Name | Jason Newsted |
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Background | solo_singer |
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Birth name | Jason Curtis Newsted |
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Alias | Jasonic |
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Born | March 04, 1963Battle Creek, Michigan |
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Instrument | Bass, vocals, double bass, guitar, violin, drums |
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Genre | Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock, progressive metal, alternative rock, punk rock |
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Occupation | Musician, songwriter |
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Years active | 1982–present |
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Label | Metal Blade, Elektra, Chophouse, The End, Surfdog |
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Associated acts | Metallica, Flotsam and Jetsam, Papa Wheelie, Voivod, Echobrain, Rock Star Supernova, Ozzy Osbourne, Spastik Children |
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Url | www.chophouserecords.com (defunct) |
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Notable instruments | Sadowsky Vintage Custom BassAlembic BassesRickenbacker 4003}} |
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Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963 in
Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American
bassist known as a former bassist of
Metallica. Joining the band in 1986 after
Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him Metallica's longest-serving bassist. After he left Metallica, he continued with his project
Echobrain, played with
Ozzy Osbourne and joined heavy metal band
Voivod. Newsted uses the pseudonym
Jasonic, which serves 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.
Career
Flotsam & Jetsam
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.
Metallica
Following the death of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton in September 1986 on the Europe leg of the Damage Inc. tour, Metallica began a search for a new bassist. Newsted auditioned for the part along with roughly 39 other musicians and in winning the role, his first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. Newsted was often subjected to pranks and ridicule which increased as time went on. The fans also had a hard time accepting that Cliff Burton had been replaced. He debuted on the group's album . This was followed by his first full-length album with Metallica ...And Justice for All, which was subject to controversy and criticism for its poor production - among other issues, for its murky bass sound. In addition, they claim that most/all of Newsted's bass lines closely followed the rhythm guitar lines to the point of being indiscernible from each other. The album nevertheless reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and projected the group to higher success.
Jason Newsted performed on "...And Justice for All" (1988), the self-titled Black album (1991), which is considered the best selling Metallica album to date and made Metallica a world known band, Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997). The live concerts and Cunning Stunts were produced in 1993 and 1997, and S&M; in 1999. Jason also played bass on the song I Disappear in 2000.
During his time in Metallica Jason played the bass guitar and also sang backing vocals on numerous Metallica songs. During the tours after 1991 Jason often sang parts of Creeping Death, Whiplash and Seek and Destroy. He is known for his bass solo which included parts of My Friend of Misery and bass parts from his former band, Flotsam & Jetsam. In 1993 Jason was forced to cut off his hair because it was destroyed by smoke and stage lighting.
He has co-written three Metallica songs:
"Blackened" (...And Justice For All)
"My Friend of Misery" (Metallica)
"Where the Wild Things Are" (ReLoad)
Departure from Metallica
On January 17, 2001, as plans were being made for the band to enter the recording studio for the
St. Anger album, Newsted announced he had left Metallica. Newsted's 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." 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?".
Newsted says he has never regretted leaving the band. "I tell you very honestly, 1 billion percent, I have never regretted leaving Metallica. It was the right thing for everyone. It was the right thing to do for the camp, that’s it. I’ve never told anyone that I wanted to go back or anything like that, not once. I made up my mind. It was not an easy thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I thought about it very much before I pulled the trigger and because of that, I have never looked back. The past is where its supposed to be.” It was stated in the film Some Kind of Monster that there was a rumor for Newsted to possibly rejoin the band, but it was proven false.
On April 4, 2009, Newsted joined Metallica for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He also performed three songs at the event, "Master Of Puppets","Enter Sandman", and "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo, and Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Ron Wood, and Flea.
Ozzy Osbourne Band
Newsted joined Canadian
thrash metal band
Voivod in 2002. Coincidentally, he was also
Robert Trujillo's replacement in Osbourne's band (having switched sides) 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. He would soon be replaced by
Rob Zombie bassist
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson.
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, , in 2006.
Voivod
The last incarnation of Voivod featured three of the four founding members:
Denis Bélanger (aka Snake, vocals),
Denis D'Amour (aka Piggy, guitars), and
Michel Langevin (aka Away, drums) along with Jason Newsted (aka Jasonic) on bass guitar. Guitarist Denis D'Amour died at the age of 45 on August 26, 2005 due to complications from
colon cancer. 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.
A December 2008 update on Voivod's website noted that Newsted played "all the bass tracks" on their latest album
Infini, which was released on June 23, 2009.
Rock Star Supernova
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, 2006 with an Internet exclusive weekly episode and premiered on CBS on that Wednesday, July 5. Votes were cast via the Rock Star website. On September 13, 2006, Lukas Rossi was crowned the winner.
Shoulder injury
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. During this time he was unable to play, and began to express himself through painting. On January 4, 2007, he was back playing his bass again.
Art career
While recovering from his shoulder injury, Jason found solace through painting. Jason has turned out hundreds of large original works of art over the last half a decade. Jason Newsted says that he went "from making crazy and colorful music to making crazy and colorful paintings." His first gallery show opened on May 4, 2010 at Micaëla Gallery in San Francisco.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
On April 4, 2009, Newsted was present with
Metallica and played with the band alongside current
bassist Robert Trujillo at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland. It was his first performance with the band in nearly 9 years, their last performance together having taken place at the 2000 VH1 Music Awards. Both Newsted and Trujillo performed onstage at the same time, which was a first for the band.
