Stars Collide

Jason Newsted

Rock & Roll Renegade Goes Prime Time—Live!

Since his abrupt 2001 exit from Metallica, six-time Grammy winner Newsted has guested on several sessions and tours, including a serendipitous stint with metal’s celebrated father figure, Ozzy Osbourne. He has also focused on his own label, Chophouse Records, immersing himself in a number of its related projects, including Echo Brain, Poppa Wheelie, IR8, and Sexoturica (featuring members of Sepultura, Exodus, and Metallica). His decade-long involvement with iconic techno-thrash band Voivod—another Cinderella tale where Newsted’s musical heroes became his peers—culminates in the release of a new CD later this year.

How did the Rock Star opportunity come your way?

It was February 24, 2006, three years to the day that I got the call from Sharon Osbourne to join Ozzy. That’s how things go for me—it’s all in the stars. I got a call from Rock Star’s musical director, Clyde Lieberman, who told me the plan: that Tommy would put together a lineup of monster players for a new band. Two days later, I was in Hollywood with [producer Mark] Burnette. We watched a quick reel of clips I put together—my life flashing before me in about eight minutes. They said, “Holy shit!” And that was it.

How is this different from things you’ve done before?

It’s so huge. The three of us have been in big bands with millions of dollars. But the show’s sponsers have more money than Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and Mötley Crüe put together. But I’m still going to play the way I always have. Now there’ll just be millions of people watching at the same time! That’s what’s so cool about it.

How will it all work?

Two days a week we’re shooting the show—the other five days a week we work on the music.

What’s the musical direction for the band?

It’s going to be crushing riff rock from the old school. We’re all coming from the same place, and we’ve had the same teachers: Blue Cheer, MC5. We already have some basic songs, so we’ll start working out melodies.

What will you bring to this band?

I have two key roles: propel, and stabilize. People know I can propel any band that I’m in. And my sound is my sound, so we know what we’re going to get. Tommy, Gilby, and I have each spent years developing our tone. In terms of stability, I’ve never been known for making a scene. You never saw me coked up in The National Enquirer. I was the first one to the gig and the last one out.

This is me here, Jason, talking to you. But when I play, I’m not the same person. I become it. Sometimes I’ll watch the video, and go, “Who the heck is that?”

What are you looking for in a lead singer?

We’ve got to find someone who can sing from their gut; someone who knows the physical aspects of singing and how to take care of their voice. I train to keep my chops up by running and lifting. They have to do the same thing with their voice. When it comes time to sing, they’d better be on.

It’s about presenting our band. They’ll need to stand among us and still be able to hold their own. It’ll take somebody with serious character, and when we see that person, we’ll know it.

How do you keep on landing these amazing gigs?

Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity. I’ve worked and practiced hard for a long time. When guys who you’ve looked up to say, ‘Dude, be one of us,’ it’s the ultimate fantasy. I’ve had that happen throughout my career—from Metallica to Ozzy to Voivod. So here I am again, getting called by these people I’ve admired for a long time, Tommy and Gilby. I think it’s karma. I create a lot of positive energy, and that’s why I continue to get these breaks.

Alexander “Sasha” Krivtsov

Now in his second season on the CBS show Rock Star (which begins on July 11), Alexander “Sasha” Krivtsov has become an American household figure (if not yet name). A legit rock star in Russia before he’d even graduated high school, Sasha played stadiums and sold millions of records with his band Zemlyane, one of the biggest rock acts Russia’s produced.

Growing up in then-Soviet Russia, the only state-sanctioned music included bands like ABBA and the Beatles. “It was really hard to get records there—foreign records—but you could buy them underground. You could go to jail for listening to non-sanctioned music, so we’d get a bunch of people together and listen to records in hidden places. For some reason, it was easy to get records by people like Chick Corea—so I grew up on that.”

After traveling the world with Zemlyane—and deciding not to return to Russia—Sasha set his sights on New York City. Before long, he continued Westward to Los Angeles, arriving there in 1993. A year or so into his L.A. life he hooked up with Duff McKagan—post-Guns N’ Roses—to tour behind McKagan’s first solo release. By the time that gig had tapered off, he’d become a true sessionista, serving with singer/songwriters Vanessa Carlton and Tal Bachman, rocker Billy Idol, and pop band the New Radicals. Recently, he’s collaborated with producer Tom Rothrock on such projects as last year’s luminous James Blunt debut, plus Badly Drawn Boy’s About a Boy and Have You Fed the Fish? albums [BMG]. Last year Sasha found the time and energy to found Vertigo Productions with partner Erik Eldenius, a company devoted to developing and producing emerging new bands.

So what keeps Sasha’s phone ringing so regularly? “I’ve created rules for myself: Play with attitude. Dig in. Be responsible for each note you play. I believe bass and drums are the skeleton of any music, so you have to be rock-solid—no B.S. I just play what needs to be played.”

“I’ve learned from my favorite bass players—Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and Pino Palladino [D’Angelo, John Mayer Trio]—to keep it in the pocket. I always listen to the lead vocal so I can come up with melodic bass parts; That’s why I love Paul McCartney and James Jamerson. I love how someone like Jaco Pastorius can play a million notes and still sounds good. But I’m not the kind of player who plays a lot of notes. I teach my students to play eighth-notes. AC/DC’s Cliff Williams is an unbelievable bass player—he’ll play eighth-notes for the whole gig, but it’s all very funky.”

The house-band gig on Rock Star can be demanding, but Sasha knows the drill. Last season, he and the band had to master dozens of rock classics—from Pink Floyd to John Lennon—backing 15 unknowns competing to front superstar band INXS. Playing live in front of seven million viewers was no small feat, and the band received critical praise for its efforts. “It definitely wasn’t boring,” Sasha laughs. “They gave us a list of about 150 songs that we needed to learn for the show. Often the singers would have us change keys at the last minute. At this point, I can probably transpose any song in my head on the spot!”

For Krivtsov, the highlight of the 2005 season was the band’s take on Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” performed with a gospel choir and orchestra. “That was pretty grand—it should have been the finale. When it ended, we were like, ‘How are we supposed to top that?” In this season’s search for a hard-rocking Supernova frontman, Sasha and the gang are bound to find a way.