Jason Newsted At The Crofoot In Pontiac

By: Bill McAllister

Former Metallica bassist and current Rock and Roll HOF'er Jason Newsted has a new band called, oddly enough, Newsted and they will be playing May 17th at The Crofoot in Pontiac. For those of you familiar with Staind, you'll be happy to know that guitarist Mike Mushok has joined Newsted.

I spoke with Jason over the phone and at 50-years old, the passion for music has not faded in the least. In his new band, Jason will handle lead vocals and occasional rythym guitar as well as bass. Busy guy! Jason says, "I had to stop with the head windmills so I can concentrate on singing." Those of you familiar with Jason's stage performance have marveled at his ability to remain standing while whipping his head around at a, no pun intended, break-neck pace.

Here is the official video for Newsted's latest song Soldierhead.

We also talked about Metallica and what it's like to live in Lars and James' world on a daily basis. Jason says, "When you have two strong personalities like that, you basically find your place."...and, "Lars is the business man, James is the front man, Kirk is the artist and I'm the people person."

Make sure you check out Newsted at The Crofoot on May 17th to see a guy who still loves what he does after all these years. And oh yeah, they're pretty damn good!