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was in a band and asked if I’d play bass on a track. He emailed it over, and it was such an ethereal and emotional track that I agreed to lay some bass down. I grabbed my ‘78 rosewood Fender P-Bass which I used a lot on Youthanasia. It’s my go to bass for recording. Every time I use it producers tell me “That’s perfect don’t touch anything!” It has DiMarzio pickups in and the tone control doesn’t work, it’s just wired up to the volume and that’s it. It sat in the mix well on that particular track.’

Anyone who has seen David’s series of Rock Shop videos on YouTube probably won’t be that surprised by his willingness to get involved with the project. The series of free videos cover a wide range of topics, from practice

Of all the places you would expect to see David Ellefson playing bass, one you probably

wouldn’t expect is on a new single by a Brighton-based rock band. As one of the key components in the success of thrash metal giants Megadeth, Ellefson has had huge commercial success over the years, so it comes as something of a shock to see him playing bass on Johnny Wore Black’s ‘All The Rage’. Surely a rock star of his proportions wouldn’t have time for such things? ‘Well I met Jay at Download a few years back,’ he explains. ‘He was an osteopath there, and I went to see him about a few problems I was having. We hit it off and stayed in touch then I met him again at Knebworth. He told me that he

exercises for bass, to the inside track on business aspects such as networking, artist royalties and all kinds of other important topics. He was encouraged to put the videos together following the response to his book Making Music Your Business. ‘I didn’t have the time to sit down and write another book, but doing the videos was quick and easy, and I thought why not put it out there for free. I do them when inspiration hits, and also viewers email me questions and they often form a springboard for a new episode.’

Now back in the Megadeth camp after a long hiatus from the band, David is currently out touring with the thrash legends in support of their new album TH1RT3EN.The impact of Megadeth on thrash metal, and the wider metal scene, is undeniable. Along with Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica, Megadeth helped reshape the face of heavy metal during the 80s and 90s with their warp speed riffs and socially-charged lyrics. Although the beating heart of Megadeth has always been the mercurial Dave Mustaine (who formed the band following his ejection from Metallica), the constant bedrock of the band through the ever changing guitarists and drummers was “the other Dave”.

A Minnesota farm boy, Ellefson headed out to LA in 1983 to seek fortune and glory as a musician and within a short time crossed paths with Mustaine and took those first steps to success. Their rise to success has been covered in many interviews, documentaries and in Dave Mustaine’s recent autobiography. Although the band has become a defining act in metal, and sold millions of albums, success was never assured, as David

explains: ‘As much as success did come to us, there was no overnight success. We were really in the trenches, especially in the run up to the release of Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? It really wasn’t until we came off the Rust In Peace tour in 1991 that I began to feel that we could be comfortable doing this.’

As the band hit their creative and commercial peak in the early 90s with the release of Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia they took a change in direction, slowing the pace of songs down (Dave Mustaine was once quoted as saying he wanted to be harder, heavier and faster than Metallica) and entering mainstream rock charts with songs such as ‘Symphony of Destruction’ and ‘Train Of Consequences’. There were Grammy nominations and monster world tours, but little did David know at the time that over the next few years the band would slowly begin to disintegrate.

Although 1997’s Cryptic Writings performed well commercially, and was their most radio-friendly effort to date, it saw the ever increasing influence of producers and managers on the songwriting and recording process. Looking back David believes that this was something that was detrimental to Dave Mustaine and by extension the band: ‘Dave was always the vital creative force behind the band. Suddenly we had managers helping write songs, producers taking over the music and I think that drove him crazy. Megadeth became bastardised by all these people, and new musicians too, trying to fit the band to their vision.’

Following the backlash that accompanied the release of Risk, from both music critics and long term fans of the band, and the

Bass Guitar MaGazine 29

DaviDEllEfson

Megadeth are back! With their latest albuM riding high and a huge World tour before theM We talk to

david about the reunion and More.

KILLER TONE‘It’s important to realise that your tone has to sit in the context of the band. Often you get a great tone in the studio, and you try and replicate it on the road and it doesn’t really work. In the early days I had a very percussive tone, and that worked for the fast, precise music. But then as the tempos slowed I needed a different tone, so I started experimenting. Listen to your band and then work out how to get the best tone to compliment that. Dave has a very mid-range rich tone, so I need to provide the low-end under the kick drum, and the high-end click above the guitars for clarity, so I tend to stay out of the mid-range, but that wouldn’t work for everyone.’

