DAVE MUSTAINE On 'Megacruise': I Wanna Make Sure That People Walk Away Going, 'This Is The Greatest Thing Ever'

Dave Mustaine spoke to SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk about MEGADETH's first-ever Megacruise, which is scheduled to take place next fall. The boat will depart from Los Angeles on October 13, 2019 and visit San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico before returning to L.A. on October 18, 2019.

Asked how the idea for the Megacruise came about, Mustaine said: "I wasn't really into the cruise thing at all, to be honest, in the beginning, when we were approached with it. We had a sail that we had signed on for, and for whatever reason, it didn't happen, and we regrouped and got a new lineup and a new outlook towards this stuff. Because going out and doing this with a bunch of old barfly bands that can't do anything better than get on a cruise, hey, you know what? I think I'll pass. I'm not gonna go down and get the two-dollar-ninety-nine shrimp cocktail. But if it's something like this that's a lot of really cool metal bands, it's really short — it's not a week out to sea; four days is enough. And there's so many other fun things to do, like the whole karaoke thing we're gonna try and pull off. I don't know if it's gonna happen very well, but we're gonna try — we're gonna try and find a cover band that does MEGADETH songs and let people go out there and just sing 'em."

The maiden voyage will also feature performances by ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and ARMORED SAINT, among others. The cruise will also offer "artist photo experiences," Q&As with the bands, beer tastings, instrument clinics, "morning coffee jams" a charity auction, a cornhole tournament and "MEGADETH-themed events," among other happenings. Prices range from $800 to $4,899. Full details are on the Megacruiseweb site.

Mustaine confirmed that he was heavily involved in putting the Megacruise artist lineup together, telling SiriusXM: "I wanna make sure that in the event where we cast off and we're out at sea, if anything happens to anyone, that the show goes on. That people are gonna say, 'You know what? This is such an incredibly value-packed trip here that, hey, it's okay if somebody from one of the bands can't make a second show, they're only gonna play one show,' or whatever. I wanna make sure that people walk away going, 'This is the greatest thing ever.'"

He continued: "It's not hard to give people value for their money. I think that a lot of people just don't wanna do it, 'cause there's so many bad people in the music industry taking advantage of artists that they don't know when they're gonna get their next paycheck. So that's one of the reasons, too, why I started my management company. I love who I'm managed by right now, and I started my company, Thrashville, to basically be a company by artists for artists, and I think it makes all the difference in the world."

Megacruise confirmed bands so far:

MEGADETH
ANTHRAX
TESTAMENT
OVERKILL
DRAGONFORCE
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
DEVILDRIVER
METAL CHURCH
DORO
JOHN 5
ARMORED SAINT
DANKO JONES
BEASTÖ BLANCÖ
METALACHI

For more information, visit Megacruise.com.