David Ellefson has reflected on the trials and tribulations of his music career in a candid new interview with Real Music With Gary Stuckey.
In the chat, Ellefson opened up about his life as a musician, which included his stint in Megadeth prior to being ousted over sexual misconduct allegations in 2021.
Ellefson was removed from Megadeth last year after a video surfaced online of him engaging in an inappropriate sexual encounter with a young woman. He was accused of grooming after an exchange leaked of him interacting with a young woman. However, the musician has refuted the claims saying that the video is “embarrassing” but insisted that it doesn’t tell the full story.
“You find out who your friends are and you find out who your friends aren’t pretty fucking quick when the shit hits the fan,” Ellefson said in the new interview. “‘Cause everybody wants to be around you when you’re picking up your Grammy.
“Look, life is… You’re never on top all the time,” he continued. “Your life ebbs and flows, your career ebbs and flows — all of that. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a career musician and I’ve had to go with the ebbs and flows of the good, the bad and the otherwise, sometimes from within, sometimes from without.
“In the early ’90s, just when we thought everything was going awesome, Seattle music showed up,” Ellefson added.
“No one saw that coming. So there’s all kinds of internal and external forces at work, and I think the trick is to be galvanised to be able to withstand the storms and come out the other side and still keep rocking.”
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Upon the allegations surfacing that lead to his exit from Megadeth, the band offered a formal statement about Ellefson’s removal, saying, “We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him,” it read.
“We do not take this decision lightly.”
Since leaving Megadeth, Ellefson has formed a new band called Dieth, and their debut single is already available for purchase.
Dieth features Ellefson on the bass and will also feature Guilherme Miranda of Entombed A.D. fame on guitar and vocals, as well as Michał Łysejko, formerly of Decapitated, on drums.
You can read more about this topic on the Metal Observer.