BAND: MegadethBAssist: david ellefson

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30 Bass Guitar MaGazine

mixed response to 2001’s The World Needs A Hero, the band took a hiatus from 2002 to 2004. When it came time for them to hit the studio again it became apparent a rift had occurred between the two David’s. ‘Well we were steamrolling along, and then when the band essentially broke up in 2002…it was a scary time for me. The band had been my life, my income, my identity for nearly 20 years. To wake up one morning as a man in his young middle-age and see that disappear was a cold, hard reality check.’ Although there was much acrimony at the time of David’s exit from the band, for him it comes back to the rigours and stresses of being in a band. ‘I think when you’re in a band that is touring and recording, it really takes its toll on you. For most of the year you spend more time with your band members than you do with your family, and living that closely with people…it’s a tough life. Those dynamics are so sensitive but so vital.’

Rather than languishing in the doldrums David threw himself into numerous musical projects and also took up a position within Peavey as an artist liaison. It’s hard to imagine a rocker sitting comfortably in such a corporate job. ‘Well that all came about because I’d been using Peavey since we cut Cryptic Writings. I suppose because I have a lot of experience in the music industry that I made a good choice for such a role. Getting to work with Hartley Peavey was incredible. He just has such a wide and deep knowledge of music. And all the things he pioneered…he really is a great man and I’m very thankful for the time I had at Peavey.’ However, life in corporate America was something of an eye-opener to David. ‘I’ll tell you, people joke about line-up changes in rock bands, but that’s job security compared to some aspects of corporations. There’s a constant flow of people, and that brings with it ethos changes, vision changes. There’s a lot of moving parts!’

David worked at Peavey right up until the call came for his return to Megadeth. It can’t have been an easy transition to make, especially given the obvious bad feeling that had led to the split. The pair had been talking off and on over the couple of years leading up to the reunion, but with then bassist James LoMenzo declining to carry on working with the band, it seemed the time was

right. ‘The day I came back, we had a very long, personal conversation – stuff brothers would talk about. My attitude was I know who I am away from Megadeth, so coming back to it I had a much different sense of my identity as a musician, a bass player and a man on every level. So I knew where the pitfalls lay. Dave has mellowed a bit too, and we consciously steer away from where the issues could arise. I’m at a point where if Dave is happy with things then that’s the direction to go in.’

The new album TH1RT3EN sees the band back on top form,

with the response from press and fans alike being highly positive. It was recorded very quickly, in just ten weeks, with the band writing and recording the entire album in this time. David cut his lines in a total of five days, a testament to his professionalism. ‘I laid the bulk of the lines down in three days, and then spent a couple of days doing some tweaks and changes. Because songs were being written as we went most didn’t have vocals, and so as they came in I would make adjustments to the bass.’ David likes to prepare before heading into the

studio, listening to demos, writing out charts and planning out his lines to make the process as smooth as possible. After years of playing bass does he have any tips on how to work out a rocking bass line? ‘Just focus on what the song needs. When you’re young you want to prove you can play, and I think I’ve done that so I’m not bothered with people thinking I’m a flashy player or not. Make sure you lock in with the drums and guitars to lay down a thick, heavy groove. My rule is: if the riff is busy I get simple, if the riff is simple I get busy.’

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BAND: MegadethBAssist: david ellefson

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Most readily identifi ed as a pick player, David also uses fi ngers when he requires a thicker tone, but opts for the pick much of the time because of the precision and clarity required at the high-speed tempos in much of the band’s music. To work better in conjunction with the guitars he also palm mutes at the bridge. ‘I don’t do any muting with my fretting hand, it’s all done

with the picking hand. Th at’s how the guitarists do it in metal, and it allows me to follow their nuances more closely.’ Th e speed and precision element is something that only comes with time and practice: ‘Just get a metronome on, or a drum machine, and start slowly before building up the speed. Focus on the upstroke having the same consistency and attack as

the downstroke – work through quarters, eighths, triplets, 16ths until it gets even and smooth. With thrash there is a ton of downpicking so you need to work on that. Sometimes when to use it is a matter of judgment – something you can play with alternate picking will sound much better with all downpicking. A good example of that would be ‘Tornado Of Soul’s (on the album Rust In Peace). In the verse I use downpicking, but then in the solo I use alternate as it gives a smoother foundation for the band.’

With the music industry in a huge state of fl ux, David believes that it isn’t just your musical chops you need to work on, but also your business sense. ‘It’s always been the case that musicians are seen as the creatives, right? And the business people come in and take care of that aspect of things. Well we all know how that ends (laughs). As long as the musician could buy that fl ashy car, that mansion, well he was happy, and the bulk of the money went

elsewhere. And God forbid the well should dry up! I think the rise of the internet has changed all industries, and music has been particularly aff ected. What it has done is brought back a DIY spirit and that’s really important. It off ers a great amount of control to musicians. You no longer need to get a record company interested in you to sell your music, or make people aware of what you’re doing. Th ere was a time where if you weren’t based in London, New York, Nashville or LA you would never be noticed. Th e Seattle scene began to change that, suddenly A&R men couldn’t just cruise down to Sunset Strip with the company credit card to wine and dine some potential rock stars. People realised that music doesn’t exist in certain ZIP codes, and that’s just how it should be. Th is is to our advantage and if musicians don’t take advantage of this moment, when we have more control over our careers and destiny than I’ve ever known before, then they’re foolish.’

