We all know Jason Newsted for his remarkable career in Metallica, but he also pursued other ventures after his departure from the band. He now looks back on his career and compares working with a band with being a solo artist. Joining the Jason & Franny Show, Newsted detailed his thoughts about this comparison while giving insight into his tenure with Metallica.
After Cliff Burton’s tragic loss, Metallica started to look for a bassist to fill his shoes. Although he was playing with Flotsam And Jetsam, Jason Newsted decided to give it a shot and auditioned for the band. The musician was last in the line, but he got the job. Despite all his success with Metallica, Newsted decided to focus on his side project, Echobrain. However, this resulted in tension as the band wasn’t fond of members who didn’t commit fully to Metallica.
In the end, Jason Newsted left Metallica in 2001, leaving his place to Robert Trujillo. The bassist released three albums with Echobrain and departed in 2004. Apart from his tenure with Echobrain, Jason played with Voivod, Ozzy Osbourne, Rock Star Supernova, and WhoCares, a supergroup founded by Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi. He also formed his own bands, Newsted and Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band. Despite his departure, he remained close with Metallica members.
So, Newsted had a chance to experience both being a solo artist and a career as a band member. During a recent chat, the bassist talked about the artists he listened to while painting. This reminded him of the common thread of painting and making music — wanting to have someone acknowledge one’s work. He then said band members share this feeling and the glory and grief with their bandmates, but solo artists should deal with everything on their own, even if they fail.
Jason Newsted shared his insights about being a solo artist and playing in a band:
“I think that both Niki and I have certain favorites, and our playlists sometimes become even redundant. She does Pink Floyd a lot, Alice In Chains, and these kinds of things. I listen to a lot of Cypress Hill, Sepultura, and Coltrane, and mix it up as much as possible —I still listen to CDs, yes— and let it go and spin on random, but always feeding off that stream of consciousness very much so and letting that feed into it.
Often lyrics find their way into the paintings, and the common thread is that it’s the same energy, the same person you’re creating something for to share with someone. You want to be able to have someone acknowledge you for what you did when you’re painting, playing music, or whatever. So, those are common threads. But in a band, you are in a group; you’re on a team.
So you take, share the glory, and share the grief with others. When you’re an artist, you’re mostly solo, so you take the last shot. You get the shot, but if you miss it, you’ve got that too. I say you get to take all the glory yourself, but you also got to deal with all the sh*t if it happens.”
So, Jason Newsted argues that being in a band takes lots of responsibility off one’s shoulders and gives one freedom. As everyone has their own role to play, playing with a band is relatively easier than going solo. It’s safe to say that the bassist implies he had much less responsibility while in Metallica, but embarking on a solo career put him under greater pressure.
