Megadeth’s David Ellefson Explains Why He’s Becoming a Pastor

2012-02-01

Story by Anne Erickson

Megadeth bass player: ‘My life is pretty wholesome’

By now, it’s no secret the David Ellefson, bass player for thrash-metal gents Megadeth, is studying to be an ordained Lutheran pastor. What is secret, however, is his reasoning behind the decision. Until now.

Speaking with the QMI Agency, Ellefson set out to explain his verdict to become a pastor, and it’s inspiring, to say the slightest. “I don’t see me standing up there in a white robe doing sacraments and preaching and all that,” he explained. “I’m doing this distance-education stuff to learn some new things. To open my eyes and ears to some different walks in this life is inspiring to me.

“At 25, I took a different turn in my life and got off all the dope and booze and cleaned my life up. That was almost 22 years ago. I’ve been married almost 18 years. I’ve got teenage kids. My life is pretty wholesome. Which is the funny thing about it. People tend to think heavy metal guys just constantly earn it and burn it. And my experience with the hardest-edge metal guys is that we’re gentle giants when we get off the stage. We leave it all on the stage, which is how it should be.”

Ellefson says he feels a responsibility to look out for young musicians when he sees them going down the wrong path, but he only intervenes when asked. “My attitude is that you suit up, you show up and you behave accordingly,” he said. “And you let, for lack of a better term, God’s spirit pass through you. People will see that. If they want to inquire, they know where to go. If someone ain’t asking, you don’t need to be telling.

“But if they start asking, that’s an opportunity to share what your life was like. The testimony-based approach comes from a place where it’s genuine. And I think most ears will hear that a lot better than if you’re just standing at the airport beating them over the head with a Bible as they come through the door.”

Megadeth are currently out on the 2012 Gigantour along with Motorhead, Lacuna Coil and Volbeat, and the trek runs through Feb. 28 in Denver. Find a complete list of tour dates via this link.

 




Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Metal, Music, Rock News

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