It’s a busy time ahead for David

MEGA GEAROver the years David has

used a lot of diff erent basses and amps: Fenders, Modulus, Peavey, Ampeg. You name it he’s tried it. Now he’s back to using a combination of Jackson basses and Hartke amplifi ers. ‘Because the reunion was really for the fans, and to celebrate 20 years of Rust In Peace I really wanted to duplicate that time period, from the basses to the amps to the wrist bands and tight jeans! (laughs)’David is using his new Jackson signature bass. ‘Talk about bass manufacturing being light years ahead of where it was! These are made in the Fender custom shop, with EMG pickups and Bad Ass bridges.Now at NAMM we’ve just launched an import line and the prices are fantastic, like 500-600 dollars. For me I wanted everyone to be able to play Jackson - we can now make instruments that are mainly price inclusive as opposed to exclusive.’For amplifi cation David also went back to Hartke amplifi ers. ‘I run two 8x10 HyDrive cabs. I use one LH1000 head into them and run the volume at two! There is so much power and clarity. That head has a bass treble and mid control,

with a bright switch. That’s it. It’s so simple. We turn the horn on in one cab and turn it off on the other. My tone is that. I’m very much a plug and play guy. The tone really comes from how

I play, how I attack the strings and fi nger the instrument. The Hartke stuff I’m using has characteristics of the Hartke I was using 20 years ago, but it also off ers a great variety of

tones. So I can play a song like ‘Trust’, a slow mid-tempo song then straight into something like ‘Hangar 18’ and I haven’t compromised my tone.’

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JOHNNY WORE BLACKBand leader Jay tells us about the band and how David Ellefson came to play bass on their new single:

‘Johnny Wore Black started as a solo project in 2011. I’d written a lot of songs over the years, and I decided to record an album. The band was put together after. I wanted to explore the direction of the songs, texture for the vocals and general vibe before worrying about the live act and the studio is obviously the easiest way to do this. The material has got noticeably heavier since I’ve been collaborating with the band. The name Johnny Wore Black relates to the late great Johnny Cash and how he wore black to identify with the poor and downtrodden. The name also has a more personal meaning; my dad always called me Johnny, he died when I was 17 and my grandmother bought me a black suit for the funeral, hence, Johnny Wore Black. ‘ ‘All The Rage’ was inspired by an article written by the father of a Royal Marine who was killed in Afghanistan and it asked the question ‘how do we put a price on life?’. The sound bites at the

and the band: ‘We’ve got a full world tour ahead of us, and we’re starting the Gigantour which is the US tour. Then we’re going to Latin America and then onto Europe. I have a lyric book coming out called Unsung: Words and Images. These are lyrics that I wrote to images rather than to music. It has the same intensity, but what you can write when you aren’t constrained by a chord change is really interesting. I never really paid attention to poetry but as I’m entering into that world I’m seeing what it is and having a whole new mode of expression. There’s also the

David Ellefson Rock Shop app from PocketLabWorks. It lets you watch videos, then you can access the internet for more content. It’ll also be able to access your iTunes library and you can pitch shift songs up and down so you don’t have to keep retuning. There’s a looper and lots of other cool features.’

But what about another Megadeth album? Only time will tell perhaps but either way it seems David Ellefson will be still making music come what may.Ben Cooper

beginning and end of the video are taken from a documentary my late father directed in 1967 called The London Nobody Knows. This makes the song more personal to my journey. As you are aware, Combat Stress, Dare to Live and Help For Hero’s have all endorsed the song to raise awareness for some of the struggles soldiers face both during and after their military service. The words ‘All The Rage’ relate to enthusiasm when something is all the rage, and also all the rage within. ‘I met David backstage at Download in 2010, I was doing some treatments backstage and David came and asked

me if I could help him out. We struck up conversation and have stayed in touch ever since. When I approached him to play on ‘All The Rage’, he heard the track and was enthusiastic to contribute. It’s a great compliment to have him on the record and he’s a total gentleman to work with, true rock royalty.‘With the album due in the summer, it seems this is when the main touring phase will happen. In the meantime, we have a few smaller gigs in the run, more info about which is on our website.’www.johnnyworeblack.com

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