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| Jason Newsted |
Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist. After he left Metallica, he continued with his project Echobrain, played with Ozzy Osbourne and joined heavy metal band Voivod. Newsted uses the pseudonym Jasonic, which serves as both his alias in Voivod and the name of his music publishing company. He is also the founder of the Chophouse Records studio and label based in California.
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.
Following the death of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton in September 1986 on the Europe leg of the Damage Inc. Tour, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 39 other musicians and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. Newsted was often subjected to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. His debut with Metallica was on its extended play The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited. This was followed by his first studio album with the band, ...And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - among other issues, for its murky bass sound. 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. In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar lines to the point of being indiscernible from each other. Nonetheless, the album reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 and projected the band to higher success.
Newsted performed on ...And Justice for All (1988), the self-titled Metallica (1991), which is the best-selling Metallica album to date and made Metallica a world-known band, Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997). The live concerts Live Shit: Binge & Purge and Cunning Stunts were produced in 1993 and 1997 respectively, and S&M in 1999. Newsted also played bass on the song "I Disappear" in 2000.
During his time in Metallica Jason played the bass guitar and also sang backing vocals on numerous Metallica songs. During the tours after 1991 Jason often sang parts of "Creeping Death", "Whiplash" and "Seek and Destroy". He is known for his bass solo which included parts of "My Friend of Misery" and bass parts from his former band, Flotsam & Jetsam.
He has co-written three Metallica songs:
- "Blackened" (...And Justice for All)
- "My Friend of Misery" (Metallica)
- "Where the Wild Things Are" (ReLoad)
Departure from Metallica
During a meeting between Metallica members in January 2001, Newsted, who was unhappy with the direction Metallica was taking, proposed that the band should take a year-long hiatus, and Newsted would use that time to focus on his side-project Echobrain. When the other band members objected, Newsted decided to quit the band. And on January 17, as plans were being made for the band to enter the recording studio for the St. Anger album, Newsted announced his departure. Newsted's 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." 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." 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?".
Newsted says he has never regretted leaving the band. "I tell you very honestly, one 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 it's supposed to be." It was stated in the film Some Kind of Monster that there was a rumor for Newsted to possibly rejoin the band, but it was proven false.
On April 4, 2009, Newsted joined Metallica for its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He also performed three songs at the event, "Master Of Puppets","Enter Sandman", and "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo, and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Ron Wood, and Flea.
In October 2010 it was announced that Newsted would be joining a supergroup with singer Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, guitarist Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, second guitarist Mikko Lindström from HIM, keyboardist Jon Lord from Deep Purple and drummer Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden. The band was called WhoCares and plans to record a new charity single entitled "Out of My Mind".
