Ex-MEGADETH Bassist ELLEFSON: 'DAVE MUSTAINE Is An Incredibly Talented Guy'

Alexi Front of FourteenG recently conducted an interview with former MEGADETH and current F5 bassist David Ellefson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

FourteenG: Do you feel as though you are seen in a different eye now that you are in several different projects as opposed to when you were just in MEGADETH?

David Ellefson: In my former group, I dedicated my whole life to it. That was what we did, we built it from the beginning, and that's what we did. But in 2002, one day it ended and it was over. At that point, quite honestly, I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with my life. I kind of figured we would be the LYNYRD SKYNYRD of metal and always be playing [laughter]. But the reality was that it was done and it was over. I think that is why I did so much artist development that year: because I wanted to stay musically active. Yet, it was also fun to hook up with these young musicians and see how they are approaching guitar, songwriting, and lyric-writing. And now it is interesting because I am involved in TEMPLE OF BRUTALITY as well as the KILLING MACHINE record that I did and stuff like that, some of that is getting back to a traditional type of metal, which is also fun.

"When you are in one band for a long time you get fans that band and man that band can't really deviate from what they want you to do, which is okay, there is nothing wrong with that. Obviously the biggest obstacle I face is that, as that former band of mine has reformed, the one thing about it is that none of the past members are in it, they have all moved on. I tried really hard to make sure that my fans know that I did not turn my back on them. As we go down new roads that they are more than welcome to come with me and that I want them to check out new stuff. I think that because I was such a longtime member in that group, I would like to think that they will hang around with me and see what I am doing, provided that it is something I am doing. I am respectful of the fans because if it weren't for them, you and I would not be having this conversation. In the beginning, you start because you are making music you like but after awhile you start to make music the fans like and without fans, you can't have a band that lasts long."

FourteenG: Is the music industry as brutal as people make it out to be?

David Ellefson: "It can be. It really depends on what wave you are on. If you are on a good wave you better stay on it and ride it. Of course there is an evil side of that. If you are on a wave, you are hopefully on wave you want to be on. Because if you are on a wave you don't want to be on it sucks. All of a sudden, you are doing it for the wrong reasons. You end up working for prestige and honor and not for yourself. At the same time, if you want to say you are an artist and you don't care about money you better be prepared for that side of it also. It is a double-edged sword. I consider myself lucky. I think of myself as living the lucky American dream in a sense that I was a kid that was born and raised on a farm in Minnesota and moved to Hollywood to pursue a dream and ended up hitting the jackpot. It wasn't like living the lifestyle of the rich and famous either. It hasn't been that at all, it has been a lot of hard work and shit that wasn't pleasant. I had to put up with some people and some situations that were not favorable and that most people would have folded their hands and said fuck it. All my friends I moved out to California with ended up folding their hands and moving back to Minnesota. I walked the razor's edge for many years, and looking back on it in hindsight, I really did it! For that, I am very thankful for everyone in my former band for all the work that we did together and all the contributions we made.

"Dave Mustaine is an incredibly talented guy, and I don't ever make any bones about his talent and his vision or any things he was on the pulse with when I met him. He has an incredible instinctive gut to know what to do at the right time. That is an admirable quality."

Read the entire interview at FourteenG.net.