The Michigan native and former Metallica bassist brings his Chophouse Band project to The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids on Monday. The Local Spins interview with Newsted.
Jason Newsted & The Chophouse Band: A homecoming for a Michigan native with an illustrious career. (Courtesy Photo)
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Jason Newsted can still vividly recall looking out from the center of the Pontiac Silverdome in 1988 while on stage with Metallica.
Washed in bright lights, bass slung across his shoulder. His family in the front row and 80,000 screaming fans behind them.
It was a triumphant moment — and still is, for Newsted, who is now 63 and still touring.
He grew up on a not-so-quiet farm in Battle Creek — a farm with hundreds of chickens and rabbits that Newsted and his three siblings looked after. His mother taught piano. Fascinated by music, he’d often get into his older brothers’ records. At the age of 9, he picked up the guitar.
At 18, Newsted dropped out of high school to join a metal band. After the group decided to relocate to the West Coast, Newsted bounced around the country a bit. He lived in Phoenix for a spell. Played in a thrash metal band called Flotsam and Jetsam for five years.
The years of toiling in obscurity paid off. In October of 1986, he landed the role of touring bassist with Metallica. A couple of months later, they would ship out for an arena tour of Eastern and Western Europe.
In September 1988, the band embarked on a massive, year-long world tour, spanning 219 dates across Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim. These high profile shows featured dazzling production, elaborate stage design and a wall of sound that surged over stacks of speakers.
Newsted left Metallica in 2001, partly to pursue a side project and also citing “private and personal reasons, and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love.”
These days, Newsted helms the band Jason Newsted & The Chophouse, an Americana-leaning collective that’s heading out on its first official tour this summer, supporting Blackcherry Smoke on a run of shows across the country.
Newsted’s band swings into Grand Rapids for a hometown show of sorts on Monday (July 20) during a short break from the Blackberry Smoke tour. The group plays The Pyramid Scheme, with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets are $33.45 in advance, available online here.
Musicians joining Newsted on the road include Robert John Tucker on drums, Jimbo Hart on bass, Jessie Farnsworth on guitar and Humberto Perez on guitar.
Newsted recently took some time to have a conversation with Local Spins about his career, his band and his treasured time in Metallica.
Local Spins: What is it about playing at home that stands out to you as unique?
Newsted: Pride. Ego. You know, I was raised on a farm in Michigan, and coming up and doing what I was able to do, working really hard to achieve what has happened over time. I think that quite a few members of my family are probably more proud of it than I’ve ever been. I know that when my brother does well in an athletic competition, or my sister does well in a competition, or something like that, I’m always very proud, maybe more proud than they are of themselves. The reason we’re doing any of this is to show off. The reason that we’ve spent so much time learning an instrument and doing that is to show off, internally, right? Showing off for your brothers and sisters and stuff when you’re a kid. It’s still very fun and gives me this feeling of being alive. People appreciate it from such depths. My brothers saw me start playing when I was nine, and have seen me work to get to where I am. They’ve been to a bunch of the shows across the country, across the world over the years.
Newsted: Musical passion that gives him ‘this feeling of being alive.’ (Photo/Michael Newsted)
Local Spins: Over the course of your career, what are some memories that stand out, as surreal or larger than life?
Newsted: It’s quite a long list. I have played in all 50 states and played in about 60 countries. There’s obvious ones that everybody talks about on a weekly basis, though, and shows in Moscow and at the Tokyo Dome, sold-out … certain things that I’m getting covered with goosebumps just thinking about right now. There’s the first time that my family ever saw me perform. It was a sold-out Silverdome (in Pontiac). That was a very special one. My dad’s right there in the front row crying. With all of my family, everyone just bawling their eyes out as we’re throwing down “Master Puppets,” you know. I knew then this is special. This is something no one can ever take from me. This kind of accomplishment, or whatever you want to call that — such a special moment for my entire family. I’d been away from home for a few years by that point. I’d been playing bass seriously for maybe seven or eight years at that point. And so they’d never seen me play with a band … until it was just absolute madness.
Local Spins: What are your hopes for the future, either in your musical career, or in your personal life?
Newsted: I hope to retain, as far as music goes, the authenticity of my performances and recordings. I am not afraid to use pro tools to capture recordings, but I don’t cheat. And I don’t allow cheating. I don’t allow Autotunes and I don’t allow these things in performances or recordings. And so retaining that aspect throughout my work. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate people that can harness new technology. I appreciate anyone that’s playing or anyone that’s trying. But for my own self, I’ve been at it for long enough to know that authenticity is the most important thing. The human factor, keeping the 100 percent human factor in all of it, is the most important part. So my hope is that I can retain that for as long as I can. I hope that some more opportunities come up to be able to share with people. I haven’t been around the world for about 13 years now. So I’m excited about the opportunities to do that again with an acoustic guitar in my hand or whatever it happens to be. Going back to those countries that I played so much heavy music in, and playing something completely different for them. And since music and performances don’t dictate my life, I’m still interested in things like bicycles and swimming. Spending time with my wife and my family, and my dogs.
Local Spins: What is it about having an instrument in your hands and being on a stage, that never grows stale for you?
Newsted: Music is my life and everything revolves around it. So that’s what I want to do. I want to continue to surround myself with really great players that make me look good. A man’s got to know his limitations and I do know mine. And I play guitar, cowboy chords. I play guitar like a drum, like a percussion instrument. So it’s a hybrid of drumming, bass and cowboy chords on an acoustic guitar. That’s always going to be me. I’ve said this in other interviews, but you can take the boy out of the metal, just not the metal out of the boy. It ain’t going away. I don’t know what I’m venturing into. I’m still always going to have that edge. There’s no way I could change it. I still have hope. It’s not just about the accomplishment. It’s not just ticket sales. When you work that hard at something, and that then means people come to acknowledge it and appreciate it, you’re able to make them feel part of something bigger than themselves. That kind of ambassadorship is invaluable.
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