Bastardane drummer Castor Virgil Hetfield, son of Metallica’s James Hetfield, has been able to “pre-learn” from his dad’s mistakes.
Castor, vocalist-bassist Jake Dallas Benn and guitarist Ethan Sirotzki released debut album Is This Rage? In March, and their progress towards success is partly powered by advice from James.
“My dad had told me a lot of his tour horror stories from when he was young, so I feel like that helps, so we can pre-learn from his mistakes,” Castor told Noisecreep.
“Like just leaving all your gear in the car and having everything stolen out of it, or partying maybe a little too much and then having the next show not be as great. Just things about consistency, which is something I think is really important.”
Benn offered an example of his own, when James talked to him while he was suffering pre-show nerves in San Francisco. ”I remember him saying basically, ‘The audience wants you to do well just as much as you want to do well. The audience is there to have a good time.’
“Because at times it can feel like if you mess up, they're going to judge you and have a bad time, but that's really not the case. It’s useful to hear stuff like that.”
The Metallica connection can have a downside, though, as Castor reported earlier this year. “It is a little annoying when people try to compare us, because obviously we’re our own people and he’s his own person,” he said.
“Online, when you search our band, my dad’s face is all over the internet and it’s a little strange for me.” Insisting his band wanted to “cut our own path,” he added: “We’re not trying to ride off of anybody else’s success here.”
Bastardane are currently on tour in the US.
