Dave Ellefson - New Life for Megadeth

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RG HOME"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>  </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> --------------------------</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id179.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 42"><U><B>WHY SHOULD THE DEVIL HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC?</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>--------------------------</B></div> <div> **********************</div> <div> <A HREF="id182.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dave Ellefson"><U><B>BACK TO DAVE </B></U></A><A HREF="id182.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dave Ellefson"><U><B>ELLEFSON</B></U></A></div> <div> **********************</div> <div> <B>--------------------------</B></div> <div> <B><U>INDEX</U></B></div> <div> <B>  </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> --------------------------</B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><U>WHY SHOULD THE DEVIL HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC</U></B></div> <div> <B><U>DAVE ELLEFSON - MEGADETH</U></B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#262626" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <IMG SRC="38553550.jpg" border=0 width="339" height="85" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Dave Ellefson - New Life for Megadeth<I> </I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="42dd92d0.jpg" border=0 width="217" height="301" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Interview by</div> <div> Christian-Musician-Magazine</div> <div> Edition September / October-2010</div> <bR> <div> <I>A few years ago we interviewed David Ellefson and heard about how he had left Megadeth and started a local worship ministry called Megalife. As that new venture was maturing and David was spending his time in other music related pursuits,  a call came in from an unexpected source. That led to a chain reaction that has spiritual significance as well as a musical resurgence. But let's let David tell the story...</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>CM: </B><B>Last time we interviewed you, the MEGA Life! Worship ministry was doing its thing in your home church in Phoenix. Can you let us into your thought process when the opportunity to rejoin Megadeth came around and what where some of the deciding factors?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DAVE:</B> In my eight years away from Megadeth, I seized the moment to branch out into many new artistic opportunities, all of which really helped me grow as an artist, a musician and as a person.  Initially, I got calls to tour with some big rock and roll artists, but first and foremost, I really wanted to have time at home with my wife and two children, and I knew that wouldn't happen if I was on the road for someone else all the time. I feared waking up one day and finding my kids were off to college, I'd be 50 years old, and would have missed their whole childhood.</div> <bR> <div> So instead, I put together several rock bands, played on a bunch of different records, and did Artist Relations work for Peavey Electronics Corporation, all based out of my home in Arizona. Another thing I really wanted to do in my time away from Megadeth was develop music as it tied into my Christian walk. I had co-written a few tunes that ended up on the CCLI registry. “I'm Free” was the first I wrote with a Praise leader, Jonathan Foster, from my former home church of Scottsdale Family Church back in 1999. </div> <bR> <div> A few years later, my family took up membership at Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church in Scottsdale and my children went to school there for their Pre-K through elementary years. I was raised Lutheran, so I still had my “rite of passage” back to the congregation with my confirmation card from when I was a teenager (Ha!). During this time I was asked to become an Elder, and shortly thereafter, our new Pastor Jon Bjorgaard asked if I would help create a new Worship service with him, which he wanted to call MEGA Life!, based on John 10:10.</div> <bR> <div> This was a huge time of growth for me. As the worship leader and co-founder of the MEGA Life! Ministries, I held a part-time position with the church and that enabled me to participate in the weekly staff Bible studies. Those studies groomed me in huge ways. They gave me the chance to ask questions to the clergy as I read and studied the Word. I had just finished my Bachelor's degree in marketing around this time and began to read the Bible cover to cover anyway, something I had never done before. </div> <bR> <div> So, fast-forward to February of 2010, when the call came to me to re-join Megadeth. Some Christians and church folk may ask “How can you go back to Megadeth after being a worship leader?” A fair question, indeed! </div> <bR> <div> So here is what I came to. I had been in Megadeth as a co-founding member since I was 18 years old. I grew up there and had been given a good life as a result. I got sober in 1990, at 25 years of age, and that brought me back to a renewed Christian walk that I had as a kid growing up in the Lutheran church. So there I was, all those years playing in Megadeth but being groomed spiritually behind the scenes. </div> <bR> <div> When Megadeth disbanded in 2002, I intuitively knew God was doing