Beatallica

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The logo of Beatallica.
The logo of Beatallica.

Beatallica is a satire tribute band that plays music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles and Metallica. A Beatallica song is typically a blend of a Beatles song and a Metallica song with a related title (e.g. "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be", combining The Beatles' "Let It Be" and Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be"), though sometimes just a Beatles song will be used as a basis with modified lyrics. The lyrics slip back and forth between the two songs—occasionally neither in lieu of original lyrics comically referencing Metallica, heavy metal music or the heavy metal community—while the scansion and melody are usually Beatles-based, the music is played metal style with some Metallica riffs and solos thrown in.

Contents

[edit] History

The project was founded in 2001 as a spoof by singer Jaymz Lennfield and guitarist Krk Hammetson. The EP A Garage Dayz Nite was recorded for the annual "Spoof Fest" concert held in Milwaukee, as a memento of that year's concert. A few dozen copies of the EP were handed out to friends. Later that year, one of those CDs made its way to Milwaukee resident David Dixon, who created a web page that included mp3s of the songs and named the band "Beatallica". The band was unaware of the webpage until Dixon finally met them in the summer of 2002, carrying a stack of fan emails from all around the world. Beatallica gave the webpage its blessings, and after further urgings from its internet fanbase, recorded the EP Beatallica, also known as The Grey Album, releasing it online on April 1, 2004.

Later in 2004, the band (now including bassist Kliff McBurtney and drummer Ringo Larz) started to perform at live venues, with a stage show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica performances. They also played as an opening act for Dream Theater; Mike Portnoy even joined the band on stage for drums on one occasion.

[edit] Legal problems

To avoid legal problems, the band maintains a strict non-commercial policy (all songs are available for free download) and shrouded themselves in anonymity (all names mentioned above are of course stage names, but their real names were revealed in interviews, and hence also appear in this article). Metallica are aware of the spoof band's existence and have so far not threatened to take any legal action; Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have all publicly stated that they enjoy Beatallica's music.

On February 17, 2005, a cease-and-desist notice was sent to Beatallica by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company which holds rights to most of the Beatles catalogue. The notice states that the "music", "news" and "merchandise" sections of the official Beatallica website constitute a copyright violation and should therefore be taken down. In response to this, a petition requesting Sony/ATV Music Publishing to retract its threat of legal action was created. The band was saved from further legal action by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who offered to provide assistance with legal negotiations and also asked Metallica's longtime attorney to try to defuse the situation with Sony. Ultimately, Sony decided not to pursue legal action against Beatallica, but maintains the right to do so in the future if necessary.

[edit] Members

The members of Beatallica.
The members of Beatallica.

[edit] Former members

  • Krk Hammetson (sic, referring to Kirk Hammett & George Harrison, respectively, real name Michael Brandenburg - original concept/band co-creator, all instruments (studio), arrangements, songwriting, lead guitar (live)
  • Kliff McBurtney (referring to Cliff Burton and Paul McCartney, respectively, real name Lee Bruso) - bass (live)

[edit] Discography

Note: All of the albums released by Beatallica are available free for download from their website [2]

[edit] External links

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