Former Ramones bass player C.J Ramone has revealed he turned down the chance to join Metallica after the departure of Jason Newsted.
C.J made the admission to Greatsouthernbrainfart.com, explaining how Metallica acted upon a tip off from his one-time bandmate Johnny Ramone with an offer on two separate occasions.
“I was approached about joining Metallica not once but twice,” he said. “When Jason first left the band they approached me. A while had gone by and they were having a hard time finding someone so they approached me again. At the time my son had been diagnosed with Autism and there was just no way I could leave him.”
“Johnny was actually the one who hooked me up with the audition because he was friends with Kirk Hammett. I talked to my son’s doctor and explained the opportunity and that I could bring my family out on the road and even hire a nurse.”
“The doctor just told me that my son needed to wake up in the same place every day and that anything other than that could be a detriment. I was honoured that they asked me but there was just no way I could do it.”
C.J Ramone originally joined the punk legends in 1989 after Dee Dee left the group, but would leave himself seven years later.