Born: August 3, 1963 in Downey, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, California.
After moving in with his brother-in-law he grew up in La Brea, California.
Home Town: San Francisco, California.
Height: 6' 1" Weight: 180 lbs.
Blonde Hair --- Blue Eyes.
Marital Status: Married to Francesca.
Children: 3; Daughter Cali, 3 1/2 years old, Son Castor Virgil, Born May 18, 2000 at 3:32PM. He weighed nine pounds and six ounces, and 22 1/2 inches. Daughter Marcella Francesca, born January 17, 2002. She weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches.
School: Attended Brea Olinda High School.
Describes Self As: Rugged, honest, stubborn.
Heroes: Clint Eastwood, Pops Hetfield.
Previous Jobs: James has worked as a high school janitor, worked in a sticker factory, and as a mover.
Cars He Owns: "The Beast" a 4WD Chevy Blazer that is built to withstand anything from an earthquake to a nuclear explosion, Dodge Ram Pick-up and 1955 Chevy Bel-Air which he helped build and restore.
Favorite Food: Mexican, Meat and Potatoes, Bar-B-Que, Oysters.
Favorite Drink: Pacifico, Bombay Sapphire Martinis, Coors Light, Caffney's Irish Ale.
Previous Bands: Leather Charm, Obsession. The first band he was in was Obsession.
First Concert: Aerosmith & AC/DC, 1978, Long Beach, California.
Groups That Influenced Him Most: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, and Diamond Head.
Groups He Listens To: Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy.
Favorite New Bands: C.O.C. and Kyuss (now broken up).
Favorite Musicians: Phil Lynott, Glenn Danzig, Alan Collins, Warren Haynes.
Favorite Song: Honesty.
Favorite Lyricists: Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen.
Favorite Sport: Hockey.
Favorite Sports Teams: Oakland Raiders, San Jose Sharks, D.C. United.
Favorite Movie: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
Favorite TV Shows: Andy Griffith and Police Squad.
Favorite Actor: Clint Eastwood.
Favorite Actress: Amber Lynn.
Favorite Book: Dictionary.
Favorite Outdoor Activities: Hunting, snowboarding, water and jet-skiing.
Likes: Hot-rods, sketching, working on old cars, anonymity, street hockey, cigars, wood work, annoying neighbors with his guns and the loud pipes from his chopper... "The Saga".
Collects: Old Guitars especially from 1963.
MISCELLANEOUS
- James was brought up in a strict Christian household.
- His parents were Christian Scientists.
- His mother tried to get him more interested in classical music, and even paid for 2 years of piano lessons.
- He got interested in music after his mother died. It became a comfort and escape from an unhappy reality.
- He has a younger sister.
- James' older brother, Dave Hetfield had guitars in their garage which he used to play about on.
- James has also recorded backing vocals for "Twist of Cain" and "Am I Demon?" on Danzig's first album.
- James is very accident prone. Here's some of his injuries.
- He had 40 stitches on his head as a result of an ATV accident while out hunting in 1994.
- He had two metal plates, screws and 85 stitches from a compound fracture of both bones in his left forearm.
- During the Ozzie tour James was skateboarding and fell and broke his left wrist.
- On August 8, 1992 there was a pyrotechnic accident during the Roam Tour in Montreal, Canada. The pyro was changed and the pyro technician didn't tell the band that it would be in the same place as before. Assuming that the new pyro would be different from the previous pyro, James was standing exactly where the pyro occurred when a 12-foot flame was ignited. James received 2nd degree burns on face, left arm and hand. These burns required skin grafts.
- During the Summer Sanitarium 2000 tour threw his back out. James did 3 weeks worth of physical therapy in just 4 days according to his physical therapist. This is a classic example of his dedication and devotion to "Metallica".
EQUIPMENT JAMES USES
QUITARS
ESP Black and Gold
ESP Custom Deerskull Inlay Explorer
Ken Lawrence Custom Explorer Natural
ESP Custom Flying V with Green Flames
ESP Black and White Pin Stripe Les Paul
ESP Custom Flying V with Hot Rod Flames
ESP Custom Black Explorer with Snake Inlay
ESP Custom Black Silver Diamond Plate Explorer
ESP Custom Black Explorer Bright Diamond Plate
ESP Custom Black Explorer with Wood-Burn Deer
ESP Custom Black Explorer with Black Diamond Plate
ESP New Model Explorer Black with Mother of Pearl Inlay
ESP Custom Black "Fuel" Les Paul Style with Gold Pinstripe
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Dunlop Custom Nylon Picks
Wizard 4x12 Speaker Cabinet
Mesa Boogie 4x12 Speaker Cabinets
Mesa Boogie Temoverb 2x12 Combo Amp
2X Mesa Boogie Strategy 400 Power Amplifiers
4X Customized Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis Pre-Amps
"We're discovering things as we go along, it's not a boring ride, that's for sure!" ---James Hetfield---
"I sit there and go, 'Oh God, I think what am I gonna write?' and all of a sudden it happens. The first line's down, and all hell flows after that." ---James Hetfield---
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Page Last Updated - March 17, 2002.
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