Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Responds to Being Called an ‘A–hole’
Dave Mustaine has spoken out on being called an "a--hole," telling Ultimate Guitar he's just a really honest person who tells it like it is.
"I look at it like this -- the ultimate form of revenge is to speak the truth and I try to be really honest in what I do, how I play, and who I work with," he explains. "I don't lead people on. If I don't like you, you're going to know it. I think that's one of the things that the music business really needs -- someone who will shoot straight."
He adds, "We don't all need a participation trophy. There's a first place and everyone else is last place. You know what I mean? When I was a kid, if I would have signed up for little league just to get a trophy like everyone else does, I wouldn't have done it. I think a lot of it comes from what is the award for achievement for things that we do."
When discussing the dynamic within bands the Megadeth frontman gives a lesson on something he calls "the dreaded four P's."
"Some people want fame, some people want fortune," Mustaine says. "All bands have ever broken up over power, property, prestige or p--sy -- the dreaded four P's. You can't get away from it. It's just how it is."
And, like so many musicians have over the years, he talked about the uncomfortable truth in the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, specifically how much of a reality it is to so many acts in the industry.
"A band is together for a while and it’s just like that movie Spinal Tap," he says. "People say that’s a comedy and I love the comedic value of it but the bummer is how true to life it is. There are so many things that happen in that movie that happen every day and it's not funny if it's happening to you but when it’s happening to somebody else, it's hilarious.
"Like where they say, 'We're going to do 'Spinal Tap Mach 2'' or, 'We're going to have a make-over' or, 'There's somebody already in the organization' - all these things, we've experienced all those things [in Megadeth]," Mustaine continues. "The label tried to change our logo, they tried to change our music, and then we had a band member's wife try to get into managing us. 'Spinal Tap' lives. Every day."
Megadeth are currently gearing up for a run in a rare opening slot for German hard rock legends Scorpions in a tour which will kick off next month. The metal titans will also be mixing in some headlining shows on off days in support of their latest effort, Dystopia. The full list of dates can be found here.
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