Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has been busy at work on his official autobiography. The founding Megadeth musician is approaching the band’s 30th anniversary along with frontman Dave Mustaine , the only other original member still with the legendary thrash act. The memoir, ‘My Life With Deth,’ will tackle subjects such as the band’s road to iconic status, addiction and much more. This won’t be Ellefson’s first endeavor penning a book, as the bassist released ‘Making Music your Business: A Guide for Young Musicians’ in 1997. Fifteen years later, Ellefson returns to writing with some help from author Joel McIver, who has written biographies on bands such as Black Sabbath , Slayer , Metallica , Tool and many others. According to Blabbermouth , Ellefson’s autobiography will also feature contributions from Slayer’s Kerry King , Anthrax’s Scott Ian , current Megadeth bandmate Shawn Drover and former bandmates Chris Poland and Marty Friedman. “My autobiography is not the usual tale of rock ‘n’ roll woe, but rather something I hope will truly inspire people,” says Ellefson. “I have dedicated my life to my craft, and I wanted to share the story of how a kid with a bass guitar and the dream of rock stardom literally risked it all to move from the farm in Minnesota to Los Angeles, and with a lot of hard work, sacrifice and a little luck along the way, made the dream come true.” The bassist continues, “I think the readers will enjoy the stories, as well as the hardships, of this way of life as a musician and artist. I’ve been very open about my life’s obstacles and the means by which I overcame them. Now, my hope is that this story will inspire others to follow their dreams and really live out the purpose for their lives, too.” The official release date for David Ellefson’s ‘My Life With Deth’ will be announced in early 2013. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-megadeth-songs/” title=”10 Best Megadeth Songs” align=”center”]
Posts Tagged ‘business’
Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Penning Autobiography ‘My Life With Deth’
December 21st, 2012 
Metalkult 
Posted in News 
Tags: band, black-sabbath, business, david-ellefson, dream, megadeth, Music, share-the-story, shawn-drover, story 
No Comments »Maynard James Keenan Addresses His Reputation as a Notoriously Difficult Interview
December 5th, 2012 Metalkult Puscifer Entertainment Prolific musical mastermind and fresh-faced feature columnist Maynard James Keenan has just posted the latest installment of his Phoenix New Times bi-weekly blog. Keenan seems to be given a great deal of freedom when it comes to the subjects he chooses to cover for his column, and in this edition, the musician addresses his reputation for being a notoriously difficult interview. With Maynard Keenan receiving a massive amount of attention for each of his three bands, Tool , A Perfect Circle and Puscifer , journalists are constantly attempting to grab a moment of Keenan’s time. Approaching the 30 year mark as an active musician, Maynard has done his fair share of interviews, famously locking up when not being stimulated by the art of conversation. In Keenan’s latest blog, the singer recounts a discussion that took place between him and the co-author of his upcoming “semi-autobiography.” “She’d been browsing through some press clippings from ?recent years, and after the business end of our conversation, she commented on how forthcoming I was during her interview. She said it stood in direct contrast to some — but not all — of my tight-lipped discourse she’d found online. Her guess was that the journalists in question lacked enthusiasm. Her understatement was correct. This is not the case with all journalists I’ve encountered, but unfortunately, it’s the norm.” He continues, “The awesome writers strike up a conversation and my publicist has to cut us off ‘cuz we’re having too much fun. We call these people journalists. The lazy ones have a list of questions to which they’ve already anticipated the answers, so they don’t bother listening to my responses. We call these people never again.” “There seems to be an epidemic raging out there,” adds Keenan. “A whole lot of people are calling themselves professionals who really have no business doing so … Their skill is squeaking and moaning in order to get their way. Which is fine with me. It makes for easier targets.” Maynard fans are anxiously awaiting for the next Tool album, which is expected to see a 2013 release . Before that, however, Puscifer will likely be releasing their ‘ Donkey Punch the Night ‘ EP this February. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/maynard-james-keenan-goes-in-depth-about-upcoming-puscifer-ep-donkey-punch-the-night/” title=”Maynard Keenan Goes In-Depth About Upcoming Puscifer EP” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: business, conversation, donkey-punch, easier-targets-, entertainment, interview, journalists, maynard-james, maynard-keenan, reputation, rock, tool No Comments »Metal Song of the Year – 2012 Loudwire Music Awards
December 3rd, 2012 Metalkult Metal music was at it’s finest this year, and the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards category of Metal Song of the Year features 10 incredibly diverse tracks from a wide-range of bands. We’ve got veteran metal acts going against the young craftsmen of today’s metal music landscape, but the voting is all up to you, the fans. Which tune will you pick as the Metal Song of the Year for 2012? Check out the nominated songs and be sure to vote in the poll below: Anthrax, I’m Alive’
Posted in News Tags: a-perfect-grind, band, buried, business, christian, daily, ghost walking, high on fire, loudwire, machine-head, power, video, voting, walking No Comments »Metallica Take Full Ownership of Master Recordings, Launch Own ‘Blackened’ Label
