Jason Newsted Quotes

On Voivod | On Metallica | On Ozzy | On himself | On Stuff

On Voivod:

"There’s something about each of these three people there are things that are underlying that are so huge, other than their performing abilities. We know about Michel’s artwork, he’s amazing in that way and always wanting to learn more. Piggy could take a Marshall amplifier, take it apart and then blindfold him and he could put it back together. He knows his shit about electronics. He built his first guitar for himself when he was 14 years old. Snake’s poetry and his genius, you talked to him, man, you know where he’s at. He’s got some real depth."

"They were raised 200 miles above Montreal, somewhere in the ice. Piggy's got an amplifier and a guitar, he's the only one who knows how to play, and nobody wants to sing. Somehow they form this band to stay out of trouble, and end up recording the bass, guitar and vocals all through the guitar amp because that's what they had."

"...The purity of the music, they’re not just playing pop music because people want to hear it. It’s going back to the real metal in them."

"Those guys come in on an afternoon flight from Montreal, Piggy walks in the studio at 4:00, and says, “ok, where is the bass amp for the distortion?” It was nothing to do with, “hey, cool microphone, wow, nice Marshall stack,” nothing like that - where is the bass distortion? Do you know what that makes me feel like, man? They’re asking me to turn the bass up, they’re asking me that in a place in one song, instead of a guitar solo let’s have a bass solo? I mean that shit hasn’t happened in my career."

"And Michel says very seriously, “ I want them (the fans) to be aware of the serious danger of nuclear war, I want them to know about the earth and the damages...” I mean this is real shit. It’s not just talk."

"It’s another reason why I can stand very proudly behind it because it’s some of my words. It’s a great feeling to be able to have your stuff expressed."

"Voivod lives man. That is the word, right there."

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On Metallica:

"I want them to come out and kick ass."

"In Metallica, I always came to play. I’m proud of my performances, I’m proud of the work I did with them, I’m proud of the help that I gave them to get to where they got. Way more good than bad feelings, certainly, in Metallica. I look back at the photos and things like that and I’m very, very pleased with what I see. It’s better than looking back and going, “jesus dude, what were you thinking?” I look back and go, “dude, you were tough! Look how strong!” Those kinds of things, and watching the videos and [I’m] banging like a madman, and kind of a little psychotic maybe… That makes me happy. I feel good about those things."

"I really, truly want to see them rise back up after all of the things that make it kinda questionable now; like the Napster things and different decisions that they’ve made, James’ troubles, and whatever like that. I’m back to being a fan of Metallica again now. I want to see them be the leaders again. They are the ones that have the talent and the know-how to spearhead the next movement of our music, like they did with the first movement of our music. So why not have the kings in place?"

"I had to be able to share music with people, my other music, and they weren’t really in favor of that. After being 20 years as a band, I thought that would be ok [laughs] and I couldn’t see how something as beautiful as Echo Brain could ever affect this huge monster of Metallica. It wouldn’t make less people come to the shows, or less people buy the albums, or anything like that. That kind of freaked me out. That’s why I stepped off."

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On (playing with) Ozzy:

"I stepped off the mountain, and now I might be "Over the Mountain,"

"You don't necessarily say the words - like "I want to play this song" or "I want to play that song" - to Ozzy. First you work it out with Mike and Zakk, then you rock the song when Ozzy's in the room. Then he hears it and he says, "f**k! That sounds good!" or something like that, and he'll think a little bit more about playing it"

"Dude, if he's telling me the truth right now, if he really wants to write ... songs, it's going to be f---ing crazy! I'm telling you right now, it's gonna be out of this world. If I get an opportunity to write bass behind his vocals? Working with Zakk? It's just going to be sick, man, that's all I can say."

"Ozzy takes pretty good care of himself. I think he could outrun you or me right now. He probably runs about 5 or 6 miles a day."

"That's a huge successful thing, to have the singer of your favorite band of all-time call you out in person, by name, not to audition, but just say, "You're in my band now, you dig that?" He already counted me in the band before I even went and played with him."

On Sharon Osbourne:

"She said, "Now at the same time, I'd like to ask you if you'd be interested in coming down to jam with Ozzy.'"

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On himself:

"A couple years ago I was going to back off and actually thought about retiring, but it keeps calling me back, and I'm going to keep going back as long as it calls me. I really think it has something to do with the good vibes that I feel I've spread through my performance and through the time that I've spent with fans."

`` `I don't want to grow up,' ''Tom Waits said it. I live it. I put myself in a position to be a kid as long as I want to. I play loud music and scream for a living.''

"It all has to do with art - writing, painting, things I've done for a long time but just never had enough time to pursue. I have poetry - things that are designed for songs, but they're always poems first. " Talking about his non-musical activities.

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On stuff:

"In order to get your foot tapping, for you to be able to sink your teeth into a song, it needs to have some kind of stability that makes you groove and draws your primal instincts to it. That's what I've tried to develop over time, and I think it really started coming into play when I met Bob Rock. He taught me about frequencies, and how I could get big boomy bass and still have clarity. Once I started learning that, I really wanted to create that concrete foundation."

"All I want you to do is rock. That'll be forever, man."

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