By Andrew Bansal
April 24th 2013, Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood CA: When I first found out about this show through a press release three weeks ago, I knew it was something worth checking out, something different from what the norm is for the kind of events I get to attend in the LA area. The fact that Megadeth bassist David Ellefson’s name was attached to the event and the project it represents, was in itself sufficient to draw the attention of metalheads like myself. But when I went into the details of the event, I discovered that it was a lot deeper than just another all-star metal jam. I spoke to Ellefson last week and was intrigued by what he had to say, and after attending the special, exclusive event last evening I certainly have a newfound appreciation for the subject matter and the efforts and initiative taken by the people involved.
I got to the Whisky at around 7.30, and the evening’s proceedings started soon after with an exclusive 15-minute premiere clip of the documentary film directed by Fran Strine, called ‘Battlefield Of The Mind’. The movie deals with the issues faced by military veterans when they return home, such as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), substance abuse, lack of family support and social disorder, and the money from last evening’s ticket sales is going to the Boot Campaign which is one of the non-profit organizations assisting the veterans cope with these issues. Based on this clip I can definitely say that the subject is dealt with just the right level of intensity, and the musical connection is provided by Mike Mushok’s compositions that were used throughout the film. Ellefson does a great job at narrating the film and his voice seems perfectly suited for this type of project. He should do more of these things. The clip summed up the movie brilliantly, and afterwards, Fran Strine addressed the audience. Representatives from Chill, Boot Campaign and other military assistance organizations like MAM also spoke a few words, and then came Ellefson’s turn. It was nice to hear his thoughts on the subject, and he handled himself gracefully. I’m going to stick my neck out here and say he’s a far better spokesperson for Megadeth than the other Dave.
Following the movie-related stuff came the all-star jam, which is what the metalheads in the crowd really came to see. It featured the members of the group of musicians that contributed to the Battlefield Of The Mind soundtrack, namely Sal G (Staind), Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey (Lo-Pro), Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence) and of course David Ellefson. With the exception of Ellefson, I’m not really a huge fan of any of the bands these guys represent, but I was able to appreciate them in this setting and it just goes to show that members of metal bands are also individual musicians after all, so when they get together with people from other bands, the result is usually decent. They played tracks off of the documentary’s soundtrack of course, and that was also what made the jam interesting and unique. It wasn’t just a bunch of the same old metal covers. I’d highly recommend heavy music lovers to check out the soundtrack as it features some impressive songwriting by Mike Mushok and his excellent collaboration with the aforementioned musicians.
The headline band Eye Empire played after the jam. I couldn’t stick around for their whole set but but judging from what I saw and heard, I think they’re a very modern metal type band and fans of bands like Staind would particularly enjoy Eye Empire’s music.
All in all, it was a wonderful event from which I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Honestly, had it not been for the Ellefson and metal connection, I don’t know whether I’d be inclined to cover it for this website, but I’m glad I did, and I actually found the first part of the event i.e. the movie bit more interesting than the live musicianship because the latter is something I experience on an almost daily basis whereas the documentary was totally different in that regard. It’s healthy for the metal community to devote some time to the more serious and real things affecting daily life rather than just the fun and frolic of rock ‘n roll. To sum up, ‘Battlefield Of The Mind’ is a great initiative and its presentation to the public was executed successfully last evening.
Related: David Ellefson interview