Bio
Lars Ulrich
Born: December 26, 1963
From: Gentofte, Denmark
Personal: Married, 1 Child
Specialty: Pounding, driving rhythms
Plays: drums
Vitals: green eyes, blonde/brown hair, 5'7"/1.7 meters tall, weighs 130 lbs/58.97 kilos
Lars was barely 10 years old when he attended a Deep Purple concert and learned what music could be. This was no small feat when you think of the music that young Lars had been exposed to up until that time. His father ran a small jazz club and was very involved in Europe's jazz scene. The legendary sax player Dexter Gordon is even Lars' godfather.
It was Deep Purple and Ritchie Blackmore that changed the world for Lars. He was impressed enough from their concert that he purchased their Fireball album the next day. Three years later at age 13, he persuaded his grandmother to buy him his first drum kit.
Drums and music took a backseat to tennis, his father's profession. Lars was a ranked junior player in his native Denmark when the Ulrichs moved to Newport Beach, California. There, Lars was just another tennis player, not the notable player he was in Denmark.
Shortly after, tennis became less important, and Lars fell prey to the guilty pleasures of southern California: sex, drugs and rock n' roll... Lots of rock n' roll. Lars' passion for music grew, and he began trading tapes to obtain his beloved blend of European metal.
In June of 1981, Lars, the ultimate fan boy, flew to England to catch some shows by his now favorite band, Diamond Head. Somehow, some way, Lars managed to talk his way into living with the band in England until he had had to return to California. Back home, he found his tape trading friend Brian Slagel looking for bands to record tracks for an album that would be released on his new Metal Blade Records. Lars secured himself a spot on that album.
But, Lars had no band.
Before going to England he had jammed with a James Hetfield, a singer and guitar player. That jam had its share of problems... Lars' timekeeping wasn't that solid and the cymbals fell victim to gravity a bit too often. But now, he had bait: a spot on an album.
Hetfield took the bait, and Metallica was born.
Music now shares the front seat with Lars' wife and child, and the drummer has learned to relax a bit more, but he's still very much in the driver's seat.
