Guesting on The Surfer's Journal, Trujillo talks with Jamie Brisick about the moment his life as a musician changed forever, the ebbs and flows of a passion-driven career, the importance of establishing a work ethic, Metallica world tours, Ozzy Osbourne, finding inspiration, playing in front of massive crowds, and staying grounded.
Working with Ozzy Osbourne at the time, Trujillo looked back on getting the invitation to join Metallica in 2003 just as Ozzy was gearing up to go back on the road:
Trujillo: "I get a call from Lars (Ulrich / drums) saying, 'Hey, we want you to come up here and we wanna talk to you.' So I'm, like, 'Okay.' They're not telling me I got the gig. I always think worst-case scenario, and they're the kind of guys that would have you fly up there to tell you you didn't get the gig. They're just kind of wired that way. Like, 'We just wanted to tell you in person, 'cause we respect you, you didn't get the gig...' so I'm preparing for that, but I'm not sure. And Ozzy had just called me (about going on tour), so I was, like, 'Wait, this is crazy, this is weird.' So I go up there, and, yeah, that's where the meeting was with the money offer and all that. And, again, my head's spinning: 'Okay, I've gotta learn 30 years of catalog.' It was like just kind of like a washing-machine rinse cycle going off in my brain.Now I'm thinking about Ozzy, and I told them - and I don't even know why I said this, but I was always trying to be loyal to Ozzy and Sharon; they did so much for me - I said, 'Well, I don't think I can do those dates, but when I finish my commitment with Ozzy, I'll jump on board.' And I remember Lars goes, 'We respect your loyalty. It's very honorable, but this train is leaving, and it's moving fast, and you've gotta jump on board and jump on with us.'"
"So I flew home that night, and I actually went to Sharon and Ozzy's house and met with Sharon and said, 'Yeah, I'm gonna join Metallica.' It was just heavy because I think when it's all said and done, every musician, you're writing music, you're creating, you're performing, so it's all passion driven. It's hard when you're losing a team member, especially since I had been playing with Ozzy for, seven years. It was difficult, but I also felt that I needed to be there in person to tell him and tell her."
"There was never any bad vibes. When that happened in the past, it could get pretty ugly with anybody. I mean, you're leaving a team, and it's not good. And then again, like I said, my life changed. All of a sudden I was a part of a new family, and I was living in a new area and it was just a different existence."
Metallica have released more official video footage for their show at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on September 1. "Whiplash" joins the previously posted clip for "Moth Into Flame". Watch both below:
