Rocking With Jam Man Talks With David Ellefson of Megadeth
Rocking With Jam Man Talks With David Ellefson of Megadeth about all his projects like the new Megadeth album, making jewelry with STrung, Doing a side project with Jeff Scott Soto, putting out a horror movie dwellers, putting out your fiction book Rock Star Hitman, Ellefson No Cover album Setting up a solo tour a solo tour, and hopefully a Megadeth tour this summer, we talk about megadeth’s staying power, the up coming 40th anniversary and how they can now be played on classic rock stations, if he felt it was a competition with with Metallica, after all he and Dave Mustaine been through how it was like a married couple who got divorced who still love each other then got married again, making the new album, Megadeth Merch, how he promotes all his projects and a lot more cool stuff
More information on the events, including VIP Dinner purchases, can be found at www.ellefsonstore.com
egadeth bassist David Ellefson and Sons of Apollo vocalist Jeff Scott Soto have been collaborating on some new material recently under the moniker ELLEFSON-SOTO. The Ellefson-Soto version of the Riot classic “Swords & Tequila” released via Ellefson’s Combat Records on www.ellefsonmusic.bandcamp.com and across all digital streaming outlets.The song was originally featured on the 1981 Riot LP Fire Down Under (Elektra). The play through video can be seen here:
The track was produced by David Ellefson & Andy Martongelli, mixed by Alessio Garavello in Wembley, England and mastered by Maor Appelbaum in Los Angeles, CA. The video is directed by Elia Turra for Fisheye Studio in Verona, Italy.
The ELLEFSON-SOTO recording lineup includes:
David Ellefson– Bass
Jeff Scott Soto- Lead Vocals
Andy Martongelli- Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Paolo Caridi- Drums
*Featuring Rick Hughes- Lead Vocals (Swords & Tequila)
Says Ellefson, “Jeff and I have been friends for so many years that it’s great to finally collaborate on some material together. He has such a distinctive voice and perfect style for some new ideas my guitarist Andy Martongelli (Ellefson) and I have been composing. We are excited about the progress of it all and thought this would be a perfect time to give a little sneak preview. “
Jeff adds, “As COVID-19 became a big negative around the globe, it actually offered many artists a chance to finally collaborate with one another that might have never happened otherwise…as I have known David for many years, I knew from our other efforts outside of our day jobs that we could come up with some badass jams…and here we are, letting you in on our cool little secret!”.
As for the choice of cover song Ellefson reminisced, “The first time I ever heard of Riot was on the Castle Donington Monters of Rock album from 1980. For me, they were the USA representatives during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And, “Swords & Tequila”, along with the entire Fire Down Under album for that matter, show the band delivering it’s rowdy and high energy rock n roll like no other band in the USA was doing at that time. So, it is an honor to offer them much deserved reverence, as well as a reminiscent tribute to the mighty Guy Speranza, who fronted the band like a god during that period.
Soto adds, “What can I say? This was a classic metal track from Riot that we all knew growing up, when David brought up that we should cover it I was thrilled. But when we added Rick Hughes from the band Sword onto it, it truly came to life! 40 years after its release, we hope you dig this new version we built for you!”
Vocalist Rick Hughes is the founding front man of the iconic Quebec Power Metal group SWORD. The Canadian quartet formed in 1981 and have released a string of metal classics including their eponymous 1984 Aquarias Records debut Metalized which has been esteemed by fans and musicians alike including the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Motorhead and many more. Hughes explains, “To me, music has always been the best medicine and that is why in this time of not being able to perform with live musicians in front of a live audience, I was more than happy to participate in this camaraderie of seasoned musicians.” Sword’s latest album In Kommand is now available via Combat Records.
More new tracks from Ellefson-Soto are in the works with release details to be announced.
Riot formed in New York City in 1975 and has produced a long list of classic hard rock albums for Victor Entertainment, Capitol & Elektra Records as well as re-issues by Metal Blade Records. Guy Speranza was a founding member and vocalist for the group and sang on the early albums Rock City (1977), Narita (1979) and Fire Down Under (1981). He was then succeeded by Rhett Forrester in 1982. Speranza passed away in 2003 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 47. Riot has since undergone several member and lineup changes but still remains active under the new name of RIOT V.
Ellefson Flims (Amped/Alliance) have announced an October 12, 2021, release date for their award winning found footage horror film Dwellers on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital.
Dwellers is a found footage horror film produced by Grammy award winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and written, directed and starring Drew Fortier. The film has already gained over twenty official selections from film festivals around the world, a number that is still growing. Dwellers has amassed glowing reviews while garnering a plethora of nominations and already winning 5 awards including:
Best Feature (Screamwriting Festival)
Best Director (The Thing in the Basement Horror Fest)
Best Horror Feature (Mad Monster Party Film Fest)
Best Documentary (Hollywood Blood Horror Festival)
Most Disturbing Scenes (Horror Bowl Movie Awards)
The physical release is planned to be packed with bonus features. More details to be released in the coming months along with pre-order information.
Dwellers has been described as being, “C.H.U.D. if it were shot like The Blair Witch Project.” The film stars: Drew Fortier, James L. Edwards (Her Name Was Christa), Douglas Esper (The Nutshell) and Omar Baig (Let’s Make a Movie). Also featuring cameos from the film’s producer, David Ellefson, as well as former Mushroomhead vocalist, Jeff Hatrix.
The film’s plot is as follows:
While shooting a documentary on the suspicious disappearances within the homeless community, a filmmaker and his crew go missing while uncovering a terrifying and vicious secret below the city’s surface.
David Ellefson will also be making various appearances throughout the year at horror conventions and fan expos to screen Dwellers. Keep up with Ellefson‘s social media for more details.
Dwellers teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
