Jason Newsted is an American rock musician who gained popularity as a member of the cult band Metallica. In addition, he realized himself as a composer and artist. In his youth, he had attempts to quit music, but each time he returned to the stage again and again.
Childhood and youth
He was born in early March 1963. He spent his childhood in the town of Battle Creek. Full name sounds like Jason Curtis Newsted. Parents were engaged in raising three children, so Jason's childhood was as fun as possible. According to the memoirs of the musician, his childhood years were spent on the farm of his parents. He took care of farm animals. Jason enjoyed herding chickens and caring for rabbits.
In the house of a large family, music often sounded. Mom taught children piano lessons. At the age of nine, Jason picks up the guitar for the first time, and soon switches to bass. He was inspired to pick up a musical instrument by Gene Simmons from the popular band KISS. The guy thoroughly analyzed his riffs.
In addition, he listened to recordings Black Sabbath, Motörhead и Metallica. The young man collected records of his idols and tried not to miss the performances of cult groups.
During this period of time, he had the idea to “put together” his own musical project. His brainchild was named Flotsam and Jetsam. After some time, he had a burning desire to join Metallica.
The guy's dream came true, and he joined Metallica. The first performance with the new bassist took place at the California Country Club. The musician recalls:
“When I went out into the hall, I was almost stunned. The site was completely packed with spectators who did not stop applauding. Then I could only dream of such a warm meeting ... ".
The creative path of Jason Newsted
The musician recalls that after he joined Metallica, he had a hard time. The rest of the team put pressure on him with their authority. He had to "sweat" to win the respect of his colleagues.
The first longplay, in which the musician took part, also turned out to be very unsuccessful. The final version of the …And Justice for All compilation was heavily criticized. Jason was scolded by music experts for the lack of bass on the compilation.
More warmly critics and fans was greeted by the longplay Black Album. The record was included in the list of the group's best-selling albums. And the tracks Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman are very popular among the "fans" even today.
Then the musician took part in the recording of the immortal Load and ReLoad. Things were going well in the team, so when the artist at the beginning of the XNUMXs announced that he was going to leave the project, it was a big disappointment for the fans. It turned out that he made this decision because of constant conflicts with Hatfield. The frontman of the band did not allow Newsted to develop the Echobrain project.
During his time at Metallica, he managed to co-author a couple of tracks. In addition, "fans" remember him for his bright bass solo, which sounds especially cool in My Friend of Misery. By the way, the composition was originally recorded as an instrumental song, but then became a full-fledged track.
After officially leaving Metallica, he will repeatedly perform with musicians. He was with the artists when the names of the band members were entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also played with the team part of the concerts dedicated to the 30th anniversary.
Other musical projects of the artist
He focused on working at Echobrain. Alas, he did not manage to reach the level of popularity that he gained while being part of Metallica. After some time, he became part of Voivod. The musician helped the guys record several LPs, and then left the group.
He took a break to understand what he really wants. In 2012, the musician founded his own project, which was called Newsted. He opened the band's discography with the Heavy Metal Music compilation. This team also turned out to be a complete failure. He then co-founded the acoustic project Jason Newsted and the Chophouse Band.
Jason Newsted: details of his personal life
At the end of the 80s of the last century, he married the charming Judy Newsted. Alas, exactly one year was enough for the couple to understand that they were too different. Divorce followed.
He was a bachelor for a long time, but soon met Nicole Lee Smith, who drove him crazy. Before entering into official relations, they met for 11 years. In 2012, the lovers got married.
Jason Newsted: Today
In 2020, rumors began to circulate that Jason would join Megadeth. Later, the musician denied this information.
