Jr. Suing Megadeth
Published July 15, 2004
Well, there goes the hope of many Megadeth fans that David Ellefson will hook back up with the band. Blabbermouth is reporting that Jr. has filed suit against the mainman....
Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against the group's mainman, Dave Mustaine, in Manhattan Federal Court, alleging the singer shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002, according to the New York Daily News. Ellefson also accuses Mustaine of locking him out of merchandise and publishing royalties."This is a classic case of a minority stockholder whose rights were abused," Ellefson's attorney, Randall Jacobs, told the New York Daily News.
In court papers, Ellefson said Mustaine — a veteran of at least 17 drug rehab stints — resented Ellefson, a former drug addict, for having kicked his own habit. It also accuses Mustaine of dissing the bassist's playing skill.
According to court papers, the battle of the band spread to the Internet in May, when Mustaine posted on Megadeth.com that Ellefson was trying to extort him.
"Did Ellefson ever once get in a fistfight with someone to protect me? No, but I did for him," Mustaine wrote. "Did he ever loan my parents money? No, but I did for him."
MEGADETH's new album, "The System Has Failed", which doesn't include any contributions from Ellefson, is scheduled for release on September 14 through Sanctuary Records.
Then again, is the whole feud a publicity stunt to drive up sales of the upcoming Megadeth remastered re-releases and forthcoming studio album The System Has Failed? I'm not sure, but from what I've heard of the new songs, they sound fabulous, including the one track I've heard from the new CD, "Kick The Chair."
- Jr. Suing Megadeth
- Published: July 15, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Metal, Music: News
- Writer: Jim Schwab
- Jim Schwab's BC Writer page
- Jim Schwab's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
sounds like the new album should be called The Rehab Has Failed.
Be interesting to see what Dave comes up without Ellefson around. Jim your cynicism is well placed however.
Tom,
I'm a member of the board and read it regularly... I've read Mustaine's side of the story, which is exactly what I consider it. HIS side of the story. In a whole lot of ways, I'm not all that interested in the feuding, though. The older I get, the more I take these kinds of feuds with a grain of salt. The old Metallica vs. Megadeth feud in a new light, with slightly different players.
We'll see if the new CD is any good...
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/17480)
You can read more about this in the forums on the Megadeth site, where Dave M goes into detail about the history of the band, including some dirt on what happened with the last album, the meat of which can be read here (you may have to log in, I never can seem to get these forums to work unless I'm logged in - it's under "Dave Speaks" called "summary of the interviews, part 2.")
The gist of it, as I can make it, is that while Mustaine was in rehab, Ellefson went to the label and asked for some huge sum of money as an advance on the next record (to follow The World Needs A Hero) and basically did what he pleased with the money. So Mustaine kicked him out and then just broke up the group. He'd hoped to get back together with him and work everything out when his arm had healed, forgive and forget everything that had come between them because of his new-found faith in God, but it was not to be and instead Ellefson is suing him. Obviously, we're only getting Mustaine's side of the story here, but I'm leaning toward him being the one in the right here.
Either way, REALLY looking forward to not only the new album but the remasters - what Dave's put up as mp3s on the site has sounded truly amazing.