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- or -  VF: Is it safe to say your relationship/friendship with Lars all started with the Shortest Straw #7 (SS#7) contest in which you were one of the grand prize winners? [Note: The Shortest Straw #7 contest was you had to either write an essay (500-1000 words) or send a photograph with the theme of "Fade to Black". The grand prize was an all-expense paid trip to the studio to meet/hang out with Metallica.] SW: Everyone assumes my relationship with Metallica began there, but it actually started before that. By the end of the summer of '94 we were on a first name basis – I'd been going to shows and getting backstage consistently for the few years leading up to that. I didn't win the Shortest Straw contest just because I knew them. But at the same time, I had already developed a relationship/friendship with them so I didn't have to introduce myself all over again. I remember when I came into the studio, Lars saw me and said, "I knew that was you." (referring to my winning Shortest Straw entry). VF: As seen in the Fan Can #1 video, you experienced some things that Metallica fans can only dream about (i.e., playing guitar with Metallica, singing with Metallica, playing drums while Lars sings "Am I Evil?", seeing Lars' cd collection, etc.) Can you share some of your memories from that weekend in November 1995? SW: Man...I remember writing that thing (Shortest Straw entry) at like 2 in the morning and just trying to get into an honest, reflective headspace. I tried to take myself back to that feeling of being 14 and what it meant for me at the time. I just tried to be as straight forward about my passion for Metallica I could possibly recall. I've always been interested in behind-the-scenes stuff and always thought it'd be cool to see bands that I admired working in the studio. I remember listening to the first Down album ("Nola") and the 3rd Alice In Chains album ("Alice in Chains" -- the one with the 3-legged dog on the cover) during that time period for some reason.
  SW: I recently watched an episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio" and Anthony Hopkins was being interviewed. There was one thing he said on the show that reminded me of where my head was at the time I wrote my Shortest Straw entry. He said something like, "There are little moments in our lives...when you don't know what it is or you don't know what is coming...but there's a little voice inside our head that says ‘it's yours if you want it’." I felt like I completely understood what he was saying. Because there was a little voice in my head back then that said “if you want it, you’ve got to sit down and write this thing!” I channeled whatever I could channel and wrote the thing in like twenty minutes and sent it in. Weeks later, Tony Smith called me and said, "So, are you gonna come and see us in the studio or what?"
 (from So What! 2.5)
 Steve and other contest winners hanging out with Lars (from So What! 2.5)
SW: The things we did on that weekend was pretty well documented (in So What! and on the FanCan #1 video), but I do remember playing/jamming with them. I played a riff from "2x4". Lars said he couldn't believe I was playing a song before it came out! [Ed. '2x4' was first played live in August/September
 "I can't hear you, are you talkin' to me?" (from So What! 2.5) SW: It definitely was a pivotal point, because they (Metallica) got to see more of ME...more of who I was and what I was like. We just hung out, had dinner, played/jammed in the studio, went mountain biking, etc. It wasn't like a meet-n-greet (handshakes-autographs-pictures-goodbyes) type of experience. I was fortunate enough to be able to express myself, and it helped me establish what has become a longterm relationship/friendship.
 "Obey your Master! Master!" (from So What! 2.5) SW: It's nice thinking back on that time...especially when Lars pulled me aside and took me into the "Vault" and showed me his cd collection, tapes of jamming with some anonymous guy in early line-up attempts at Metallica, Jason Newsted audition tapes from ‘86, Master of Puppets 7", and all this other rare Metallica stuff that I didn't know even existed. It's kind of funny now, because Lars likes to give me a hard time for not spending enough time in his "Vault" organizing his crap (laughing). VF: After reading your winning entry for SS#7, you definitely feel a special connection to not only Metallica, but especially with Lars. Is that safe to say?
SW: Absolutely - Viking blood! Sure – he probably represented some sort of 'familiarity' to me. Plus, I think he saw a little of himself in me. He's said that to me on more than one occasion -- maybe not so much in the last few years -- but when our friendship was first developing. He would say, "That's who I was. If I didn't play drums in Metallica, I would be Lemmy's right hand man.” [Ed. Lars talked about his
 Steve hanging out with Lars (from So What! 2.5) VF: You've been to a lot of Metallica shows (as a fan, as part of the road crew and as Lars' assistant). Do you have any idea how many you've actually been to? SW: I've never taken the time to do the math.
 Can you spot Steve? Lars? James? Jason? Steffan Chirazi? Tony Smith? Toby? Elvis? Joanna? Eric? Metalli-soccer game - Summer 1998 VF: When you were just a fan, you use to travel and follow Metallica around on tour in the 1990s. Can you share some good memories from those days? SW: I hung out with the band a lot...which is where the nickname, "Starhanger", came from. (laughing) I don't really remember exact details of the shows, but I do remember all the different little groups or 'clicks' of people from different parts of the country/world: Robert “Elvis” Reisinger (aka “The German Dracula” R.I.P.) and Gerben “Big” Kok, you guys and Eric out on the east coast/Virginia, Marc Paschke and Eric Braverman, the CBL Boyz (CBL Records) out west, Phil from IPOM (Insanity Palace Of Metallica aka “iHop”), Tim and Otto (see “Cliff ‘Em All!”) around Detroit, Heather and The Gov’ner in the greater Ohio area, Paul from Motor City Sanitation (RIP), etc.
