According to a posting on NewstedHeavyMetal.com, former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted is "not on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or any other social networking website as of September 15, 2014 & and has no affiliation with any such impostor sites using his name or likeness unlawfully." Jason in February canceled an appearance at Australia's Soundwave festival with his band NEWSTED, citing "private and personal circumstances." The cancelation followed more than a year of intense touring and promotional activity surrounding the release of NEWSTED's "Metal" EP and follow-up album, "Heavy Metal Music", both of which were positively received by the critics and fans alike. In an early 2013 interview with RockRevolt Magazine, Newsted expressed a very positive attitude towards social networking web sites, explaining that they made its possible for him to connect to with a huge number of supporters very easily, and facilitiated the marketing and promotion of NEWSTED after more than a decade away from METALLICA. "My thing and the way that I have always conducted myself in my career has been to be very accessible and approachable to all fans," he said. "I've spent many, many tired hours taking the time to look at people's eyes and shake their hands and hear their stories. My mantra through all that time was to always give everyone 60 seconds. If I could give everyone one minute to hear why they came to the show or what their favorite song was, then I was doing what I was supposed to be doing as an ambassador of music. Now, all of that time and effort and friendships and acquaintances that were created are now coming back to me about a thousand fold." He added: "It's so important to me to remember what that feels like to be a fan myself and understand that there are people out there that may feel that way about me as a fan. So being 'interactive' just comes naturally to me, no matter what the setting. Sites like Facebook and Twitter make it so easy and fun to connect to people and share what's going on. I love being able to actually 'talk' to fans (and I do look at it that way) and have gotten a lot of encouragement and inspiration from them. Hopefully I've given some back." "Heavy Metal Music" sold nearly 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available on August 6, 2013 in North America via Chophouse Records/Collective Sounds and August 5, 2013 in Europe through Spinefarm Records. NEWSTED took part in last year's edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. Also appearing on the bill were headliners MEGADETH, along with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DEVICE, HELLYEAH and DEATH DIVISION.
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