There’s no doubt that Aerosmith and Megadeth are two of the most outstanding bands in rock and metal history with millions of fans who have high expectations from both of these legendary bands. That’s why they were thrilled to hear that Megadeth was going to be the opening act for Aerosmith’s ‘Get a Grip Tour’ back in 1993, however, it ended up being a disaster after a few shows including Megadeth being fired from the tour.
After releasing their 11th studio album, ‘Get a Grip’ on April 20, 1993, which was the band’s best-selling studio album worldwide after achieving sales of over 20 million copies, Aerosmith hit the road under the name of ‘Get a Grip Tour’ that lasted over 18 months, from early June 1993 to mid-December 1994. By the end of the tour, the album had sold twelve million records worldwide, charted four Top 40 hits, and won countless awards including two Grammy Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, and more.
Opening acts on the tour included numerous bands including Cry of Love, Soul Asylum, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, and many more. Despite having countless incredible artists, it was Megadeth who made the headlines during the tour since the band was fired by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler after a few shows mainly because of Dave Mustaine’s behaviors and statements about Aerosmith. Let’s break down the story of how the two legendary bands turned their back against each other only after a few dates together.
Steven Tyler Fired Megadeth From The Tour
Megadeth was the opening act for Aerosmith’s first shows in June, performing on only three shows before being fired by the frontman Steven Tyler due to Dave Mustaine’s actions and bold statements about the band while touring with them in which he looked down on Aerosmith as well as making fun of them.
Megadeth initially was supposed to perform 25 shows with Aerosmith, however, when the band overheard Dave Mustaine talking poorly of Aerosmith in a radio interview, stating that it’s most likely the band’s last time touring and it should’ve been them who’s headlining the show, Steven Tyler took the matter in his hands and fired the band on July 17.
In addition to this, a spokesman close to Aerosmith revealed that the main problem with Dave Mustaine was that he was upset about Aerosmith members being distanced from Megadeth members. Apparently, the frontman was whining all the time about how Tyler and other members of the band weren’t hanging out with them, as a result, his actions got him and his band fired from a prestigious tour.
What Did David Ellefson Say About Being Fired?
Megadeth bassist David Ellefson looked back on Megadeth’s brief tenure with Aerosmith’s 1993 tour during an appearance on Waste Some Time With Jason Green on March 26, and according to Ellefson, the main problem with his bandmate Dave Mustaine was the timing as he was in a transition when it comes to his sobriety.
In addition to this, Ellefson stated that the band’s managers thought it would be a great idea to combine newly sober Megadeth with Aerosmith whose members have been sober for the last four years at the time, however, Dave Mustaine wasn’t happy at the time and his mental status didn’t add up to his music which caused his irrational actions back then.
During a recent interview, Ellefson said:
“That was an interesting sobriety transition around that too. And of course, Aerosmith guys were sober at that time – about four years – and Steven Tyler came into the dressing room and was very gracious. He goes, ‘Guys, what’s up? What’s the problem?’ And Dave kind of laid out his grievances about soundcheck and backdrop, and all these other normal production stuff we would normally get on a regular tour.
And I thought it was commendable that Steven would at least make the effort to do it, and you know, it didn’t change anything really because nothing changed out on the deck. And at that point, Dave was not happy being there, and it was a very odd mix of a tour.
Our managers were trying to work that out, like, ‘Hey, let’s get Megadeth on a sober tour to keep the band clean.’ It was a lot of that. And again, I will say as much as I live a sober lifestyle, making decisions, especially in business only based on sobriety, not always the best idea. There’s a lot that goes with it, especially with music.”
You can watch the whole interview below.
