MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson talked about the band’s early days, explaining to Inquisitr how Dave Mustaine had somewhat of a backup plan if the group turned out to be a failure: “When I met Dave, he was considering his next move. It’s funny because he even talked about it – he goes, ‘Y’know, if this doesn’t work, I think I’m just going to get into computers.’
“Which was funny, because here’s a guy who had such charismatic talent and had already built up a following through his couple of years with METALLICA prior to this – this, of course, being June 1983.
“And for me, when I met Dave, I was always the guy who had to be the driven leader in my bands in Minnesota when I was growing up, so I was used to doing all the work. When I met Dave, Dave knew how to do it all, from his time in METALLICA…
“Dave is a man who’s very driven; he’s very focused. When he gets his mind set on something, he’s unwavering and uncompromising. And that’s what we needed to start MEGADETH.
“So really, a big part of MEGADETH’s 35 years has been the result of the focus that started at the very beginning, in June of 1983. We had a mission, we had a vision, we had a direction, and we had the energy to go pursue it, and that’s why we’re still here 35 years later.”
Inquisitr: I just want to say, for the record, if Dave had actually decided to go into computers, he’d probably be a lot less stressed and a lot richer right now.
Ellefson: “It’s possible.”
Inquisitr: About a year and a half ago you did an interview talking about writing ‘Rust In Peace’ during what you called ‘a dark time’ but then recording it sober, and the worry inherent to your best music being written during your darkest days. How does that affect your mindset when sitting down to write new material?
Ellefson: “Well, being on smack produced a couple of really good records for us. [Laughs] ‘Peace Sells‘ and part of ‘Killing Is My Business,’ some of ‘Peace Sells’ and of ‘Rust in Peace.’ But it’s not advisable; don’t try that at home, kids.”
