Dave Ellefson is the bassist and founding member of the American, thrash-metal band Megadeth.
Later this month he’s bringing his signature-series Jackson bass and taking to the stage for a series of up-close, and very personal, spoken-word tours called ‘My Life With Deth’. "I have never done a spoken-word tour before. I will definitely feature a lot from my book 'My Life With Deth', which is my biography.
“I always feel comfortable standing up in front of people talking about my life story. Telling them certain things and funny things and going through that, you know it is my life story. Along with that, of course, is music, family, friends you know the whole crew. The whole craziness of the music business. The spoken-word is like having an evening with [Dave Ellefson] and a meet and greet. I try hard to break down those barriers between the rock star and the fan.”
The music industry is a strenuous and treacherous endeavour. It's a blindfolded walk into terra incognito, where drugs await to destroy your creativity and very being, and greedy men lay waiting to steal your earnings at any chance they get.
How does one survive the industry? “There is no handbook for it, so you just dive in, and you usually get your ass kicked and you get ripped off, and you basically get completely raped and pillaged by anyone and anything. And if that does not totally discard you out of the business, you tend to grow tough skin, and you learn how to get through it.
“You are lucky when you are in a band because at least you have a buffer by having a little mini-gang going up against, it’s like David and Goliath. One little guy with a slingshot and one rock to take down the giant."
But why do a spoken-word tour when fans can just buy the biography and learn all about Dave Ellefson from that? “A lot of our [Megadeth] fans are musicians. I can go on YouTube and see these guys play our songs so well I'm like, 'Holy smokes! How did they get them so good?'.
“I think for those people the spoken-word would be cool because there will be a chance to engage with the audience and also some Q&A. I thought the best gift that I can give some of our fans is to let me spell out the ABCs of what this business is really about. Because being a professional-recording artist, is so different from just being a guy who enjoys playing music and writing songs. It really takes it to a whole other level."
Drug addiction has ruined the lives of countless rock stars. It's an area that Dave will explore during this tour. “What I want to talk about is some of the more personal things that I went through. I think it will naturally come out. It’s not my intention to come on some preaching, a sort of ministry tour; at least it is not the onset of it. It has been a big part of my life. In fact to be honest with you, it is the basis of my life. When you strip away the dope and the booze, you are left raw, exposed like a nerve and that has to be dealt with. For the first time, I divulge the drug addiction, the recovery as well as some to the spiritual ideals and sort of realisations and awakenings that I had while being on stage."
A thrash-metal guy having profound spiritual awakenings? How in hell did this come about? “During the midst of one of the biggest heavy-metal bands in the world,” Dave says with a laugh, “I was having all of these revelations — those kind-of ‘aha!’ moments while I was up there playing 'Holy Wars' and 'Wake Up Dead'. It is a strange place to be because I was questioning: ‘Who am I?. What am I doing? Am I doing the right thing? Is this what I was meant to be?' Having those kind of awakenings in the middle of your life, with a guitar in your hand and standing in front of a hundred, thousand people is a mind-blowing experience.
"As a musician you grow up, you want to be recognised for your music, and then one day you realise that you have legitimately become a rock star. Only to find out that your life is now changing in other directions on your personal front that goes completely, contrary to being a rock star. Or, in my case sobriety, family, kids. I thought: 'My God here am I living a dream, why do I feel so conflicted inside everything that I am doing. Those were some pretty huge revelations.'
"When people think about drugs and addiction and getting sober, they think it is wispy and for sissies, like this t-shirt says 'Rehab is for quitters'. Anyone who has that idea of it, I would say go listen to 'Rust In Peace'. There is my earlier sobriety right there on that record."
It’s been nearly 25 years since 'Rust In Peace' hit record store shelves and changed the face of metal forever. It’s a freak of an album and is revered as one of the best metal albums of all time. "Twenty-five years ago, myself, Dave [Mustaine] and Nick [Menza] were getting ready to go to record 'Rust In Peace'. Marty Friedman fell into our lap, and we went into the studio and created that record - our most celebrated record ever.
“There was something about that moment in my early sobriety; my coming out of addiction. It was recorded on that record forever. You can hear it. That energy, pissing vinegar and anger. It was just raw emotions that got recorded. A couple of years later, with 'Countdown To Extinction', I started to learn how to work with people. During 'Youthanasia' came a maturity with writing and and I was much more on my own, two feet."
While talking with Dave it was obvious that he was still doing a lot of reflecting on the past while trying to put all of the pieces back together in a logical order. "You know, talking to you right now, I am thinking and looking through the chronological order of the Megadeth catalogue. I'm realising the influence my sobriety had on each album and how it comes across on each. I've never really thought of it that way before."
It will most certainly be a very revealing and interesting evening with Dave on his spoken-word tour. But what about the future of Megadeth? Recently two band members quit within hours of each other. Guitarist Chris Broderick announced his departure and shortly after drummer Shawn Drover left too. Where to from here? “We are turning a new corner in 2015 with Megadeth being back between me and Dave. Who would have thought that one day Megadeth would be Dave Mustaine and Dave Ellefson again? It’s an opportunity for Dave and Dave to do things differently now. Through the eyes of wisdom, experience we can be a little more, maybe rational and calm in our process, in our decisions and do things that are better suited for us rather than everything being an immediate reaction."
It’s a fresh new beginning for Megadeth and what better way to understand the past and discover the future of Megadeth than to be present at Dave’s 'My Life With Deth’ spoken-word tour? There isn’t a better way. Don’t miss it.
Dave Ellefson Tour Dates
Thu 26 Mar - Factory Theatre (Sydney)Fri 27 Mar - The Prince Bandroom (Melbourne)
Sat 28 Mar - The Hi-Fi (Brisbane)
Sun 29 Mar - The Gov (Adelaide)
