’ ‘Battery,’ ‘One,’ and ‘Seek and Destroy’ being dedicated to deceased band member, Cliff Burton.

            The next morning, we had breakfast with Deana and Adam at Bally’s Casino and took a cab to the field. The plan for the meet and greet was to be at the taco stand inside the Ultra Lounge at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. After breakfast, we took a taxi to Bader Field. The taxi drop-off was way past the gate which totally sucked, especially carrying around a guitar case full of crap. When we got to the entrance, the security guard immediately told me “you can’t bring that in,” motioning to the guitar. He informed me that there was a ‘no instrument’ policy and that I’d have to go over to the box office and get a security pass and/or clearance, so I went over to there and explained myself. I told them it was all set up and I was OK to go. Hopes of getting Brian Slagel to sign the record were gone at this point. He was doing a Q&A at 1:00 p.m. so my plan was to get him quickly and still be at the lounge on time.

It was 1:10 p.m. by the time we got to the box office, and in a poor attempt to dismiss us, after ten minutes they tried to tell us “there is no meet and greet. The band isn’t going to be signing any guitars or autographs today.” As nicely as I could, I told them to call back and get Steven on the line and to clear it up. This was happening and I would not be denied. That guitar was coming in! Five minutes later, they miraculously figured things out and apologized for any confusion. We got escorted in and had five minutes to make it to our destination. Good thing we got there early…

            At long last, we made it to the taco stand where Laura from C3 filled us in on a few details and hooked us up with the rest of the meet and greet group. She told me that I’d have to leave the guitar with her afterwards so she could put it in security until the festival was over. That was fine with me because in no way, shape, or form, did I want to carry that for the rest of the day. Our group consisted of 13 people; there was Shelley and I, Metclub members who won a pass, and a few from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I’ve been extremely fortunate for the roads and adventures I’ve been on both musically and even life in general, but until now I’ve never literally been in the same group as someone from an organization like Make-A-Wish. What really hit me at that point in time was realizing the reasons we were in the same group were as far apart as they could be.

            As the Met staff was figuring out last minute details, this kid taps me on the shoulder and asks me what the red ‘stickers’ the guy just put on us were for. “Dude this guy was dense!” I thought. I said it’s the pass we need to go out back and meet the band. He gives me this almost unsensible moment of shock look and says “oh.” A minute after that, the staff realizes they’re a pass short. The other person said they had the right amount, so they started doing a recount and verifying everyone. This kind of security is practically presidential. They verify everyone except the kid next to me. When they asked him who he was, he just froze and they knew they found their man. Now I know why he asked me that question about the pass. “That’s our oddball.” Then comes the event that all but traumatizes you; one of the worst feelings and sounds out there: the ripping of satin and sticker off your shirt. It happens incredibly fast but it feels like a lifetime of rippage. You feel it coming off you in an excruciatingly lengthened period of time although it real time it takes less than a second. That kid was SO close to getting in. Had it been any other band, he probably would have succeeded. It was a decent attempt at least but there wasn’t anything he could do.

            Toby Stapleton, a Metallica legend in his own right, came to take us backstage. He asked me to show him my guitar. For his enjoyment or for security purposes, I’m not sure but it was probably the latter. On our way behind the Orion stage, we passed through two other checkpoints. It was so cool to see the “guts” of the operation. Toby brought us over to a lounge area and some trailers. I’m also not sure if it’s because I won the contest or if it’s because I had a guitar case, but he allowed Shelley and I to chill on the couches in the lounge while he took the other 11 into one of the trailers next to us. From where we sat, we could see James sitting at the lounge across from us reading a book.

            Over the next hour and change, each member informally walked over to say ‘Hi’ and shoot the breeze. In between that, Toby swapped some great stories with us. It was one on one when they came by and that gave me enough time to prep for each of them. It wasn’t long before James came over and introduced himself. He congratulated us and signed the record and an old photo I have of the No Life ‘Til Leather lineup at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. I then showed him the guitar that I’ve worked on for the past seven years and pointed out a few of his influences and contemporaries. He asked me how I got so many signatures and I told him I had no idea. He said it was a very impressive piece, took some pictures with us and moved on to the other 11 in the trailer.

            Rob Trujillo was the next person to come over. He was all hyped up and was soaked from surfing. I asked him how the waves were and he said they sucked, haha. Well, what can you expect if you’re used to the waves of California and Hawaii? His ankle was all taped up so I asked him if he pulled something last night. He told me it was fine and he had pushed off the wrong way or too hard at one of the shows, then showed us the motion. He signed this huge picture I have of just him, adding the Suicidal Tendencies logo, and the name of his previous gig, Ozzy, and finishing off with Metallica. After taking pictures with us, a short Danish man approached us.

            “Hi, I’m the drummer,” in an almost inquisitive tone. “Oh yeah, you any good?” was my reply. “Oh yeah man, I think we’re about to land a record contract or something soon.” Lars Ulrich has quite the sense of humor. He looks at my friend’s band shirt I’m wearing; “Cool shirt bro. What’s that say…The Ssssssummoned.” After we bantered for a few “I’ll-help-you-hang-up-some-flyers” seconds, I took out a Zildjian ad that had a picture of him biting a cymbal. Even before I could say anything he grabbed it and yelled “Holy s*** I gotta show this to my dentist!!! You see, that’s what $18,000 gets you!” Shelley told him hers were $4,000. “I guess they’re bringing down the price, huh?”

