| Jason Newsted | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jason Curtis Newsted |
| Also known as | Jasonic |
| Born | March 4, 1964 Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock, alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Bass, Backing Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1982 - on hiatus as of 2006 |
| Label(s) | Metal Blade, Elektra, Chophouse, The End, Surfdog, Epic |
| Associated acts | Metallica, Flotsam and Jetsam, Papa Wheelie, Voivod, Echobrain, Rock Star Supernova, Ozzy Osbourne |
| Website | www.chophouserecords.com |
Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American bassist best known as the former bassist of Metallica. He was also a member of Voivod after leaving Metallica. Newsted was given the alternate "skater" spelling of "Jasyn" during his time in Metallica (much like other members: "Jaymz" & "Larz") as well as the pseudonym Jasonic, which served as both his alias in Voivod and the name of his music publishing company. He is also the founder of the Chophouse Records studio and label based in California.
Contents |
The early part of Newsted's music career had him performing bass for Flotsam and Jetsam and their 1986 album Doomsday for the Deceiver. Newsted wrote the majority of lyrics for the album as well.
Following the death of Cliff Burton in September 1986, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 30 other musicians, and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. However, initiation into the grieving band did not come easy, as Newsted was often subject to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. He debuted on the group's fourth studio album, …And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - namely its lack of identifiable bass. Newsted claims this was further hazing on the part of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, although both Ulrich and Hetfield claim they were also disappointed with the production of the album. In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar melodies to the point of being indiscernable from each other. The album nevertheless reached No. 6 on the Billboard Charts and projected the group to higher success.
In 1991, Metallica released their self-titled album, better known as The Black Album, which would launch Metallica into their greatest level of stardom. After much touring, the group took a long-needed vacation and, when they returned, surprised fans with a new sound in 1996's Load. This was followed by ReLoad, Garage Inc., S&M, and the popular single, "I Disappear" (however, the recorded bassline for "I Disappear" is rumored to have been performed by longtime Metallica Producer and Bassist on their 1st post-Jason album St. Anger Bob Rock and *not* Jason as the band recorded the song while he was on vacation and not available for recording. Unfortunately the single was for the Tentpole summer movie "Mission Impossible II" and the recording session could not be pushed back in time for Jason's return). In 1998 Jason contributed to the album Psyence Fiction by the UK dance outift UNKLE.
In 2000, Newsted co-founded a side project known as Echobrain. They entered a studio in May to rerecord their demos with help from several musicians including Newsted's then-colleague and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, and former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin. The project was funded by Newsted which he later claimed he lost a great deal of money in.[1] The fact that Newsted began to focus his efforts on a side project created tension within Metallica.
As plans were being made to enter the recording studio, Newsted left Metallica on January 17, 2001. His statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." [2] During a Playboy interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica."[3] Newsted countered his statement by citing Hetfield's contributions to other musical outlets. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them," and pondered questions such as, "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?"[3].
The last incarnation of Voivod featured three of the four founding members: Denis Bélanger (aka Snake, vocals), Denis D'Amour (Piggy, guitars), and Michel Langevin (Away, drums) along with Jason Newsted (Jasonic) on bass guitar. Guitarist Denis D'Amour died at the age of 45 on August 26, 2005 due to complications from colon cancer.[4] Their most recent record is Katorz (which is an "alternative" way of writing "quatorze", fourteen in French), released in July 2006. The album is based around riffs found on the laptop of guitarist Denis D'Amour. Just prior to his death, he left instructions for his fellow bandmates on how to use them.
Newsted joined Canadian thrash metal band Voivod in 2002. Coincidentally, he was also Robert Trujillo's (Trujillo being Newsted's replacement in Metallica) replacement in Osbourne's band during Ozzfest 2003, which included Voivod as a Second Stage act. During an MTV interview, both Osbourne and Newsted showed extreme enthusiasm in writing a new album together, with Osbourne comparing Newsted to "a young Geezer Butler." However, this would not come to fruition as Newsted left Osbourne upon finishing tour duties in late 2003.[5][6] He would soon be replaced by Rob Zombie bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson.[7]
Newsted then focused solely on Voivod where, much like Echobrain, the group was funded entirely through him. They recorded two albums before Newsted's participation in Rock Star Supernova, a supergroup created through the reality television series, Rock Star: Supernova, in 2006.
Supernova formed the basis of the second season of the Rock Star television program on CBS in the quest to find a lead singer. The show began online on the Rock Star web site on MSN on Monday, July 3 with an Internet exclusive weekly episode and premiered on CBS on July 5, 2006. Votes were cast via the Rock Star website. On September 13, 2006, Lukas Rossi was crowned the winner.
On October 23, 2006, Newsted was injured while attempting to catch a falling bass amp head. The accident resulted in a torn anterior labrum in his left shoulder and a rotator cuff and biceps tear in the right. He was scheduled for immediate surgery, and underwent a lengthy rehab process. Newsted has been out of the public eye ever since.
| Preceded by Cliff Burton |
Metallica Bassist 1986-2001 |
Succeeded by Robert Trujillo |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||