So you’ve read on TG that Jason Newsted, long time bassist for Metallica, is back from his years in the wilderness with his new band, named (take a guess)…Newsted.
Several of his new tunes got out online, including Soldierhead, and his new band’s definitely got potential. So now that Jason’s out promoting Newsted the band, Metallica’s of course sure to come up, and Jason’s been frequently looking back at his time in the band, including the time he reunited with them at their 30th anniversary show.
Blabbermouth reports that when Newsted got the call about the 30th anniversary show, “I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I was overwhelmed by the positive vibe from people. I heard my name in all kinds of dialects and accents…I had an epiphany, looked over the crowd and said, ‘I’m going to try this one more time.’ That’s why we’re where we are now because Lars gave me a call and asked me to jam again.”
In Newsted, Jason’s also playing guitar, which he said is “exciting and terrifying at the same time.” As far as being in charge of his own band again, Newsted said, “I’m not taking anything for granted. This is like a rebirth. I’m doing this because I wanna do it. It’s hard for people to fathom it, but it’s more valuable to have control of my time than to be in the biggest band in the world.”
And indeed, although Newsted currently doesn’t look back on his Metallica years with any bitterness, it was hard for him to go from being in charge of his own band with Flotsam and Jetsam, to have far less control over everything. While a lot of people would have no problem submerging themselves for the greater good of a huge band for big money, Newsted clearly loves running his own show these days, even if it means he’ll never have the heights of success he enjoyed in Metallica.
As Jason himself put it, “Having the freedom to be with the people you love, do the music you want and live the life you wanna only, [to] only do what you want to do when you want to do it, it’s worth more than all the money that’s ever been printed. That’s the bottom line.”
