JASON NEWSTED: “people will decide” whether NEWSTED reunion concert is a one-off
10-05-2023
During an appearance on the latest episode of the “Let There Be Talk” podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted spoke about his decision to reactivate his NEWSTED project for a May 20 concert at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Newsted, who plays bass and sings in the project, will be joined at the gig by original NEWSTED members Jesus Mendez Jr. (UNDERLORD) on drums and Jessie Farnsworth (UNDERLORD) on guitar, along with new guitarist Humberto Perez.
According to Newsted, the setlist for the Revolution Live concert will consist mostly of newer songs that NEWSTED fans have not heard before. Describing the material as “quite punk,” he explained: “I put together this kind of MOTÖRHEAD-flavored thing about a year and a half ago and wrote these MOTÖRHEAD-flavored songs on bass as the first instrument. I took the main three Philthy Animal drum beats and just picked that one and make a song and pick that one and make a song, and go around a couple of times and write that many songs. So I wrote some fun songs. And now we mix those in with ‘Soldierhead’ and ‘Heroic Dose’ and the ones from the videos that people know, but mostly playing new songs. And they are way less complex — way less complex than FLOTSAM (AND JETSAM), METALLICA or even the (early stuff from) the NEWSTED band or ECHOBRAIN certainly. Just real punk rock, straight ahead like MOTÖRHEAD — a lot of fast stuff, a lot of double bass. Most of them are pretty quick. It’s just fun, though — fun as fuck.”
Newsted‘s exit from METALLICA was documented in the band’s 2004 documentary, “Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster”, which followed the members of the group through the three most turbulent years of their long career, during which they battled through addiction, lineup changes, fan backlash, personal turmoil and the near-disintegration of the group while making their “St. Anger” album.
During a fall 2021 chat with Apple Music‘s Zane Lowe, Ulrich opened up about Newsted decision to leave the band more than 20 years ago.
“If you think about it, Jason is the only member of METALLICA who’s ever left willingly, and that in itself is a statistic,” Lars said. “And the resentment from James (Hetfield, METALLICA frontman) and I was just so… We felt like you can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave. And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. And so, of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.
Newsted‘s exit from METALLICA was documented in the band’s 2004 documentary, “Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster”, which followed the members of the group through the three most turbulent years of their long career, during which they battled through addiction, lineup changes, fan backlash, personal turmoil and the near-disintegration of the group while making their “St. Anger” album.
During a fall 2021 chat with Apple Music‘s Zane Lowe, Ulrich opened up about Newsted decision to leave the band more than 20 years ago.
“If you think about it, Jason is the only member of METALLICA who’s ever left willingly, and that in itself is a statistic,” Lars said. “And the resentment from James (Hetfield, METALLICA frontman) and I was just so… We felt like you can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave. And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. And so, of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.
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