In a recent tweet, Ron McGovney revealed that he was the only member of Metallica with a steady job.
The bassist shared a photo with Slayer’s Tom Araya, writing:
“Tom Araya of Slayer having a drink with me at my condo in Norwalk, California in 1984.”
Then, a user asked McGovney:
“Were you the most self-sufficient member of the band when it formed? Obviously you owned (rented?) a condo and I’d guess you had a day job.”
The musician replied by saying:
“I was the only one with a real job. I rented the condo after my house where the band started was torn down for the 105 freeway.”
McGovney Lived In A Condo For A While
McGovney was in Metallica in 1982 and worked on their early demos. He left the band because of conflicts with guitarist Dave Mustaine and was replaced by Cliff Burton. This isn’t the first time he mentioned his condo.
In 2021, Ron shared a photo of his old business card used to promote the band. The card had the classic Metallica logo, the words ‘Power Metal,’ and his old phone number. McGovney posted the picture on X with a message:
“Original Metallica business card. The phone number was the one I had in my bedroom in 1979. I moved to our rental house two doors down in 1981 and took the number with me. That house was where Metallica started. I lived in a condo 1983-1987 and had that same number.”
McGovney made a Metallica business card to send to promoters with their demo. He added ‘power metal’ under the logo because he thought it sounded good. No other band used the term at the time. When he showed the card to the band, Lars Ulrich was upset and thought it was a bad idea.
You can see the tweets below.
I was the only one with a real job. I rented the condo after my house where the band started was torn down for the 105 freeway.
— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) July 31, 2024
Tom Araya of Slayer having a drink with me at my condo in Norwalk, California in 1984. pic.twitter.com/iGctFtLquf
— Ron McGovney (@RonMcGovney) July 31, 2024
