Speaking in a new interview with The Front Row Report, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was asked how he managed to stay on top of his busy and ever-changing schedule.
“Every day, honestly, if you wanna know the truth, I just wake up, I get on my knees, I say a little prayer and [say], ‘God, lead me where you need me,’ and then the calendar just fills up. [Laughs] It’s that simple,” Ellefson said.
“I just check in with the boss and follow the marching orders. And honestly, that just kind of keeps it real simple. When the phone rings and e-mails show up, I figure I know who sent them my way. And it’s cool.”
It’s a way of working through life, Effelson explained, that has been instilled in him since his childhood.
“I always go back to my childhood. I grew up on a farm in Minnesota. I came from a good family. We worked hard six days a week and went to church on Sunday and just kind of followed the ‘good orderly direction,'” referring to an acronym that is used in 12-step programs for the word “God.”
He continued, “I was in a drug and alcohol rehab back in the late ’80s.”
“Right before we recorded Rust In Peace in 1990, I got sobered up. They told me, they said, ‘Keep God real simple. Good orderly direction. Just do the next right thing, and a good life will follow.'”
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The Megadeth muso continued, “I remember just kind of going, ‘God, my fingers hurt, my body hurts, coming off of all the drugs. And I don’t even know if I still wanna play the bass anymore.’ And this moment just followed right after where I thought, ‘Wait a minute. You started playing music for fun when you were just a kid at 11 years old. Sex and drugs just got in the way of the rock and roll. Get that out of the way, and you’ll be good.'”
“And that’s what happened. And quite honestly, since 1990, since I got clean back then, it’s been a wonderful and blessed life — a happy life. The powers that be just seem to kind of put stuff in my path. And I’d like to think my life is just a mirror of following that good orderly direction.”
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