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Original METALLICA Bassist RON MCGOVNEY: 'The Band Was Formed In My Garage'

May 14, 2004

The original METALLICA bassist, Ron McGovney, recently gave an interview to the METALLICA fan site AllMetallica.com about his time with the group and his current activities. What follows are several excerpts from that interview:

AllMetallica.com: Could you explain for everyone exactly what your part was in the early days of METALLICA?

Ron McGovney: "I was not only the first bass player for METALLICA, I was also the lead roadie. The band was formed in my garage and we used my dad's old Ford pickup to haul our equipment. I built a drum stage for Lars that we used in clubs. My parents and I actually were the financial backers of the band in the early days."

AllMetallica.com: What songs did you record/help write with them and how many gigs did you play together?

Ron McGovney: "All of the songs that are found on 'Kill 'Em All' were written in my garage and we played all of them when I was in the band. We also did DIAMOND HEAD covers: 'The Prince', 'Sucking My Love', 'Am I Evil', and 'Helpless'. We covered 'Blitzkrieg' by BLITZKRIEG, 'Let It Loose' by SAVAGE and 'Killing Time' by SWEET SAVAGE. All of those songs can be found on bootlegs, but I have a practice tape of us doing some of those songs. I am going to put a copy up on eBay soon. I did do some arranging of the songs, but I was never credited with anything. I played at least 28 gigs with the band in the first year. A guy recently sent me a list of all the gigs I played and I had forgotten about a few of them."

AllMetallica.com: When METALLICA was recently looking for a new bass player, were you tempted to go and try out yourself?

Ron McGovney: "It didn't even cross my mind to try out. However, after the tragic loss of Cliff Burton in 1986, I did think about trying out. I guess I didn't want to be disappointed if they picked someone else. Jason [Newsted] was a good bass player and a great guy too."

Read Ron McGovney's entire interview with AllMetallica.com at this location.

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