WhoCares
In October 2010 it was announced that Newsted would be joining a
supergroup with singer
Ian Gillan (from
Deep Purple), guitarist
Tony Iommi (From
Black Sabbath), keyboardist
Jon Lord (from Deep Purple) and drummer
Nicko McBrain (from
Iron Maiden). The group, called
WhoCares, plans to record a new charity single entitled "Out Of My Mind".
Equipment
Bass guitars
Aria Pro II SB1000 (originally owned by Cliff Burton, used on the "Master Of Puppets" tour, and now resides in Metallica's current recording studio)
Fender 1958 Precision Bass (recording/studio bass) - Sunburst w/anodized gold pickguard (4-string)
Sadowsky - Black Vintage with Ash body
Sadowsky - Black Vintage (x2)
Sadowsky - PJ - Cherry Sunburst and Caramel Sunburst
Sadowsky - Vintage - Lake Placid Blue (4 string and 5 strings)
Sadowsky - Vintage - Cherry Sunburst
Sadowsky - Black Vintage - 24 Fret (x2)
Alembic - Elan - Converted to Series II electronics - Formerly featured J/P/J pickup configuration (can be seen in this form during the ...And Justice For All tour) - Black (5-string)
Alembic - Europa - Series II electronics - Black (5-, 6- and 10-string)
Alembic - Spoiler - Converted to Series II electronics - Black (4-string)
Alembic - Persuader - Converted to Series II electronics - Black (4-string) - Formerly sporting a clear gloss natural finish and two J-Bass pickups, it was repainted black when Jason sent the bass back to Alembic to have Series II electronics installed; it is erroneously referred to as a Spoiler, though Jason DID have a black Spoiler made for him as well and both basses are nearly identical; the only telltale sign being the location of the bird-shaped bridge.
ESP Horizon Bass - Red (5-string) - Jason added a Metallica logo decal and a decal of the Jump In The Fire demon.
ESP B-1 - Black (4-string)
1981 Spector NS-2 - Black, used in studio only (4-string) - According to Jason, this bass once belonged to Phil Soussan.
Stuart Spector Design JN-4, JN-5, and JN-6 Signature Models - Transparent black satin (4-, 5-, and 6-string) - Extremely rare, modified SD body shape, quilted maple top, piezo pickup option, and red fiber optic side markers. Jason used these basses live from 1994-1995.
Guild acoustic bass
Wal MKII - Black w. Gold hardware (4- & 5-string)
Hamer 12-string bass (used on Wherever I May Roam "and other minor key pick-bass stuff," according to Jason)
Zon Legacy Elite fretless 5-string & Sonus Special 5-string
Rickenbacker 4003 - White (4-string)
Dingwall Voodoo Bass
Effects
Boss Flanger BF-2
MXR Phase 100
Mu-tron III Bass Pedal
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI
Tech 21 XXL overdrive
Korg G-5 Bass Synth Processor
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff
Alesis Midiverb II
BBE Sonic Maximizer
Morley Power Wah Boost
Amplifiers
Mesa/Boogie 1x15 combo
Mesa/Boogie with SWR Heads
Gibson Skylark Guitar amp
Fender Folded Horn 1x18
Ampeg 1974 SVT head
Ampeg SVT cabinets
Ampeg SVT II-Pro (x4)
Ampeg 1980's SVTs
Ampeg SVT 8"x10" pro speaker cabinets
Ampeg ISO Vent 10"x15" speaker cabinets
Ampeg B-15 combo amp
Philanthropy
In 2004, Newsted signed on as an official supporter of
Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the U.S.A. Newsted sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
Discography
;With
Echobrain
Echobrain (2002)
Glean (2004) (writing credit on one song, producer)
;With Flotsam and Jetsam
Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)
No Place for Disgrace (1988) (writing credits on three songs)
;With Gov't Mule
The Deep End, Volume 2 (2002)
The Deepest End, Live in Concert (2003)
;With IR8/Sexoturica
IR8 vs. Sexoturica (2002)
;With Metallica
Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
...And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica (1991)
(1993)
Load (1996)
ReLoad (1997)
Garage Inc. (1998)
S&M; (1999)
I Disappear [single] (2000)
Six Feet Down Under (2010)
;With Moss Brothers
Electricitation (2001)
;With Papa Wheelie
Unipsycho (2002)
Live Lycanthropy (2003)
;With Rock Star Supernova
Rock Star Supernova (2006)
;With Sepultura
Against (1998) (Hatred Aside)
;With Unkle
Psyence Fiction (1998)
Be There (Single) (1998)
;With Voivod
Voivod (2003)
Katorz (2006)
Infini (2009)
References
External links
Jason Newsted Official Site
CBS's "Rock Star" to Select Lead Singer for New Band
Papa Wheelie's MySpace page
HardRadio.com interview Newsted on Ozzy and Voivod
Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame: Metallica FuseTV
Category:American heavy metal bass guitarists
Category:Metallica members
Newstead, Jason
Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members
Newstead, Jason
Category:Musicians from Michigan
Newstead, Jason
Category:1963 births
Category:Living people
Category:American multi-instrumentalists