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| Robert Trujillo |
Robert Trujillo ; born Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz on October 23, 1964) is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.
He was a member of Ozzy Osbourne's band for a number of years starting in the late 90s. Trujillo was the subject of controversy for re-recording Bob Daisley's bass tracks for reissued versions of Osbourne's albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman because of Daisley's claim of not receiving proper royalties.
Robert Trujillo began playing electric bass for Metallica on February 24, 2003. The band consists of James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet, and Lars Ulrich. He had previously met and befriended his future bandmates when Suicidal Tendencies supported Metallica during the Nowhere Else to Roam tour in 1993, and again during the Shit Hits the Sheds tour one year later. Trujillo received one million dollars from the band as an advance for joining Metallica. His audition and hiring appear in the documentary film Some Kind of Monster. As the current bassist for Metallica, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside all current members of the band, as well as Jason Newsted (who left the band in 2001) and the late Cliff Burton on April 4, 2009.
In 2003, Trujillo was seen playing an upright bass in the Nickel Creek music video, "Smoothie Song". However, he did not play bass for the band during the song's recording.
Robert is married and has a son and daughter, Ty and Lula. His girlfriend (now wife) Chloé did a pyrography (woodburning) design of the Aztec Calendar for him on his bass guitar. Years later when Rob heard Chloé had moved to Los Angeles, he called her from a pay phone while on a surfing trip in Tahiti in a determined effort to reconnect. They have been together for the past seven years and are now married. His wife has her own website called "Chloe in art".
Trujillo is primarily a fingerstyle player, but has been known to play with a pick in some recordings and while playing live. Trujillo's predecessor in Metallica, Jason Newsted, was almost exclusively a pickstyle player, while Cliff Burton, Newsted's predecessor and bassist on Metallica's first three albums, played fingerstyle exclusively.
Trujillo also uses the slap bass technique, seen mostly in his work with Suicidal Tendencies and especially Infectious Grooves. At many of the shows during Metallica's 2004 Madly in Anger with the World Tour, Trujillo would often play an extended bass solo (dubbed "Jungle Essence" on recordings) which made extensive use of slap bass and other techniques and effects.
With Metallica, he is most often seen playing Fernandes Gravity 5-string basses, particularly a model with a silver finish, blue flame decals, and EMG pickups. He has a Warwick Signature Streamer bass that was released in March 2010. He also has a signature bass model, the Sonus RT, manufactured by Zon Guitars. Prior to Metallica, he was most often seen playing Tobias, ESP and MusicMan basses (all 5-strings), as well as a Fender Precision Bass with Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne. Trujillo has been seen in concert playing a Yamaha TRB5-P2 5-string bass, a customized green Rickenbacker 4001/4003 4-string bass fitted with EMG pickups, various Nash P-Bass Copy guitars, and both a classic Fender Precision Bass and Fender Jazz Bass. For amplification, he uses Ampeg amplifiers and cabinets. Trujillo recently collaborated with Jim Dunlop to create his new Icon signature bass strings - these strings are taper-core stainless steel, with a non-tapered B string in gauges 45-130 (5-string).
Trujillo is also the custodian of the "Bass Of Doom" - a defretted mid-1960s Fender Jazz Bass that was formerly owned by the late Jaco Pastorius and which was extensively used on his recorded works. The bass had been seriously damaged, but has subsequently been restored and refinished. Trujillo acquired it from its previous owner, with the intention of having the bass remain with him, in trust for the Pastorius family. He has, however, been seen playing it onstage with Metallica.
Trujillo's pedal board consists of an Electro Harmonix Q-Tron, a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, a Tech 21 XXL, a MXR m-135 SmartGate, a Morley Mark Tremonti wah pedal, and a Boss OC-2 Octave Pedal; all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power.
| Birth name | Roberto Agustín Trujillo |
|---|---|
| Born | October 23, 1964 Santa Monica , California, USA |
| Genres | Thrash metal, heavy metal, funk metal, grunge, hardcore punk |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass, Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Associated acts | Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell, Glenn Tipto |
