JAMES LOMENZO 'Felt A Bit Like A Fish Out Of Water' After Joining MEGADETH Nearly Two Decades Ago

Yamaha Guitars has shared a mini-documentary on current MEGADETH bassist James LoMenzo.

In this episode of Yamaha Guitars' "Artist Breakthrough Stories" series, we hear about James's passions, how he got to where he is today, and his defining "breakthrough" story.

From his earliest memories of discovering bass guitar to his experiences as the bassist of legendary bands WHITE LION and MEGADETH, LoMenzo explores how his lifelong passion for music turned into a surreal career.

LoMenzo, who joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame", said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "At first I felt a bit like a fish out of water. I understood the music, I could play it, but I was, like, 'How do you deliver this? What do you do with it?'

"The challenge of this music is to be able to perform it in such a way that it looks to the audience the same way that they feel when they listen to it.

"In MEGADETH, I have spaces to make grander gestures. I can pump that fist to the guy who's pumping his fist to me at the right time and look him in the eye and let him know that I see you and I know you love this and I love it too. There's something that is so transformative about that in the moment, which makes metal really work. And I think that's metal's best thing. It's like building that community, building that church instantaneously with the audience, and vice versa.

"The community of metal is unwavering. The audience has broadened since the last time I was here."

LoMenzo was MEGADETH's bass player in the mid-2000s but was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. After Ellefson was kicked out of MEGADETH in May 2021, LoMenzo stepped back in as a touring member for the 2021 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year". In May 2022, it was announced that Lomenzo was officially rejoining the MEGADETH family.

In November 2022, LoMenzo reflected on his initial departure from MEGADETH in an interview with Ashdown Engineering. He said at the time: "After three or four years in MEGADETH, David Ellefson returned. And I, like you, was pretty excited about that, because I had always been a fan of MEGADETH anyway. I'm one of those crazy guys that's, like, I want it to be the original band. I always want it to be the original band; it's kind of the way I grew up. But in lieu of that, I had to take the charge of the bass spot when he couldn't be there. So when he came back, I was fine with it. I've done two great albums — 'United Abominations' and 'Endgame'; we've done two world tours, been all over the place. And so at that point, I was kind of excited to maybe try something new. And so I went back home. I started a video production company. I started doing these local jams where all my famous friends would come by and jam with me. It was great. And eventually I ended up in [rock legend] John Fogerty's band."

On the topic of how he rejoined MEGADETH, James said: "How do I end up back in MEGADETH? It's like that 'Godfather' movie — 'Just when I thought I got out, they pull me back in again.' No… But anyway… When they needed a bass player — it became apparent — I thought to myself, 'They'll probably call me up.' But I also thought to myself, 'It's been a while since I played that kind of music, so maybe it'll be great. It'll be all right. Maybe not.' Sure enough, the phone rings, and Dave [Mustaine] is, like, 'We've gotta do this 'Metal Tour Of The Year'. James, I know you're the guy who can do it. I would love to have you here. If you would just commit to just doing this tour, that would be great.' And I thought, 'Well, that's kind of weird. He doesn't want me to rejoin the band.' But then I thought about it. He knew I had another band, and he was telling me, 'I don't want you to screw up whatever you've got going.' I was being loyal to John. So we went out on the tour, and gosh, it was just the best time. I was so enamored with the band that he put together that I was blown away. And Dave, gosh, he's just delivering the goods every day. The great thing about Dave is he's been through a lot. He recovered from cancer. He's had problems with his back. Over the years, he's had more things than most professional wrestlers would have, and he shows no sign of it — he just gets up there and plays and just gives it his all. So after that tour, I was sitting there going, 'Man, I think I might like to stay here for a while.' And so, luckily, as luck would have it, not too long after that, Dave calls me up at home and he goes, 'You know, we would love to have you be part of the band officially if you wanna stay.' And I thought, 'That's exactly what I was thinking, man. Let's do it.'

In addition to MEGADETH and Fogerty, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION.

LoMenzo played his first show with MEGADETH in nearly 12 years in August 2021 in Austin, Texas. The concert took place three months following Ellefson's dismissal from MEGADETH after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving him were posted on Twitter.