Here’s Why Ex-Overkill Guitarist Bobby Gustafson Shot Down Dave Mustaine’s Offer To Join Megadeth

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Dave Mustaine Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images / Bobby Gustafson: User:DAZXXIII, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia
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Back in the late ’80s, ex-Overkill guitarist Bobby Gustafson was invited by Megadeth singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine to join the band, but Bobby turned down his offer. Who the hell turns down an offer to join Megadeth?!

Well, Bobby had his reasons.

Per a recent conversation with The Meista – Brews & Tunes, Bobby was asked if it is true that he turned down an offer to join Megadeth. Gustafson says it is true, sharing the following (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

“Yeah, it was right after Rat [Skates, then-Overkill drummer] had quit, we were on tour with Megadeth. We did two months in Europe, we had a couple days home and then we had another six weeks with Megadeth and by the end of that tour Rat had quit.

“We were in San Jose and he quit, and Dave wanted me to stay out there. Halfway through the tour, he had asked me…he was like fed up with his band and he wanted me to play guitar.”

Bobby then provides the reason for denying Dave Mustaine’s offer to join the band:

“They were just kind of a little to messed up for me at that point, you know on [the ‘Peace Sells’ tour], so we had just taken overcome out and I’m thinking ‘No, I think I’m gonna stick with my band.’

“I probably would have did that one album, which is the third album [1988’s ‘So Far, So Good…So What!’]…yeah I don’t see it having gone past that, so I at least made the right choice with Overkill for another two albums I was able to do. But you know, it could have been cool. We knew each other before that and [Mustaine] just needed like a heavy rhythm guitar player.”

That is surreal to turn down an offer to be part of Megadeth. What do you think of Bobby’s decision? Do you think he should have taken the offer?

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