When I first heard the song 'Eruption,' which is Eddie Van Halen's most famous solo composition, I was confused because it sounded incredible, but I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if it was a guitar. I didn't know if it was a synthesizer or a keyboard. I couldn't figure it out.
I had a band called Infectious Grooves back in the Nineties. That music was really a mixture of styles, and we had some stuff that was punk rock, ska, but then we had a lot of funk in there.
I think Slayer is a funky band.
In a lot of ways, Metallica is like a fusion band. It's not necessarily jazz or any of that, but the music is grooving.
It's always nice, no matter what style of music, as long as it's grooving and you feel that, I feel that's what makes... part of what makes a great song, for sure.
We just like to make great songs and have fun, and if people want to nominate us for a Grammy and celebrate it, then we'll take it.
I went to jazz school. Not to say I'm a great jazz musician, but I studied under some great teachers. It was an important part of my life.
I was in a party band in the early '80s, and we played Sabbath and Ozzy songs as well as Rush and Van Halen... all that kinds of stuff.
The first album I ever bought was Santana's 'Abraxas.' Obviously, I was a huge fan of Carlos because he had the unique guitar sound, and he had incorporated a lot of the percussion and really, really fun rhythmic bass lines in there, too.
Sometimes artists die young, and we don't know exactly why. I think that, in life, you have these special individuals, whether it's Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin or Kurt Cobain. They're on this journey - they're on this earth to change things, to make things incredible - and then they're not with us anymore.
Lars Ulrich is not a jazz drummer, but he grew up listening to jazz. Why? Because his father, Torben - an incredible tennis player - loved jazz. Jazz musicians used to stay at their house.
I don't generally like things that are too pedestrian. But at the same time, and if I'm in the right mood, hey - I ain't gonna lie - I listen to Joni Mitchell. I listen to 'Blue,' I listen to Miles Davis.
I knew Rocky George, the guitar player, 'cause I went to junior high school with him, so I've known him for many years.
One of the things that I've noticed since I've been in the band is that, as players, Lars, James, and Kirk truly enjoy making music and performing.
With my experience with Metallica, I've already surfed Portugal, Morocco, and all over Australia with Kirk.
'Some Kind of Monster' is a challenge, and 'Through the Never' is an extension of that. Even the album we made with Lou Reed, it was a challenge.
Between 'St. Anger' and 'Death Magnetic,' we had, if I'm not mistaken, five kids born. And, of course, that would allow things to take time.
I feel like I've always been a great mediator.
With Metallica, it's hard. I tend to like it all, but the older stuff, when we get into the deeper cuts, it really excites me personally.
What I have learned about Metallica is that it's all about taking chances and challenges.
