Dave Mustaine was homeless
During a recent appearance on “That Metal Interview Podcast,” former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson reflected on the early days of the band and the struggles faced by both him and frontman Dave Mustaine, who also played in Metallica.
Speaking about how much the music industry has changed since Megadeth was formed in the 1980s, Ellefson said:
“I got in under the wire. I got in when there was still an opportunity to have a career, make a living, basically pay for your life so you can keep making more music. For me, that was the goal. It wasn’t just to acquire a bunch of toys and then retire. It was, like, no, this is what you do.”
“And so I’ve tried to be a good steward of the money I’ve made and the things so that I can pay the bills and not have to stress,” he continued. “‘Cause believe me, me and Dave [Mustaine], we were homeless in those early years. Man, that was rough. And I never called home for money. I said, like, ‘I’ve gotta make this on my own, man.’ And by doing that, it makes me appreciate.”
Ellefson and Mustaine learned from struggles
Ellefson went on to explain how these experiences taught him how to value his musical career.
“It’s the old saying, you know the price of everything but the value of nothing,” he said. “And I think by going through what we went through, putting Megadeth together and then starting all these new bands, ’cause you all start from the beginning, you start at the beginning, you appreciate the value of it.
“And that’s why I think I appreciate the value of camaraderie, the value of when you have real musical companionship with people, and the value of when you put something out and it connects with people and you feel that it’s connecting, that you really feel like we’re building a community here with what we’re doing.”
