BEATALLICA Frontman Talks About LARS ULRICH's Involvement In SONY Dispute

Michael Tierney (a.k.a. Jaymz Lennfield) of METALLICA/BEATLES cover band BEATALLICA recently spoke to AdrenalinFanzine.com about receiving help from METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich in their dispute with the Sony Corporation over BEATALLICA's "unlawful use" of the group's compositions "without authorization or license." A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

AdrenalinFanzine.com: I know that Lars came to your aid when Sony sent BEATALLICA a "cease and desist" letter to stop the spread of you music online, What kinds of advice did he give?

Michael Tierney: "His advice was really more encouragement and being willing to direct us to the right folks to talk to. He offered up the services of METALLICA's attorney, Peter Paterno. Both of them have been just great to us. We've actually received good advice and have a whole bunch of new knowledge thanks to a seminar at Harvard University we just did. All those lawyers surrounded by musicians makes for great conversation and discussion of the issues the recording industry finds itself in today. Things like downloading, the Internet as a whole, file sharing, technology, and more..."

AdrenalinFanzine.com: I see you have gotten some national attention lately, how are things going so far? Would you say most of the responses have been positive?

Michael Tierney: "Yeah, you know we didn't go to the media with the whole cease and desist story. It got onto boingboing and it just exploded. I've had folks from all over call me to get a word: MTV.com, Reuters News, NPR, just to name a few. It's been a worldwide story, which is cool. Rest assured, however, we don't look to rub anything in anyone's face over this. It's an issue that came up, is still somewhat apparent, and will affect our future. The responses have been very positive for several reasons. If one person doesn't dig the tunes, maybe at least they understand the sentiments of good will and use of technology. Some folks enjoy the odd combination. Some just enjoy the whole bombastic, cartoon-humorish sort of fun behind it all. It's best to us when we hear from people who say they've discovered or rediscovered either THE BEATLES or METALLICA because of BEATALLICA. I just never thought I'd be in a band that has such a cultural pull!"

AdrenalinFanzine.com: How do you feel about newer METALLICA vs. their older style? Did you get a chance to see their movie "Some Kind of Monster"?

Michael Tierney: "I touched on some thoughts before about how [James Hetfield] has really honed his craft as a singer. Their songwriting has become very professional. I know a lot of 'old-schoolers' wont be into that. Sure, I still have 'Metal Militia' in my head on a regular basis! They are a different band now than what they were in 1983. I give bands most credit for persevering and being able to bring it live. You don't get any younger or more spry, and these guys have been doing the gig now for nearly 25 years — holy crap! I did see 'Monster'. I would've liked to have seen the reels of outtakes to maybe get some more answers to situations and conversations that were outlined in the movie. You just never totally know what went on with all that."

Read the entire interview at AdrenalinFanzine.com.