Bassist Robert Trujillo is well-versed in the ins and outs of being a member of a band that is successful. The individual has had an incredible career, beginning with his time spent performing with Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne and culminating in his current role with Metallica. During an interview with The Ex-Man With Doc Coyle, Trujillo provides some essential guidance to everyone who is a member of a band. He encourages their members to keep their cool, strive to be the greatest person they can possibly be, and keep in mind that nothing is permanent.

“Word to the wise: always maintain your composure,” according to him. “It’s about the relationship and being the best you can be, the greatest human you can be, the best brother, and the best comrade. You’re in a band, which is cool, but it’s about the relationship and being the best you can be. And that is of utmost significance to everything related to this.”

After recalling the story of the time when he and Metallica frontman James Hetfield became a little snippy with each other during a pre-show warmup in Italy, Trujillo delivered the advice. Hetfield would later explain that the incident occurred. Trujillo stated that the scenario was “just the nature of the beast” and that at the end of the day, we are “all individuals and we all have our moments.” He also stated that the situation was straightforward.

“In any circumstance, people who are rising up and performing bands, you should never let yourself get caught up in the concept that you are safe and that nothing can harm you because you are now in your band. It is possible to replace anyone. And you should always make an effort to be as respectful as you possibly can. Because you are going to experience highs and lows, and you are going to run into people, that is a given; however, this does not mean that you are going to give up, that you despise the person, or anything else.

I have always been in circumstances in my groups when there were those moments were things became heated and you were hitting heads with each other. For Metallica, this is the case. Even with James, there have been a few instances of this happening. James is a little boy or… It’s possible that things are bothering him… A few years back, perhaps three years ago, I was in Italy. I recall that I was there at one point. I assume he was stung by a bee in his face, and it was a terrible experience for him. I don’t believe he has an allergy to poison oak, but there was a poison oak situation.

You are experiencing pain in your face, and your body is aching. Currently, you are traveling on the road. It is now raining. As far as we could tell, we were in Italy. Additionally, one of the songs, such as “Memory Remains” or something like… With a lot going through my mind. Together with Kirk, I was doing these duets, and I was singing in a variety of languages. In addition, Lars threw a ‘Do a bass solo’ type of a day before the performance. And I’m just sort of like, ‘Aaaargh…’

As a result, I am tense. We are both tense, but for different reasons. James is also tense, but for different reasons. As things are running behind schedule, we are going to be performing on stage very shortly. In addition, we are playing “Memory Remains” in the tuning room, and I am just kind of jamming through it. However, I am not really jamming through it with full force; rather, I am just kind of ghosting it a little bit. And he’s like, ‘Are you familiar with the song?’ This is a song that we have played thousands of times throughout the years.

You are asking me if I am familiar with the song, which is a very insulting thing to do because this is one of the tunes that we play the most easily. All I can say is, “Yeah, I know the fucking s…” and that’s pretty much it. Within a split second, I blew a fuse. Following that, I felt terrible, and he felt terrible as well. And then we came to the conclusion, I believe, that I am tripping over the burden that I am carrying over here; he is tripping over this and this, and most likely… I mean, I get it, man; I’ve got poison oak; I’ve had bee stings before, and it’s not fun. This is something I’ve experienced. Moreover, you are out there, and you are making an effort to be the best that you can be. Therefore, rather than throwing your instruments down and coming to blows or anything else of the sort, you work it out — you kind of calm yourself down and you recognize what is going on.