Last week, Kings of Thrash guitarist Jeff Young was asked if he was in touch with his former Megadeth bandmate Dave Mustaine, or if he was aware of any feelings Mustaine might have about Kings of Thrash out touring and playing his material. Young's response was somewhat steely, to say the least.
"Nah, we couldn't care less… and it's a win-win for him," said Young. "Because all the publishing, for example, on [the Kings of Thrash live LP] Best Of The West, he's getting all that money. We're making him money and he doesn't have to do anything.
"So, we're performing the songs because they're part of our history and the fans want to hear them and we will benefit from that, and so will he, so it's a win-win," said Young. "How much cooler can anything be than that? So, if he has something to say about it… I wouldn't imagine it would be very objective… not that anything he's ever said has been objective."
That said, guitarist Chris Poland—another Megadeth alumni who also plays with Kings of Thrash, isn't as harsh on the idea as Young perhaps, telling Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of Rock Interview Series that, if Mustaine were available and interested, Poland would be down for a jam.
"Fuck, I would. Yeah, I would. Are you kidding? I mean, please, that would be pretty cool," Poland said. "But Dave's probably kind of like Miles Davis. Miles Davis never looked back; he only looked forward. And I know he's playing certain songs from certain records, but I don't think he wants to go that far back. And that'd be a lot for him to learn. But I guess he wrote it; he could probably play that in about five minutes.
I think it's pretty safe to say that between Young's chilly response last week, and the huge gap in opinion between Mustaine and former Megadeth (and current Kings of Thrash) bassist David Ellefson, that no such jam opportunity opportunity is going to arise. Ellefson has previously stated that he knows who his friends are, while Mustaine has outright said "I'll forgive him a thousand times. I just won’t play music with him anymore."
The group will, however, release a live CD/DVD package called Best Of The West…Live At The Whisky A Go Go on March 24. The 17-song set is taken from the Kings of Thrash live set at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood from October of last year.
You can check out the full interview with Chris Poland below, as well as dates for the first-ever Kings of Thrash tour of the US.
2/16 — Joliet, IL — The Forge
2/17 — Minneapolis, MN — Varsity Theater
2/19 — Madison, WI — Majestic Theatre
2/20 — Indianapolis, IN — The Vogue
2/21 — Columbia, MO — Blue Note
2/22 — Columbus, OH — King Of Clubs
2/24 — Flint, MI — The Machine Shop
2/25 — Cincinnati, OH — Legends Bar And Venue
2/27 — Cleveland, OH — Beachland Ballroom And Tavern
2/28 — Warrendale, PA — Jergels
3/1 — Buffalo, NY — Town Ballroom
3/3 — Poughkeepsie, NY — The Chance
3/4 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom
3/5 — Harrisburg, PA — Midtown Arts Center
3/7 — Ardmore, PA — Ardmore Music Hall
3/8 — New York, NY — Gramercy Theatre
3/10 — Charlottesville, VA — Jefferson Theatre
3/11 — Greensboro, NC — Hangar 1819
3/12 — Asheville, NC — The Orange Peel
3/14 — Charleston, SC — Music Farm
3/15 — Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade (Hell)
