One of my favorite satirical films of all time is Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, Doctor Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. There’s a line where the American President is talking on the phone to the Russian Premier about how a mentally unstable base commander just initiated a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union by saying, “And uh, he went and did a silly thing.”
Well, last month I went and did a silly thing.
I happened to check my Facebook feed one afternoon at work and noticed that Megadeth was having a fundraiser for their new album and were offering all kinds of rewards for different donation amounts. For those who have known me since I lived in New York, you might be aware that starting from 1995, Megadeth have been my favorite band in the entire world. Since 1997 I’ve been to more Megadeth concerts than other band and probably more than I can even remember to list. Twice at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, one where I regrettably sat through a Mötley Crüe set afterwards, once at the Crocodile Rock in Allentown, one at the Fukuoka Dome in Japan, multiple times at the PNC Center in New Jersey, once at the Rust in Peace 20th anniversary tour… and so on.
Megadeth, along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer are members of the Big Four: bands who pioneered thrash metal in the early 80s. Arguably the most influential person of the Big Four is Dave Mustaine, having been a part of two of those four bands. He’s Megadeth’s founder, singer, primarily songwriter, only consistent member, and one-man driving force behind pretty much everything the band has done since 1983. And back to the new album fundraiser, one of the rewards was a two-hour, one-on-one guitar lesson with Dave. To say the least, that particular reward cost a lot of money. Like, seriously, A LOT. Just… don’t ask.
I did a double-take and took a deep breath. A private lesson with Dave! Was I REALLY considering this? REALLY? This was a once in lifetime opportunity with one of the greatest heavy metal guitarists in the world. And to make a long story short, yes, I did it. Sometime in the next month, I’ll be flying down to Nashville, Tennessee for a private session with Dave Mustaine. All of this leads back to my original question: how do you prepare for a guitar lesson with a heavy metal legend? What songs do you practice ahead of time? What tips do you ask when you get there? What questions do you ask someone who’s lived the heavy metal life for over 30 years? What traps should I avoid so that I don’t look like a complete suck-up? That’s what I’m trying to answer. So let’s get to it. Help, friends!
What guitar techniques do I ask for help with?
I’ve been playing guitar for fifteen years and it’s always been more of a hobby than anything professional. Sure, I’ve done my share of open mics and odd performances here and there but that’s been about the extent of my public playing. My style is almost exclusively hard rock and metal and apart from a few months in the winter of 2000/2001, I’ve never really taken private lessons. I’m good at power chord riffs and can play rhythm parts fast, but I’ve never broken into serious soloing or complex chords. So I think that’s what I would like to focus on the most. If we have time, I’d like to work on pinch harmonics and artificial harmonics, since those pop up pretty often in songs I can play by Tool, Nightwish, and a bunch of other bands. Then I can finally play the “Parabola” solo the way it’s meant to be played!
How many of Dave’s own songs should I ask for help on? What should be the ratio of fan favorites to more obscure songs?
Asking for “help” on Megadeth songs is putting it mildly. Dave’s songs are EXTREMELY difficult to play. In all the time I’ve been playing, I’ve learned maybe five Megadeth songs. And even those have gaps in them for the solos or a chorus with a particularly funky up and down sweeping riff. The two obvious fan favorites that I’m sure everyone would ask Dave how to play are “Holy Wars” and “Hangar 18.”
They’re both incredible songs and I’ve I’m pretty sure that they’ll come up when I’m there. Other than those two, one song I’ve been dying to play for a long time now is 2004’s “Blackmail the Universe.”
I remember listening to that and being floored by the intensity of the riffs, especially considering that that song was on Dave’s comeback album after recovering from a compressed radial nerve in his arm. It’s fast and heavy, has a jarringly vivid introduction, and is loaded with quotes from the movie “Thirteen Days,” about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
What material by other artists should I come prepared to play?
There’s the other “M-band” whose material needless to say I won’t be bringing up in the lesson. And that’s all there is to say about that. So let’s talk about some other heavy metal classics that I think would be good candidates.
“The Hellion” / “Electric Eye” by Judas Priest is a powerful and chilling tour de force with a message about state surveillance that’s even more relevant today than when it was released in 1982. It’s an absolutely classic and by far my favorite song off of the Screaming for Vengeance album.
“Tribute” by Tenacious D is one of my all-time favorite songs to sing in karaoke, in the car, or really anywhere in public. If I could play along while singing it, that would be just awesome. He asked us, “*SNORT!* Be you angels?” And we said, “NAY! We are but men!” ROCK!
“Aces High” by Iron Maiden. Or “Powerslave,” “The Trooper,” “Dance of Death,” or a dozen others. There are so many good ones and I can easily say that over the years, most of the songs that I’ve taught myself to play have been by Iron Maiden. But odds are, I’m going to lead off with “Aces High” since that one’s the closest to being perfect already and assuming I don’t screw it up, he won’t think I’m a total amateur wasting his time.
What questions (about LIFE, MAN!) should I ask?
This is the tough one. In-between questions on rhythm and soloing techniques, what do you ask of a guy who’s practically seen it all and has the bruises to prove it? It’s probably wise to stay away from drugs and alcohol since those have been discussed ad nauseam over the years. But there are so many things I could bring up and get his perspective on. How about managing one’s own time and other people you work with? Dealing with personality conflicts? Resisting going back and tinkering with past works? That last one might not be a good idea since Dave did do just that with the 2004 remasters…
I’ll be adding to this post at the date comes closer. Oh and of course practicing my ass off. It’s going to be an intense two hours.