            I had him sign the ad to Greg Murphy, one of my best buddies who also helped introduce me to Metallica and to add ‘happy birthday’ which would be in the next few days. After that I showed him the photo from 1982 and the record. “WOW!” was all he could say for a minute and honored my requests for him to inscribe “No Life ‘Til Leather” on the photo and “The Young Metal Attack” on the record. Then he proceeded to have the album brought to Brian Slagel to be signed as well. Then he asked us what else we had for him to sign. I was quite surprised to hear him say that, but pulled out all the other stuff I had regardless. He jokingly stated it was going straight to eBay after. When I told him that wasn’t going to happen, he stated that he actually doesn’t care what goes to eBay or not. “I’ll sign whatever. If people want to wait at my hotel until six in the morning it’s cool with me.” Then he proceeded to scribble his name on everything else I put in front of him.

            It took Kirk a bit, but he soon came over. He probably had just come back from watching Gary Clark Jr.’s set which I was bummed that I missed. The big thing I wanted from Kirk was to have him sign my guitar. When I showed it to him he immediately started to look at the names, pointing out Duke Robillard and Al Anderson from [Bob Marley’s] the Wailers band of all people. I rattled off a few names to him, but saved Michael Schenker for last. When he saw that, he was amazed. He signed next to him and added “Metallica 2012!” so that people would recognize his name from all the others. He also signed an Ernie Ball guitar string ad which saluted his efforts in Metallica for thirty years.

            Brian Slagel came back with my record shortly after. We talked about the old days of metal, new things happening at Metalblade, and the misfortunes of a Ritchie Blackmore fan that traveled from Toronto to Boston attempting to have him sign his record (Blackmore doesn’t sign any items Rainbow or Deep Purple related). When I showed him a photocopy of a check sent to Ron McGovney he laughed and thought it was hilarious. Slagel is a great guy and we chatted for quite a few minutes. When the meet and greet was over, I packed everything up and handed over the guitar case. Then one of the members of Metallica’s staff gave us a pair of Snake Pit passes which get you as close to the stage as humanly possible without actually being on it.

            I didn’t have enough time the day before, but I absolutely needed to check out the Metallica Museum, so that’s what I hit afterwards as I watched Best Coast. The line was long and they didn’t bring Cliff’s bass like they had previously displayed at the Fillmore shows, but there were tons of other significant and amazing relics from their entire existence as a band. James brought his EET F**, Of Wolf and Man, and MORE BEER guitars. Kirk brought the Flying V he used to record Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets as well as his famous Ouija and Spider guitars. A Pyro Pete shirt, old Pushead artwork, the art for the Load album, the head of Doris the justice statue, Rob’s custom Aztec bass, Lars’s white Granstar II drum kit, and even the burned guitar James used that fateful day during ‘Fade to Black’ in Montreal were on display.

            With the two big events of the day over until Metallica took the stage again, we took Deana and Adam to Kirk’s Crypt, checked out comedian Jim Breuer, country artist Eric Church, saw some of James’s hot rods, visited Ktulu’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Emporium and got some food. Shelley and I entered the Snake Pit and could literally spit onto the stage. The guys came out and ripped it up again for the second time. Highlights for me were hearing ‘Of Wolf and Man,’ ‘The God That Failed,’ ‘Wherever I May Roam,’ and the rarely played ‘The Shortest Straw.’ At the end of the performance, tons of black beach balls, guitar picks, and drum sticks were thrown into the audience by the band and their entourage. I was fortunate enough to grab one of James’s black fang picks this time, but the real thriller was when Lars was throwing out his sticks. He threw out all his sticks but when he ran back over our side of the runway he saw me and gave me a slight ‘wait’ signal. He ran over to his drum kit and actually came back to where I was and personally handed me one of his used sticks.

            Variety is the spice of life as Lars says. At the Orion festival, there was SO much to see and do that it was impossible. You really had to pick and choose. It was an event they had discussed doing for many years, and the coolest part was that they were all out there and engaged in it whether they were at their respective film, skateboarding, surfing, hot rod or horror tents or introducing the bands they picked for the fest. In Atlantic City, nobody knew where the chips would fall, especially Metallica, or so they claim. I might call ‘bull’ on that one. Regardless, I would have to say everything turned out to be a triumphant success. For me, the fans, and the band especially, it’s safe to say  that everything ended on a high note. In fact, everything ended in the biggest possible way. Having never seen Metallica before, it’s no wonder they bring together such a diverse audience. As a band, and as I’ve had the privilege of discovering, Metallica as individuals really are everything you’d hope them to be.

Special thanks to Deana and Adam for all the drinks, laughs, and an incredible time, Atlantic City for giving us your money and A LOT of free beer, Lurch for working on the record with me for these many years – you WILL finish!!!, Laura from C3 and Steven Chandler for handling everything as smoothly as possible, Toby for being professional and badass at the same time, and to James, Lars, Kirk and Rob for the adventure of a lifetime, Cheerz!!!!