23 QUESTIONS WITH…

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine

Welcome to our 3rd Anniversary Surprise 20 Questions!

A few weeks ago, Dave Mustaine’s people came to us and said Dave wanted to do 20 Questions! Perfect! Dave was always on our list of people we wanted to talk to due to his outspoken nature, but we never really knew how to get a hold of him. Well eventually he came to us, so it worked out!

We can’t think of a better 20 Questions to kick off our 3rd year, so hold onto your ass and enjoy!

1. What are you currently up to? This is your only chance to plug your websites, tours, cds, etc.
After coming home from our promotional tour, hearing people’s reaction to Risk, going out to undo the damage from the Motley Crue tour by touring every fucking place with a toilet and power, (most of them were just a toilet) we came home to get ready to tour the U.S. I talk with many of our fans at Megadeth.com and they thought I should talk to you.
I initially was pissed at Metal Sludge because some intern name Billy from the Masterphonics studio that we worked in when we were in Nashville wrote to you about actions that he alleges took place in the studio about me, my son, our dog, and other things. He is just bitter because we didn’t thank him for the half-assed work that he did interning on the record.
Justis would always beat him in shooting hockey pucks through a goalie screen on a practice hockey net we had in the studio, so naturally he disliked him. It is not Justis’ fault this guy was talent-less at more than one thing. Justis is a good kid and nothing like his Father.
The dog did chew up the front fender of Justis’ motorcycle. But, I told the fucking dog to quit riding it when we were gone or I would cram it down his throat.
Now I could make this guy miserable because I know where he lives and I should really beat his brains in but I don’t want to get shit under my nails. [Readers, take note: what Billy did is because of what happens when stupid people breed.]
2. Name the 3 high points and the 3 lowest points of Megadeth for you?
Highs
The First Gold Record
The First Platinum Record
The First multi-platinum Record
Lows
The time I heard that Gar Samuelson had died
Having to cancel Monsters of Rock
Numerous line-up changes

3. Do you think drugs should be legalized?
Marijuana used for Glaucoma and AIDS patients should be a “no brainer.” I completely support this. People suffering from Cancer that would have their pain eased by legalizing pot, I am for also.
Countries like Holland have a legalized drug system, and although it seems to be working, I am sure it has its drawbacks. I am not Dutch so I cannot speak for them, but I have seen the people “falling out” in needle parks and it is scary to say the least.
If we legalize drugs in the U.S., there would be many cancelled flights to South America. The Government would be making trips down South for nothing. In addition, since they are trading guns and weapons for cocaine, they CIA, ATF, and the DEA would be out of a job.

5. Rate the following singers on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being somebody who blows and 10 being a vocal God.
Vince Neil = minus 10
James Hetfield = 9
John Bush = 9
Geoff Tate = 9
Sebastian Bach = 8
Rob Halford = 10
Bret Michaels = minus 10
Phil Anselmo = 9
Tom Araya = 9
Jani Lane = minus 10

6. After last years Maximum Rock tour, would you ever tour with Motley Crue again and after touring with them, what are your thoughts on the tour and the Motley guys?
They cut Anthrax’ pay completely and cut ours down by $5,000 instead of sending home one of the extra trucks of bullshit and dancers. If they had sent home all of that stuff and just played, all three of us would have been able to play.
They told everyone about why Anthrax was not on the tour, and that we both were going to get more time and Megadeth did not get one second more. It was about the money, the tour was a losing venture and should have been shut down sooner. The only reason we even considered playing on that fucking disaster was because our friends in “Thrax” were on it.
I would rather have my testicles eaten by Hannibal Lechter than tour with them again.

7. Do you recall “advising” Scott Weiland that kids aren’t going to be receptive to a pink-haired singer when STP opened for Megadeth?
I remember telling them hey were going to be huge, and I also said don’t ever, ever, ever do heroin. I guess he didn’t hear that part. Scott and STP are the only band that we have ever taken out that was classy enough to thank us for helping get them their big break. I wish Scott and STP all the best.

8. What’s the best story about you that you don’t remember doing, but were told you did?
The famous Antrim story about the IRA. I was drinking and someone said a person was selling bootleg t-shirts out in the audience. The only problem was they were shirts he was selling to raise money for “the cause.” I did not know what “the cause” was, and some decent [seemingly] person told me that this big complicated problem with the Catholics and the Protestants is just prejudice religion. He said that I should let them sell the shirts. Once onstage, after four or five pints of Guinness lager, I introduced Anarchy and said, “Give Ireland back to the Irish, this one is for the cause, Anarchy in Ireland!” This did not go down as good as it did when Paul McCartney said it, let me tell you.
We were then taken out of town in a bulletproof bus and David Ellefson was so pissed the next day he would not talk to me. I had no idea what I had done until he told me. Looking back it was funny, but being there, I guess it was not.