 (L to R) Jimbo, Marc R., Big "Kok", Steve, and Elvis Eric's apartment - Newport News, VA - June 1998 (Photos by Eric Nielsen)
 Show us your devil horns!
 What the fuck is Jimbo doing??? VF: You were at the MTV Reload, Rehearse, Request show in San Francisco (in March 1998). Other than MTV running the show (deciding who sat where, who got up to sing, setlist, etc.), that was an amazing show to be at, right? SW: I hated that show. It was unique at the time. I remember being really put-off by the whole thing, the MTV-ness of it all. The MTV producers were walking around with their clipboards telling people where they should sit, etc. So UN-Metallica! I remember Lars was hanging out with Matt Pinfield (who hosted the show). After the show, Lars said to meet up at this restaurant, but he never showed up. I believe Lars' mom died around that night too? I also remember Jason being a dick. I don't know why -- maybe he was in a foul mood or stressed out about something.
 (L to R) Sam (Chapter of the Mad), Aimee (Chapter of the Mad), Jameson (Chapter of the Mad/The Outlaw Corn) Jimbo (Chapter of the Mad/Virginia Fuel), Eric (Chapter of the Mad/Virginia Fuel) and Steve Reload, Rehearse, Request - San Fran - March 1998 VF: When you were just a fan, what was your favorite part of travelling/following Metallica on tour? SW: The escape. The adventure. The 'vacation' aspect. Running around the country with a bunch of other idiots (laughing) and seeing what happens...you don't know where you are going until Metallica announced the tour dates...'Oh, I guess were going here and here this summer'...the silly antics that ensued...stopping at a crappy restaurant in the middle of nowhwere on the side of the road with a bunch of dorks...guys being guys...kind of like a fraternity...
 Niclas & Steve at Niclas' pad in San Rafael, CA (picture courtesy of Steve Wiig)
 James, Elvis (2nd from right), and Steve (far right) (picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)
 "You don't go in the bath...room...with me!" SW: You know, there's something kinda cool about riding in the car with a bunch of sweaty guys for 7 hours...sleeping on other people's floors...8 people piled in one hotel room...working your ass off at a warehouse in the spring so you would have money for the summer tour...the comraderie of the road warriors. I developed a lot of relationships with these people...some people are still doing it...some people find other things to do in their lives...and some people fade away. I have some great memories from those days...
 Eric and Steve - Googol Tour - Summer 1998 (I think Steve had one too many!)
 (L to R) Hooter Girl #1, Steve, Hooter Girl #2, Hooter Girl #3, Chapter of the Mad member, Jimbo, Elvis, Hooter Girl #4, Jeff, Big "Kok", Eric, Hooter Girl #5, Scott, and Marc R. Newport News, VA - June 1998 VF: When you were just a fan, what was your least favorite part of travelling/following Metallica on tour? SW: Allergies, politics and drama.
 Virginia Beach, VA - June 1998 VF: In So What! 4.4, you did an interview with Metallica. This was an interesting and unique interview because you asked each member their thoughts on the other members. Was this interview your idea? Was it intimidating to do? SW: Yeah, it was my idea. It wasn't intimidating because we knew each other by then, so it was a way of taking things to another level...getting deeper. I could tell they kind of liked doing it cause they were in the middle of promoting an album and a tour, so you tend get a lot of the same questions. I think the interview was a little different for them at the time.
 Steve's Interview with Metallica (from So What! 4.4) VF: You also wrote an article for So What! 4.2, "Month in the life of Poor Touring Me," in which you spent a month on the road with Metallica (went bowling with Metallica and the road crew, hung out with COC, flew on the Metallica plane, etc.). That must have been an amazing month, right? SW: Yeah – must've been! I was having the time of my life…. Haven’t read any of that stuff in awhile, but I’m sure it’ll be fun to revisit someday. I really can’t stand going back and reading that stuff. Writing it was more about purging and off to the next adventure. That’s just how I write.
 Steve's article on touring (from So What! 4.2) VF: In So What! 6.1, Eric Braverman wrote an article about you. First of all, for those of us who don't know, can you explain who Eric Braverman is? He wrote that you've sold aluminum cans and sold your blood to make money to help pay for you to follow Metallica around on tour. Was this true? In the article, it was also stated that you also hitchhiked to/from Metallica shows. Was this true? SW: Eric Braverman was one of Jason's best friends back in the Flotsam and Jetsam days. We became good friends on the road. He was kind of a Jackass-type of guy. He’s witty, smart-ass; he always had a camera with him; he was always up to mischief; he was like a court jester; he took things to the extreme; but he’s a really, really funny guy and a great friend. He also wrote some other articles for So What!. He would do things like walk right up to James and say something completely obnoxious and piss off his security guy while James laughed it off...in a fun-spirited way. He had these huge sideburns, which some people joked that he influenced Glenn Danzig to grow his. He looked like something from the Planet of the Apes. SW: You know that Judas Priest documentary, Heavy Metal Parking Lot? Well, he shot something called, Metallimania, a similar type documentary interviewing Metallica fans in parking lots, backstage, etc.
 SW: He wrote the article about me because he was fascinated with "my story" (kid from Michigan who wants to hang out with a rock band… and does!). The part about me selling blood and selling aluminum cans was totally made up...for comedic relief or dramatic effect possibly? Although, there are people who do that (hitch-hike, sell blood, sleep in the bushes, stay in hostels, etc.), I never went to that extreme, myself.
 Eric Braverman's article on Steve (from So What! 6.1)
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