DAVE MUSTAINE Kicks Off Book-Signing Tour

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine released his long-awaited autobiography, "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir" (formerly "Hello Me... Meet The Real Me"),in the U.S. on August 3 via HarperCollins's It Books imprint (focusing on pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet). The U.K. edition, "Mustaine: A Life In Metal", will hit bookstores in the U.K. on September 30.

Commented Mustaine: "Well, I got the first official American in-store meet-and-greet for my autobiography done [on Monday, August 9] at the Book Revue bookstore in Huntington, New York and the group of about 300 Droogies that were there were fantastic.

"Of course, there were the 'usuals' there that tried to be 'special,' but the bookstore took care of things so that it would be cool for EVERYBODY and so we could take care of EVERYBODY.

"I just gotta laugh, though, watching these bookworms get all bowed up, especially when the 'usuals' are trying to be all 'rebellious,' but I guess even a library has one or two dickweeds to deal with over the course of time.

"I really can't get over how much I enjoyed myself [on Monday] doing all of the press and promotion around this book. I had just a great, great day today. I look forward to the signing [on Tuesday] again, and if you didn't get a chance to meet me [yesterday] there in Long Island, please come to the in-store tomorrow.

"We're close enough now with the shows being almost 'city by city' with this area out here that we're playing, if you don't see me at one of the in-stores you can certainly come a little bit farther and see me at the next one.

"I would like to make something really easy to understand, too. I will gladly sign any of your records, photos, guitars, and stuff like that in the appropriate places. But this is for my autobiography and the bookstore, it's their rules, and that's just how it is.

"If you want to meet and hang out; there are several ways to do this. You can do stuff through the fan club with the meet -and-greets; and if you want a deeper experience than that, you can certainly sign up for 'I Love All Access,' which is the ultimate fan experience.

"We've got something for everybody here at Megadeth.com; just try and be understanding and we'll accommodate you in any way we can.

"NOTE: If you come up to me with a guitar pick guard for me to sign for a Stratocaster (a Fender guitar style or shape) and WE ALL KNOW by now that I play only Dean VMNTs and Zeros, I am going to respectfully decline."

Mustaine has scheduled the following book-signing sessions to promote the autobiography:

August 9
Book Revue
313 New York Ave.
Huntington, NY 11743
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EDT

August 10
Barnes & Noble
555 Fifth Ave. @ 46th St.
New York, NY 10017
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

August 10
Bookends
232 E. Ridgewood Ave.
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EDT

August 12
Borders
Wall Street
100 Broadway
New York, NY 10005
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT

August 14
Barnes & Noble
800 Boylston St.
B&N # 2115
Boston, MA 02119
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

August 15
Barnes & Noble
Rittenhouse Square
1805 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

August 16
Borders
1201 Boston Post Rd.
Milford, CT 06460
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT

August 18
Joseph-Beth & Davis-Kidd Booksellers
24519 Cedar Road
Lyndhurst, OH, 44124
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT

August 19
Borders
43075 Crescent Blvd
Novi, MI 48375
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CDT

August 20
Borders
150 N State St.
Chicago, IL 60601
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CDT

August 21
Borders
866 Rosedale Center
Roseville, MN 55113
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CDT

August 23
Rainy Day Books
707 W 47th Street
Unity Temple on The Plaza
Kansas City, Missouri 64112
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT

August 25
Tattered Cover Book Store
9315 Dorchester St.
Highlands Ranch Town Center
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. MDT

August 26
Borders
2240 Q St. NE STE 10-K
Albuquerque, NM 87110
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. MDT

August 27
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. MST

August 29
Barnes & Nobles
Mira Mesa
10775 Westview Parkway
San Diego, CA 92126
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT

August 30
Borders
101 S Pine Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PDT

August 31
Borders
233 Winston Drive
San Francisco, CA 94132
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PDT

September 1
Borders
2339 Fair Oaks Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95825
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PDT

September 3
University Bookstore
4326 University Way
Seattle, WA 98105
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT

September 4
Powell's Bookstore
2720 NW 29th Ave.
Portland, OR 97210
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT

Mustaine is the first to admit that he has bottomed out a few times in his dark and twisted speed-metal version of a Dickensonian life. In "Mustaine", he reveals the many highs and lows of this life, including:

* The formation of METALLICA and the key contributions he made for which he was never given full credit.

* The formation and rise of MEGADETH, and his history with David Ellefson, Marty Friedman and Nick Menza.

* The story of his departure from MEGADETH in 2002 and his eventual return.

* His multiple battles with alcohol and drugs, and how Alice Cooper played a role in one of his recoveries.

* The injury that nearly ended his career.

* After years of rejecting religion, how embracing Christianity helped repair his relationship with his family and maintain his sobriety.

* His tumultuous childhood which included several moves from city to city, all in an attempt to avoid his alcoholic father.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield once observed that Mustaine must have been born with a horseshoe up his ass. That's how lucky he has been and how fortunate he is to be pulling breath after so many close calls. In "Mustaine", he tells a story that will inspire, stun and terrify.

"Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir" was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.