for me (and probably all of us!) what I couldn't do for myself, which was to pull me out of a day-to-day life on the road in a band as I had known it, so that I could experience some new facets of life. One of those facets was my faith and how music would become part of that development with Christ. I truly believe that it was God's time to move me, and seemingly all of us, off the Megadeth campus and into some new opportunities of growth, something that probably wouldn't have happened if the band kept rolling. </div> <bR> <div> But, as on the one hand, I saw God's hand on the wheel, I was also scared as I hadn't done anything other than be in a rock band for my entire adult life up to that point. As a result, there were legal disputes during the disbanding, which were very negative, and damaged relationships between certain members of the group. I quickly learned my errors as I read passages like 1 Corinthians 6, and was able to clear those matters with scriptural help a couple years later. </div> <bR> <div> So, I clearly see the invitation to return back to Megadeth as God's timing, not mine. I view it as a way to finally clear the past once and for all, to mend fences and show the world that even a messy situation like a rock and roll band's demise could be made right through Christ. I also see that in many ways, my return to the band probably has more to do with what my faith should be, which is forgiveness and glorifying Jesus in all that I do, even if that means going outside the church (and my own hometown ministry) to make things right during this particular season of my life. It's a chance to be on a different stage and to be serving while doing it.  </div> <bR> <div> Through this process, I came to the realization that being a “worship leader” doesn't just have to happen on a church stage Sunday morning while playing Christian songs for people who may already believe in Jesus. It can, and should, happen in all that we do, no matter where and with whom we do it. That is the `Great Commission.' I've also come to realize that all things created in this world are done so by the Lord in and through us, that we are just vessels for His creativity anyway. So we don't have to be afraid of the mainstream music setting. Even on a rock and roll stage, God can still be present if we bring Him there with us.</div> <bR> <div> Now, while we don't stand on the Megadeth stage and preach the Gospel every night as part of our show, we do pray for the Holy Spirit to flow and reveal Himself through us and our music in a way that may reach people who may never set foot in a church or know the freedom of a Christian life. To see us set right by God can be a good example of a different way of life. To me, it's about attraction and not promotion, because I know that's what hooked me. Christianity looked appealing to me through my interests, that of music. So maybe, just maybe, we can be a portal to Christ in some way. As it was said, “Preach the Gospel always, sometimes you may even have to use words!” </div> <bR> <div> While I wouldn't consider Megadeth to be a “Christian band,” we are a band made up of Christians. While we don't write and sing Christian songs, some of us do spend time in prayer, the Living Word, and find creative ways to either attend church on the road or take advantage of media ministries like Joyce Meyer, delivered to us on our laptops while we travel. To me, that is a band of Christians! </div> <bR> <div> Ironically, the MEGA Life! Ministries is also undergoing a major growth spurt right now. For me, I see a vehicle like Megadeth being closely linked in effect to the MEGA Life! Ministries. In fact, one wouldn't exist without the other at this point. It's all a matter of how we use our gifts to glorify God. Looking back over these past few months, I'm amazed at how the Lord has mended fences, restored natural order, and through it all brought others forward to serve for His kingdom. </div> <bR> <div> Now more than ever, I find it crucial to be anchored into my home church and fellowship, to whom I am accountable. This year I've transitioned out of being the primary MEGA Life! worship leader, now that I'm on the road a lot. However, this has helped with a spirit of rotation in our ministry, as I was able to bring in a friend of mine to be the music leader now. I think that is crucial at churches to not hog the service commitments and allow others to have those opportunities, too. I don't want to be the `rock star' in church! </div> <bR> <div> I am still on the Elder board, I remain active in the ministry, and this new job transition back to Megadeth is presenting new opportunities for me to serve in other ways besides just musically. For me, that is part of my maturity in that I can now be active in other sides of ministry besides just musically. Most importantly, I have an opportunity to make the Christian walk be attractive to many outside the church, something that the anchor of MEGA Life! is looking to provide with online portals like its website, Facebook page, etc. Social media is starting to be huge for Christians to find fellowship. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>CM: Wow, it is really something to see what is in play here. I know you say you don't preach the gospel from the stage every night but in New York last week, you did tell the crowd that you are a Christian. How do you approach that announcement in that type of setting?