#Basstory

[arizonaculture]

David Ellefson tells us a Basstory

David Ellefson tells us a Basstory

Basstory with David Ellefson Photos and Story: Daisy Fromkin

David Ellefson the bassist of Megadeth fame has been playing his part for over 30 years, so it goes without saying he has his fair share of stories to tell. In addition to being a bassist, he is also a writer, with several books under his belt (My Life with Deth, Making Music your Business and soon More life with Deth), a businessman…

[rockrevoltmagazine]

David Ellefson - Basstory in Portland, OR

David Ellefson – Basstory in Portland, OR

When the bass player for an iconic band says “I’m going to go out on a solo tour”, it doesn’t typically grab you by the ear and get you out to the venue. But when that bass player happens to be Grammy Award winner David Ellefson of Megadeth, it certainly piques some interest.

David kicked off his “Basstory” tour last evening in Portland, OR and we were in the house to see how this tour was going…

[rosebud1313]

#GreatShow last night with our friends #VoodooTerrorTribe & amazing set by # #DaveEllefson! #Show #Basstory #TheBrightonBar #TheBrightonBarNJ #LongBranch #LongBranchNJ #HeavyMetal #MetalRose #Orbynot #ThanatoticDesire #EmpLabelGroup @orbynot @voodooterrortribe @jimflorentine @thanatoticdesire @thomhazaert @davidellefsonbass @emplabelgroup (at The Brighton Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrDudaHi6c/?igshid=41r96h6zhaxs

[greetingsfellownerds]

Hey, is anyone going to basstory tonight (12/13)? If so, could you maybe send me some pics or vids?

[metalshockfinland]

Interview by David Araneda

We had the honor to talk with Megadeth’s legendary bassist David Ellefson before the next leg of his “Basstory Tour”. We discussed his latest book “More Life with Deth” and the structure of the tour that will take him to Europe and Latin America, including a special date in Wolverhampton, where he will be joined by K.K. Downing, Ripper Owens and Les Binks to play a set of Judas Priest classics.

David also told us about the story behind his eclectic compilation album “Sleeping Giants” featuring previously unreleased tracks, including collaborations with John Bush, Chris Poland and David Glen Eisley. Of course, we also talked about the present and future of Megadeth, including the upcoming Megacruise, the recording of the new album and the recovery process of Dave Mustaine.

We leave you the full transcript (slightly modified to improve readability) of the interview below as well as the original audio version on YouTube:

David (MSF): You’re currently promoting your latest book “More Life with Deth” through a series of bass clinics, signing sessions and shows. The next dates are in the UK, mainland Europe and Latin America. Can you describe a little bit the concept behind these different variations of the “Basstory Tour”?

David Ellefson: Yeah, everyone is gonna be a little different, you know. The first show, that I’m kicking off with, started originally just as a kind of book signing at KK’s Steel Mill (K.K. Downing’s club) up in Wolverhampton. And K.K. (Downing) being a dear friend, obviously we like to play music, and we’ve never played music together. So, we’re gonna get on stage and fire up a big thing with Tim “Ripper” Owens, Lis Binks, my partner Thom (Hazaert) and A.J. Mill. We’re gonna fire off one show, so that’s kind of a standalone show on November 3rd. And then, November 4th we’ll be down to London in the Underworld. That’s going to be a bit more similar to what I’ve been doing here in America with the Sleeping Giants band, being a full band set, playing some of the classic songs people know me for, as well as material off my own Sleeping Giants album, and book signing afterwards. And I’ll do that same type of thing across Europe, across Italy and one date in Switzerland. And then, when I wrap up in Rome, a couple days later I will be starting the Latin America Basstory. That’s going to be slightly different, I’m going to actually use some local musicians in every city, and part of that is just because I want to involve local musicians as well as fans. There’s a lot of cover bands, tribute bands of various musicians who … I just thought it would be fun for them to get up and to basically play some songs together. So, that’ll be a little bit more like my Basstories were in 2018 and even earlier this year in 2019, when I was doing Basstory across Europe. So, everyone is going to be a little bit different, which I think sets the stage for a unique experience for the fans and everybody who comes to these shows.

David (MSF): Yeah, definitely. This is your second book after 2013’s “My Life with Deth”. Have you found something therapeutic about writing that you couldn’t express through music or what was your motivation to write this second part?

David Ellefson: You know, I like to write. I found over the years, you know, that probably if there was a word for me, it would be “communicator”. And sometimes, I do that with a bass, sometimes I do it with a guitar, sometimes I do it just like you and me are doing right now talking over the phone, other times it’s writing a book, maybe it’s doing a Basstory masterclass clinic performance, etc. So, it’s all about just communicating, you know. Communicating thoughts, ideas, creative things. Creating it out to your audience. The books are just one of those ways to do that. You can do things in a book you can’t do in a song, and vice versa. I think with “More Life with Deth”, the thing is … I kind of hit a sweet spot on it, because a lot of this stuff with social media, it’s like everything is so immediate. And people kind of know I’ve got a record label, I’ve got a coffee company. So, I talked about those things in the book, some of the backstory to them, got a little deeper into some of the underpinnings and workings of those processes. But I think the one thing that was kind of an unexpected sweet spot in the story for me was, as I started talking about acquiring the rights to Combat Records, and relaunching that record label, it took me way back to the origin of Megadeth, to 1983. When, and how the band started. And I had some of my childhood friends from Minnesota who moved out to California, when we met Dave and got the band started. And I had them weigh in and give some personal testimonies about that. I think those, to me … I had as much fun reading their personal testimonies in my book as I did reading what I wrote about it. So, the Combat events really took me back to the earliest days of Megadeth, and that’s largely been an untold part of the Megadeth history. Kind of “Rust in Peace” onwards it has largely been told and pretty well known. A lot of those artifacts live online, on YouTube and whatnot. But the early days in the 80s, it was really fun to go back and open that chapter up, and really dig deep in and again, get these personal testimonies from other band members and friends who were with me on the journey back then.

David (MSF): Yeah, that’s very interesting. You mentioned the compilation album “Sleeping Giants” and there’s a lot of metal stuff in it, with different musicians. But I was very surprised by your collaboration with David Glen Eisley. What’s the story behind his partnership?

David Ellefson: With the Sleeping Giants songs you mean?

David (MSF): The one’s with David Glen Eisley, this kind of soft rock tracks … 

David Ellefson: You know, in the “Countdown to Extinction Tour” in 1993 we had a tour break, and I met up with a friend of Nick Menza’s. His name was Pat Schunk, and we used to mountain bike, riding in the hills there in Los Angeles and hang out. Pat and I became fast friends, and we started doing some writing, because he’s also a songwriter, so we began doing some writing together. I put some of those songs on “Sleeping Giants” because there were some demos that we’d written, and I really just loved the songs. One of them “If You Were God”, which features John Bush on vocals, was something I actually did bring in as a consideration to the “Youthanasia” record, and it didn’t really fit the scope of where we were in that record, so it didn’t make the cut. But it’s a great song, and I have always loved it. I wrote the music, Pat wrote the lyrics and John Bush sang it. So, you know, to include that it’s been really fun because John Bush and I, we do stuff with Metal Allegiance and we’ve been friends for many years. So, it’s been fun to really collaborate with him again, even on stage, singing that song when I do Basstory shows. And then some other stuff, some stuff that I did with F5 during the 2000s, you know. That David Glen Eisley stuff, you know he was a friend of Pat Schunk’s, they were in a group together called Dirty White Boy, which featured David Glen Isley, some members of the group called Autograph, who were a pretty popular radio rock band here in America during the 80s. And, you know (we wanted) to write, and have different singers come in. These were really just demos and I thought, these things have been sitting in the vault, literally sleeping in the vault, yet I felt they were pretty cool songs. I mean, I think the title “Sleeping Giants” is not only a good title for the lead off track on the record, but it’s also a good description of the songs that are embodied on the album.

David (MSF): Yeah, exactly. Since we’re slowly running out of time, I don’t know if you’re okay with a couple of Megadeth related questions (David agrees). How’s the process of the new album going on, do we have any potential release date for it?

David Ellefson: You know, we don’t. I mean, with Dave’s throat cancer treatments, that he has now completed, he’s just going through the recovery now and we’re hopeful and optimistic about a full recovery for him with that. But yeah, once he’s through with that process, and we’re gonna just let that take as much time as it needs, then we will resume with the album. I’d like to hope maybe in 2020 we’ll be able to get a new album out.

David (MSF): Hopefully it works out. Considering Dave’s health situation, the upcoming Megacruise and the dates you have confirmed for the beginning of next year in Europe. How do you see Dave’s recovery in order to perform live?

David Ellefson: I think with the cruise, we’re really just taking that a day at a time. Me, Dirk and Kiko are gonna be on the boat, holding down the fort and doing some musical stuff ourselves on there, to just kind of keep a celebration of all things Megadeth. But, you know, we’re definitely giving Dave the time and space to heal and recover, that’s first and foremost for this week. And then, moving into the new year with the Five Finger Death Punch + Bad Wolves tour, you know, hopefully Dave will be ready to go. Sometimes, life throws you a card you didn’t expect and you just try to, you know … Megadeth we’ve always been a resilient band, we’ve always just worked around obstacles. Dave is a fighter, as we know, I was just talking to him and he sounds very optimistic about the future for Megadeth.

David (MSF): Yeah, that sounds great, hopefully he recovers soon. Well, thank you David for your time, it was a pleasure to talk with you. Take care, have a great Megacruise and send my best wishes to Dave!

David Ellefson: Ok man, thanks David. See you!

Audio Interview With DAVID ELLEFSON: “We’ve always been a resilient band, we’ve always just worked around obstacles”. Interview by David Araneda We had the honor to talk with Megadeth’s legendary bassist David Ellefson…

[theheadbangers]

Megadeth's bassist, David Ellefson, has announced a string of European dates to his BASSTORY tour

Megadeth’s bassist, David Ellefson, has announced a string of European dates to his BASSTORY tour

Grammy Award Winning Megadeth bassist, author, entrepreneur, and Metal Icon David Ellefson, in association with Hexagon Booking, has announced a string of European dates to his BASSTORY tour, a series of limited and exclusive “Storytellers” dates, starting 9/21 in Portland, OR, USA. (more…)

[riffrelevant]

DAVID ELLEFSON New Book w/ Guest-Packed 'Sleeping Giants' Album; Debuts Single w/ Chris Poland & Mark Tremonti

DAVID ELLEFSON New Book w/ Guest-Packed ‘Sleeping Giants’ Album; Debuts Single w/ Chris Poland & Mark Tremonti

Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Senior Writer/Journalist ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor

“Hammer Comes Down” is the newly issued single and lyric video from Megadeth bassist David Ellefson.  (more…)

[chicagorebelradio]

David Ellefson Announces Trackless, More for Sleeping Giants

David Ellefson Announces Trackless, More for Sleeping Giants

Grammy-winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has announced more details for Sleeping Giants, a companion LP to his upcoming memoir More Life With Deth (out July 16th via Jawbone Press). In stores July 19th on Combat Records, Sleeping Giants will be a retrospective featuring several new tracks, plus a collection of demos and unreleased material from F5 and David’s other projects, remastered by…

[earpeeler]

Metal Wani – DAVID ELLEFSON on ‘Basstory’, ‘More Life With Deth’ & Next MEGADETH & METAL ALLEGIANCE Album (2018) David took a few minutes out of his day to chat with Metal Wani’s Chuck Marshall about his latest adventure called Basstory.

[kenpiercemedia]

Dave Ellefson Announces 1st "Basstory" Tour Dates

Hey Fiends, I got this bit of touring news that will definitely appeal to you bass heads. Well, also any fans of Dave Ellefson and his numerous adventures. Check it out.

The Press Release: Grammy Award Winning Megadeth bassist, author, entrepreneur, and Metal Icon David Ellefson has announced the first dates for his BASSTORY tour, a series of limited and exclusive “Storytellers” dates, starting…

[yngwiemalmsteenfan]

Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Announces First Dates For Basstory Tour

Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Announces First Dates For Basstory Tour

Grammy Award Winning Megadeth bassist, author, entrepreneur, and Metal Icon David Ellefson has announced more dates for his BASSTORY tour, a series of limited and exclusive “Storytellers” dates, starting 9/20 in Portland.

Dubbed “Basstory: An Intimate Evening of Riffs and Repartee with David Ellefson”, the show combines solo bass performance with David’s celebrated brand of storytelling, as he…

[megarockradio]

MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON Announces First Dates For His 'Basstory' Tour

MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON Announces First Dates For His ‘Basstory’ Tour

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MEGADETH Bassist DAVID ELLEFSON Announces First Dates For His ‘Basstory’ Tour

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[rockrevoltmagazine]

David Ellefson - Basstory in Portland, OR

When the bass player for an iconic band says “I’m going to go out on a solo tour”, it doesn’t typically grab you by the ear and get you out to the venue. But when that bass player happens to be Grammy Award winner David Ellefson of Megadeth, it certainly piques some interest.

David kicked off his “Basstory” tour last evening in Portland, OR and we were in the house to see how this tour was going to pan out. After all, what does 25% of Megadeth sound like solo?

Basstory was advertised as an “Intimate Evening Of Riffs And Repartee With David Ellefson”. I imagined it more like a bass clinic. It turns out that it was more of a “sit in a small room with one of the most awesome musicians to ever pick up the bass and chat while he shreds.”

David would take the stage alone with his Macbook and play along with several songs from the extensive Megadeth catalog. Between songs, he shared some of the history of each song. Afterall, with over 35 years of history, there was a lot to talk about. He was open to suggestions from the crowd as well. And with a small room, everyone was able to be heard and share their suggestions. After his set, David spent some time at the merch table talking with guests, signing autographs, and taking selfies.

Here’s a clip of David talking about a song that Megadeth wrote for a sequel to the film Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

This Basstory tour is really one-of-a-kind; an opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the pioneers of the American thrash bass sound. And on stage, David doesn’t hold anything back. He opens the night throwing down Holy Wars before taking you on a bass journey into the deepest recesses of Megadeth’s rich and dark past. I’m sure that there are those of us that have been up front at a Megadeth show knowing you couldn’t meet the band, and maybe hoping to catch a pick or drum stick. Well, now you have the chance to get out and meet him and take in some Megadeth history from one of the coolest cats to pick up the bass.

Oh, and he might play Peace Sells.

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Connect with David Ellefson (click icons):

David Ellefson – Basstory in Portland, OR was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

[rosebud1313]

Got some good shots of #Emir from #VoodooTerrorTribe last night at the #DaveEllefson #Show #Basstory #TheBrightonBar #TheBrightonBarNJ #LongBranch #LongBranchNJ #HeavyMetal #MetalRose @voodooterrortribe (at The Brighton Bar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzrCFTyHemC/?igshid=vvbl16vjgyhv

[metalheadtv-blog]

Watch MEGADETH’s DAVID ELLEFSON Perform In Zlín, Czech Republic During ‘Basstory’ Tour Video footage of MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson's March 22 appearance in Zlín, Czech Republic can be seen below. The gig

[m3t4ln3rd]

David Ellefson announces Basstory Tour

Official press release:

Grammy Award Winning Megadeth bassist, author, entrepreneur, and metal icon David Ellefson has announced more dates for his Basstory Tour, a series of limited and exclusive “Storytellers” dates, starting 9/20 in Portland.

Dubbed Basstory: An Intimate Evening of Riffs and Repartee With David Ellefson, the show combines solo bass performance with David’scelebrated brand of…