Back in the mid-1990s, Megadeth were riding high. Their fifth album, Countdown to Extinction (1992), was a massive success, and they were preparing to release their sixth, Youthanasia. So why not go and shatter all that good karma by getting kicked off tour with legendary rock band Aerosmith?
It all started in April 1993. Aerosmith released their 11th studio album, Get a Grip, the band’s third consecutive multi-platinum project. To support the album, they headed out on the “Get a Grip Tour.” They brought Megadeth along as their featured support.
The first few shows went fine. But then Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine made some less-than-flattering comments about the headliners that got his band kicked off the tour. According to the lore, Mustaine said something to the effect of: Megadeth should be the headlining band because Aerosmith was on their way out. (This is not a direct quote, more of a paraphrase.)
There are conflicting reports that Megadeth was kicked off the Aerosmith tour on July 17, but most records indicate it was June 17
Understandably, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and the rest of the band were none too pleased. They subsequently dropped Megadeth from the tour. However, fans were not left without any extra “bang for their buck”, as it were. Aerosmith still brought out other openers like Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Jackyl, 4 Non Blondes, Soul Asylum, Therapy?, Collective Soul, Extreme, Mr. Big, and Robert Plant.
Fast forward to 2021, former bassist David Ellefson reflected on the whirlwind situation. During an appearance on Waste Some Time With Jason Green, he shared his perspective on how it all went down. Turns out, there was a lot more behind Mustaine’s comment than it seemed.
“That was an interesting sobriety transition around that, too, “Ellefson recalled. “And of course, the Aerosmith guys were sober at that time – about four years – and Steven Tyler came into the dressing room and was very gracious. He goes, ‘Guys, what’s up? What’s the problem?’ And Dave kind of laid out his grievances about soundcheck and backdrop, and all these other normal production stuff we would normally get on a regular tour.”
Megadeth’s ex-bassist Dave Ellefson recalled Dave Mustaine not being ‘happy’ on the Aerosmith tour
“I thought it was commendable that Steven would at least make the effort to do it,” Ellefson continued. “And, you know, it didn’t change anything really because nothing changed out on the deck. And at that point, Dave was not happy being there, and it was a very odd mix of a tour.”
Ellefson then remembered that a big part of why they were on the tour in the first place was because of their reps. “Our managers were trying to work that out, like, ‘Hey, let’s get Megadeth on a sober tour to keep the band clean.’ It was a lot of that,” he said.
While he understood the notion, Ellefson did not agree with the execution. “I will say, as much as I live a sober lifestyle,” he said, “making decisions, especially in business, only based on sobriety, [is] not always the best idea. There’s a lot that goes with it, especially with music.”
Megadeth and Aerosmith, as Ellefson noted, play different styles of music and have polarizing fan bases
The bassist went on to note that Megadeth and Aerosmith were simply too different. “It’s like, is the same fan going to show up and want to hear both of these bands?” he questioned. “We’re up there playing ‘Hangar 18,’ and they’re playing ‘Love in an Elevator.’ That’s a very different audience, and you could feel it when we were on stage.
Ellefson finally concluded, “You could sort of point out the random Megadeth fans and a lot of other people going, ‘Megadeth? Who are these guys?’”
The post On This Day in 1993, a Legendary Rock Band Kicked Megadeth off Tour After Dave Mustaine Talked S**t About Them appeared first on VICE.
