The Big Takeover recently spoke with Megadeth frontman / founder Dave Mustaine, who discussed the band’s evolving approach to their performances, plans for new music, and how he is determined to give back by mentoring up-and-coming artists. Following is an excerpt from the chat.
Q: When you were starting out in the Los Angeles music scene, did you have any inkling that you would have the kind of career that you’ve ended up having?
Mustaine: “In my heart, I had hoped that I could continue playing for as long as I live. The question was, how long was I going to live? We were all in this scene at the time that everybody was living super fast and dangerous. People like (Mötley Crüe lead singer) Vince Neil getting in a car crash and the drummer for Hanoi Rocks losing his life, that whole period around then – everybody was just dangerous. We had to get away from that. All I wanted to do was just play my guitar. I didn’t want to hang. I was not one of those guys that would go over to people’s houses and party all night. If I was doing anything, I would do it by myself in the house and play guitar. Not that I was alone in my house, but you know. For me, I didn’t have a Plan B. And I didn’t want to have a Plan B because my Plan A was all that mattered. And I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Growing up homeless, growing up a poor kid, that does something to you. So yeah, being a poor kid and going from house to house to house, and wearing hand-me-down clothes all the time, and living in a car for as long as I did, that changed me. And that’s what I think drove me to want to be successful because I didn’t want to be that guy. I didn’t want to be stuck in a situation of being homeless and living in a car. I was not going to settle for that. So that’s why I worked as hard as I did. Some people will say I was callous with the [Megadeth] lineup changes and stuff like that, but with every one of the lineup changes we had, there was a really legitimate reason that we made a change.”
Q: All of the changes you’ve navigated with this band seem to have worked, because you have songs that have remained popular for decades now. But when you have to play those all the time, how do you avoid getting burned out on them?
Mustaine: “Because I know deep down in my heart there’s always someone there for the first time, and that’s the greatest thing ever!”
Read the complete interview here.
Megadeth are currently bringing their iconic live show to North America with a 33-city, nationwide tour, Destroy All Enemies, produced by Live Nation. On August 9th they peformed at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA, and during their set they played “Liar” – taken from So Far, So Good… So What? – for the first time since 2006. Check out fan-filmed video below.
Setlist:
“The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!”
“Dread And The Fugitive Mind”
“Wake Up Dead”
“In My Darkest Hour”
“Hangar 18”
“Sweating Bullets”
“Liar” (first time performed since 2006)
“Skin O’ My Teeth”
“Angry Again”
“She-Wolf”
“Countdown To Extinction”
“The Conjuring”
“Trust”
“Tornado Of Souls”
“We’ll Be Back”
“Symphony Of Destruction”
Encore:
“Mechanix”
“Peace Sells…”
Encore 2
“Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”
Destroy All Enemies US tour dates:
August
12 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
13 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
16 – Las Vegas, NV – Bakkt Theatre at Planet Hollywood
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverick Arena*
20 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
21 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
23 – Macon, GA – Atrium Health Macon Amphitheater*
24 – West Palm Beach, FL – IThink Financial Amphitheatre
September
3 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
5 – Huntington, WV – Marshall Health Network Arena*
6 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
7 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
9 – Reading, PA – Santander Arena*
10 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena*
11 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank
13 – Bethel, MY – Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
14 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
15 – Richmond, VA – Virginia Credit Union Live!*
17 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
20 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
21 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
24 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
26 – St Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL
27 – Southaven, MS – Bankplus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove*
28 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
* non Live Nation dates