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DAVE:</B> Being open about your faith will put responsibility and accountability on you. But, in many ways that is good for us believers, to really “walk the walk,” not just “talk the talk.” </div> <bR> <div> Christianity wasn't very popular in mainstream music when I was a kid because of the witch burning approach that so many churches used against the sinners. I don't run around and bash people over the head with a Bible, because I remember people trying to do that to me years ago and I just rebelled against them. To me, performing and emitting true joy from the stage and in all that I do is the best example of my Christian beliefs. Show them, don't tell them! </div> <bR> <div> I've said for many years that I've always been a Christian musician, even though I don't always play Christian music. I think it's okay to live in the world and enjoy the activities and fun things God has placed here for us to partake in, so long as our convictions aren't compromised in the process. I view it as being `in the world, but not of the world,' and not conforming to the world's benchmarks, as expressed in Romans 12:2. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>CM: Right on. I do see that when you play. Switching gears a bit, what is your current set-up equipment wise for this tour?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DAVE:</B> The main thrust of my return back to Megadeth was embarking on the 20th Anniversary “Rust In Peace” tour, which celebrated one of our landmark `fan-favorite' albums released in 1990. I really wanted to display the look and the sound of that era all the way down to the instruments, amps, even the stage set and certain clothing. So, after trying many bass and amp options, I settled on the Jackson Concert basses (four and five string versions) and the new Hartke amps and cabs (LH1000 heads & HyDrive 810 cabinets), which were the brands I used in back in the original “Rust In Peace” era. </div> <bR> <div> I have a new signature set of SIT Strings (David Ellefson POWERWOUND Nickel Bass) and still use .80 Jim Dunlop Tortex picks and Shure wireless systems. My only effect pedal is a Digitech stereo chorus for a couple solo moments in the show.  We use in-ear monitoring with Sennheiser transmitters and Shure vocal microphones. Other than that, my signal is really simple and straightforward. I like to know that if there were a problem onstage I could plug my bass straight into the amp or direct box with a cable and the show would go on. </div> <bR> <div> Looking back on it, it's kind of funny how our Thrash era of music has actually made musical instrument and amplifier manufacturers finally design products to the standards we created years ago. The genre's influence has been huge on so many young players. Plus, Guitar Hero and Rock Band games have introduced our music to a whole new generation who will inevitably be tomorrow's musicians. For a movement that started out so young, loud and angry, we actually made some valuable contributions to the world after all! </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>CM: What is the next step for Megadeth? Are you and Dave writing new songs for an album? If so, to what extent will your beliefs/world views inform this record?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DAVE:</B> We are writing and cataloging new ideas while we tour. The process is usually just that; get the creative headspace open and let ideas flow. It isn't usually until the band get in the studio with the producer that songs really cement themselves together into compositions. So for now, we are enjoying a creative camaraderie together while we travel, which is a fun thing for us to do in the hours before a show. </div> <bR> <div> As far as future lyrical messages, I'm not sure Megadeth will ever be a band blatantly singing songs of praise to Jesus, nor should it. It's okay to sing songs about various topics outside of just your faith. However, it is very evident to all of us that God has done some huge things in our personal and professional lives this year and that our current success is to His glory. It's humanly and mathematically impossible to go from where we were last year to where we are now, and I think that's the point of grace - to have gratitude for an underserved gift.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> For more information about MEGA Life! Ministries, see their website at <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#A6CAF0" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.megalifeaz.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.megalifeaz.org/"><U>www.megalifeaz.org</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id182.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dave Ellefson"><U>BACK TO DAVE ELLEFSON (click HERE)</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>This article was taken from the following site :</I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.scribd.com/doc/37887658/Christian-Musician-Magazine-SeptemberOctober-2010#fullscreen:on" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.scribd.com/doc/37887658/Chris"><U>http://www.scribd.com/doc/37887658/Christian-Musician-Magazine-SeptemberOctober-2010#fullscreen:on</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> ---------------------------------------------------------</div> <bR> <div>     </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>