DAVID ELLEFSON On Possible MEGADETH Reunion: 'It Needs To Just Sort Of Happen On Its Own Time'

The Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp Podcast sat down last week with former MEGADETH and current F5 bassist David Ellefson, who talked about his experience at camp, his current projects, how he got into and out of MEGADETH, and if he'd ever work with Dave Mustaine again.

On the topic of whether he will ever reunite with Mustaine and his former MEGADETH bandmates, Ellefson said, "Dave and I have met — about two years ago, it was. He had reached out to me and I gladly reciprocated and we met and we had dinner and buried the hatchets. There was a lot of legal unhinging with our business stuff together and that's, to some degree… He and I will always be in business sort of the way Lennon and McCartney are always in business because we have a… sort of like we raised some kids — we've got albums, we've got work, we've got our songs we composed together — there's all this stuff, and that's gonna be there. And it was nice for he and I to sit down and look each other in the eye and talk without having managers and attorneys and, you know, the entourage and stuff, around. It was nice, because, really, that's how he and I met — he and I met just face-to-face — and it was nice that we got to have a hook-up like that; I'm really happy about that. And I don't know if that means one day we'll ever be in a room with our guitars on again or if it'll just be, like, when we come into each other's town, we call each other and go out to Starbucks and hang out and get caught up about what's happening with the kids, you know what I mean?! [laughs] I don't know what that is. But I think rather than trying to force it, it needs to just sort of happen on its own time. I think any successful reunion that I've seen — whether it's MÖTLEY CRÜE or THE WHO or THE EAGLES, or whoever it is — it seems like the only successful ones happen because everybody… It's almost like enough time has to go by where you're willing to forgive, you're willing to let… it's, like, the time does heal the wounds, and you're able to sort of move past all of that stuff so that you can be in that place that I saw Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend being — which is with a real sort of gratitude and a real zeal for the rock and roll reason they got together in the first place."

To listen to the 30-minute chat, download the MP3 audio file from this location (28 MB).

F5 — the Phoenix-based band featuring Ellefson, ex-SICK SPEED vocalist Dale Steele, and guitarists Steve Conley and John Davis — has entered the studio to record the follow-up to its 2005 debut, "A Drug for All Seasons". The CD is being produced by Ryan Greene at his Crush Recording facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.

F5 called in Ellefson's longtime rhythm section cohort Jimmy DeGrasso to play drums on the album following the recent departure of original F5 drummer Dave Small.

"This looks to be a very musically invigorating record", said Ellefson. "No doubt there will be hints of F5's past sound on the disc but these new songs are definitely developing in a much more progressive direction."

A spring 2008 release via Oarfin Distribution is expected.

"A Drug for all Seasons" was released in North America in September 2005 via Cleopatra Records. The original version of "A Drug for all Seasons" is also available in Asia on JVC Victor Entertainment and in Europe on Mascot Records.

Watch F5's "Dissidence" video: