Summer 2003: No rest for the wicked - Bass Guitar Magazine Article (contributed by basssnake78)
"No Rest for the Wicked"
By: E.E. Bradman

**As Appeared in the Summer 2003 issue of Bass Guitar Magazine**

"People measure success in this business by dollars, numbers, and chart positions," says Jason Newsted, "but that doesn't mean anything to me. When you move people with your music, when you’ve exchanged electricity and given the fans something they can take home, you can physically feel that you’ve made a difference. That’s what I call success.”

By any definition, the Michigan-born bassist enjoyed a phenomenal run with Metallica before leaving the band in January 2001 after a contentious period of feuding with Metallica front man James Hetfield. Citing physical damage from years of head banging, Newsted says he also stepped away to prove to himself that he wasn’t in it for the paycheck. He was also ready to slow down. “I bought a huge chunk of lands in the mountains and I was just going to sit there and do… whatever. That lasted about a week.” He laughs. “Then I realized I have a purpose: to share heavy music with people. I’ve been called back intotouring and recording so I can continue to make that mark.”

Newsted takes his call seriously. Even if he wasn’t joining his idol Ozzy Osbourne for a 50-city Ozzfest tour this summer, he’d still be a long way from relaxing on the front porch. Since leaving Metallica, Newsted has played bass, guitar and/or sang in seven projects on his Chophouse studios; appeared on the second volume of Gov’t Mule’s Deep End tributes to Allen Woody;produced albums by Echobrain, Speedealer and the Moss Brothers; and given Canadian thrash pioneers Voivod a new lease on life. As if learning Ozzy’s massive back catalog and playing 90-minute sets with Ozzfest’s headliner isn’t enough of a challenge, Newsted will also be playing a 45-minute set with Voivod each day. But he’s not intimidated. “Two and a half years after I left Metallica, I’m in Ozzy’s band and I’m playing in Voivod -- one foot in the underground and one foot in the biggest rock enterprise that exists.” he says enthusiastically. “The metal history books are going to look real good and I’m very proud of that, man.”

Newsted says the role of the bass and his tone varies from group to group. “Voivod’s music is incredibly cerebral and unorthodox. With them, I fill up more space because it’s a three-piece band without a rhythm guitar player; I do a lot of chording, and a lot of my parts sound like guitar parts. The sound of the previous bassist was developed through years of going through a guitar amp in the studio, and I try to be consistent with that tone,” says Newsted. “In Metallica, I had a much different job. Lars plays with Kirk, who has a rhythm guitar but no bass coming through his monitor. So I had to play with the lead guitarist while keeping the glue down because the drummer wasn’t always going boom-chop, boom-chop, boom-chop. He’d maybe give you two or three snares on the 1-2-3-4, go off somewhere for six or eight bars, and then come back. So I had a more direct, concrete role, more like a thud with clarity.”

On Voivod’s self-titled 13th album, Newsted pays homage to the aesthetic of original bassist Jean-Yves Theriault by playing Sadowsky four- and 5- strings through ampef SVT bass 8x10 cabinets and a Mesa/Boogie powered Marshall 4x12, which provides high-end distortion. “I wanted to do justice to the bass work that’s already there while putting my signature on it.” Newsted explains. “Even in Metallica, there were certain songs I never learned, like [Cliff Burton’s] ‘Anesthesia’ because that was sacred. And if I am playing someone else’s parts, I always make sure the basics are there so that people can recognize the songs.”

The recording of ‘Voivod’ seems to favor the guitar cab over the Svt’s girth, and Newsted says that was intentional: “I could EQ it with a lot of bass and blow everyone’s speakers out, but I want something that sounds good in everybody’s system, and I want the bass drum to cut through.” In fact, the mix between Newsted’s guitar and bass amps is roughly 40-60, in favor of the Marshall. (It’s exactly the opposite when he plays with Ozzy.) He’s satisfied that the bass EQ lessons he learned from Metallica producer Bob Rock--specifically using mids to cut through guitars and stay out of the kick drum frequencies.--have borne fruit. “This is a sound that I was always meant to play, and this is probably the first metal album that I’m on where I kind of know what I’m doing.”

For all his experience in Metallica, Newsted becomes as excited as a teenager when talking about his new gig with Ozzy. “There was no audition. They didn’t call anyone else--they assumed I was in the band. Sharon called and asked me to join. I wanted to go play with the man, have him look me in the eye and ask me if I wanted the gig. It was the call of my life.” To prepare for their first meeting, Newsted studied two years of Ozzy’s set lists, then compiled a 15-song work tape of prime Bob Daisley and Geezer Butler performances from a stack of 18 Ozzy and Black Sabbath CDs. For Eight days, he played every single song, until the flesh on his fingertips cracked. Then, he set his CD player on repeat and went to sleep wearing headphones. One Saturday, Newsted jammed with guitarist Zakk Wylde and drummer Mike Bordin. The next afternoon, Ozzy joined them.

“I gave him a list of songs. He chose five and said ‘That’ll be enough for me.’ and we did ‘Paranoid’, ‘War Pigs’, ‘Believer’, ‘Crazy Train’ and ‘Bark at the Moon’” Says Newsted, smiling at the memory. “There was a moment in the middle of ‘War Pigs’ where everybody solos. Nobody goes into Ozzy’s onstage area--that’s just the way it’s been for 30-odd years--But I got right up to him, and we got this synchronized thing going--my head’s going here, and his head’s going like this--and he’s screaming in my ear. It’s loud as fuck but I can still hear him: ‘Fuck yeah, mate! Give it to me Mate!” You could see me levitate 10 inches off the ground!”“The first thing Ozzy said to me was, ‘You remind me so much of a young Geezer Butler,’” Newsted recalls. “All I could think about was being 15 years old, sitting in my dad’s basement with my Black Sabbath poster, wearing the grooves out of ‘Paranoid’ over and over until I got those blue boxes together. Then 25 years later, the dude himself calls: ‘Jason, want to come play bass in my band, mate?’ Ninety percent of my Metallica riffs always got shot down because they sounded too much like Black Sabbath rip-offs. Now I’m allowed to rip them off because it’s Ozzy singing!”

Newsted’s enthusiasm for the future also extends to his former band mates in Metallica and their newest member, bassist Robert Trujillo, who, of course, left Ozzy’s band to join the Bay Area metal gods. “James Hetfield is the best Rhythm guitarist in metal, so if Robert and James can hook up, look the fuck out, man. Robert’s a badass. He’s a lot more of a musical bass player than I am; I’m way more of a punk bass player. Now that they have him, they can be Metallica again, a force to be reckoned with, and they can also once again spearhead a movement of our music. The bigger, better and uglier this new Metallica album is, the better it is for all bands that play heavy metal, no matter what style.”

As far as his own collaboration with Ozzy, Newsted hopes his role as a catalyst might bring powerful new work from Osbourne. “When I joined Metallica, I gave them a big kick in the ass and a good transfusion, and I’ve definitely done the same for Voivod. Now my quest is to revitalize the metal god. Ozzy’s been talking to me about the songs we’re going to write and record together, and if even a third of what he’s saying comes true, I’ll be out of my head.” Newsted says. “He said to me that he wanted this band to be better than Black Sabbath. I told him ‘Ozz, that’s not possible--could you pick something else to say to me?’ so he said he wants it to be like Black Sabbath would be if they were together in 2003.’ And I said, ‘That’s it! We can’t be better than the blueprint, but we can expand on it.’ I don’t think anything can ever top the Bob Daisley/Randy Rhoads band, but we can come close. If Ozz can keep himself strong for a few more years, I think we can really be wicked.”

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