November 30th, 2012 Metalkult Blackened Recordings Metallica have just revealed the beginning of a new era in their history. Not only has the band launched their own record label, Blackened Recordings, but as of today, all of Metallica’s master recordings have reverted back to the band, giving them full ownership of their entire catalog. All the way back in 1994, Metallica made a deal with Warner Music Group that on Nov. 30, 2012, the band would exclusively own all of their recordings, including all their music videos and long form videos. According to statements from various band members, there is no ill will against Warner, the move is simply to possess full creative control of what happens with the music of Metallica from here forth. “We would like to thank everyone at the Warner Music Group for 28 years of a fantastic relationship, particularly since 1994 where we truly felt we had partners in every aspect of our business in North America,” says James Hetfield . Blackened Recordings will now be the home of everything Metallica, and will handle all marketing and promotion duties. The label is set to personally license their releases to Universal Music Group internationally. “It’s always been about control for us as a band,” says drummer Lars Ulrich . “Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, giving us 100% control and putting us in the driver’s seat of our own creative destiny.” Blackened Recordings will put out it’s inaugural release, the ‘ Quebec Magnetic ‘ DVD, on Dec. 10, which showcases footage from two Quebec City live performances recorded in 2009. [button href=”http://ultimatemetallica.com/” title=”See All the Latest Metallica News Here” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: a-deal-with, a-from-here, band, blackened-recordings, business, dvd, everyone-at-the, history, home, james-hetfield, metallica, Music, news, quebec, warner-music No Comments »Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French Says Trademark Law Doesn’t Offer Choice on What to Defend
November 11th, 2012 Metalkult Ethan Miller, Getty Images Twisted Sister made headlines last month with talk that they were planning to take legal action against the owner of a Minneapolis food truck over usage of their band name, but guitarist and a manager Jay Jay French says there really wasn’t much of a choice in taking action. The band sent a cease-and-desist letter to the owner of the Twisted Sister House of Hunger food truck, and owner Wesley Kaake told local station WCCO-TV that in researching the matter, he discovered that there were at least six other businesses who also received similar letters from the band. In response to the backlash, French told Blabbermouth , “I get how stories like these appear like David vs. Goliath. I also get how easy it is to take cheap shots at my band because of our former image and the ’80s-era iconography. [But] the fact of the matter is that trademark law doesn’t give me a choice on who and what to defend. The law is very clear: either defend your trademark or lose rights to it.” The guitarist says over the years he’s had to take action against major companies like Six Flags, Urban Decay, and Harley-Davidson as well as some of the “mom and pop companies.” He adds, “The defense is almost always the same. They first claim that they never heard of the band and then they say that no one would confuse the two anyway. I have won every case. The unique juxtaposition of the words ‘Twisted’ and ‘Sister’ have never ever appeared in print prior to my band’s use of it. This was established in the Six Flags case.” French concludes, “The name is so unique, like Led Zeppelin, that any use would confuse the marketplace as either the product or service is owned or endorsed by us. Also, if I let one go, that just emboldens someone else with the rationale that ‘you didn’t bother them, so why go after me.’ I have heard this many times before.” The guitarist also states that he’s not opposed to the food truck using the name for their business so long as they legally license it from the band. He adds, “One hundred percent of the licensing money will go to the OUIF (Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/twisted-sister-pee-wees-big-adventure-cameo/” title=”Next: Twisted Sister – Musician Movie Cameos” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: always-the-same, band, business, confuse-the-two, french, getty-images, house, license-it-from, marketplace, musician, owner, twisted-sister, urban, wesley-kaake, words No Comments »Black Dahlia Murder Drummer Shannon Lucas Exits Band to Pursue Other Projects
November 8th, 2012 Metalkult YouTube Black Dahlia Murder are in the midst of a lineup change, with drummer Shannon Lucas leaving the band to pursue outside projects. The split appears to be amicable though, as Lucas says he will continue to support the band as best he can and was instrumental in naming his replacement. In a video posting, Lucas states, “Some of you may have heard that I was sitting out on the current Dethklok tour. That is correct. I’m also stepping back from BDM to pursue some other things in life. Filling in right now is a kid named Alan Cassidy. He played for Abigail Williams for a little while and he is an outstanding drummer. I was active in helping the band pick him as a fill-in. There’s no permanent member yet. Alan’s just filling in for now. He plays the parts just like they are on the record and he’s an outstanding drummer, so if you go see him, show him some love. He’s a good dude.” Lucas went on to thank the fans for coming to the show, buying tickets and merchandise and supporting their albums. As for the group he’s leaving behind, the drummer adds, “I wanna thank the band for giving me some of the best years of my life and records that I am very, very proud to be a part of. I’ve always loved BDM and I will always continue to be in the background and help them out, watch them grow, further their career and put out more records.” At present, Lucas says he’s booked January studio time to track drums on a project he has with Killswitch Engage ‘s Adam Dutkiewicz and Cannibal Corpse ‘s George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. He’s also got a grind project that will follow that’s expected to feature some name players. And on the business side, he and his wife are building up to the launch of a tattoo shop just outside of Richmond, Va. Watch Shannon Lucas’ Black Dahlia Murder Exit Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/the-black-dahlia-murder-lead-guitarist-ryan-knight-talks-metal-new-record-at-orion/” title=”Next: Black Dahlia Murder’s Ryan Knight Talks Metal” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: a-good-dude-, a-grind-project, a-kid-named, a-lineup-change, a-little-while, band, black, business, life, replacement, shannon-lucas, the black dahlia murder, video No Comments »
