“It’s my band, too – I helped start it”: David Ellefson on what he misses about Megadeth
“I’m a s**tty golfer and I can’t surf worth a damn, so I may as well stay on the road and play,” he says.
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David Ellefson has admitted there are things that he misses about being in Megadeth. Ellefson was famously ejected from Megadeth in 2021 following inappropriate online relations with a fan.
In a new interview with The Metal Voice conducted at this year’s NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, Ellefson is asked if Dave Mustaine has reached out to him since he departed the band.
“No. No, absolutely not. No, he has not reached out,” he said.
However, he did say that he missed being part of Megadeth. “I mean, look, it’s my band too. I helped start it. But let me be clear. There are things about it, of course, that I miss – the fans, the performances, the shows. And I enjoy the touring.”
“I’m a road warrior, man,” he continues. “I’m a wanderlust guy. My fortune in life is out there, not just sitting at home. I’ve tried that, and I get bored after about a month. I’m a shitty golfer and I can’t surf worth a damn, so I may as well stay on the road and play.
“Look, of course, there’s things about that and the big gig and everything, but Megadeth was not always a big gig. We started where everybody else starts; it was small gigs. So I’ve known it from the bottom to the top and everything in between.
“But, honestly, as the tides turn and as things go, I’m super happy and very content with everything I’m doing now. I always say I’m making music I like with people I like. To me, now, at my age, at this point, I’ve already got the Grammy, I’m good. Those are the things that are more important to me now at this point in my life, is enjoying what I do and who I do it with.”
In November, Ellefson admitted that unlike the first time round, he had no “fears” leaving the band in 2021.
“I think one of the fears is ‘What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?’ And honestly, I didn’t have that this time. 20 years ago I did,” he explained. “In 2002 when the group broke up, I was like ‘Oh shit. Now what am I going to do?’”
Meanwhile, Ellefson and fellow ex-Megadeth member Jeff Young recently formed another new band, and have recruited a singer with whom they will be releasing original music.
The two also play in Kings Of Thrash alongside vocalist Chaz Leon and drummer Fred Aching where they perform classic Megadeth tracks, but their new band will see the trio partner up with a new singer to make all-new music.