Metallica, 1982

9. Recently, you posted on Metallica’s message board saying that, “I would love to play together with James and Lars again, and have said so in interviews. Me and David Ellefson, James and Lars, doing half mega/half meta, James singing my songs and me singing his. That would be a riot. It could suck, it could be great, but I know that it would be fun for us all to get back to the day when metal was a ‘way of life’ and people looked to us all as their leaders.” Don’t you think that Lars and James probably think they are above doing something like that? Yeah, sadly I think that they won’t do it. I did see Lars say something in our ‘VH1 Behind the Music’ that they would like to do something together again. I guess I am just dreaming of better days when we were all metal. I am going back, they may too, I hope. But, doing this would blow everyone away.

10. Give us a memory about writing or recording the following songs:
Go To Hell = We did this for Interscope and they said that the first version of the lyrics was too tame so I got very pagan for this one
Angry Again = I had written the music in one day. The lyrics I wrote while half asleep to the Clash’s “should I stay or should I go now” melody and it is about Nick Menza lying to us saying that he got maced by some French people outside of a McDonalds in Paris. That night I made a big speech about how brave he is for playing after being maced. It turned out later that night our security guard came up to me at the hotel after the show and said that they had lied and that they got maced in the red light district trying to get booze and other “stuff”
Looking Down The Cross = This is a song about all the ridiculous ways that people try to reach us about God, what I think Jesus might have sung about while he was dying, and what our logo was about, see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil
Good Mourning/Black Friday = Good Mouring was an instrumental that I wrote. Black Friday was inspired by a great drummer named Dijon Caruthers whose father was Ben Caruthers from the movie the Dirty Dozen. Dijon’s brother was Cain Caruthers from the Ska band “The Untouchables.” Dijon was pretty much a band member until we found out that he lied about being ‘black’ to us. I am not against having any person in our band, regardless of color, but Dijon said he was Spanish. One day his brother walked in and Dijon nearly died on the spot. We used the material that we were working on as we kept going, but we knew that a man that is embarrassed about his family, race, or upbringing, would never fit our creed.
In My Darkest Hour = Maria Ferraro, a true metal legend aptly named “metal Maria” worked for Megaforce records. She called me the day that Cliff had died or somewhere close to it. No one else from Metallica or their management did. I went straight to the dope man, got some shit and starting singing and crying and writing this song. Although the lyrics have nothing to do with him, his untimely passing gave me this melody that lives in the hearts of metal heads around the world.
Take No Prisoners = I was finally fed up with all of the shit that I had put up with from Jeff and Chuck and was having so much fun with Nick and Marty that I started writing the most obnoxious stuff that I could think of. I did not take into account that Marty was Jewish and singing about the Panzer Divisions and having him sing backups was not cool, now that I think about it. I do however say my favorite line that I always tell new bands at the end of this song, “Take no shit from anyone ever!”
Symphony Of Destruction = This was really a stroke of luck for me. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Driving down Riverside Dr. in Toluca Lake to my house and jotting everything that I could down on paper. I even wrote lyrics on the back of my arrest paperwork from the time I went to jail.
Reckoning Day = I had just watched Tombstone with Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. I loved that movie. It is too bad that Hollywood thinks that Val Kilmer is such an asshole. I guess we have a lot in common. I really like him. There was a line in the movie that says this is a reckoning or something like that.
I’ll Get Even = This song idea was around forever. Bud Prager watered it down by having some old fart from Bad Company do something to it. I can’t even remember what he did, but I sure didn’t help make it any better, AND I had to pay him for it
Breadline = The original version of this song started off like Fear’s “I love living in the City.” The original lyrics were really bad:
“I got bugs on my balls and sores on my feet, I rinse out my beard so I got something to eat. In my Safeway Winnebago, everything is fine. I’m dancing in the breadline”
A little different, eh? But something cool came out of it because we ended up helping support the young homeless kids in America with this song. So it ended up being a good thing.
Recipe For Hate?.Warhorse = By the time I wrote this I didn’t care if the fucking Capitol tower fell on its side and rolled into the ocean with everyone it in. I have never seen such a display of hateful, selfish, self-centered, fucks in my life. Thank God, all of the people that were there when we were there are gone. I feel sorry for the bands that are there. I hope the artist left there will get treated better than we were, because there were some good artists there. But I doubt it.

11. Have you ever felt inclined to send any of your band mates home on a Greyhound when you fired them?
No. That is a fate worse than death. I would never do that to anyone no matter how bad I hated them.

14. How does it feel to be banned in Malaysia? You think they might have been trying to tell you something?
It was a disappointment. They were trying to tell me that they have no fucking clue what Black metal is if they think we are black metal.

15. Recently you said, “On another note, our manager Larry Mazer was talking to me and we were discussing how badly Napster, and the burning of CD-Rs have hurt this band.” Isn’t that just an excuse for unimpressive album sales? And why has Napster and CD-R’s hurt Megadeth as opposed to bands like Disturbed or Drowning Pool?
It could be viewed as an excuse. Our record was out on Napster last summer and could not be bought for almost an entire year. Do the math. I have nothing against Napster, my career started with tape trading. You obviously missed what I was saying.

16. Give us a touring memory about the following cities:
San Francisco = Speed
Las Vegas = Fly there drunk with money, fly back hungover and broke
Tokyo, Japan = Sushi
London, England = Strong bow cider
Detroit = Goldies and police brutality
Chicago = Motor and Gene Ambo
New York = Scott Ian. Danny Lilker, Billy Milano, L’amours and Anthrax
Philadelphia = Summer
Atlanta = Throwing a brick through a cops window
Houston = The girl with the nickel plated snub-nosed revolver
Miami = Me barfing on top of Chris Poland’s heroin

17. How much of a mess was Al Pitrelli when he left Savatage?
He wasn’t that bad

18. Other than yourself, what rock star deserves a smack in the mouth and why?
I think we all do at one time or another

19. Rate the following Megadeth albums on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being something that sucks and 10 being something you think is perfect.
Killing Is My Business = 7 production hurt this one
Peace Sells But Who’s Buying = 10
So Far So Good So What = 7
Rust In Peace = 10
Countdown To Extinction = 10
Youthanasia = 8
Cryptic Writings = 8
Risk = 7
World Needs A Hero = 9
[you skipped hidden treasures, and capitol punishment] both 8

Why not just cover it instead? Refer to the last two words above.

Dave and James Hetfield back in the day

21. You’re known for speaking your mind so we want to know your take on things. So we are going to throw out some things that have happened recently and you can give us your thoughts. Kiss selling a Kiss Kasket = Too bad Gene isn’t inside of it Poison canceling their tour because Bobby Dall got injured = I wish someone would of thought of that one sooner Nikki Sixx posting online that he cheated on his wife and had a drug relapse = I am sad for Nikki James Hetfield entering rehab = I am happy that he is getting help. I hear touring with Megadeth helps keep you sober Creed selling 8 million albums = My respect for the singer grew when he said that he would fight Fred Durst for Charity after Durst slammed him on stage verbally and even Scott Weiland told Durst he was an asshole. Fraud Durst chickened out.

Britney, Christina, N’Sync and the flood of teen acts = I think that Brittany has blown more things than the gearbox on her Ferrari lately and Christina is living proof that you can polish a turd.
The Chandra Levy case = Not enough info, sorry. Contin is a politician; he did it whatever it is.
Van Halen still not announcing a new singer = Eddie, get Dave back.
The way today’s new metal bands look = They look however they want which is cool for them.
Jason Newsted leaving Metallica = I knew this was coming though. I had heard about it in Brazil two years ago.

23. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association.
We mention a name and you give us your thoughts.
Ron McGovney = your 15 minutes are up
Kerry King = The real Incubus
Aerosmith = Brad plays all of the cool solos
Fred Durst = Coprophagist
Scott Ian = Godlike
Ted Nugent = the real mouth almighty
Kevin DuBrow = More stripes that Stryper
David Lee Roth = Godlike
Sebastian Bach = Nice transition from rock and roll to the performing arts.
Gene Simmons = Fur trader
Lonn Friend = One of the best dudes in Rock journalism
Kid Rock = we should be seeing a home video again soon
Lars Ulrich = Well, at least he ain’t suing me
Alice Cooper = My godfather, who I love

Now that was some good shit! One of the best quotes we’ve ever gotten was Dave talking about Motley Crue and saying, “I would rather have my testicles eaten by Hannibal Lechter than tour with them again.” Those are the types of answers we appreciate! And saying that it’s too bad Gene Simmons isn’t in a Kiss Kasket also deserves much Sludge Luv!

Megadeth is about to hit the road, so for the latest Tour Dates and Megainfo, you can go to www.megadeth.com.

Thanks to Dave for coming to the plate and having the balls to do our questions, even after we’ve totally pissed him off in the past. At least Dave can still hang and that’s all we ask for. More “rock stars” need to take notice of Dave’s testicular fortitude!