Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted reacted to his former bandmates collaborating with Lady Gaga for a performance at the Grammys in a new Metal Injection interview, and what he thought about the technical issues.
“I think that doubting Metallica ever is not really that smart any time, for whatever reason. They keep getting up again and getting ready for another fight, you know. It’s pretty impressive. I’ve been out of it, in, back, inside of it and whatever, man! (laughs) I’ve seen it from all places. And it’s nothing but respectable. So, yes I did see the performance. Yes I watched them as their brother. I watched them as a supporting spectator person that’s in the camp, you know. So, it’s like, as a fan, and that thing, I was really pissed off at how… the disrespect because of the equipment. And the, you know, the best performers that night, James Hetfield, got the shit tech with that microphone, I could have killed a motherfucker. That’s not OK with me. That shit’s not OK with me.
But, for them taking a chance, just like they have with anything, whether we agreed with it or not, that’s not like for us to say. If they want to take that chance with somebody that’s as talented and powerful as Lady Gaga, then they should be doing it. They are the same caliber she is, on the same page. She was lucky to be there with them. You know? I mean, the ultimate thing, like — we could discuss this, and all, “bla bla bla bla”, but the victory — and that’s maybe our theme for today — the victory of that performance, was that, because the gear failed, James and [Lady Gaga], they were able to rise to a place as the experienced, superstar performers that they are. Feed off each other on that moment, forced in to that moment, and made it into a more powerful performance that they couldn’t have planned if they rehearsed it twenty fucking times. They rose to the occasion, they pushed each other to a further place than they would’ve ever [gone] on their own. It was fantastic.”
He also said, “I think that was a huge, huge, huge shining crown that came out of that. It showed what the people are made of. You know? A large percentage of the persons in that room there, performers, would have been in a puddle on the floor when that shit was presented to them, when that adversity was presented to them.”
