Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson reflected on the invitation he received to join Alice Cooper‘s touring band — and why he turned it down.
Ellefson and ex-Rob Zombie/current Marilyn Manson bassist Piggy D discussed career second chances in a recent episode of The David Ellefson Show podcast, which you can hear below.
For Ellefson, one of those second chances came after the dissolution of Megadeth in 2002.
READ MORE: The ‘Big 4’ Bands of 27 Rock + Metal Subgenres
David Ellefson Details Alice Cooper Invitation — and Why He Said No
“When Megadeth disbanded in 2002, it was interesting,” Ellefson recalls. “Not long before that, we did a tour across South America with Alice Cooper. And Alice took Megadeth out in our very beginning, so we’ve had a good friendship with him. But I didn’t get to know Alice, kind of like we’re talking right now, so I would sit next to him up in business class as we’re flying across South America.”
“We talked openly about sobriety, about Christian faith and all this stuff,” Ellefson continued. “My kids were real young at that time and so I had that same thing. So when Megadeth disbanded, they called me about touring.”
Ellefson said he got the call from Cooper’s camp “about two weeks” after Megadeth folded. Consequently, he couldn’t commit to such a high-profile gig.
“I just wasn’t mentally in a place to do it,” he explained. “I was in such shell shock over being an owner of Megadeth, a corporate shareholder and everything else, just going, ‘Oh my God, what just fucking happened?'”
READ MORE: The ‘Big 4’ of Nu-Metal, According to David Ellefson
Ellefson’s Post-Megadeth Ventures
In lieu of Ellefson, Cooper recruited bassist Chuck Wright for his band. Chuck Garric assumed the position shortly thereafter and remains in Cooper’s band to this day.
Ellefson, meanwhile, formed the band F5 with singer Dale Steele, guitarists Steve Conley and John Davis, and former Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. He also played bass on Soulfly‘s 2004 album Prophecy and toured intermittently with the group.
Megadeth reformed in 2004 and Ellefson rejoined the band in 2010, where he remained until his dismissal in 2021. He’s kept busy with a variety of projects since then, including Kings of Thrash with former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young.
Hear David Ellefson and Piggy D on ‘The David Ellefson Show’
Every Thrash Metal ‘Big 4’ Album Ranked
Every album by Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax get ranked worst to best.
Contributions by Philip Trapp, Ed Rivadavia, Jordan Blum, Ayron Rutan and Joe DiVita.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
Content shared from loudwire.com.