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Lars Ulrich is barefoot as he walks into the Masonic in San Francisco, some six hours before the drummer and his band Metallica are to take the stage to perform a rare acoustic show for fans.
He says a quick hello, then pardons himself to go get ready for our scheduled interview.
A short time later, we’re sitting on a couch and catching up a bit. It had been five years since our last face-to-face, which was done in advance of the film “Metallica: Through the Never” hitting theaters in 2013, and Metallica has certainly kept busy in the interim.
Notably, the band recorded and released its long-awaited 10th studio album, 2016’s “Hardwired … to Self-Destruct,” which has been met with some of the best reviews of this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act’s nearly 40-year career.
Metallica has also embarked on a multi-year tour, which touches down at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Dec. 7. Show time is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $65-$135, www.ticketmaster.com.
On this particular day, however, Ulrich and his fellow mighty men of metal — lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo – are at The Masonic to do a fundraiser concert for their newly established nonprofit, All Within My Hands.
Ulrich talked about the band and its charity during our chat, here are excepts:
Q: I know the band has a long history in supporting charities and causes. So, I’m wondering why Metallica decided, after all this time, to start its own nonprofit just last year?
A: Growing up in the ‘80s, growing up in the hard-rock San Francisco underground independent music scene, independence was fiercely championed. In the wake of that came a degree of cynicism and being suspicious of “The Man.”
So, we were often suspicious when people would talk about how charitable they were, and how generous they were, because it seemed like there was an element of self-promotion in that.
So, we did what (charity work) we did under the radar. But a couple of years ago — especially in the wake of the way social media really has become such a powerful tool in communication — we realized that shouting from the rooftops about what we’re doing would encourage other people to join in. It’s really that simple.
Q: And what is Metallica doing through All Within My Hands?
A: The big picture is that it’s about giving back to the local communities and the cities that we play in. Our foundation, which is based in San Francisco, is primarily focused on (food) banks and workforce education.
Q: And why did you decided to unplug and make this an acoustic fundraiser?
A: The first acoustic stuff that we were involved in was Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in ’97. It was the first time we were asked to play acoustic. And we loved the challenge.
So, we did that and not only did we surprise ourselves with how much we loved it, reinterpreting our own songs, but I think there were also a fair amount of people who were mildly surprised that our songs would translate into acoustic reinterpretations.
Since then, it’s been a part of our pretty wide arsenal of things we like to do. I think we played Bridge School three times.
Q: Including the last Bridge — in 2016 — with Roger Waters also on the bill.
A: And we’ve done a couple of other benefits — a MusiCares thing and something for Ozzy (Osbourne). I’m not sure why there’s this thing that when it’s charitable then the acoustic guitars come out. (Laughs.)
But we love playing acoustic. And we love showing that side of us to the people. But, more so for ourselves, it’s just a great balance to all the other stuff that we do. So given a chance to do it, we love to jump at it.
Q: Plus it’s a cool way to differentiate this fundraiser from the rest of the tour.
A: This is the first fundraiser, the first event (for our nonprofit). We are trying to figure it out. I hope this will be an annual thing. But, obviously, we’re just getting our feet wet with this.
And we’re trying to Metallica-ize it as much as possible — do things kind of our way, not just fall into the same format that everyone does when they do these things.
Q: Have you gotten any texts from Sammy Hagar, giving you grief for going unplugged for your fundraiser after he’s been using the format for years with his Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefits in San Francisco?
A: Sammy and I text often. It’s usually about food and wine and shenanigans. There have been no “grief” texts from Sammy Hagar.
Q: This current tour kicked off in 2017, and I see you have dates announced through the summer of 2019. That’s a lot of roadwork. Are you tired of touring yet?
A: We have the luxury, and we are very fortunate, to be able to set a touring schedule that works really well for us. We kind of set boundaries. We have a two-week rule, so that after two weeks we come home and see our families and kids and get a sense of San Francisco. So, for about a decade, we’ve had a really good setup in terms of how we balance all of it.
It takes longer to play the same amount of dates. But the good news is that our chances for not losing our minds — or for playing all the shows, physically, mentally — are much higher, because we have a pace that we feel is at the right level for us. So, it’s good. We still have to go to Australia. We still have to go to Japan. We have a couple of other things planned after Europe.
Q: Any chance the tour will reach into 2020?
Ulrich: This may just dip into the beginning of 2020.
Q: Whoa! Now, that’s how you support a new record!
A: The greatest thing about that (“Hardwired… to Self-Destruct”) is that we may have made our most successful record in 25 years in terms of reception. Obviously, this record isn’t shipping as many units as records did 10 or 20 years ago. But the perception is that it’s probably our most well-received record since the Black Album. So, to have that 30-plus years into your career, and to make a record that connects at that level — still — is crazy cool.
Q: It is a great record.
Ulrich: A lot of people are really taking to the new songs. Like, we’ll meet people at meet-and-greets and they’ll be like “My favorite song is ‘Now That We’re Dead’” and “My favorite song is ‘Halo on Fire.’”
This record is being received with the same appreciation as any of our other records. That’s something that we didn’t expect.
And that’s something that anyone who has been doing this as long as us should never take for granted.