Robert Trujillo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Trujillo
|
|
|---|---|
Trujillo performing with Metallica in 2017
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz |
| Born | October 23, 1964 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Children | Tye Trujillo |
Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (born October 23, 1964) is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the famous heavy metal band Metallica. He joined Metallica in 2003 and has been with them longer than any other bassist.
Before Metallica, Robert was known for playing bass in the band ... Tendencies from 1989 to 1995. He also worked with Mike Muir from ... Tendencies in a band called Infectious Grooves. After leaving ... Tendencies, he played with other big names like Ozzy Osbourne and Jerry Cantrell, and also with the band Black Label Society. In 2009, he was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica.
Contents
Robert's Early Life and Musical Journey
Growing Up and Finding Music
Robert Trujillo was born in Santa Monica, California, on October 23, 1964. He grew up in Culver City, California. His family has Mexican and Native American roots. His father was a teacher at Culver City High School.
Robert loved music from a young age. His mother really enjoyed soul music artists like Marvin Gaye and James Brown. Robert was especially inspired by the jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius. He said that hearing Jaco play changed how he thought about the bass guitar. He realized the bass could do so much more than just keep the beat.
He started playing in local bands, covering songs by groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. When he was 19, he went to jazz school. Even though he studied jazz, his heart remained with rock and metal music.
His Bands and Music Career
Robert first became well-known as the bassist for ... Tendencies. He joined them after Bob Heathcote left the band. Robert played with ... Tendencies until the mid-1990s. At the same time, he was also part of Infectious Grooves, a side project with ... Tendencies singer Mike Muir.
Later, Robert joined Ozzy Osbourne's band in the late 1990s. This was a different style for him, more focused on hard rock and metal. He even helped write some songs for Ozzy's album Down to Earth. During this time, he also started an experimental band called Mass Mental. They released a studio album and a live album in Japan. He also played a few shows with Black Label Society.
Robert joined Metallica on February 24, 2003. This was two years after their previous bassist, Jason Newsted, left. Robert had met the Metallica band members before when ... Tendencies toured with them in the 1990s. When he joined Metallica, he received one million dollars as an advance. His audition and joining the band were even shown in the documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
Family Life
Robert Trujillo is married and has a son and a daughter. His wife, Chloé, designed an Aztec calendar image on one of his bass guitars using a technique called pyrography. His son, Tye, is also a talented bassist. Tye plays in the thrash metal band OTTTO and has even played with Robert's former band, ... Tendencies.
Other Cool Projects
In 2012, Robert produced a documentary film about his hero, jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius. The film is called Jaco. It was released in November 2014 and was named the Official Film of Record Store Day that year.
How Robert Plays Bass
Robert Trujillo mostly plays the bass using his fingers. However, sometimes he uses a pick. His playing style is different from Metallica's previous bassist, Jason Newsted, who mainly used a pick. Cliff Burton, Metallica's first bassist, also played only with his fingers. Robert is known for playing "massive chords" and "chord-based harmonics" on his bass.
He also uses a technique called slap bass. You can hear this style a lot in his work with ... Tendencies and Infectious Grooves. During Metallica's 2004 tour, Robert often played a long bass solo called "Jungle Essence." This solo showed off his slap bass skills and other cool techniques.
When recording music, Robert uses his own special code to write down bass parts. He got this idea from an article by another famous bassist, Pino Palladino. This method helped him work on songs where the bass was hard to hear in the original demos.
What Gear Robert Uses
Bass Guitars
With Metallica, Robert mainly uses Warwick Streamer bass guitars. He uses both 5-string and 4-string models. Warwick even released a special signature model of his Streamer bass in 2010. He also often plays Fernandes Gravity 5-string basses. These often have a silver finish with blue flame designs and EMG pickups.
Besides his Warwick basses, Zon Guitars also makes a signature bass model for him called the Sonus RT. Before joining Metallica, he often played Tobias, ESP, and MusicMan basses. He also used a Fender Precision Bass when playing with Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne. Robert has been seen playing other basses too, like a Yamaha TRB5-P2 5-string bass and a customized green Rickenbacker 4001/4003 4-string bass.
A very special bass that Robert takes care of is Jaco Pastorius's famous "Bass Of Doom." This is a sunburst fretless 1962 Jazz Bass that Jaco used for most of his recordings. Robert has even played this historic instrument on stage with Metallica.
For his sound, he uses Ampeg amplifiers and cabinets. In 2010, Robert worked with Jim Dunlop to create his own signature bass strings. These strings are made of stainless steel.
Effects Pedals
Robert uses several effects pedals to shape his sound. His pedal board includes an Electro Harmonix Q-Tron, a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, a Tech 21 XXL, an MXR m-135 SmartGate, a Morley Mark Tremonti wah pedal, and a Boss OC-2 Octave Pedal. All these pedals are powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power.
Music He's Played On
- Jerry Cantrell
- Degradation Trip (2002)
- Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 (2002)
- Black Label Society
- 1919 Eternal (2002)
- Infectious Grooves
- The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move... It's the Infectious Grooves (1991)
- Encino Man Soundtrack (1992)
- Sarsippius' Ark (1993)
- Groove Family Cyco (1994)
- Mas Borracho (1999)
- Year of the Cycos (2008)
- Funk It Up – Live in France 1995 (2010)
- Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour (2011)
Videos and Movies
- Lights...Camera... ... 1990 ... Tendencies VHS home video
- Live at Budokan live album with accompanying live DVD
- Boozed, Broozed & Broken-Boned live DVD from Detroit, Michigan
- St. Anger live bonus DVD – 2003
- Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Metallica documentary
- The Videos 1989–2004 video compilation DVD
- Français Pour Une Nuit live DVD from the concert in Nîmes, France
- Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México live DVD from the concerts in Mexico City
- The Big Four live DVD from Sofia, Bulgaria
- Metallica: Through the Never 2013 movie
- Jaco (2014) producer
In Video Games
Robert Trujillo appears in the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica.
He is also a playable character in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD if you have the Pro Skater 3 HD Revert Pack downloadable content.
Robert and the rest of Metallica are also playable characters in the popular game Fortnite.
Images for kids
-
Trujillo in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Robert Trujillo para niños
