JASON NEWSTED Has Been Working On His Memoir 'For About Five Years': 'I've Got 130 Chapters'

In a new interview with Spin magazine, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted was asked if he is writing a book. He responded: "I have a few lined up, but I have to do my memoir first as far as release. I have my poetry and lyric book done. I have the one that I did all the drawings. But I have to do my memoir and get the ball rolling. I've actually been working on it for about five years. I've got 130 chapters. Some are one page and some are five pages. It's that kind of a read. More internal things and photos and fun vibe told a page at a time."

He continued: "I don't do any kind of beaten-to-death redundancy with stories that have already been told a whole bunch of times. I'll do my view on a couple things that people might not have known about a certain famous gig or a certain famous event or award show or something, but I don't go over and over all the shit that everybody's already told. A lot of more inside personal things and stuff. No mudslinging or that shit. None of that stupid drug story stuff or anything other than factual things about painkiller addiction."

A decade ago, Newsted was asked by For Bass Players Online if he had considered writing an autobiography. He responded at the time: "As the NEWSTED thing was winding down [in 2014], I had a book offer. I was just about in; they wanted to send money for the advance, and I had a few conversations with publishers about choosing a [co-]writer and everything. It just didn't work out, though. I realized I didn't want to do it right now. Maybe someday. I'm hoping I can build some more stories with this and then write [the book] some time along the way when I settle down. I still want to do this [music] while the skills are intact, while the functions are intact and everything is cool. I want to make sure that's the way it's gonna go and not get sidetracked from that just yet."

Last year, Newsted was diagnosed with throat cancer, but he kept it a secret from fans until May 2026. The 63-year-old musician, who played with the heavy metal giants from 1986 to 2001, chalked the cancer up to the "accelerated lifestyle" of his time touring with METALLICA. He explained how, due to the intense touring schedule, one METALLICA year is the equivalent of "four or five" normal years, creating a lifestyle that had taken its toll. "If you put the math down, that's taxing on your cells, three flights a day… that kind of shit, it'll get you," he said. Newsted underwent surgery for the cancer in May 2025 and eventually got his "free and clear" in April 2026.

Jason will embark on the first-ever North American headlining tour with his THE CHOPHOUSE BAND this summer.

JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND will play eight headlining dates in cities including Northampton, Albany, Alexandria, Grand Rapids, Knoxville and more. The group will also support iconic Atlanta country rock outfit BLACKBERRY SMOKE for 10 shows in July.

This 18-date run will kick off on July 1 at Northampton's Iron Horse Music Hall, and visit major markets across the South, Midwest, and East Coast, and conclude with a two-night stand at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on July 24-25.

Since 1992, JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND have performed periodically at select benefit shows and charity gigs, supporting causes like veterans' relief and animal rehabilitation, as well as youth music and arts education programs.

Newsted leads the 2026 JASON NEWSTED & THE CHOPHOUSE BAND lineup, in which he is joined by Jesse Farnsworth (guitar, vocals),Jimbo Hart (bass, vocals),Humberto Perez (guitar) and Robert John-Tucker (drums, vocals).

Jason left METALLICA back in 2001, but was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, along with Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo, in 2009.

Twelve years ago, Jason shelved NEWSTED, the heavy metal project he operated between 2012 and 2014, saying that it cost him "an awful lot of money — hundreds of thousands of dollars." He added: "I couldn't continue because the business is such a harsh thing now and so different than what I had known."