Love & Passion Quote by Jason Newsted

Origin stories in rock are rarely dignified; theyre usually a kid, a cheap amp, and a larger-than-life villain to imitate. Jason Newsted frames his own beginning that way, and the details matter: not a conservatory epiphany, but a "little Gibson amp and a bass" bought because Gene Simmons made being the bassist feel like being the main character. Thats the real punchline of Kiss as a cultural machine - they sold identity first, musicianship second, and that order was the hook.

Newsted isnt just name-checking a hero. Hes admitting how aspiration works when youre young: you dont choose an instrument because it fits your soul; you choose it because it lets you inhabit a myth. Simmons, with the makeup, the demon persona, the theatrics, turned bass playing into something visual and legible. In a garage band ecosystem, guitar gets the spotlight by default. Kiss rewired that hierarchy. Pretending to be Kiss gave four kids pre-assigned roles, costumes you could wear in your head before you could afford any real gear.

The subtext is also about permission. Newsted, who would later step into Metallicas most thankless job - replacing a beloved bassist and being asked to disappear into the low end - started out drawn to the loudest personality in the band. The line "I liked Gene the best" reads like a childhood confession, but it foreshadows an adult career spent negotiating visibility: wanting the stage, then learning how often the bassists work is to anchor everyone else while the front line takes the credit.