Ronald J. McGovney (born November 2, 1963) is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the
heavy metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
from October 1981 to December 1982.
Having previously played with guitarist
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...
in the garage band
Leather Charm
Leather Charm was a short-lived American heavy metal band from Downey, California, noteworthy as a forerunner to Metallica. The group rehearsed new wave of British heavy metal covers and original material for a period of months in 1981.
Hist ...
, McGovney was a member of Metallica during its first year of gigging and appeared on
their early demos before departing late in 1982. After a period of inactivity, he played in the
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band
Phantasm. He later played with Metallica on their 30th anniversary show.
Career
Leather Charm and Metallica
In June 1981, McGovney formed his first band, Leather Charm, with his childhood friend Hetfield and guitarist Hugh Tanner of Hetfield's previous band, Phantom Lord. Tanner soon left Leather Charm to pursue a career in music management; the subsequent lineup featured guitarist Troy James and drummer Jim Mulligan. The group rehearsed a set of
new wave of British heavy metal covers and original material for a period of months, but Mulligan's departure later that year led to the band's demise.
Hetfield and drummer
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
established their new project, Metallica, in October 1981. With the addition of McGovney and guitarist
Dave Mustaine
David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...
early the next year, the first gigging lineup of the band was completed. After their debut performance on March 14, the band spent 1982 rehearsing in McGovney's parents' long-since-demolished rental property near the
605 freeway
Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway) is a major north–south List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Greater Los Angeles urban area of Southern California ...
and building a local following in the Los Angeles and
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
heavy metal scenes. They recorded several demos during this time, including
one recorded in McGovney's garage, the ''
Power Metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
'' demo, and the live ''
No Life 'Til Leather
A list of all demos written and recorded by American heavy metal band Metallica.
''Whiskey Audition Tape''
These two cover songs were recorded in then-bassist Ron McGovney’s garage, during rehearsals that took place in March 1982. On the st ...
''. A recording of the song "
Hit the Lights" with McGovney playing bass was featured on a repressing of the ''
Metal Massacre Vol. 1'' album.
McGovney's time in Metallica was reportedly tumultuous, as he often clashed with Ulrich and Mustaine.
He felt that, aside from using his connections made as an amateur photographer, his role was that of monetary and transportation provider, rather than a respected member of the band.
He ultimately quit on December 10, 1982, due to growing tensions, and was replaced by
Cliff Burton. After leaving Metallica, McGovney became uninterested in playing music and sold most of his equipment.
Phantasm
In 1986,
Hirax
The Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) is an interferometric array of 1024 6-meter (20 ft) diameter radio telescopes, operating at 400-800MHz, that will be deployed at the Square Kilometer Array site in the Karoo regi ...
vocalist
Katon W. De Pena
The Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) is an interferometric array of 1024 6-meter (20 ft) diameter radio telescopes, operating at 400-800MHz, that will be deployed at the Square Kilometer Array site in the Karoo regio ...
persuaded McGovney to return to music. The two formed the thrash metal band Phantasm with guitarist Rodney Nicholson and several other musicians, briefly including
Dark Angel drummer
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
. Phantasm released a demo but never recorded a proper album, and disbanded in 1988 due to disagreements between members. In 2001, the thrash label Deep Six Records released the ''Wreckage'' CD, packaging a remastered version of the band's demo of the same name with a live set from 1987.
Later activity
McGovney ceased his professional career after the demise of Phantasm, but gave sporadic interviews and appeared at Metallica-related events. Phantasm discussed a possible reunion in 2007, but this ultimately failed to materialize.
He performed publicly for the first time in 23 years on December 10, 2011, playing two songs onstage with Metallica, Mustaine, and early studio guitarist Lloyd Grant at
The Fillmore
The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California.
Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...
as a part of the celebrations surrounding the end of the group's third decade. Two years later, he joined Mustaine's band
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
onstage in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, on December 5, 2013, sharing the lead vocal on a cover version of
Thin Lizzy's "
Cold Sweat".
McGovney has said that, although his time in Metallica came to an acrimonious end, he now gets along with his former bandmates and speculates that, given his disposition and skill-set, he might have been better able to contribute to the band had he served as road manager rather than bass guitarist.
References
External links
Phantasmat the
Encyclopedia Metallum
Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various sub-genres. E ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGovney, Ron
1963 births
American heavy metal bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Living people
Metallica members
Guitarists from Los Angeles
20th-century American guitarists
Phantasm (band) members