MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON Offers Advice To Young Musicians: 'Be Committed To What It Is You Wanna Do'

On January 29, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was interviewed on the KBAD 94.5 radio station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. You can now watch video footage of his appearance below.

Asked what advice he would give to young, aspiring musicians, Ellefson said: "I got rolling when I was, like, eleven, twelve years old, picking up the bass guitar, putting bands together, playing in the region, playing around. For me, I had to leave here, I had to get out of here, in order to go find the elusive success, which, fortunately, I found in Hollywood, California. There was a school there called Musicians Institute, which is still there, and that was really the hub. And, of course, I told my parents, 'I might go to school.' But what I really wanted to do was form something like MEGADETH. And I [met] Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH mainman] right after I moved there, and against all odds, he and I have become successful."

He continued: "Be committed to what it is you wanna do. My first thing is, man, play with everybody; play with as many different people as possible when you're young. As you get older and your career goes on, you will start to focus and define your style and your sound. And from there, you try to get really united, like I did with Dave. I mean, he and I have hung together pretty much most of the MEGADETH career."

Ellefson added: "Jason Newsted, when he was in METALLICA, had a great saying. He said, 'A fist packs a much harder punch than four or five fingers individually. So the impact of people staying together as a team is really, really important in your career."

MEGADETH's new album, "Dystopia", debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 49,000 equivalent album units in the week ending January 28.

In terms of pure album sales, "Dystopia" opened with 48,000 copies, marking MEGADETH's highest-charting album since 1992's "Countdown To Extinction" debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the chart dated August 1 of that year. "Dystopia" also logged the group's best sales week since 2007, when "United Abominations" landed at No. 8 with first-week sales of 54,000.

The current MEGADETH lineup is rounded out by drummer Chris Adler, who took time away from LAMB OF GOD to record "Dystopia", and Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA.