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Favourites:
Drink: Bordeaux, Barolo, barbaresco wines; Evian
Food: Anything BBQ-ed
Sports Teams: NBA: Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls; NFL: Detroit Lions, L.A. Raiders
Actor: Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Robert DeNiro
Actress: Ursula Andress, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger
Movie: Scarface, Apocalypse Now, Good Fellas, The Jerk
TV Show: Andy Griffith, All Discovery Channel, In Living Colour
Book: Small Change (Tom Waits), Metamorphosis (Kafka), The Stand (Stepen King)
Song: No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley, Ice Cream Man by Tom Waits
Previous Career: Burger-flipper, pizza-maker, and truck-driver
Likes: Mountain biking, shootin' hoops, playing and listening to music
Listens To: Kiss, Black Sabbath, Tom Waits, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Machine Head, Fugees, Sly and the Family Stone, Sepultura, Wes Montgomery
First Concert: Ted Nugent, 1975, South Bend, Indiana
Heroes: His father, Gene Simmons, Al Pacino, B.B. King, Zach Harmen
How Does He Describes Himself?: Energetic, caring, goofy
Jason Newsted was born on March 4th, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan. His influences for music and performing are all of the bass players in the bands, Kiss, Rush, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Yes.
His first jobs before becoming a great bass player for Metallica was that he was a busboy and a dishwasher.
Just like Kirk, Jason had a band before he came to Metallica, it was called "Flotsam & Jetson". Jason got his first bass at age 13, played with it, then got bored of it. After 5 years, he took took it out again, liked it better, then started to play seriously. He quit school to join his first band "Flotsam & Jetson" (His parents accepted his forgiveness now).
He played in clubs and concerts and released a record with the band. Then along came James, Lars and Kirk feeling sad that they lost their bassist, Cliff Burton, in a bus accident. They were looking for a replacement. They asked Jason to try out, mainly jam and spend time with them. Then the big news came, James asked Jason if he would join Metallica. Jason was so happy that in response to James' offer, he screamed at the top of his lungs right in the middle of a restaurant.
Biography
Bassist Jason Newsted may not have been an original member of Metallica, but he was present for the band's rise from the metal underground to the top of the charts worldwide from the late-'80s up to the dawn of the 21st century. Born on March 4, 1963, in Battle Creek, MI, Newsted and his family relocated when he was 14 to Kalamazoo, MI. Shortly thereafter Newsted discovered rock music via Kiss and their blood-spurting, fire-breathing demon bassist, Gene Simmons. He soon discovered other popular metal bands of the day (Ted Nugent, Rush, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult), all the while learning bass and playing in local bands.
In 1981, Newsted and a friend left Michigan with hopes of making it to California to start up a band, but made it only as far as Phoenix, where they remained. Newsted formed a new band shortly thereafter, dubbed Dogz, which changed their name to Flotsam & Jetsam by 1983, specializing in a newly founded metal style -- thrash. It was also around this time that Newsted discovered the frontrunners of thrash, Metallica, quickly becoming his favorite band. Flotsam & Jetsam signed with the Metal Blade record company, appearing on an edition of the label's Metal Massacre compilation and recording a debut album, 1986's Doomsday for the Deceiver. All the while Newsted was the band's leader, serving as the main songwriter and lyricist in addition to his bass duties.
Flotsam was quickly moving up the ladder when Metallica (who had just released their most successful album yet, the classic Master of Puppets release) suffered the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton mid-tour in September of 1986. Metallica decided to soldier on and began auditioning bass players to fill the void left by Burton. Despite a promising future with Flotsam & Jetsam, Newsted opted to try out for Metallica and got the gig. Metallica picked up where their tour left off shortly after naming Newsted their new member and spent 1987 working on their highly anticipated follow-up to Master. Although 1988's epic prog-metal concept album And Justice for All was a major hit and broke Metallica to the big time, Newsted's bass was barely audible in the mix, while his songwriting talents were barely utilized at all (he earned a lone co-songwriting credit with the album-opener, "Blackened"). By the release of 1991's self-titled release, Metallica had become one of the world's most popular rock bands -- a more straightforward musical approach and embracement of music videos had paid off, as the album would eventually sell over ten million copies in the U.S. alone. After a mammoth two-year tour in support of the album had ground to a halt in 1993, the members took time off.
It wasn't until 1996 that the quartet would issue their next studio album, Load, but the group took some heat from longtime fans due to their new look (short hair, designer threads) and a more varied musical style that embraced other forms besides metal. But Load was another sizeable hit, as was its follow-up a year later, Reload. 1998 saw a compilation of cover tunes from over the years, Garage Inc., while 1999's symphonic metal experiment, S&M, was well received. Newsted had also found time to guest on other artist's recordings (Voivod's Phobos, Jim Martin's Milk & Blood, U.N.K.L.E.'s Psyence Fiction, and Sepultura's Against) and was set to launch a side-project titled Echo Brain in 2000, which appeared to cause some strife within Metallica -- confirmed by a tell-all interview by all four bandmembers in Playboy magazine in early 2001. Around the same time the aforementioned Playboy interview hit the stands, Newsted abruptly left Metallica, offering the statement, "Due to private and personal reasons, and the physical damage I've done to myself over the years while playing the music I love, I must step away from the band." ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Flotsam & Jetsam
The early part of Newsted's music career had him performing bass for Flotsam and Jetsam and their 1986 album Doomsday for the Deceiver. Newsted wrote the majority of lyrics for the album as well.
Joining Metallica
Following the death of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton in September 1986 on the Damage Inc. tour, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 30 other musicians and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. However, initiation into the grieving band did not come easy, as Newsted was often subject to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. He debuted on the group's album "Garage Days Re-Revisited, the $5.98 EP". This was followed by his first full-length album with Metallica …And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - namely its lack of identifiable bass.[1] Newsted claims this was further hazing on the part of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, although both Ulrich and Hetfield claim they were also disappointed with the production of the album.[2] In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar melodies to the point of being indiscernible from each other.[citation needed] The album nevertheless reached No. 6 on the Billboard Charts and projected the group to higher success.
In 1991, Metallica released their self-titled album, better known as The Black Album, which would launch Metallica into their greatest level of stardom. After much touring, the group took a long-needed vacation and, when they returned, surprised fans with a new sound on 1996's Load. This was followed by ReLoad, Garage Inc., S&M and the popular single "I Disappear". In 1998 Jason contributed to the album Psyence Fiction by the UK dance outift UNKLE. During his time with Metallica, Newsted received writing credit for only three songs: "Blackened", "My Friend of Misery" and "Where the Wild Things Are" (none of which were released as singles).
In 2000, Newsted co-founded a side project known as Echobrain. They entered a studio in May to rerecord their demos with help from several musicians including Newsted's then-colleague and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin. The project was funded by Newsted which he later claimed he lost a great deal of money in.[3] The fact that Newsted began to focus his efforts on a side project created tension within Metallica.
Departure from Metallica
As plans were being made to enter the recording studio, Newsted left Metallica on January 17, 2001. His statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." [4] During a Playboy interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica."[5] Newsted countered his statement by citing Hetfield's contributions to other musical outlets. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them" and pondered questions such as "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?"[5].
Newsted says he has never regretted leaving the band, "I tell you very honestly, 1 billion percent, I have never regretted leaving Metallica. It was the right thing for everyone. It was the right thing to do for the camp, that’s it. I’ve never told anyone that I wanted to go back or anything like that, not once. I made up my mind. It was not an easy thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I thought about it very much before I pulled the trigger and because of that, I have never looked back. The past is where its supposed to be.” [6]
On April 4 2009, Newsted joined Metallica for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.[7] [8] He also performed two songs at the event, "Master Of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman" with Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo.
During the Live Shit: Binge & Purge Gig in Mexico City, James Hetfield commented on stage that Jason was "too metal for his own good".
Ozzy Osbourne Band
Newsted joined Canadian thrash metal band Voivod in 2002. Coincidentally, he was also Robert Trujillo's replacement in Osbourne's band during Ozzfest 2003, which included Voivod as a Second Stage act. During an MTV interview, both Osbourne and Newsted showed extreme enthusiasm in writing a new album together, with Osbourne comparing Newsted to "a young Geezer Butler." However, this would not come to fruition as Newsted left Osbourne upon finishing tour duties in late 2003.[9][10] He would soon be replaced by Rob Zombie bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson.[11]
Newsted then focused solely on Voivod where, much like Echobrain, the group was funded entirely through him. They recorded two albums before Newsted's participation in Rock Star Supernova, a supergroup created through the reality television series, Rock Star: Supernova, in 2006.
Voivod
The last incarnation of Voivod featured three of the four founding members: Denis Bélanger (aka Snake, vocals), Denis D'Amour (Piggy, guitars), and Michel Langevin (Away, drums) along with Jason Newsted (Jasonic) on bass guitar. Guitarist Denis D'Amour died at the age of 45 on August 26, 2005 due to complications from colon cancer.[12] Their most recent record is Katorz (which is an "alternative" way of writing "quatorze", fourteen in French), released in July 2006. The album is based around riffs found on the laptop of guitarist Denis D'Amour. Just prior to his death, he left instructions for his fellow bandmates on how to use them.
A December 2008 update on Voivod's website noted that Newsted played "all the bass tracks" on the upcoming album Infini, which is due for release on June 23, 2009.[
Rock Star Supernova
Supernova formed the basis of the second season of the Rock Star television program on CBS in the quest to find a lead singer. The show began online on the Rock Star web site on MSN on Monday, July 3 with an Internet exclusive weekly episode and premiered on CBS on July 5 2006. Votes were cast via the Rock Star website. On September 13 2006, Lukas Rossi was crowned the winner.
Shoulder injury
On October 23 2006, Newsted was injured while attempting to catch a falling bass amp head. The accident resulted in a torn anterior labrum in his left shoulder and a rotator cuff and biceps tear in the right. He was scheduled for immediate surgery, and underwent a lengthy rehab process. On January 4, 2007, he was back playing his bass again.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
On April 4, 2009, Newsted was present with Metallica and played with the band alongside current bassist Robert Trujillo at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland.[15] It was his first performance with the band in nearly 9 years, their last performance together taking place at the 2000 VH1 Music Awards. He also gave an emotional speech and was met with enormous applause.
Equipment
Bass guitars
Aria Pro II SB1000 (originally owned by Cliff Burton, used on the "Master Of Puppets" tour)
Fender 1958 Precision Bass (recording/studio bass)
Sadowsky - Black Vintage with Ash body
Sadowsky - Black Vintage (x2)
Sadowsky - PJ - Cherry Sunburst and Caramel Sunburst
Sadowsky - Vintage - Lake Placid Blue (4 string and 5 strings)
Sadowsky - Vintage - Cherry Sunburst
Sadowsky - Black Vintage - 24 Fret (x2)
Alembic - Elan - JPJ pickups - in '91 converted to Series II electronics - Black (5 strings)
Alembic - Europa - Series II electronics - Black (4, 5, 6 and 10 strings)
Alembic - Spoiler - Series II electronics - Black (4 strings) (x2)
Alembic - Persuader - JJ pickups - Natural colored
ESP Bass - Red
ESP B-1 - Black
Spector/Stuart Spector Designs (1981 NS-2 studio/recording bass, NS and SD model 4, 5 and 6 strings, rare JN-4 & JN-5 Signature Model - modified SD body shape, black oil finish, piezo pickup option, fiber optic side markers)
Guild acoustic bass
Wal MKII - Black w. Gold hardware (4 & 5 strings)
Warwick 12-string bass (used on Wherever I May Roam)
Zon Legacy Elite fretless 5-string & Sonus Special 5-String
Rickenbacker 4003 - White and Chrome
Effects
Boss Flanger BF-2
MXR Phase 100
Mu-Tron III Bass Pedal
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI
Tech 21 XXL overdrive
Korg G-5 Bass Synth Processor
Electro Harmonix Big Muff
Alesis Midiverb II
BBE Sonic Maximizer
Morley Power Wah Boost
Amplifiers
Mesa/Boogie 1x15 combo
Mesa/Boogie with SWR Heads
Gibson Skylark Guitar amp
Fender Folded Horn 1x18
Ampeg 1974 SVT head
Ampeg SVT cabinets
Ampeg SVT III (x4)
Ampeg SVT Vintage
Ampeg SVT 8"x10" pro speaker cabinets
Ampeg ISO Vent 10"x15" speaker cabinets
Ampeg B-15 combo amp
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