Saturday, May 15, 2010

Chinese Democracy World Tour 2009/2010

Chinese Democracy World Tour 2009/2010The Chinese Democracy Tour has featured legs in 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007. On September 14, 2009, the band announced four shows in Asia, their first since 2007.

On December 11, 2009, Guns N' Roses played their first show in Taipei, Taiwan, marking the band's first concerts since the release of Chinese Democracy. Lead vocalist Axl Rose appeared on stage wearing a hat with his non-braided hair pulled back. It was also the first concert and the second public appearance of Axl Rose since June 2007.

On December 19, 2009, Guns N' Roses played their longest concert ever at the Tokyo Dome - 3 hours, 37 minutes - breaking the record for longest concert played at the venue. The set list included 13 of the 14 songs from Chinese Democracy, an assortment of songs from previous albums and covers from AC/DC and Dead Boys. It was the last show of the Asian Leg.

Chinese Democracy World Tour 2009/2010On January 13, 2010, the Canadian Leg of the tour began, playing at MTS Centre to generally positive reviews. Rolling Stone said:
“ The frontman and his septet took the stage shortly after 10:40 p.m. - practically a matinee for the notorious Rose. And once they got down to business, they certainly made up for any lost time, treating 7,500 fans at the city’s MTS Centre to a high-energy three-hour marathon of new material and classic G n’ R hits. ”

On January 16, 2010, at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Mike Smith, also known as Bubbles, joined the band to perform "Liquor & Whores" for 9,000 fans.

On January 19, 2010, the band played at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon. This show marked the first time since 2007 that the song "Paradise City" wasn't played in the encore, instead being played right before.

On February 4, 2010, at Halifax Metro Centre, Mike Smith again with other Trailer Park Boys cast members, including John Dunsworth, J.P. Tremblay, Robb Wells and Jonathon Torrens, performed "Liquor & Whores" with the band for the encore.

Music video director Dale Resteghini announced that he had been hired by Rose to document and shoot stills for the band's current South American tour. According to a press release from Adrenaline PR (Rage's publicists), Axl wanted to make some videos later in the year in support of Chinese Democracy, on the same grand scope and style of classics such as "November Rain".

On March 13, 2010, the band played at Palestra Itália Stadium for 40,000 fans in São Paulo. Axl Rose was hit by a bottle during "Chinese Democracy". He stopped the show for a minute and screamed:
“ You wanna fuck up the show for everybody? You wanna fuck with me and my boys? We will leave. ”

On March 14, 2010, a concert booked in Rio de Janeiro was canceled due to a tornado that broke both laterals of the stage. This concert was almost rescheduled for the next day, but the engineers could not build another stage in such short time. Later the concert was confirmed and rescheduled to April 4, 2010, and took place in the same venue, Apoteose Stadium, for over 30,000 fans. Unfortunately, some fans who came from other cities and had to leave due to the stage collapse on March 14 and could not attend the rescheduled concert and were therefore compensated.

In Lima, March 25, 2010, Axl Rose was hit by a bottle again in the very beginning. He stopped the show just like in São Paulo, but used an interpreter to threaten the crowd. Axl said:
“ If you wanna throw shit, we will leave. We would like to stay and have fun with you for a long time tonight. So we're gonna have fun? Let's try that again". ”

After the incident, they kept playing for the 30,000 fans at Explanada Sur del Estadio Monumental.

Guns 'N' Roses headlined the Friday night at Reading Festival 2010 and closed Leeds Festival two days later.

In San Jose, Costa Rica, on April 9, 2010, the day of the concert, the show was canceled due to safety issues with the stage. Hailed in the media as a "stage collapse," and with only a short time to rebuild the stage, the show was canceled. An attempt to reschedule the gig was made after the cancellation of a concert in Guatemala, but that fell through as well. At the time the makeup date was canceled, construction of a stage was already underway at a venue in La Guacima. In the end, both Costa Rica's and Guatemala's shows were canceled, and the band moved on to the final show of the Central American tour leg in Puerto Rico.

On April 16, 2010, Live Nation Norway announced that the European leg of Guns N' Roses 2010 Chinese Democracy tour would start in Bergen, Norway, with a second show in Oslo. Several days later, on April 19, an announcement from Russian promoter SAV Entertainment heralded the first ever Guns N' Roses show in Russia, with a date in Moscow. In addition, the promoter released a promotional poster which also listed the June dates of Guns N' Roses upcoming European tour, featuring a second Russian show in St. Petersburg. Other countries to be covered during the June 2010 stretch include Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia, and the Czech Republic, as well as previously rumored and announced dates in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.

Recent Events

Recent EventsOn May 4, 2007 three more tracks leaked from Chinese Democracy; an updated version of "I.R.S.", "The Blues" and the title track. All three tracks had previously been played live. Guns N' Roses embarked on the 2007 leg of the Chinese Democracy World Tour in Mexico in June, followed by dates in Australia and Japan. The songs "Nice Boys" and a "Don't Cry" Bumblefoot solo rendition were played for the first time since the Use Your Illusion Tour. The tour ended on the twentieth anniversary of Appetite for Destruction's release date, in Osaka. During this tour, the band featured Axl Rose, Robin Finck, Ron Thal and Richard Fortus on guitars, Tommy Stinson on bass, Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keyboards and Frank Ferrer on drums.

Rose appears as a guest performer on three of the tracks on Sebastian Bach's album, Angel Down, which was released on November 20, 2007.

On March 26, 2008, Dr Pepper announced a plan to give everyone in America – except the band's former guitarists Slash and Buckethead – a free can of Dr Pepper if the band released Chinese Democracy before the end of 2008. Rose added, "As some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him." With the announcement from Guns N' Roses regarding a release date in November, Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's Vice President of Marketing for Dr. Pepper, announced a free soda coupon campaign for 24 hours on Sunday, November 23, 2008. Due to "heavy volume" on the server throughout the entire day it was impossible to submit for your free coupon.
The next day, on March 27, 2008, the band announced that they had hired a new management team, headed by Irving Azoff and Andy Gould.

Recent EventsOn April 5, 2008, a picture of Robin Finck appeared on Nine Inch Nails' web page, under the title "Welcome Back!" starting the rumor of his possible reunion with Trent Reznor. Later, on April 11, 2008, Robin Finck publicly expressed his happiness on playing again with NIN. On April 20, Axl Rose voiced his surprise about Robin Finck's latest news on the Guns N' Roses official website, but made assurance that the band was working with its management on the release of Chinese Democracy and thanked the fans for the continuous shows of support. Nine tracks purported to be from Chinese Democracy were leaked to an online site on June 19, 2008 and quickly removed due to a cease-and-desist letter from the band's label. Six of the leaked tracks had surfaced previously in some form, while three were new. The leaked songs were fleshed out more than previously heard tracks. On July 14, 2008, Harmonix, in conjunction with MTV Games, officially announced the release of a new song from the upcoming Chinese Democracy album, called "Shackler's Revenge", through their new game Rock Band 2. Also the song "Chinese Democracy" is being played on the bands website.
In late August, speculation about the impending release of the album resurfaced, further fueled by separate reports from both Rolling Stone and Billboard about a November 25 release date as a Best Buy exclusive. This was finally confirmed October 22 when band management, Best Buy, and Interscope Geffen A&M Records officially issued a joint press release confirming the much anticipated release of the album in the US on November 23 as a Best Buy exclusive. Ten days before the official release of the Chinese Democracy album, on November 13, 2008, the "Chinese Democracy" single topped the general iTunes Music Store chart in Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Finland. In addition to being the No. 1 song and No. 1 rock song in these countries, it became the No. 1 rock song on iTunes in the US, Canada, France and the UK.

Chinese Democracy was released on November 22, 2008 in Europe and Australia, in North America on November 23, 2008 and in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2008 becoming the band's sixth studio album and their first since 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident?".

On February 6, 2009, Axl Rose effectively put to rest any rumors of the original lineup reuniting, in an interview with Billboard's Jonathan Cohen (his first in nine years):
“ I could see doing a song or so on the side with Izzy Stradlin or having him out [on tour] again. I'm not so comfortable with doing anything having more than one of the alumni. Maybe something with Duff [McKagan], but that's it, and not something I'd have to really get down into, as I'd get left with sorting it out and then blamed on top of it. So, no, not me. ”

Rose would go on to state in the same interview that there is absolutely no chance of him ever reuniting with Slash, former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses:
“ What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man. ”

In March 2009, the band's website announced that DJ Ashba would substitute for Robin Finck on an "upcoming tour", though the statement was later removed. This led to a lot of rumors about a tour, which eventually would become the Chinese Democracy World Tour 2009/2010.

On December 10, 2009, Axl Rose was on his way to board his flight at LAX for Taipei, Taiwan to start the new set of tour dates when he was involved in an altercation with paparazzi. Axl claimed the paparazzo were hassling one of the women in his party. Axl was filmed punching a man in the head, knocking him to the ground. No police reports were filed, and Axl boarded his flight and went on to perform.

The New Guns N' Roses

The New Guns N' RosesWith eight years having passed since the last Guns N' Roses concert, the band made a public appearance in January 2001, with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of songs from previous albums as well as songs from then unreleased Chinese Democracy. During their Rock in Rio set, Rose made the following comment regarding former members of the band:
“ I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people you came to know and love could not be with us here today. Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard (meaning my former friends) to do everything they could so that I could not be here today. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all get along. ”

They played a further two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with life on the road and was replaced by Richard Fortus (formerly of The Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love). The band then played several shows in August 2002, headlining festivals and concerts throughout Asia and Europe. They made their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.
The New Guns N' RosesIn 2002, the band's first North American tour since 1993 was organized to support Chinese Democracy, with CKY and Mix Master Mike supporting. However, the opening show in Vancouver was canceled by the venue when Rose failed to turn up (having remained in Los Angeles), and a riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York sold out in minutes. Due to a second riot by fans in Philadelphia when the band failed to show up again, tour promoter Clear Channel canceled the remainder of the tour.

The band went on hiatus until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004. However, Buckethead left the band in March of that year, causing the band to cancel. That same month, Geffen released Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits, since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in more than ten years. Rose expressed his displeasure with this album as its track listing was established without his consent and went as far as trying to block its release by suing Geffen. This failed, however, and the album went triple platinum in the US.

In February 2006, demos of the songs "Better", "Catcher in the Rye", "I.R.S.", and "There Was a Time" were leaked on to the Internet through a Guns N' Roses fan site. The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and websites. Despite this, radio stations began adding "I.R.S." to playlists, and the song actually reached #49 on the Radio & Records Active Rock National Airplay chart in the final week of February – the first time an Internet leak has done so.
On May 5, 2006, Axl Rose appeared on the Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk radio show (during an interview with Sebastian Bach) and said that the new Guns N' Roses album would be released before the end of the year. Later in May, the band launched a European tour, headlining both the Download Festival and Rock In Rio - Lisbon. Four warm-up shows preceded the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and became the band's first live concert dates since the aborted 2002 tour. The shows also marked the debut of guitarist and composer Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, replacing Buckethead. (The nickname "Bumblefoot" comes from an obscure bacterial infection, which he learned about while helping his wife review for her veterinary exams). During the tour, former band-mate Izzy Stradlin and ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach made frequent guest appearances.

Five warm-up shows before a 2006 North American tour were held in September 2006. The tour officially commenced on October 24 in Miami. Drummer Frank Ferrer replaced Bryan Mantia, who took a leave of absence to be with his wife and newborn child. Coinciding with the tour, the song "Better" was featured in an internet advertisement for Harley-Davidson beginning in October 2006. That same month, Rolling Stone published an article revealing that Andy Wallace would be mixing the final album.

In December 2006, Axl Rose released an open letter to fans announcing that Merck Mercuriadis had been fired as the band's manager. He revealed that the last four dates of the North American tour would be cut so the band could work on post-production for Chinese Democracy. He also set a tentative release date for the album for the first time since the album's announcement: March 6, 2007.

On February 8, 2007, the band played a two-song set at the Rodeo Drive's Walk of Style ceremony, held in Beverly Hills, California. The band, with Chris Pitman on bass, blazed through "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" to close the event, which honored Gianni and Donatella Versace.

On February 23, 2007, Del James announced that Chinese Democracy's recording stage was finished, and the band had now moved onto mixing the album. However, this proved that the March 6 release date would be impossible to achieve, and the album once again had no scheduled release date.

Live Era: '87-'93 (1999)

Live Era: '87-'93 (1999)Geffen released Live Era: '87-'93, a collection of live performances from various concerts during the Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion tours. The band owed Universal/Interscope a live album, which was primarily assembled by Duff, who at the time was still a partner in the band.
Also in 1999, during an interview with Kurt Loder for MTV, Axl said that he had re-recorded Appetite for Destruction with the then-new band, apart from two songs which he had replaced with "Patience" and "You Could Be Mine".
Chinese Democracy had reportedly been in the works since 1994, with Rose the only original member still in the band. According to a report published in 2005 by The New York Times, Rose had allegedly spent $13 million in the studio by that point.
In 1999, guitarist Robin Finck departed the band to rejoin his former band, Nine Inch Nails, on tour. In 2000, avant-garde guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses as a replacement for Finck. Drummer Josh Freese was replaced with Bryan Mantia (formerly of Primus). Robin Finck returned to the band in late 2000, to complement Buckethead on lead guitar.

Chinese Democracy (1999–2008)

Chinese Democracy (1999–2008)In 1999, the band released a new song, "Oh My God", which was included on the soundtrack of the film End of Days. The track featured additional guitar work by Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine, Rose's personal guitar teacher. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, entitled Chinese Democracy.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Hiatus (1994–1998)

Hiatus (1994–1998)Interviews with Guns N' Roses band members suggest that between 1994 and 1996, the band sporadically began to write and record new material, most of which, according to Slash, had been written by Rose. At the time, the band had intended to release a single album with 10 or 12 songs.

Regarding the dysfunction of the band's recording at that time, Rose is quoted as saying, "We still needed the collaboration of the band as a whole to write the best songs. Since none of that happened, that's the reason why that material got scrapped."

In December 1994, Guns N' Roses released a cover recording of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". The song appeared in the film Interview with the Vampire, on the movie's soundtrack and was also released separately as a single. It is the final Guns N' Roses single to feature Slash on lead guitar, Duff McKagan on bass, and Matt Sorum on the drums. It also featured Paul Huge on rhythm guitar, whose presence on the track and in the band created great tension between Rose and Slash, as Slash disliked Huge and felt he had no place nor the 'chops' to fit in G N' R. The recording of "Sympathy for the Devil", as well as other issues, led Slash to quit the band officially in October 1996. He was replaced by Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck in January 1997, who signed a two year contract with the band in August 1997 making him an official member. Slash's departure was followed shortly thereafter by Matt Sorum, who was fired in April 1997 and then by bassist Duff McKagan, who resigned from the band in August 1997. As such, all of the members who had taken part in the recording of Appetite for Destruction (aside from Rose) had departed from the band. Multiple views have been presented on the departures by various band members (current and former). 1994 was the last year Rose held a press conference or performed until 2001 with his new cast. Rose's only performance in 1994 was a duet with Bruce Springsteen on a cover of The Beatles song "Come Together". An actual break-up of Guns N' Roses never occurred, as new players were brought in as the old ones left. (For more information on the personnel changes over the years see the article: "List of Guns N' Roses band members")

McKagan was the last of the Appetite lineup to leave, resigning as bassist in August 1997, being replaced later that year by Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements.) Sorum was replaced by Chris Vrenna for a short time in April to May 1997, followed briefly by Pod, and finally by Josh Freese in the summer of 1997. By the end of 1998, a new version of Guns N' Roses had emerged: many musicians have come and gone from the new band, but the core group has included Rose, Stinson, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman.

"The Spaghetti Incident?"

On November 23, 1993, Guns N' Roses released a collection of punk and glam rock covers entitled "The Spaghetti Incident?". Despite protests from Rose's band-mates, an unadvertised cover of the Charles Manson song "Look at Your Game Girl" was included on the album at his request. Years later, Rose said he would remove the song from new pressings of the album, claiming that critics and the media had misinterpreted his interest in Manson. Axl can be seen wearing a black Manson shirt in the video for "Estranged" from Use Your Illusion II. He also can be seen wearing a red Manson shirt in footage from their show in Milton Keynes, England, in 1993, with the additional text on the back, "Charlie Don't Surf". "Look at Your Game Girl" has not been removed and is still featured on pressings of the album. Despite initial success, "The Spaghetti Incident?" did not match the sales of the Illusion albums and its release consequently led to increased tension within the band.


Use Your Illusion World Tour

Use Your Illusion World Tour
The Use Your Illusion World Tour included a Slash guitar solo incorporating The Godfather theme, a piano-driven Axl Rose cover of "It's Alright" by Black Sabbath and an extended jam on the classic rock-inspired "Move to the City" where Rose showcased the ensemble of musicians assembled for the tour.

Many of the successful performances during the tour were equally matched, and often overshadowed in the press by riots, late starts and outspoken rants by Rose. While the band's previous drug and alcohol issues were seemingly under control, Axl was often agitated by lax security, sound problems and unwanted filming or recording of the performances. He also used the time in-between songs to fire off political statements or retorts against music critics or celebrity rivals. Use Your Illusion World TourOn July 2, 1991, at the Riverport Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis, during a performance of "Rocket Queen", Rose jumped into the audience and tackled a fan who was filming the show with a camera. He had a heated confrontation with the fan before physically assaulting him. After being pulled out of the audience by members of the crew, Rose said, "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!", slammed his microphone on the ground and stormed off stage. The angry crowd began to riot and dozens of people were injured. Footage was captured by Robert John, who was documenting the entire tour for the band. Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot. In his defense, Rose stated that the Guns N' Roses security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored, and that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles from the audience in the arena while the security staff was refusing to enforce a drinking limit. Consequently, Use Your Illusion's artwork featured a hidden message amidst the Thank You section of the album insert: "Fuck You, St. Louis!"

After a repeat of the St. Louis incident nearly unfolded during a concert in Germany, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin abruptly quit the band. He cited a combination of Rose's personal behavior (he would consistently delay the start of shows by hours at a time) and his mismanagement of the band[28] and difficulties being around Slash, Sorum, and McKagan due to his new-found sobriety and their continuing alcohol and substance addictions. Axl Rose originally wanted Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to replace Stradlin, but Stradlin was eventually replaced by Los Angeles-based guitarist Gilby Clarke whom Slash credited for saving the band. During many shows throughout the tour, Rose introduced Clarke and had him play "Wild Horses", a Rolling Stones cover with Slash. In late 1991, Rose added a touring ensemble to the band which included a horns section and several background vocalists despite the rest of the band's refusal.

In 1992, the band appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performing a two-song set. Slash later performed "Tie Your Mother Down" with the remaining members of Queen and Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, while Axl Rose performed "We Will Rock You" and sand a duet with Elton John on "Bohemian Rhapsody". Their personal set included "Paradise City" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". When they returned to the US for the second leg of the Use Your Illusion tour, Queen guitarist Brian May opened the shows with a band that included Cozy Powell on drums. Axl had originally wanted the grunge band Nirvana to open their Use Your Illusion tour but frontman Kurt Cobain refused. Cobain also made some negative comments about Guns N' Roses which infuriated Rose and started of one of his many biggest feuds, other than the ones with his band-mates.

Use Your Illusion World Tour
Later in the year they went on the mini-GNR-Metallica Stadium Tour with American Metal band Metallica. During a show in August 1992 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffered severe burns after stepping too close to a pyrotechnics blast. Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another performance. After a long delay, during which the audience became increasingly restless, Guns N' Roses took the stage. However, the shortened time between sets did not allow for adequate tuning of stage monitors, resulting in musicians not being able to hear themselves. In addition, Rose claimed that his throat hurt, causing the band to leave the stage early. The cancellation led to another riot by audience members, reminiscent of the rioting that had occurred in St. Louis one year earlier. Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, looted local stores and set fires. Local authorities were barely able to bring the mob under control. This can be seen on video in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. On MTV's Rockumentary about Metallica, the band spoke about this tour and how they learned from Guns N' Roses what not to do.

The historic tour ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. The tour set attendance records and lasted for 28 months, in which 192 shows were played. The show in Buenos Aires marked the last time original members Slash and McKagan as well as newcomers Clarke and Sorum would play a live show with Rose. At the tour's conclusion, Axl Rose would fire Gilby Clarke without consulting anyone claiming he was only a "hired hand".

Fame And Fortune (1990–1993) - Use Your Illusion

Fame And Fortune (1990–1993) - Use Your Illusion
In 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording their most ambitious undertaking yet. During the recording session of "Civil War", drummer Steven Adler was unable to perform well due to his struggles with cocaine and heroin addiction – his difficulties in the studio caused the band to do nearly 30 takes.[24] As a result, Adler was fired in July 1990 and was replaced by former Cult drummer Matt Sorum, whom Axl credited for saving the band. A few months prior, keyboardist Dizzy Reed became the sixth member of the group when he joined as a full time member. The band fired their manager, Alan Niven, replacing him with Doug Goldstein in May 1991. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, Rose forced the dismissal of Niven (against the wishes of some of his band-mates) by refusing to complete the albums until he was replaced.

Fame And Fortune (1990–1993) - Use Your Illusion
With enough music for two albums, the band released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on September 17, 1991. The tactic paid off when the albums debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively in the Billboard charts, setting a record as they became the first and only group to date to achieve this feat. The albums spent 108 weeks in the chart.

Guns N' Roses accompanied the Use Your Illusion albums with many videos, including "Don't Cry", "November Rain" and "Estranged" – some of the most expensive music videos ever made. The hit ballad "November Rain" (No. 3 US) became the most requested video on MTV, eventually winning the 1992 MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. It is also the longest song in chart history to reach the Top Ten, clocking in at 8:56. During the awards show, the band performed the song with Elton John accompanying on piano.

Both prior to and after the release of the albums, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month-long Use Your Illusion World Tour. It became famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred at the shows, and is still currently the longest tour in rock history.

Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies (1987–1989)


The band's first album, Appetite for Destruction was released on July 21, 1987. The album underwent an artwork change after the original Robert Williams cover design (a surrealist scene in which a dagger-toothed monster vengefully attacks a robot rapist) spawned the album. The revised cover was a design by Bill White, a tattoo artist, who had originally designed the artwork for a tattoo Rose had acquired the previous year. The artwork featured each of the five band members' skulls layered on a cross. Rose later insisted that the Gold and Platinum plaques issued by the RIAA be set using the original cover art, which can be found in the booklet of the CD release. In the US, "Welcome to the Jungle" was issued as its first single, with an accompanying music video. Initially, the album and single lingered for almost a year without performing well, but when Geffen Records founder David Geffen was asked to lend support to the band, he obliged by personally convincing MTV executives to play "Welcome to the Jungle" during their afterhours rotation. Even though the video was initially only played one time at 4 a.m. on a Sunday, rock and punk fans took notice and soon began requesting the video and song en masse. In Japan, an entire EP entitled Live from the Jungle was issued, containing the album version of "Sweet Child o' Mine" along with a selection of numerous Marquee Club recordings.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" was the album's second US single co-written by Axl Rose as a poem for his girlfriend and future wife, Erin Everly. Due to the growing grassroots success of the band and the cross-gender appeal of the tune, the song and its accompanying music video received heavy airplay on both radio and MTV, becoming a smash hit during the summer of 1988 and reaching the top of the charts in the US. Slash stated on VH1's 100 Greatest songs of the 80s, "It was actually my least favorite song we ever wrote...I hate it, but it turns out to be our greatest song ever". "Welcome to the Jungle" was then re-issued as a single, with new pressings of records and tapes and new artwork. It was a successful re-release, as the single reached No. 7 in the US. The UK re-release was backed with an acoustic version of "You're Crazy", recorded much earlier than the one featured on the G N' R Lies EP.

By the time "Paradise City" and its video reached the airwaves and peaked at No. 5 in the US, the band's touring success and fame had catapulted the album to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Paradise City" were all top ten singles in the US. To date, Appetite for Destruction has sold over 28 million copies worldwide. It has been certified as 18X Platinum in the U.S.

Guns N' Roses began opening shows for major acts, but as their fame began to take hold, a world tour in support of Appetite for Destruction was scheduled. The band traveled across the United States, and in spring 1988 were invited to the notorious Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England, where they shared the bill with groups like KISS and Iron Maiden. At the start of the Guns N' Roses set, the capacity crowd of over 100,000 began jumping and surging forward. Despite Rose's requests that the crowd move away from the stage, two fans were trampled to death. The media largely blamed the band for the tragedy, and reported that the band had continued playing even when there were dangerous crowd conditions. In fact, the final report on the Donington incident filed by the head of security at the venue noted that the band had not been aware of the extent of fan injuries, had immediately halted their set when requested to do so, and had attempted to calm the crowd. Nonetheless, events such as these during the Appetite for Destruction tour earned the group the title of "the world's most dangerous band". In addition, the behavior of the band members also garnered negative attention from the media. Duff, Slash, Izzy and Adler were often seen intoxicated both on and off stage.


The band's next release was G N' R Lies in 1988, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard music charts. The album included the four Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide recordings on one side and four acoustic songs on the other. The song "One in a Million", which included the words "niggers" and "faggots" among other such obscenities, led to controversy in which critics accused the band, and specifically Axl Rose, of racism and homophobia. Rose responded (in a 1990 interview with MTV) by saying the claims were unfounded, particularly considering Slash himself is half black. He went on to explain that the words were those of a protagonist and not a personal statement, and that the lyrics reflected racial and prejudicial problems within society rather than promoting them. Rose also cited that he idolized gay/bisexual singers like Freddie Mercury and Elton John. The band had played gigs alongside the all-black metal band Body Count, and lead singer Ice T wrote in his book, The Ice Opinion, that Axl had been "a victim of the press the same way I am".

Even after the release of G N' R Lies, Appetite for Destruction continued to be popular for the rest of 1988 and 1989, which resulted in them winning both Favorite Heavy Metal Artist and Favorite Heavy Metal Album (Appetite for Destruction) at the nationally televised 1990 American Music Awards, where Slash and McKagan appeared visibly intoxicated and used profanities on the air. The members finally took steps to deal with their addictions after Rose threatened to end the band if they continued with their heavy drug abuse. He even spoke publicly about the situation, specifically the heroin addictions, while opening for The Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1989 by stating that if certain members of the band don't stop "dancing with Mr. Brownstone", Guns N' Roses was finished - mainly referring to Slash and Adler.

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide

Geffen Records released an EP in late 1986 to keep the interest in the band alive while the band withdrew from the club scene to work in the studio. The four song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide came out on the ostensibly independent "Uzi Suicide Records" label (which was actually a Geffen subsidiary). Only 10,000 vinyl copies of the EP were produced. On Halloween night in 1986 Guns N' Roses performed at UCLA's Ackerman Ballroom as the opening act to Thelonious Monster, The Dickies, and the headlining Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide
The record was billed as a live recording, although Rose would reveal years later, that it was simulated. The EP consisted of four songs from the band's demo tapes with overdubbed crowd noise. It contained covers of Rose Tattoo's "Nice Boys" and Aerosmith's "Mama Kin", along with two original compositions: the punk anthem "Reckless Life" and the classic rock inspired "Move to the City", both of which were co-written by Hollywood Rose's founding member Chris Weber.
Justify Full
The original vinyl Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP has become a valuable and sought after collector's item, even though the tracks were re-issued two years later on the G N' R Lies album.

Formation (1985–1987)

Formation (1985–1987)The group was formed in early 1985 by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Ole Beich (bass) and Rob Gardner (drums). The new band created its name by combining two of the group members' names. A short time later, bassist Ole Beich was fired and replaced by Duff McKagan. After a short time Tracii Guns was replaced by Slash because he did not want to show up to rehearsal. Slash had played with McKagan in Road Crew and with Stradlin during a short stint in Hollywood Rose. The new line-up came together quickly, but after deciding to go on a "tour" from Sacramento, California, to Duff's home town of Seattle, Washington, drummer Rob Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's close friend Steven Adler. The band, which continued to be called Guns N' Roses even after the departure of Tracii Guns, established its first stable line up on the so-called "Hell Tour". In an interview, Slash stated, "That trip to Seattle is really what cemented the band" and established its chemistry.

Guns N Roses

Guns N Roses

Guns N' Roses


Guns N' Roses (sometimes abbreviated as GN'R or GNR) is an American hard rock band. The band formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in 1985. Led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose, Jr.), the band has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since its formation. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs and one live album during its career.

The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including over 46 million in the United States. The band's 1987 major label debut album, Appetite for Destruction, has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide and reached No. 1 on the United States Billboard 200. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached No. 1.[10] The 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone and 35 million worldwide. After over a decade of work, the band released their follow-up album, Chinese Democracy. A greatest hits album was released in 2004.

The current lineup comprises lead vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba, rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.

Guns N' Roses' mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described by individuals in the music industry as the period in which "they brought forth a hedonistic rebelliousness and revived the punk attitude-driven hard rock scene, reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones."

Chris Broderick (Megadeath Band Members)

http://heavymetal-history.blogspot.com/

Chris Broderick


Chris Broderick (born March 6, 1970 in Lakewood, Colorado, USA) is the current lead guitarist for the popular American thrash metal band Megadeth. He currently resides in Sherman Oaks, California. Formerly the lead guitarist/keyboardist for Jag Panzer, he appeared on the last four Jag Panzer albums The Age of Mastery, Thane to the Throne (a concept album about Shakespeare's Macbeth), Mechanized Warfare and Casting the Stones before moving on to Megadeth, replacing Glen Drover. Before joining Megadeth and while still in Jag Panzer, he was also a touring guitarist for Nevermore between 2001 and 2003 and then again between 2006 and 2007.

Early years

Broderick started playing guitar when he was 11 years old and his playing styles range from pop to RnB, classical, and jazz. Broderick has been said to have practiced 14 hours a day during his summers as a teen. He practiced electric guitar, classical guitar, piano, and violin under a strict daily routine. He has said that at that time it seemed more like a "chore" than for entertainment. He was a standout player in the Denver music scene from 1988 on in bands Grey Haven, Industrial Eden (guitarist/lead vocalist) and Killing Time.

He also has a degree in classical guitar music performance at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music.

Jag Panzer (1997-2008)

In 1997, guitarist Joey Tafolla left Jag Panzer for the second and final time, citing a lack of interest in playing heavy metal. For the band, this was a huge problem. Tafolla's guitar work was complex and technical, and as far as they knew few guitarists could comprehend it. This is when Chris was brought into the fold of Jag Panzer and stayed with them for almost a decade. He played on four of the band's albums. 1998's The Age of Mastery, 2000's Thane to the Throne (a concept album about William Shakespeare's play Macbeth), 2001's Mechanized Warfare, and 2004's Casting the Stones.

Nevermore (2001-2003, 2006-2007)

Many people have been confused as to whether or not Chris was actually a member of the heavy metal band Nevermore, but during the time period of 2000 - 2003 and some of 2004 he was only taking part in live shows. After the release of the album, This Godless Endeavor, he began once again to tour with Nevermore until his recent joining in with Megadeth.

Megadeth (2008-Present)


In late 2007, rumors had been circulating that Megadeth guitarist Glen Drover had left the band. This was proved to be true after statements released from both Glen and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. The night after the statements were released, Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover brought up Chris as a possible replacement. Shawn then proceeded to show Dave a video of Chris playing both classical and electric guitar. Dave was immediately won over and soon managed to get in contact with Chris. Two weeks later, Broderick was officially declared the new guitarist for Megadeth. He made his live debut with the band on February 4, 2008 in Finland and toured with them on Gigantour 2008 and also recorded guitar parts on their 12th album Endgame. He has stated due to extensive touring with Megadeth he will no longer be able to collaborate with Jag Panzer and Nevermore. Dave Mustaine said that when he partnered up with Broderick, he said that it reminded him of when "Ozzy Osbourne met Randy Rhoads". On March 8, 2009, Dave commented that he thought Chris was the greatest guitarist Megadeth has ever had.

Equipment

Chris is endorsed by Ibanez guitars and DiMarzio Pickups (A Pair of D Activator 7's neck and bridge models) along with ENGL Powerball amplifiers and uses Ernie Ball Slinky strings, often with a .70 on the low Bb. Before using DiMarzio pickups, he used Bare Knuckle pickups (A Cold Sweat model in the neck, Nail Bomb in the bridge). Before using Ibanez Guitars, he used Schecter Guitars with Seymour Duncan pickups. Recently, there were rumors among fans that Chris's arrival in Megadeth would force him to switch to Dean Guitars, but Chris has continued using his Los Angeles Custom Shop Ibanez RG and RGA Prestige Seven Strings in his gigs with Megadeth, settling the rumors. However, due to Mustaine not wanting any seven string solos, Chris has begun using modified production and custom Ibanez Six String S and RGA guitars (some of which are covered in Megadeth themed graphics), with which he recorded Endgame.

Despite an ENGL endorsement, both he and Dave used Marshall JVM amplifiers to record Endgame. Mustaine prefers the sound of Marshall amps in Megadeth and thus would not allow Broderick to use ENGL. He uses black Dunlop Jazz III picks as well as Herco thumb picks. Broderick's guitar features a locking tremolo but he often uses a graphite nut instead of a standard locking nut, opting instead to use locking tuners. In his posts on the SevenString.org forum, he revealed that this is due to his only subtle use of the tremolo and the straight string pull of the guitar's tuners (Though some customs do have locking nuts).

One of his most used guitars (picture top right) is constructed of a bolt-on neck with a rosewood fingerboard dyed black, a mahogany RGA body with a quilted maple top, and the entire guitar (body, neck, and headstock) is bound in flame maple.

As listed on the Artist's page of the manufacturer's web site, Chris uses the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx Ultra for amp/cab tone, routing and effects.

Shawn Drover (Megadeath Band Members)

Shawn Drover (Megadeath Band Members)

Shawn Drover


Shawn Drover (born May 5, 1966 in Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian drummer, best-known for his work with the heavy metal bands Megadeth & Eidolon.

He began playing the drums at the age of 13. In 1993 he founded the Canadian based power metal band, Eidolon, with his brother Glen. He uses Sabian cymbals and ddrum drums mounted on a drum rack reminiscent of the Greg Voelker Rack System.

Notes

While in rehearsal for "Blackmail The Universe Tour" in October 2004, five days before the first show, Shawn replaced newly returned drummer Nick Menza in thrash metal band Megadeth, who was unable to prepare for the physical demands of a full US tour.

Shawn also plays guitar. He was playing guitar during Megadeth's "Blackmail The Universe Tour" in Kawasaki, Japan (April 3, 2005). Shawn and his brother Glen Drover switched instruments playing "Paranoid" and the second half of "Peace Sells". Glen sat at the drums, and Shawn played the guitar. During Gigantour show in Toronto on September 3, 2005.

While on the Gigantour in 2005, Shawn became the third Megadeth guitarist on stage during "Peace Sells" while Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater played the drums. Shawn also did one solo of the song. The night after the statements were released that Shawn's brother Glen had quit Megadeth, Shawn brought up Chris Broderick as a possible replacement. Shawn then proceeded to show Dave a video of Chris playing both classical and electric guitar. Dave was immediately won over and soon managed to get in contact with Chris. Two weeks later, Broderick was officially declared the new guitarist for Megadeth.

As opposed to many drummers, who cross over their sticks to play the hi-hat with their right hand and snare with their left hand, Shawn instead keeps time with his left hand, keeps a ride cymbal on the left side of his set, and relegates his right hand for snare drum hits (similar to Gene Hoglan). Although the role of each hand is reversed, he still begins rolls and downbeats on rhythms played on other drums with his right hand, as do many right-handed drummers. This is known as "Open handed drumming". Shawn Drover is himself left-handed.

Shawn has lately been the subject of many tall tales in the Megadeth Forums on the band's official website, in a similar fashion to Chuck Norris. Such tales include that "Shawn Drover can kill two stones with one bird" and "Shawn Drover took out a drumstick in an airport once... there were no survivors".

Personal life

He currently resides in Kennesaw, Georgia, has a wife Jodi, a daughter Alexa and a son Ryan. On May 5th, the same date as his birthday, 2010, his first grandson was born.

Gear

Shawn Drover endorses Ddrum, Sabian, Gibraltar Hardware and Vic Firth. The "MegaKit" used on the more recent tours (2004-06) was manufactured by Ferguson Fabrication out of Tempe, Arizona. The structure was revised and redesigned making the cage lighter and easier to assemble.

David Ellefson (Megadeath Band Members)

David Ellefson (Megadeath Band Members)

David Ellefson


David Warren Ellefson (born November 12, 1964 in Jackson, Minnesota) is a bassist who is best known as one of the founding members of American thrash metal band Megadeth. He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also has various side projects which include Temple of Brutality, F5, and Killing Machine.

Early life

Ellefson started to play bass guitar because of its presence in heavy rock music. He then became an accomplished rhythm guitarist and honed his songwriting skills while leading several of his own bands through the club scene of North America's Midwest region.

The Megadeth years (1983-2002, 2010-present)

Other than vocalist and primary lyricist Dave Mustaine, Ellefson was the only constant member of Megadeth from the time of their establishment in 1983 to the group's dissolution in 2002 (Mustaine subsequently reformed Megadeth but without Ellefson). To differentiate between the two Daves, Mustaine referred to Ellefson as "Dave Junior", which was often shortened to "Junior". He appeared on every album and tour from 1985's thrash record Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! up until 2002's Rude Awakening. Ellefson's original playing style involved using his fingers, however, as Megadeth progressed and the music became more complex, he tended to prefer playing with a pick/plectrum. Towards the end of his Megadeth career, Ellefson was not getting some of his material played for the band, which angered him. Ellefson was credited with some Megadeth songs, including "Family Tree" from 1994's Youthanasia (in the 2004 remastered collection of the CD however, the track is credited to Mustaine, Ellefson, Friedman, Menza, but Dave Mustaine credited the Rust in Peace-era line-up with the entire Youthanasia album as a tribute to the band's success at the time of the record's initial release).

On February 8, 2010, David Ellefson got a text message from now Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover. The text read "if now were the time for you and Dave to talk, now would be it". David Ellefson called Dave Mustaine and the two talked out everything and decided they missed being friends. After the phone call, the news was released that David Ellefson would return to the Megadeth lineup. Ellefson was quoted saying "it felt like I never left" after their first rehearsal together.

Feud with Mustaine

Mustaine resurrected Megadeth in 2004 to record the album The System Has Failed, though Ellefson and every other former band member with the exception of Chris Poland (lead guitarist from the Killing is My Business-Peace Sells era) declined to partake in the recording process. Ellefson and Mustaine had a severe disagreement over royalties and rights to Megadeth's name and back catalog resulting in Ellefson filing an unsuccessful lawsuit. Though the two once enjoyed a close friendship, considerable animosity developed between Ellefson and Mustaine to the point that on Ellefson's website, Megadeth was not mentioned in his biography, only in the discography.

In a mid-2005 podcast, Ellefson did not mention his past with Megadeth at all, instead concentrating on discussing his current projects. Mustaine felt Ellefson was unfairly using the Megadeth name when advertising for an amplifier for Peavey. On Blabbermouth.net, Mustaine claims to have had dinner with Ellefson at Christmas in 2005 to talk things through; this got them on good terms, as Mustaine has stated that they spoke on the phone numerous times afterward.

Post Megadeth career and return (2003-2010)

Ellefson formed F5 following Megadeth's 2002 disbandment. The band featured Ellefson on bass, Dale Steele on vocals, Steve Conley on lead guitar, John Davis on rhythm guitar and Jimmy DeGrasso on drums. Their first album, "A Drug for all Seasons" was released in 2005. F5 appeared in support for Disturbed in February 2006 and toured the American Mid-West in the summer of 2006. Ellefson also appeared on the new Killing Machine record "Metalmorphosis" in 2006 alongside former Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and has also been working with Temple of Brutality. Ellefson is currently a member of the melodic power metal band AvianLance King. He commented in an interview with Alternative-Zine.com that "Megadeth was really just a starting point for me, creatively" which features singer

David currently works for Peavey Electronics Corporation as an artist relations representative.

Ellefson played five tracks for the Soulfly album Prophecy and also played on one track on Dark Ages.

He has recently worked with underground emcee/Record producer Necro for his album entitled Death Rap.

Ellefson is also a member of a tribute band called "HAIL!". Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso (Mike Portnoy currently drumming for them 2010), Tim "Ripper" Owens and Andreas Kisser formed the band in late 2008[6]. The band, as of April 2009, is touring Europe.

David participated in the Christmas Rock project Northern Light Orchestra, he performed bass on many of the 17 cuts produced by rock drummer Ken Mary and also at the live show Christmas in April Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona.

As of February 8, 2010 David Ellefson rejoined Megadeth after 8 years. He states in an interview for Classic Rock that current Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover contacted him via text and told him that "if ever there was a time for you and Dave to talk, now is it."

Religious views

Ellefson told HM Magazine that he, like Dave Mustaine is a committed Christian. "Well, I was actually brought up in a Christian household, so I have, you know, a pretty broad knowledge of it; and strayed from it for quite a while. And, now that I have children, I actually do go to church, so I’ve kinda sorta returned to it, you know?"

When he was asked about how he came to be a Christian he came out to be surprisingly similar to lead singer, Dave Mustaine. “My faith has been with me from birth really as I was baptized in the Lutheran Church when I was an infant and raised in that setting my whole life. My family went to church on Sundays, my dad was on church committees, my mom sang in the church choir, and I was confirmed as a teenager too. In fact my mother’s Wurlitzer organ was my first musical experience and how I learned to play.” He was also asked that if he was a Christian his whole life, how he felt about being in Megadeth and doing the things that he did. “I will say that my adult religious beliefs were strengthened once I got cleaned up off dope and booze back in 1990 by way of 12 step programs. That really brought me back to putting God at the center of my life again and as a result I experienced the best years of my career, too. That was paramount for me because being 25 years old, and playing in a metal band, God was certainly not considered “cool” and is still not something most metal fans want to have their hero’s proclaim in public! However, the reality is that even in my days of drug use, for me from age 15 to 25, my Christian upbringing always haunted me a bit because I knew I was doing the wrong thing living that lifestyle. Fortunately, getting cleaned up seemed to be in the cards for me so I’m glad I was able to get through it because so many people don’t seem to be able to make it through that. At the end of the day there is no escaping God’s will… He will always win!” One of the things that helped him to come back to Christ was that he was having children with his wife, and he started to remember how he was brought up, and the appreciation he had for it. He wanted his kids to be brought up in the church, and after several incidents in the studio, that he thought was very strange, he felt God was calling him to come back to the church. After calling his wife and telling him that, she said, “well, I’m glad this is all happening, because the worship leader was asking if you could come sit in this Sunday because their normal bass player isn’t going to be able to make it this week. That’s when he decided, “Okay God, I get it”. And then started his entrance into the Christian Music Scene.

In an article titled CODA - Ready for a MEGA Life, Dave indicated that in the fall of 2007 he began the new MEGA Life Ministiries worship service in Scottsdale, AZ. "Oddly, the service has become one of my most rewarding and musically invigorating gigs I’ve ever had…a gig that literally landed in my lap and not something I had to chase down either. Not only are the parishioners respectful (no bar fights, spilled drinks and foul mouthed hecklers in the crowd like many secular gigs full of rational people) but it’s a musical event my whole family participates in. Plus, I’d finally had been given the venue to put into practical application the very words I’d been trying to live by for many years which is 'Play music for God, not us'."

Worshiping Satan, it’s like, ‘Is that the best you can do?’ He’s kind of a small fry guy. You’re kind of limiting your resources a little bit there, if you go down that road.

Equipment

During Megadeth's early days, he first used BC Rich Basses primarily the Mockingbird series in black for the albums Peace Sells and Killing Is My Business. Ellefson secondarily used Jackson Concert 4 and 5-string basses in a custom blue finish, the colour inspiration was his telephone answering machine. In 1993, looking for a deeper sound which would "sit" under the bass drums in the mix, David tried EMG pick ups and pre-amps in the Jackson basses- pleased with the results he tried basses from almost every manufacturer while in pre-production for the "Youthanasia" album in early 1994.

A clerk at The Bass Shop in Tempe loaned his Modulus Bass for trial, the longer scale, carbon-graphite neck and electronics offered all that was missing. That started an association with Modulus- which later faltered as Modulus changed hands.

He chose to play Modulus Quantum and Flea 5-strings and sometimes two Fender Precision Basses, a rosewood neck '78 with a DiMarzio split-coil humbucking pickup and a maple neck '77 These basses were used for a "grinding" sound . David switched to the American Deluxe Series P-Basses around 2000/01. His current bass arsenal includes a pair of maple-neck American Deluxe Precisions in 4 and 5-string versions, his '78 and '76 P-Basses, an Epiphone El Capitan 5-string acoustic bass, an Ovation 4-string, a Hamer Chaparral 12-string bass and an assortment of Peavey and Modulus 5-string basses. He has also recently been seen using a transparent red B.C. Rich Mockingbird and a black Jackson Concert bass on the Rust In Peace Anniversary Tour. In addition to his bass gear, Ellefson's guitar rig included an Ibanez Destroyer, a pair of Peaveys as well as Alvarez and Briarwood acoustics.

Up to 1993 David used Hartke amps and Cabs, switching to Ampeg SVT 4 amps and SVT cabs. In the studio, guitar amps were sometimes used for alternate tracks- notably an Peavey 5150 on Paranoid (1993).

David used Peavey amps/cabinets and Mackie power amps for amplification. His effects setup includes DigiTech Genesis 3 and BP-2000 pedals, Korg and Peterson tuners, BBE and Tech 21Digidesign Pro Tools MBox LE and Peavey Pro Comm U1002 Wireless systems. Ellefson uses D'Addario Nickel Electric guitar strings for his guitars, Prism and Pro Steel Medium Gauge bass strings (45-130) for his basses, Jim Dunlop Medium Tortex picks and Planet Waves Sansamp DIs, cables.

After rejoining Megadeth in early 2010, Ellefson started using his old Jackson bass and Hartke amps again. He used an LH1000 with two HX810s on the Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary Tour.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Dave MUstain (Megadeath Band Members)

Dave Mustaine

Dave MUstain (Megadeath Band Members)David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961 in La Mesa, California, USA) is the current lead/rhythm guitarist, founder, main songwriter, and vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. He currently resides in San Diego, California. Mustaine was also the first lead guitarist and co-songwriter of Metallica, though his time in that group was rather brief. In 2009 he was ranked No. 1 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.[1] Mustaine was also ranked eighty-ninth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time.
History

Mustaine was born on September 13, 1961 in La Mesa, California, to Emily and John Mustaine. When his parents divorced, he spent much of his youth with his mother and sisters moving constantly to avoid contact with his father. By the age of 15, Mustaine had rented his own apartment and was surviving financially by dealing drugs. One of his clients was often short of cash, but worked in a record store, so she offered him albums by artists such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, and Judas Priest in trade, which helped form his taste in heavy metal. In the late 1970s, Mustaine started to play electric guitar, most notably a B.C. Rich and joined a band known as Panic for a short time.

The 1980s

Metallica

In 1981, Mustaine left Panic to join Metallica as the lead guitarist. Metallica's drummer (Lars Ulrich) had posted an ad in a local newspaper, The Recycler, looking for a lead guitarist. In his own words, Mustaine remembers his first meeting with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich: "I was convinced that I should be in the band and went to rehearsal. I was tuning up when all the other guys in the band were in another room. They weren't talking to me, so I went in and said, 'What the fuck, am I in or not?!', 'You've got the job.' I couldn't believe how easy it had been and suggested that we get some beer to celebrate."

Mustaine's membership in Metallica would last less than two years. Brian Slagel, owner of Metal Blade Records, recalls in an interview: "Dave was an incredibly talented guy, but he also had an incredibly large problem with alcohol and drugs. He'd get wasted and become a real crazy person, a raging maniac, and the other guys just couldn't deal with that after a while. I mean, they all drank of course, but Dave drank more...much more. I could see they were beginning to get fed up of seeing Dave drunk out of his mind all the time."

On one occasion Mustaine brought his dog to rehearsal. The dog jumped up onto the car of Metallica bassist Ron McGovney and scratched the paint. Hetfield allegedly proceeded to yell at Mustaine's dog and kicked it in anger. Mustaine responded by physically attacking Hetfield and judo-flipping McGovney, who tried to restrain him, and yelled at Ulrich. Mustaine was fired following the altercation. The next day, Mustaine asked to be allowed back in the band and was granted his request. Another incident occurred when Mustaine, who had been drinking, poured a full can of beer down the neck and into the pick-ups of Ron McGovney's bass. When McGovney tried playing it, he received an electrical shock which he claims 'blew him across the room and shocked the hell out of him'. McGovney then told Mustaine and Hetfield to leave his house and left the band shortly after.

In April 1983, after Metallica had driven to New York to record their debut album, Mustaine was officially fired from the group because of his alcoholism, hard drug abuse, overly aggressive behavior, and personality clashes with founding members Hetfield and Ulrich — an incident Mustaine refers to as "no warning, no second chance". The band packed up Mustaine's gear, drove him to a Greyhound bus station in Rochester, NY, and put him on a bus bound for Los Angeles. It was on this busride that Mustaine scribbled some lyrical ideas on the back of a muffin wrapper, which would later become the song Set The World Afire from the 1988 Megadeth album So Far, So Good... So What!

During his short time in Metallica, Dave Mustaine toured with the band, co-wrote four songs which appeared on Kill Em All, and co-wrote two songs which would eventually appear on Ride the Lightning. Mustaine has also made unproven claims to have written parts of "Leper Messiah" from the Master of Puppets album. He also claims[citation needed] it was his idea[citation needed] to write and record a song featuring the children's prayer Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep featured in the songs "Go to Hell" and "Enter Sandman". He also recorded several songs with the band including the No Life 'Till Leather demo tape. A few of the songs he wrote with Hetfield and Ulrich went on to be re-recorded by Metallica. The most well-known of these is "The Four Horsemen" from Kill 'Em All, which Mustaine wrote and later released on his debut album with the original lyrics as "Mechanix."
[edit] Megadeth
Main article: Megadeth

In 1983, he concluded that one of his goals in life should be to create a band more successful than Metallica. That summer he met bass player David Ellefson and formed Megadeth. He then enlisted guitarist Greg Handevidt and drummer Dijon Carruthers. After a series of unsuccessful vocalist auditions, Mustaine elected to take on those duties himself in addition to playing lead guitar. In 1984, Megadeth cut a three-song demo with drummer Lee Raush. Kerry King joined the band for a few shows. However he opted to leave Megadeth after less than a week so he could continue working on his band Slayer. Jazz-influenced drummer Gar Samuelson replaced Raush. In November, the band signed a deal with Combat Records, a month before guitarist Chris Poland came onboard and the band played their first shows in New York.

In May 1985, Megadeth released their first album Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! on Combat Records. That summer, the band toured the U.S. and Canada with Exciter, and guitarist Mike Albert replaced Poland for the tour. Poland rejoined the band in the studio in October, and the band began recording their second album for Combat. On New Year's Eve of that year, Megadeth played in San Francisco with Exodus, Metal Church, and Metallica.
In 1986, after recording Killing Is My Business..., Mustaine approached Jackson Guitars for a custom-built guitar. Jackson modified their existing Jackson King V model for Mustaine by adding 2 more frets to the standard 22 fret King V. In the 1990s the company began mass-producing a Dave Mustaine signature series Jackson King V which continued into the early 2000s.

The following year, major label Capitol Records signed Megadeth and obtained the rights to their second album, Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, from Combat. Megadeth opened a U.S. tour with King Diamond and Motörhead. Their second album, released in November, is regarded as a landmark metal album. It produced the notable title track (the opening bass lick of which was used by "MTV News" segments) as well as the thrash anthem "Wake Up Dead." The videos for both songs became staples on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.

In February 1987, Megadeth opened for Alice Cooper on his Constrictor tour. The band also toured with King Diamond whose previous band, Mercyful Fate, were a huge influence on Megadeth. In March, Megadeth's first world tour began in the UK. Mustaine and Ellefson guested on the band Malice's License To Kill album. Megadeth re-recorded "These Boots" for a movie soundtrack, and that summer went on tour with Overkill and Necros. Amid drug problems and suspicions of stealing the band's equipment for drug money, Mustaine fired Poland and Samuelson after their last show in Hawaii.

Chuck Behler, who had been Samuelson's drum tech, became Megadeth's drummer with a guitarist named Jeff Young replacing Poland. Megadeth released their third album, So Far, So Good... So What! in January 1988. The album contains the song "In My Darkest Hour", which was composed after the death of Metallica's bass player Cliff Burton. (Mustaine said this in the liner notes of So Far, So Good... So What!). "Hook In Mouth" attacked the PMRC with gusto, although their cover of Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" — despite a guest appearance from ex-Pistol Steve Jones — was ill-advised in the eyes of Allmusic's critic.

Later that year, Megadeth opened for Dio and then Iron Maiden on tour before playing the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the UK with Kiss, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, David Lee Roth, and Helloween. Shortly after, Mustaine fired Behler and Young, accusing Young of having thoughts of a relationship with Mustaine's girlfriend Diana at the time. Around this period, Mustaine found the time to produce the debut album from Seattle thrash band Sanctuary, called Refuge Denied.

Nick Menza who was Chuck Behler's drum tech joined Megadeth in 1989, and the band recorded their only track ever as a three-piece: a cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the Wes Craven-directed horror flick, Shocker. Video director Penelope Spheeris would later recount in the Megadeth episode of Behind The Music that Mustaine showed up to the video shoot so fried on heroin and other drugs that he could not sing and play guitar at the same time. Therefore, the singing and playing had to be recorded separately. Mustaine was arrested for "impaired driving" that March with seven or more drugs in his system and was forced by authorities to enter a rehabilitation program (the first of his 15 visits to the rehabilitation centre).

The 1990s

In February 1990, guitarist Marty Friedman (Cacophony) was auditioned to fill in the vacant lead-guitar position. In September of that year, the band joined the "Clash of the Titans" tour overseas with Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Testament. The tour began one month before Megadeth released Rust In Peace which contains "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due", "Hangar 18", "Tornado Of Souls", "Take No Prisoners", (1990), which continued their commercial success. They immediately went back on the road, this time as support for Judas Priest, to promote the album.

Megadeth started off 1991 performing for 145,000 people at a festival in Brazil before starting their own world tour with Alice in Chains as their special guest. Mustaine got married in April, the same month the Rusted Pieces home video was released. That summer, the "Clash of the Titans" tour hit the U.S. featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, with Alice in Chains taking the opening slot. Later that year, the Megadeth song "Go To Hell" was featured on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.

Mustaine collaborated in 1991 with Sean Harris from Diamond Head on the track "Crown of Worms." (Mustaine would later appear on Diamond Head's reformation album Death and Progress.) Mustaine's wife, Pamela, gave birth to their son Justis on February 11, 1992. The band was featured on another soundtrack, this time for Super Mario Bros. with the song "Breakpoint." July saw the release of Megadeth's most commercially successful record: Countdown To Extinction. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and boasted the band's most successful songs: "Symphony Of Destruction," "Sweating Bullets," and the ode to sky-diving, "High Speed Dirt." The original version of the "Symphony of Destruction" video was edited due to its depiction of a political leader being assassinated. "Skin O' My Teeth" was aired on MTV with a disclaimer from Mustaine insisting that the song did not endorse suicide. Ellefson contributed lyrics to the family-farm ballad "Foreclosure Of A Dream," and Menza wrote the lyrics about canned hunting for the title track. This album began a new, more "collaborative" Megadeth.

Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies opened for Megadeth on the Countdown To Extinction tour. MTV News invited Mustaine to cover the Democratic National Convention for them that summer. In November, the "Exposure Of A Dream" home video was released. In 1993, Mustaine guested on a new album by one of the bands who influenced his sound, Diamond Head. Mustaine began a U.S. tour with Megadeth with Stone Temple Pilots as their opening act. This tour, including a planned appearance at Budokan, was ultimately canceled due to Mustaine's continuing struggles with addiction. In June, Megadeth played Milton Keynes Bowl with Diamond Head and Metallica and later opened for Metallica for a handful or European Stadium dates. Megadeth was kicked off Aerosmith's U.S. tour after just seven dates. "Angry Again" was featured on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Last Action Hero" while "99 Ways To Die" was featured on the "Beavis and Butthead Experience" compilation.

Megadeth spent the bulk of 1994 making Youthanasia, a much more commercial album undoubtedly inspired in part by the success of Countdown to Extinction, The band covered "Paranoid" for Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath and performed on MTV's "Night Of The Living Megadeth" in celebration of the Halloween release of their new album. They began a tour the next month in South America. Youthanasia became the quickest album to go gold (500,000 units) in Canadian history and sold well throughout the world.[citation needed]. It was an album that showed a more melodic side to the band with tracks such as "A Tout Le Monde." The album also included "Train of Consequences," which became one of the band's most memorable music videos.

Another soundtrack appearance, "Diadems" on "Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight," kicked off 1995. Megadeth spent the first two months of the year on the "Youthanasia" tour with Corrosion of Conformity in tow. In March, the Hidden Treasures compilation hit European stores. The "Evolver: The Making Of Youthanasia" home video followed in May, and Hidden Treasures made it to the U.S. and Japan in July, just in time for the start of the "Reckoning Day" tour with special guests Flotsam and Jetsam, Korn, and Fear Factory. In September the band performed at the "Monsters Of Rock" festival in South America.

A Grammy nomination for "Paranoid" began 1996 for Megadeth. Enlisting Fear singer Lee Ving, Mustaine made an album under the moniker "MD.45" with Suicidal Tendencies drummer Jimmy DeGrasso behind the kit. In September, Megadeth went back into the studio, this time in the country music hotbed of Nashville, TN. The following year's Cryptic Writings was the result.

Cryptic Writings (1997) included thrashing songs like "Vortex" and "FFF" alongside radio friendly fare like "Trust," the song which put Megadeth on the no 1 spot in the US billboard earning them many spins at rock radio. Megadeth.com launched that year and in June, the reformed Misfits opened for the band on tour. Chaos Comics released "The Cryptic Writings Of Megadeth" comic books and a remix of "Almost Honest" showed up on the "Mortal Kombat Annihilation" soundtrack. The first ever all-acoustic Megadeth performance in Buenos Aires (Argentina) closed out the year in December.

Mustaine's daughter, Electra Mustaine, was born on January 28, 1998, the same month that "Trust" was nominated for a Grammy. Megadeth played on the Howard Stern Show and that summer took part in Ozzfest. As Nick Menza sat in the hospital side-lined by a knee injury, he received a call from Mustaine informing him that his services would no longer be needed. Jimmy DeGrasso, who Mustaine had enjoyed playing with in MD.45, joined Megadeth in his place. On New Year's Eve, Megadeth opened for Black Sabbath alongside Soulfly, Slayer, and Pantera.

While touring after Cryptic Writings, Mustaine told interviewers that songs like "She Wolf" and "Vortex" had reinvigorated his love for classic metal by bands like Iron Maiden and Motörhead and that he intended to write an album that was "1/2 Peace Sells, 1/2 Cryptic Writings." However, after hearing about a comment Lars Ulrich had made in the press in which he said he wished Mustaine would take more "risks," intentions changed. Managers and producers had more input. The song "Crush 'Em" was written with the express purpose of being played in sports arenas. In later years, Mustaine would blame much of this period on Friedman's desire to go in a more "pop" direction. Recorded with producer Dann Huff, again in Nashville, Risk was released on August 31, 1999. Crush 'Em made it onto the "Universal Soldier 2" soundtrack and into WCW wrestling events (notably played live on Monday Nitro). In July, the band covered "Never Say Die" for a second Sabbath tribute. They closed the Woodstock '99 music festival and again opened for Iron Maiden in Europe. There were few other highlights in the Megadeth world in 1999, a year that ended with Marty Friedman announcing his departure from the band.
The 2000s

As the tour behind Risk soldiered on, Al Pitrelli replaced Friedman on the road. In April, the new lineup entered the studio to begin work on a new album a couple of months before they officially parted ways with Capitol Records. The summer was spent on the road with Anthrax and Mötley Crüe. Capitol released a "best of" collection in the fall, "Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years," featuring two brand new (and more metal-leaning) songs. With a new deal in place with Sanctuary Records, Megadeth returned to the studio toward the end of the year to finish their album and on New Year's Eve, played a show in Anchorage, Alaska.

An acoustic tour sponsored by radio stations, a press tour, and a video shoot for the song "Moto Psycho" all preceded the May, 2001 release of The World Needs A Hero. The summer was filled with festival appearances supporting AC/DC. In September, Megadeth set out across North America with Endo and Iced Earth. VH1's "Behind The Music" special on Megadeth aired that year and was later released on DVD. At the end of the year, the band filmed two shows in Arizona, which were released as the 2CD and DVD Rude Awakening.

The early part of 2002 saw the release of a remixed and re-mastered Killing Is My Business... with bonus tracks and expanded packaging, followed by "Rude Awakening."

Mustaine now writes a lesson column in Guitar World magazine.

(For more discography information, see Megadeth discography; for detailed band history, see Megadeth)

Injury and breakup

Mustaine himself gave what he called "the Reader's Digest version" of the whole matter during an interview for SuicideGirls: "I went into retirement because my arm got hurt really bad. I broke up the band which at the time was Al Pitrelli, David Ellefson, Jimmy DeGrasso, and myself. I was having problems with Al because he liked to drink, and we didn’t want to show up at places with him drunk. Al also got married to a nice woman, but he wanted to spend time with her. After a few years, most married men are willing to die, so I figured if we got a couple years into the marriage that might have changed. But the fact was, Al wasn’t fitting. DeGrasso was really hard to be around because he was so negative all the time with his complaining about money and wanting things. Ellefson was all about 'play my songs, play my songs.' I hated being around these guys so when the arm injury happened, it was a welcome relief and an indication that I had to stop."

Recovery

Mustaine went through physical therapy for his arm injury. During his recovery, he explored other areas of the music industry, including production. Contrary to what doctors had predicted, within a short time he fully recovered. However, all was mostly quiet on the Megadeth front for the better part of 2003. Mustaine left Jackson guitars, did a solo acoustic performance at a benefit show, unveiled his new ESP model at the NAMM convention, and oversaw the release of Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? as an audio DVD presented in Dolby 5.1 surround. He also remixed and remastered all of Megadeth's albums, releasing them through Capitol Records in 2004.

It was during this period that Mustaine became a Christian. He expressed his intent to withdraw from a show in Greece that had Rotting Christ and Dissection opening for Megadeth.

Mustaine said on the official Megadeth website: "Yes, I did say I would prefer not to play on concerts with Satanic bands," he said. "That doesn't mean I won't, it doesn't mean I would not talk with the bands either...But to make a life-altering change and then not have some kind of effect would not have been a change at all, would it? It's not much different from staying away from booze if you have made a decision to be sober."

He added, "If I don't feel it is right for me to do something, then (I) would just respectfully decline. I would not ask that anyone be taken off if they were already confirmed...I have to draw the line and stand for my beliefs or they aren't beliefs at all, are they?"

Moreover, Mustaine stated that Christianity helped him to get back in the saddle - while baptized Lutheran, he dabbled heavily in Satanism and black magic during his teenage years, and then years after that began to identify (albeit loosely) as a Jehovah's Witness, until, finally, he became a born-again Christian.

At the same time, Mustaine's personal life once again underwent change. During the tour of Gigantour 2005, Mustaine brought with him a "spiritual counselor" to help him avoid the problems that almost cost him his life due to his prior drug addictions. This was noted recently by The Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato, who explained his experience with Mustaine on Gigantour: "He had a pastor walking around with him on tour and riding on his bus, I think to help keep him on the straight and narrow path."

Mustaine told The Daily Times during a recent interview, his own world was already shattered, and becoming a Christian was the one way he's found to put the pieces back together. Mustaine was baptized a Lutheran then brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Later on got into witchcraft and Satanism while practicing Black Magic. All at the same time thinking his wife’s thing was cult. “I went back to being a Jehovah’s Witness, but I wasn’t happy with that.” He later said in an interview, “looking up at the cross, I said six simple words, ‘What have I got to lose?’ Afterwards my whole life has changed. It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Rather go my whole life believing that there is a God and find out there isn't than live my whole life thinking there isn't a God and then find out, when I die, that there is."

Dave also recognizes that his talent is a gift from God. "To be the No. 1 rated guitar player in the world is a gift from God and I'm stoked about it, but I think Chris is better than I am, anyway," he said. "Either way, I don't put too much earthly merit on it."

“I learned more about Christ and that changed my life.” Stating that he always believed in God, but once he messed up his arm he totally surrendered.

Return

The next year kicked things into high gear. Mustaine oversaw the remixing and re-mastering of Megadeth's entire Capitol Records catalog. All albums were re-released with bonus tracks and full liner notes. With one album remaining in his contract to Sanctuary Records, Mustaine began recording what he intended to be the first Dave Mustaine solo album with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Sloas. Complete with guest solos from old friend Chris Poland, this project became a new Megadeth album, The System Has Failed, released September 14, 2004. One month before, Mustaine announced a new touring lineup for Megadeth: Glen Drover (King Diamond/Eidolon) and James MacDonough (Iced Earth). Nick Menza had briefly been a part of the new band before differences once again caused his departure. One week before a new US tour with Exodus supporting, new drummer (and Glen's brother) Shawn Drover (Eidolon) joined Megadeth.

The "Blackmail The Universe" tour went worldwide in February, 2005 with Diamond Head and Dungeon supporting. Capitol released a new greatest hits, Back To The Start, in June, a month before Mustaine created "Gigantour" with Dream Theater, Anthrax, Fear Factory, Symphony X, Dillinger Escape Plan, Life of Agony, and more. Throughout all of this, Mustaine had been coy in the press about whether or not this would be the "final" album and tour for his band. At a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he announced that he would, in fact, keep Megadeth together.

"The Arsenal Of Megadeth," a two-disc anthology DVD, was released in March 2006. Bass player James LoMenzo (Black Label Society, White Lion) replaced James MacDonough in February shortly before the band headed to the Dubai Desert Rock Festival in the United Arab Emirates. On April 19, the band began recording a new album, United Abominations, at SARM studios in the UK (David Gilmour's house), they announced a worldwide deal with Roadrunner Records in May 2006. United Abominations was released worldwide on May 15, 2007. However, the album had already been leaked before its release. On January 13, 2008, Dave Mustaine confirmed that guitarist Glen Drover had quit Megadeth to focus on his family and that he had been replaced by Chris Broderick of Jag Panzer. The new lineup made its live debut in Finland on February 4 and returned to the US for Gigantour 2008 in the spring.[15] They are set to be releasing their 12th studio album titled Endgame set to release at August 31 (UK only) and September 15 (worldwide), 2009.

According to www.ultimate-guitar.com, Mustaine is planning to open Megadeth's California recording studio to under-privileged children to teach them about rock 'n' roll. The band owns a building in San Diego, California, which has housed their recording equipment over the years. However, in a recent interview with the British music magazine Kerrang, Mustaine wanted to make better use of the studio by turning the space into a learning center for children who come from under-privileged backgrounds. In the interview, he also said he vowed to teach them how to play instruments.

In 2009 Dave Mustaine was featured in the 2009 album "Cult of Static" by Static-X.

On October 8, 2009, Dave Mustaine appeared on the Alex Jones radio show to talk about Megadeth's latest album Endgame. The title of the album was inspired by the Alex Jones film of the same name. In the live interview on Prisonplanet.tv, Mustaine explained that the cover art shows prisoners with barcode mohawks on their heads being marched into a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) camp. Alex Jones mentions how the beginning of the song Endgame[disambiguation needed] sounds just like the riot police at the Pittsburgh G-20.
The 2010s

David Ellefson has recently re-joined Megadeth after 9 years since the disband of Megadeth in 2001. Dave and David have agreed to keep any unresolved issues in the past and are working on building and maintaining their friendship again.

Megadeth embarked on a Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary tour, playing the album in its entirety, along with fan favorites such as Wake Up Dead, In My Darkest Hour, and Skin O' My Teeth.
Gigantour
Dave Mustaine at a Gigantour show in Orlando, FL.

In the summer of 2005, Mustaine launched a travelling North American metal festival. He named it Gigantour after a favorite childhood cartoon of his, Gigantor. It spanned six weeks and was co-headlined by Megadeth and Dream Theater, with a variety of other supporting metal acts such as Fear Factory and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Mustaine has been quoted as saying that his main intention when conceiving the tour was to bring the American metal audiences an eclectic and affordable alternative to Ozzfest.

The second annual Gigantour began in September 2006 and was composed of Megadeth, Lamb of God, Opeth, and Arch Enemy. The second stage bands were Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity, and The Smash Up.

The 2007 Gigantour featured Bring Me the Horizon, Static-X, Devildriver, and Lacuna Coil along with Megadeth. Megadeth appeared on their first tour to India, Bangalore in March 2008.

The 2008 installment of the tour featured Megadeth, Children of Bodom, In Flames, High on Fire, and Job for a Cowboy (and Evile for the UK and Scandinavia tour).

Megadeth Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego (from the Gigantour 2008) premiered on HDNet Sunday November 2 at 8PMET in high definition and 5.1 audio.

Equipment

Mustaine used B.C. Rich Guitars early in his career (and for his entire duration with Metallica), most notably a B.C. Rich Bich 10 and later, a B.C. Rich Perfect 10 Bich, which Mustaine strung with just the regular six strings.

In March 2009, while he was guest hosting Bruce Dickinson's Friday Night Radio show, Mustaine attributed his choice of the Flying V guitar to being a fan of UFO's Michael Schenker when he was growing up.

After switching to Jackson Guitars he helped to re-design the guitar maker's version of the King V model (at the time, it was a "double Rhoads size" meaning it had two of the longer fins from the RR). The reshaped Mustaine KV1 model had slightly shorter fins, Kahler bridge and Seymour Duncan JB-4 and Jazz-2 pickups. He also specified 24 frets rather than the original King V's 22, a tradition which Jackson still keeps on its King V models today, and the KV1, as have all of Mustaine's signature models, also featured a smaller, medium fretwire compared to the extra jumbos featured on most Jacksons.

Mustaine later switched to ESP guitars. The company released the DV8 signature model in the 2004 NAMM convention also at which time Mustaine announced his ESP endorsement deal. In 2005, Mustaine and ESP teamed up to release the ESP Axxion, (pronounced Action), in order to celebrate Megadeth's 20th anniversary.(the XX in Axxion and the fretboard inlays being the number 20 in Roman numerals) The ESP Axxion and ESP DV8 were both successful and cheaper models such as the LTD-DV8 R, LTD DV200 and the LTD Axxion were released to target a bigger market.
Dave Mustaine with his Dean VMNT USA Gears of War guitar on tour supporting United Abominations.

However, on December 6, 2006, Dave Mustaine announced that he was leaving ESP guitars and shifting his endorsement to Dean Guitars. His new signature guitar was revealed during NAMM Show on 19 January 2007. The signature guitar is called the Dean VMNT. The V-shaped guitar is very similar to his earlier Jackson and ESP Signature models.The release campaign of the VMNT had a limited copy of only 150 in the world and are signed by Dave Mustaine. This was posted on the website.

"After two successful years, I have decided to leave ESP guitars. This was a business decision and had nothing to do with the guitars or the manufacturing of the guitars, and I wish the staff of ESP, both in the USA and in Japan and Korea the very best of health and prosperity. Meanwhile, I am taking my Classic Metal V known formerly as a Jackson King V1 or an ESP DV8, and my new guitar design presently known as an Axxion, which was the recipient of the Gold Award from Guitar World Magazine for 2005 for new guitar designs with me. I will also be re-introducing through my new endorsement many special models, including re-issues of my old models from over the span of my career, as well as some retro V shapes, similar to the formerly known Jackson Y2KV or a Gibson Flying V. I will make my announcement and be attending the 2007 NAMM show to meet Megadeth fans and all metal fans, musicians of all styles-especially guitarists."

Today he uses his new signature model by Dean Guitars, the Dean VMNT. The USA model was available briefly in limited run after its release, although the Korean and Chinese models are in continuous production. Mustaine uses the USA and some Korean models on stage.

Dave Mustaine has also recently collaborated with Marshall in order to produce the 1960DM Dave Mustaine Signature Cabinets. He is now using his signature Marshall cabinets on tour.

His new guitar shape, debuting in 2010 with Dean guitars will be a unique new shape for Dave, resembling the Gibson Explorer. This new guitar is named the Dean Zero, with sharper points. Dave has made a few appearances so far with this guitar on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and on shows during the Australian tour with Slayer. He has also used the guitar in the later dates of the 2009 Endgame tour and continues to use it to this day. He says he primarily still uses his VMNT's so he can grab on to the lower horn with his legs for certain songs.

Dave has also used Ovation acoustic guitars for most of his career. However, he stopped endorsing the company after receiving a signature acoustic from Dean, dubbed the Mako.

Guitar playing

In 2004, Guitar World magazine ranked Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman together at #30 on the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.

In 2009 Mustaine was named the No. 1 player in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. As he told Classic Rock magazine in September 2009: "It was especially sweet when I found out that Joel has written books on Metallica... Every page I turned, I became more excited. I get to No.5 and it’s Kirk Hammett, and I thought, ‘Thank you, God’. At that point it didn’t matter which position I was. To be better than both of them James Hetfield and Hammett meant so much – it’s been one of the pet peeves of my career and I’ve never known how to deal with it... All I thought was… I win!"

Mustaine is known for his distinctive guitar style which includes fast-paced riffing and palm muting. He often uses chords that are considered unorthodox and has the ability to sing while playing his complex music. His solos are often speed based, but have recently become more technically proficient as the years have continued and other guitarists have pushed his skills.
Cameo appearances

Dave Mustaine has appeared on various television shows:
* In 1992 Mustaine covered the Democratic National Convention for MTV. He also hosted the MTV2 Television Network's series Headbanger's Ball on two occasions: once on a tribute to Dimebag Darrell in December 2004 and the second time as a special guest on an episode which aired August 27, 2005. He also played the song "Gears of War" with Megadeth on an episode about the video game release under the same name.
* Dave Mustaine makes an appearance on the 1998 The Drew Carey Show episode entitled "In Ramada Da Vida." When Drew and the gang decide to start a band, they audition guitarists, including Mustaine. After playing a lightning fast guitar solo, Lewis Kiniski tells Mustaine "Don't be nervous son, just slow down," to which Mustaine replies, "It's supposed to sound that way." Drew replies by saying, "Yeah, sure it is..... next."
* In the 1996 Black Scorpion sci-fi series episode Love Burns Mustaine plays Torchy Thompson, a vengeful arsonist.
* Dave Mustaine and Megadeth appear in the Duck Dodgers 2005 episode "In Space, Nobody can Hear you Rock/Ridealong Calamity", the second-to-last episode of the series.In the show, Mustaine plays a cryogenically frozen version of himself, possibly a reference to the "Hangar 18" video since the video ends with the whole line up of Megadeth cryogenically frozen. He is unfrozen because the main cast requires an incredibly loud noise to overload a Martian sonic weapon, and "nobody rocks harder, faster, or louder than Dave Mustaine." He is referred to in the episode as being "genetically engineered to rock and raised by wolverines". During this episode he played the song "Back in the Day" from the album The System Has Failed. Mustaine appeared again in the show in the final episode, Bonafide Hero: Captain Duck Dodgers.
* Mustaine appeared on the second episode of season 8 on the television show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
* Mustaine and Megadeth appeared in promotional videos for the NHL team Philadelphia Flyers in response to an inflammatory comment by Mike Wise in the Washington Post which suggested that some of the Flyers' fans could work security for Megadeth. Mustaine invited them to do so. Megadeth all wore Flyers' jerseys. Mustaine sported the one of team captain Jason Smith, while other members wore the jerseys of Danny Brière, Martin Biron and Mike Richards.
* Mustaine appeared in an episode of Rock & Roll Jeopardy! along with George Clinton and Moon Zappa, where he won with an extremely high lead.
* Dave Mustaine has also appeared in the Classic Album documentary of Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast.
* Dave Mustaine has appeared in the heavy metal documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years".
* Dave Mustaine has appeared in the documentary "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash metal".
* Mustaine appeared in the vote campaign for St Arnaud global nations awards he was accompanied by his old friend Jake Rose. He commented at the end of the day the campaign was a complete success.
* Dave played the National Anthem on guitar before MTV's Rock 'n' Jock Softball game.
* Dave Mustaine hosted a syndicated radio show on the iHeartRadio network in his spare time, titled "Megadeth Radio".
* Dave Mustaine now lives in Fallbrook, California.

Feuds and rivalries

Mustaine has a reputation for arguing with other heavy metal musicians, the most notorious example being Mustaine's much publicised rivalry with his former band Metallica.



MusicPlaylistRingtones
Create a playlist at MixPod.com