Alpharetta man on the road with Metallica

A strange triad of forces led Bob Canecchio to his dream job: A physical therapy degree, a water skiing accident and Rick Springfield.

Canecchio, an Alpharetta resident of eight years, works as a physical therapist for Metallica, the heavy metal masters who play Turner Field tonight on the Summer Sanitarium tour. Yes, the men who've given the world albums such as "Kill 'Em All," "And Justice for All" and most recently, "St. Anger" have a fulltime healer. It is his job to make sure they can safely thrash their way through nightly shows.

A few years ago, he was the friendly neighborhood therapist, helping dozens of patients at Body Pros Physical Therapy clinics in Alpharetta and Marietta.

And then, in July 2000, he got the call.

Dr. J. Rick Hammesfahr, an orthopaedic surgeon in Marietta, (Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine) was quietly trying to find help for a famous patient with a painful injury.

"I thought, 'It's not like I'm going to tell anyone or shout it on the rooftops,' " said Canecchio, 39. "Then he said, 'Have you ever heard of the band Metallica?' "

The patient was the band's singer-guitarist James Hetfield, who had two herniated discs from a water skiing accident on Lake Lanier.

"If I hadn't called the doctor's office myself, I would have sworn this was a practical joke," Canecchio said.

After a few hours of damage control with the therapist, Hetfield was able to stand upright again, and offered Canecchio tickets to an upcoming show.

But he already had nine tickets. A Metallica fan since he was a teenager, Canecchio was even planning to bring along friends and family, especially his sons Arin, now 14, and Robbie, now 17.

"I had the misfortune of my first concert being Rick Springfield, and I wasn't going to let that happen to my children," Canecchio said. "It wasn't a major leap of faith to go to the Metallica camp then."

Although he continued to treat Hetfield, the therapist turned down the band's first invitation to join them on tour. He had other patients depending on him and a life in Georgia he couldn't just walk away from.

At the time, Hetfield wondered how a devoted fan who worked so well with the band could reject the offer. Couldn't his patients just find someone else to care for them?

"Why can't you get another guitarist to play for you?" Canecchio replied.

Skip forward three years. The band asked again if he'd join the summer/fall tour kicking off in San Francisco in May this year before heading to Europe. And this time, he said yes. Canecchio had time to prepare his patients -- and his family and girlfriend, who he'll get to see more often now that the tour is back in the States.

When Canecchio joined the band in San Francisco, he saw that their biggest worries, after more than 20 years, weren't fan reaction or substance abuse, but making sure their rotator cuffs weren't torn and their joints weren't sore.

"You have to take care of the physical elements," said drummer Lars Ulrich, 40. "There's definitely a little more awareness to what our own needs are."

To help the band maintain its rock warrior status, Canecchio works out with members to improve muscle strength and endurance and does target massages before shows.

"Not many people get injured because of playing drums for two and a half hours, but the injury is the same as a swimmer's," Canecchio said. "It's heavy metal, and there's not a lot of relaxing on stage."

It's common for bands with Metallica's budget, notoriety and physical need to take specialists on tour. Including a physical therapist is a new trend, as more artists and performers look to prevent injuries rather than treat them later.

"It's more refined," said Ray Waddell, senior writer covering touring for Billboard magazine. "Instead of taking your drug dealer, you take your physical therapist."

Contact Robert J. Canecchio, Jr. by email