David Ellefson shared why the European stops in his latest tours, ‘Basstory’ and ‘Bass Warrior,’ stood out compared to those in America during a chat with Canada’s Border City Rock Talk.
“Rock is dead in America — it really is,” the bassist said. “And I know people will lambaste me for saying that, but it is. When [KISS’s] Gene Simmons said it, everybody hated him for it, but he’s right.”
He explained, “Unless you’re an established band, unless you’re Linkin Park and Metallica and KISS and Slayer, whatever, to start a new rock band — kids aren’t into that sh*t. They’re into Facebook and Tesla. Yeah, their lives are on their phones. Being a rock star is not cool anymore, like it was for us growing up. So, if you’ve got it established, you can keep it working.”
“So, for me, I enjoy South America, Latin America, [where] they love rock and roll,” he then added. “Asia, Australia. So, you leave America and, man, rock and roll is very much alive and well. They champion the legacy stuff, they like new stuff. There’s a lot more…”
“I did a record for Napalm Records, and they had a bunch of new groups. Jinjer had just come out. There’s all this cool new stuff, as well as me and K.K. Downing, and legacy artists were putting records out. So, I just find that it’s more supportive. And you look at the statistics, like the Spotify numbers, you look at that globally, outside of America, and it’s just stronger. It’s just a different culture. It is what it is.”
Ellefson announced the ‘Bass Warrior’ trek last month. He’ll be on the road across Europe in 2025 with his solo band to perform a mix of Megadeth classics as well as other rock and metal songs that shaped his four-decade career.
The bassist got fired from his band three years ago after sexual messages and videos of him surfaced on Twitter. He recently returned to the studio with ‘American Idol’ contestant James Durbin for a cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Metal Gods.’ Andy Martongelli produced the track while Alessio Garavello mixed.
