Megadeth has canceled immediate tour plans [until June 20th] as bassist David Ellefson and his family mourn the loss of his brother, who passed away on May 19 in Minneapolis, Minnesota after battling cancer. A private family funeral service will be held. The band’s statement says:
‘Bassist David Ellefson Takes A Break to Spend Time With Family After Brother’s Death
Los Angeles, CA (May 21, 2014) – Megadeth has canceled immediate tour plans as bassist David Ellefson and his family mourn the loss of his brother, who passed away on May 19, in Minneapolis, Minn. after battling cancer. A private family funeral service will be held.
The band sends their deepest condolences and prayers to David during this time and ask that the fans please do the same.
For up to date tour info, visit https://www.megadeth.com/tour.
In his memoir, “My Life With Deth”, David Ellefson wrote about his early family life, “I loved the farm [where I was raised, about six miles north of Jackson, Minnesota], but I didn’t love farming quite so much, so my brother, Eliot, was always the one who was going to take it over from my father when the time came. He showed an aptitude for farming from a very young age. When I started getting into music at eleven or twelve, Eliot was focusing on being disciplined and working around the farm.”
Ellefson‘s autobiography, “My Life With Deth”, was made available on October 29 via Howard Books. The memoir chronicles the story of Ellefson‘s fall into addiction during the band’s early years, followed by his subsequent recovery and the return to faith which championed the band’s rise to fame over the past several decades. The book was written with Joel McIver, the bestselling author of 21 books on rock music, and features a foreword by Alice Cooper. World rights to “My Life With Deth” were sold to Philis Boultinghouse at Howard Books by agent Lisa Gallagher at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. The book features contributions from Kerry King [Slayer], Scott Ian [Anthrax], Ellefson‘s current bandmate in Megadeth Shawn Drover and also former colleagues Chris Poland and Marty Friedman.
