Lars Ulrich
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| Lars Ulrich
<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Lars Ulrich.jpg Lars Ulrich performing live in 2004 </td></tr>
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| Background information
<tr><td>Born</td><td colspan="2">December 26, 1963 |
Lars Ulrich (born December 26 1963) is the drummer and co-founder of Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to a middle-upper-class family. A tennis prodigy in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of seventeen, to pursue his training. After publishing an advertisement in a local Los Angeles newspaper, called The Recycler, he met James Hetfield and created Metallica.
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[edit] Biography
Lars' father, Torben Ulrich, who was an acclaimed tennis pro from the late 1940s into the early 1980s, was also a musician, playing jazz with such giants as Stan Getz and Miles Davis; another jazz legend, Dexter Gordon, was Ulrich's godfather. He had a jazz club in which Ulrich spent a lot of time as a child. In February of 1973, Torben Ulrich obtained five passes for five of his friends to a Deep Purple concert that was being held in the same Copenhagen stadium as one of his tournaments. When it was discovered that one of the friends could not go, their ticket was handed over to the nine year-old Ulrich. The young Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the performance, buying the band's Fireball album the very next day. The concert and the album had a considerable impact on Ulrich, inspiring his entrance into the world of rock and roll and later on, heavy metal. As a result of his newfound interest in music, he received his first drum kit at the age of thirteen, a Ludwig.
In 1981, Ulrich met James Hetfield in Downey, California and formed the thrash metal band Metallica. Ulrich's early work with Metallica led him to be dubbed as one of the thrash metal scene's drumming greats. He became known for his pioneering fast thrash drum beats and techniques featuring on many of Metallica's early songs, such as 'Metal Militia' (Kill 'Em All), 'Dyers Eve' (...And Justice for All), 'Fight Fire with Fire' (Ride the Lightning) and 'Battery' (Master of Puppets). He has since been considerably influential due to both the popularity of his band and his interesting drum techniques and styles such as the machine-gun Double bass in the song 'One' (...And Justice For All) and the pounding opening of 'Enter Sandman' (Metallica).
However, in 2000, Ulrich would face overwhelming public backlash[citation needed] when he was one of the first artists to take direct action against Napster. In 2001, he testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee after Metallica's entire catalogue was found to be freely available for download on the service. Despite mass outcry from Napster users, no one was ever sued for copyright infringement, and the case was settled out-of-court.
[edit] Personal life
Ulrich has been married twice. His first marriage, to an English woman known only to the public as "Debbie", ended around 1990 during the making of Metallica. In March 2004 Ulrich separated from Skylar Satenstein (an emergency medicine physician), to whom he was previously married for seven years and had two sons, Myles (b. August 5, 1998) and Layne (b. May 6, 2001).
Ulrich is currently dating the Danish actress Connie Nielsen.
[edit] Equipment
Ulrich is an endorser of Tama drums, Zildjian cymbals and Remo drumheads. He is rarely, if ever, seen without these brands onstage. He has, however, been known to use a mixture of brands when recording in the studio, including Ludwig drums and Sabian cymbals. Ulrich was an endorsee of Calato Regal Tip drumsticks, but changed to Easton Ahead in 1994.
[edit] Trivia
- In 2005 a band called Beatallica (a band that mixed lyrics and riffs from The Beatles and Metallica) received a cease-and-desist order from Sony (who hold a lot of the rights to the music of the Beatles). In support of Beatallica, Ulrich asked Metallica's attorney, Peter Paterno, to help Beatallica. Since then beatallica.com has been online.
- For many years Ulrich has been an avid scuba diver, to the extent that he has been known to read scuba diving magazines during solo breaks between songs whilst on tour with Metallica. [citation needed]
- Played the drums with Mercyful Fate for the re-recording of the song "Return of the Vampire". [citation needed]
- Stands 5'7 (~1.70 m)
- On Linkin Park's live CD/DVD Live in Texas, during From the Inside, Ulrich appeared on stage wearing pink bunny ears and Hulk Hands and proceeded to mess with the band for a few brief seconds. In the ending credits on the DVD, he is credited as the 'Green-Fisted Bunnyman'.
- His name is mentioned in "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2006 single "Don't Download This Song", in reference to his anti-Napster stance.
- Ulrich is a huge fan of popular British rock band Oasis and has become acquainted with them over the years. In November 2006, Canadian music magazine Exclaim! published an interview with Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher. Gallagher makes several references to Ulrich and is quoted as saying, "Lars Ulrich? Although he’s a fookin’ geezer and I do love him, he’s a strange character. A strange, strange man." [1] Lars even once did a cover of Wonderwall providing vocals. [citation needed]
[edit] External links
- Lars Ulrich's Biography on Metallica.com. Metallica.com. Retrieved on December 30, 2005.
- Lars Ulrich 1992 Signature Kit sold on eBay. ebay.com. Retrieved on May 08, 2006.
- Lars Ulrich's St Anger Tour Setup. Tamadrum.co.jp. Retrieved on February 19, 2006.
- Lars Ulrich's Load/ReLoad/Garage Inc./S&M Tour Setup. Tama.com. Retrieved on February 19, 2006.
- Lars Ulrich's Equipment. Encycmet.com. Retrieved on February 19, 2006.
| Metallica |
| Members |
|---|
| James Hetfield - Kirk Hammett - Robert Trujillo - Lars Ulrich |
| Former members: Cliff Burton - Dave Mustaine - Ron McGovney - Jason Newsted |
| Discography |
| Albums and extended plays: No Life 'Til Leather - Kill 'Em All - Ride the Lightning - Master of Puppets - Garage Days Re-Revisited - ...And Justice for All - Metallica - Load - ReLoad - Garage Inc. - S&M - St. Anger - Some Kind of Monster - Ninth studio album |
| Videography |
| DVDs and videos: Cliff 'em All - 2 of One - A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica - Live Shit: Binge & Purge - Cunning Stunts - S&M - Classic Albums: Metallica - The Black Album - Some Kind of Monster - The Videos 1989-2004 |
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