Interesting Facts

Interesting Facts

Dave Mustaine has gone to rehab 15 times

When covering the song "no more mister nice guy" by Alice Cooper, Dave was to high on heroin to record the vocals and guitar at the same time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAfeCViJEK0

Dave Legally made Alice Cooper his god father.

Mustaine had a condition called 'Saturday Night Palsy' which is damage to the tendon that runs up the forearm, this condition causes the afflicted person to be unable to move his or her hand.

Dave has reconciled with all the surviving members of Metallica, and has played live several times with the band.

Dave is huge into politics, for a short time he hosted a show on MTV(when MTV was still good) that focused on political issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyQw1uZsMk8

Mustaine has studied many forms of martial arts and has a black belt in several of them.
Dave "invented" or popularized the "Spider Chord." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-twpY_XQyg
Dave Starred in an episode of the children's TV show Duck Dodgers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYcg6LWad4c
The bands name Megadeth came from a the word Megadeath (or Megacorpse). A term used for one million deaths by nuclear explosions.
Mustaine's heart stopped for several minutes, paramedics pronounced him legally dead.
Most of Megadeth's album 'Countdown to Extinction' was written while playing basket ball behind the record studio.

My impression

Impression

Being a a fan of hard rock and heavy metal as well as being a musician, Dave Mustaine has been a huge influence on my musical development. If you like to learn about musical icons, or just people in general, I definitely recommend this book. The stories you will read and the people you will read about in Mustaine will occupy your time and mind for at least a small while. I personally loved this book, it was an eye opener into life of a metal artist who always looked stable

Background Information

Background Info

"What do you do when you're a lonely kid, a boy surrounded by women, with no father or even a father figure?" Dave was born to Emily and John Mustaine in 1961. Along with three sisters they lived in La Mesa California. Emily, the quintessential stay at home wife and mother, John an accountant. However like every family they had their dark side. John was an abusive alcoholic. Not long after Dave's Birth, Emily left John. It was not as simple as leaving however; the years following Dave, his mother and three sisters would move from house to house and city to city to avoid John. This did not stop Dave from being a relatively normal child, he went to school and played sports like a normal child. On several occasions however was suspended, expelled, or removed from both for aggressive behavior. The aggression was not a phase however and followed Dave into his teen and adult years.

 
"Regrets, I've had a few..." A quote from Sid Vicious, bassist of the Sex pistols. In Mustaine, Dave uses this to describe his time with Metallica, and his first experiences in the music industry. At the age of seventeen Dave met a "small Danish boy" at a concert in Los Angeles (by small he means height). The small Danish boy was named Lars Ulrich. A new arrival to the United States, Lars came bearing music from Europe. Dave and Lars Became fast friends and started sharing music and teaching each other songs they knew. Along with Dave, Lars had met James Hetfield, the three were like brothers. This was the formation of three-quarters of Metallica. Along with the good times came bad, one incident in particular may have been the last straw for Dave in Metallica. The incident involved Dave and Hetfield, Just before leaving to New York in hopes to find a record deal. Both had been drinking, Dave's Dog jumped on the fender of James' car and scratched the paint. Hetfield kicked the dog which incited Dave to swing at James. The next day, with tensions still high, Dave was kicked out of Metallica. This is just one of many drunken disputes that occurred between Dave and the other members.

"Dude, if you want to be a great musician, you have to try heroin. you'll see. it's like being back in the womb..." On his way back to San Fransisco, Dave had it already set in his mind that he was going to form a band that would outshine Metallica, He already had a name in mind. Megadeth. He just needed to find the right people to fill in the gaps. A few days after arriving back in California fate struck when Dave met David. David Ellefson, a    boy from Kansas who moved to California to learn music. David brought a friend with him, Chris Poland, a fellow guitar player. Dave took them both under his wing. Now with a bass player and another guitar player all they needed was a drummer, and Chris Poland knew exactly where to look. Gar Samuelson, a jazz drummer, was the best fit for the group.

     "Come, come, come my little droogies. I just don't get this at all. The old days are dead and gone. For what I did in the past, I've been punished." After the original line up, Megadeth became a revolving door for musicians, other than Dave and David there has been no other constant members. Meanwhile Dave's drug and alcohol use spiraled out of control. having been to rehab several times, never getting completely sober. the day came when Dave burnt out. he had gone to hard to fast. his heart literally stopped. sitting in a hospital bed, Dave re-evaluated his life. he decided he needed to change. he chose to make ammends and show his true feeling to his old friend. Lars. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6yT3hUWRHo (warning video contains coarse language. viewer discretion is advised.) 

Summary

Summary

"I'm tired of the tour, I'm tired of Megadeth, I'm not having any fun... and you don't want me to drink, so I'm taking Valium instead!" words that almost ended one of the biggest bands in Thrash Metal history. Mustaine goes into elaborate detail in the life of lead singer and guitarist of Megadeth, Dave Mustaine. It follows his beginnings in life and in the music industry. from his rise with the power group Metallica, to his many rehab stints and the rapid success of Megadeth.

His childhood was spent bouncing form home to home,trying to avoid his. Not much really changed as he grew older. he continued to move from home to home but also from band to band. Starting several bands and joining many more, Dave cemented his career as a musician from the age of fourteen. At age seventeen he met Lars Ulrich, Drummer of Metallica. (Metallica performance with Dave Mustaine) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaY0g6Rmo0g

With Metallica, Dave produced a new sound. The loudest, fastest, heaviest, rawest sound the music industry had heard in a long while. this style was dubbed Thrash Metal. Due to it's intense speed, ripping solos, earsplitting volumes, and uncanny ability to make concert goers thrash in the "pit". Shortly after joining however Dave was kicked out of Metallica, or "Alcoholica" as critics called them, for destructive behavior. After being removed from Metallica, Dave went on to make his current band; Megadeth. His primary goal with Megadeth, play better, faster, and heavier than Metallica.