Dave Mustaine Thinks It’s Important to ‘Not Be Mean’ to Other Musicians
There’s an old saying that goes, “be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down” or something to that effect. Basically don’t be a dick because you might need them one day. During a recent interview, that same sentiment was expressed by none other than metal’s most notable nice guy — Dave Mustaine.
In a recent interview with Monterrey Rock (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine explained how a lot of Megadeth‘s success over the last four decades or so has been humility and being kind to other artists, while not being pushed around themselves.
“I think it’s not compromising and sticking to your convictions, being true to yourself and just not being a mean asshole. [Laughs] There’s a lot of musicians who get successful and they start to believe their own hype, that they’re really cool. And you know what? We’re all the same. That’s the end of the story. Period.
“When I hear stories out on the road, like when I was younger, I heard about some bands where this woman singer would make everyone call her ‘miss something.’ And you couldn’t look at her. I know Madonna did that, but this was somebody else before that. And I thought, ‘Wow, I don’t like her anymore.’ And it wasn’t that I liked her in the first place, but I just thought, ‘What kind of an asshole does that?’ ‘Don’t look at me!’ ‘All right! Don’t look at this! Fuck you!’
“When you start thinking you’re better than other people… You might be better at something than other people, but you know what? Man, we’re all the same. We’ve gotta stop treating people like other people don’t matter.”
Surely, there’s zero irony or anything we could make jokes about his comments. I mean, it’s not like he’s ever pissed off other people because of the shit he’s said in the past. Nor has he ever been a prick to his former band members or guitar techs. He’s never, ever caused problems regarding payments. Hell, it’s not like he’s ever blamed other metal acts for the lack of respect the genre gets. No, not ever.
