‘I Was A Mess’: Lagwagon's Joey Cape Met James Hetfield & It Didn't Go Too Well

They say never meet you heroes, something that Lagwagon frontman Joey Cape is a firm believer of following a few less-than-desirable outcomes throughout his career.

Joining That Sucks! podcast ahead of the band’s Australian tour, Cape shared a few anecdotes (aka cautionary tales) from his travels, including the time he met James Hetfield when Lagwagon opened for Metallica in Germany.

“They had a backstage area that was more like a park, but it was fenced in with security around it and they just let all the bands share,” Cape explained.

“I really liked Metallica a lot, especially when I was younger, and I got a chance to meet [James Hetfield]. We had flown out for this one show and I had really bad jetlag... most of the time I’m fine, but this one time I was just a mess.

“I was sitting on one of these park benches that they put out and he just walks right up to me and goes, ‘What’s going on, man?’ I remember I was just holding my coffee, trying to wake up and I just went blank – I had nothing to say, I couldn’t think of anything.

“What seemed like a minute went by and he just kind of shrugged and went, ‘Alright,’ and walked off. And that was it.”

To hear more stories from Cape about Glenn Danzig, Iggy Pop and more, stream the full That Sucks! episode on Spotify (below), Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud.

For more details on Lagwagon’s upcoming Australian tour, see theGuide.