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With people just ripping and ripping and ripping stuff, we live in a generation that looks at getting songs over the Internet for free. There are people who respect bands and pay but there's a whole generation that doesn't pay. Once you embrace that and you're okay with the idea of records being calling cards then you make a great record, you go out and tour and you give people what they want. -Dave Mustaine |
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I Don't Play To Win, I Play For Blood
In just the opening minutes of any Megadeth show, one picks up on the feeling that there's nowhere Mustaine is happier than onstage causing a roiling crowd of fist-pumpers to lose their minds.
Dave Mustaine
"I'd say that's probably pretty true. There is one place I'm happier and that's being with my family, and family is tough. There's ups and downs but that's the beauty of relationships and the beauty of going out on the road. You get to come home and bring your belt of shrunken heads you've gotten to present to your tribal queen [laughs]. Being a daddy has made me appreciate how complicated their little lives and their little minds are. People thought that when I got married and had kids I was going to get weak. Well, my wife used to kickbox and my son takes martial arts, so I think the family that beats people's asses together stays together," chuckles Mustaine.
Even a casual look at Megadeth's artwork on their albums, t-shirts, website, etc. reveals an intricate, well thought out landscape. This type of big conceptual scale is a major but often unspoken factor in metal's tribe building. There's an iconography and imagery that creates distinctive worlds that help build a community around these bands.
"It's a facet that's overlooked by most bands because they don't work closely with their merchandise line. I don't think they realize what they can create internally for fans. It's another layer to the music, and with the industry imploding – and I try not to gloat about many of these record companies getting what they have coming to them – ultimately, we don't have a lot of places to generate revenue anymore outside of the live arena," Mustaine says. "With people just ripping and ripping and ripping stuff, we live in a generation that looks at getting songs over the Internet for free. There are people who respect bands and pay but there's a whole generation that doesn't pay. Once you embrace that and you're okay with the idea of records being calling cards then you make a great record, you go out and tour and you give people what they want. We have a great new guitar player right now [Chris Broderick] and we're doing fantastic. It was almost like falling upward when [guitarist] Glen Drover quit. It's almost like more than new blood, we were on a dialysis machine and just had a bunch of veins replaced, too [laughs]."
The intimacy Megadeth has with their listeners may surprise some people. Like many metal acts, there's a closeness with fans that those outside the genre are almost entirely unaware of.
"It's almost an inside joke. No, that's not right. Maybe it's more like a secret handshake. My dad was a Mason, and it's a very secret club and a lot of these fans are incredulous when you say, 'If you leave a message for Dave on his Live Line number he'll hear it.' And that's true of the whole band. In April when we launch the new Live Line we'll also start responding to these messages. The thing with this band, in particular, is we've always been very interactive with our fans. We were one of the first bands to have a website," says Mustaine. "At the end of the day, if I didn't take care of myself there's not a lot of people that would do it for me. You have a working relationship with people you trust like the Eagle's Nest, my management company, but there's other people who will say they're working for you but really they're just highly skilled liars. They could give a shit about you. In the end, if you have a great band and you make great records and play great live, that's all you need to do. The fans will respond. If you honor God, take care of your family, get out on the road and don't be a dick then people will know about you and want to come and see you."
JamBase | Ground Zero
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