Megadeth
The Punishment Due...
2008-01-21
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Dave Mustaine has undergone his fair share of trials over the years. An original member of Metallica, he was fired in 1983 because of his growing addiction to controlled substances (alcohol, and later heroin). Soon after his dismissal, he formed Megadeth, a turbulent group which has undergone almost as many lineup changes as the band has albums. (The latest of these found long-time bassist David Ellefson leaving the group, only to be sued by Mustaine for later using Megadeth’s name to hawk music gear.) After a string of successful singles, Mustaine began to settle into a period of relative stability. However, in 2002 he was diagnosed with radial neuropathy in his left arm, leaving him unable to play guitar. It was during this time that the idea surfaced to form Gigantour, a tour which aimed to give back to his fans who’ve stuck with him throughout the years.
Hey, what’s happening?
Hey bud. Just crawling out of bed. Had a late night trying to get all the pre-production [for Gigantour] done last night.
What was the impetus behind this; what was the inspiration for starting your own tour?
I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and then when my arm got hurt it was kinda like, “well, that’s great.” And then, as I started to learn how to play again, my playing was as good as it was but I learned some crutches. I just try to learn from my mistakes.
I’m not familiar with radial neuropathy at all. Can you briefly tell me what it is and what stresses that puts you under?
Okay, you’ve drank a soda before with a straw. Imagine chewing up the straw, the end of it looks like it’s been mangled. That’s what the nerve looked like because it was compressed and there was no air going to it to feed it. And as the muscle grew back, [one arm] was a little bit disproportionate to the other arm. So I figured, you know what? I’m just going to do the same amount of weight on both arms and just live with it, because I don’t want to look like fucking Popeye. Like a fiddler crab with one really big arm and one little one.
So it’s nothing like carpal tunnel syndrome?
Oh God, I wish it was something like that because this is so unbelievably unglamorous. I fell asleep on it.
So how’s the arm now?
It’s good. You know, it kinda comes and goes sometimes. Sometimes there will be stuff going on that’s out of control and messes with my bipolar manic depression, and I don’t want to take medicine for that, because I don’t want to be a zombie. I’d rather someone walk away and say, “You know, Dave’s an asshole,” until someone says, “Dave’s also a bipolar manic depressive and doesn’t take anything for it and what you saw is real raw emotion.” So it’s not like [speaking in a heavily medicated tone] “Oh, hey…what’s your name? Bob? Oh, you’re living in my house? Oh. What room are you in? My room? My bed? My wife? Oh… okay…” It’s like [suddenly aggressive] “You motherfucker, get the fuck out of here!” [laughs]
You think in the long run people will respect you more for that?
I just treat people the way I want to be treated. As far as having their respect, I could give a shit.
Hey, what’s happening?
Hey bud. Just crawling out of bed. Had a late night trying to get all the pre-production [for Gigantour] done last night.
What was the impetus behind this; what was the inspiration for starting your own tour?
I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and then when my arm got hurt it was kinda like, “well, that’s great.” And then, as I started to learn how to play again, my playing was as good as it was but I learned some crutches. I just try to learn from my mistakes.
I’m not familiar with radial neuropathy at all. Can you briefly tell me what it is and what stresses that puts you under?
Okay, you’ve drank a soda before with a straw. Imagine chewing up the straw, the end of it looks like it’s been mangled. That’s what the nerve looked like because it was compressed and there was no air going to it to feed it. And as the muscle grew back, [one arm] was a little bit disproportionate to the other arm. So I figured, you know what? I’m just going to do the same amount of weight on both arms and just live with it, because I don’t want to look like fucking Popeye. Like a fiddler crab with one really big arm and one little one.
So it’s nothing like carpal tunnel syndrome?
Oh God, I wish it was something like that because this is so unbelievably unglamorous. I fell asleep on it.
So how’s the arm now?
It’s good. You know, it kinda comes and goes sometimes. Sometimes there will be stuff going on that’s out of control and messes with my bipolar manic depression, and I don’t want to take medicine for that, because I don’t want to be a zombie. I’d rather someone walk away and say, “You know, Dave’s an asshole,” until someone says, “Dave’s also a bipolar manic depressive and doesn’t take anything for it and what you saw is real raw emotion.” So it’s not like [speaking in a heavily medicated tone] “Oh, hey…what’s your name? Bob? Oh, you’re living in my house? Oh. What room are you in? My room? My bed? My wife? Oh… okay…” It’s like [suddenly aggressive] “You motherfucker, get the fuck out of here!” [laughs]
You think in the long run people will respect you more for that?
I just treat people the way I want to be treated. As far as having their respect, I could give a shit.
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