Jason Newsted says one of the reasons he’s pursuing his acoustic project is because he achieved everything he could in heavy music while he was with Metallica.
He’s happy for bands like Slipknot to take up the mantle – and admits he can’t play “heavier and faster” the way he used to.
He last week unveiled Would And Steal, a duo featuring Rob Tucker, which focuses on classic Americana.
Newsted says in a video, “After 30 years of playing heavy music, I’ve been around the globe about five times. I’ve already climbed that mountain. We got Grammy awards, the Hall Of Fame and all those different things. That’s as far as you can go in that kind of music. It’s someone else’s turn to have fun in that music now.”
He adds, “I can’t play like Slipknot now. Those guys are heavier and faster than I could ever dream of playing now. This is how I can play, and this is what I’ll do for the rest of time.”
Newsted – who’s also worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Voivod, Flotsam And Jetsam, Echobrain and the recent self-titled solo project he shut down in 2014 – says he still plays metal “all the time.”
He adds, “This project happens to be the thing that I want to share with everybody. There’s not a big deal about making money, or competing with anybody else. Whatever happens in our studio now is what we’re trying to share with anybody that gives a crap. If they want to share it, that’s cool. If they don’t, and they only like metal, then peace and more power to you. I’m doing this and that’s what’s good for me. I hope everybody else decides what’s good for them.”
Reflecting on his chosen genre of music, he says, “As I play this, I find myself being able to expose myself to more people. I’d say age four to 94 can listen to this music and enjoy it. How can’t you like Johnny Cash? You have to like those songs, American music like that.”
Newsted will front two acoustic benefit shows for the Little Kids Rock music education charity on August 5th and 6th at Mighty Fine Guitars in California.
additional source: Metal Hammer via teamrock.com
16 Responses
One day, I was in the audience for that Rock Star Game Show, Newsted was one of the judges, Tommy Lee, and Dave Navarro were the others….Dave and Tommy kept getting up, walking off the set, and coming back, I mean, this happened a lot….lol…there was Jason, he sat there pretty much the whole time, no quick “breaks” for him…
: )
As a creative artist, Jason needs to go where his heart tells him to go. And if acoustic, and not metal, is where his heart is at, then I wish him well. Don’t know if this will financially benefit him, but it doesn’t appear he is hurting for money. So, more power to him.
I feel bad for Jason, in that while he was a member of Metallica, he was always the “new” guy. In the eyes of James, Lars, and Kirk, he could never replace Cliff Burton, and I don’t think anybody could have replaced him. But Jason gave his all while a member of Metallica. And I loved the way he joined Metallica on the 30 year anniversary shows wanting to play the fast/heavy stuff.
He may be playing acoustic right now, but I still think Jason is metal. \m/
When I click on “older comments”, nothing happens, so I can’t read them. It’s possible that it’s the computer, but it seems more likely to be the website. Since the launch of the new site, I have had numerous such difficulties. The site looks good, and of course I enjoy the content, but technically it is mediocre, several months in. It reduces my enjoyment of the site and makes it less likely I will visit as often.
Agree with the “older comments” issue – same for me – and also the technically of this new site = Awful. I don’t visit as much either due to it. The previous version of the site performed much better and made more sense to me at least.
It’s the website. The redesign is a miss and technically things are a little wonky. KISS isn’t just a band, it’s also Keep it Simple, Stupid. Less is more.
I’d worry less about what it looked like on mobile, and make it functional for computer users.
Also, said it before. White text on black background is stressful on the eyes to read. it’s not 2002 Geocities guys.
I don’t spend nearly as much time as I used to reading stories. Comments disappear and it’s not intuitive to use.
The 2002 Geocities reference made me laugh out loud. Thanks
I agree. The website update has been bad. I hate to say it.
Since the update, the content is still awesome but the technology aspect makes me feel like a three legged cat trying to bury a turd on a frozen pond, ya got me buddy?
I WAS GOING TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT JASON NEWSTEAD GROWING UP AND MATURING LIKE A NORMAL ADULT REGARDING HIS MUSICAL CHOICE , BUT,…..EDDIE PLEASE FIX YOUR SITE ! I AGREE WITH THE OTHER COMMENTS , IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE- CANT SEE OLDER COMMENTS, IT CANT BE THIS HARD –