Ex-MEGADETH Bassist, TESLA Drummer Rocking At Arizona Church

Michelle Hoffman of The Arizona Republic reports that former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta are two of the musicians taking part in a bi-monthly, Lutheran-based outreach liturgy that is taking place at Scottsdale, Arizona's Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church.

Pastor Jon Bjorgaard has culled an impressive cadre of accomplished musicians to donate their time and talent not only creating and performing music, but to also deliver a verbal memoir, some having lived in the rock-and-roll spotlight where success and excess often coexist in a dark symbiosis.

Bjorgaard hopes their stories and music along with his homily serve as a fresh medium to inspire others. "The music appeals to a broader audience," said parishioner Brad Phillips. "It's a great way to reach everyone."

"If you had told me back then that I was going to be playing my guitar in church, I would've said no way," Ellefson laughed. "Church groups used to ban my records. But now it's like my rock-and-roll tithing."

Although he drew KISS logos on church bulletins when he was a kid, Ellefson credits those early years with instilling a moral compass that, once obscured by rock-and-roll excess, never disappeared. (The band's VH1 "Behind the Music" episode documents the drug-addled underside of MEGADETH's rock-and-roll ride into the sun.)

"Because of my Lutheran childhood, I always knew what I was doing was wrong," Ellefson said.

For drummer Troy Luccketta of rock band TESLA, playing music on an altar, instead of a stage, takes the rock star focus off.

"The rock-and-roll life is really self-centered, people cater to you all of the time. Here, it's not about you. It's about being available to others. Music reaches people," Luccketta said.

Read the entire article at The Arizona Republic.