In a recent interview with UpAndComingTV’s “The UACast”, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson was asked to name the  main lessons that he has learned as part of his personal development throughout everything that he has done. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, I think the first thing is try to just be joyful in what you’re doing. It’s a gift, and we’ve all got different gifts. Even in a band, there’s different gifts. Bass player, don’t try to be the drummer. Just stay in your lane. That’s one thing. And I think the other thing is if you’re a good number one, hire a number two and a three who are better than you. And don’t be afraid to get people around you who are better than you, because they will only raise you up. As they say, when the water rises, all boats rise. So, for me, I like to work with the best people I possibly can. And I don’t go for the name factor as much as just the best possible people. And some people, just ’cause they haven’t had a lucky break to the big time doesn’t mean they’re not perfectly qualified. And we all get trained and we learn as we go through the process. And so, look, there’s nothing replaces experience.”Ellefson continued: “And just try to be grateful — just try to be thankful. Maybe it’s ’cause I’m getting a little older now — I don’t know — but I’ve had that mentality the whole time. It’s, like, man, we get to play music. I remember one time I had kind of a spirit advisor, sponsor friend of mine, and I was, like, ‘Oh, man, I’ve gotta go to Japan.’ He goes, ‘Wait, wait, wait. You get to go to Japan.’ As he went to his office and worked, I went, ‘God, you know what? You’re right. I should probably shut up about that.’ And it’s like, don’t make this out like this is some laborious task. ‘Oh, I can’t believe I have to go to South America again.’ It’s, like, you get to go play your songs for people all around the world. And it doesn’t negate that travel’s hard and there’s just human things that beat on you a little bit, just the time changes and stuff. But you know what? It’s all just a gift, man. And we’re not here very long. I’ve been coming up on 60 years now, and it seems like I was 30 just a couple of weeks ago. I mean, in my heart I still am; I’m still the same guy. But the truth of it is… I was at a museum the other day and it was giving statistics of people. And one of the last statistics is 100 percent of all people die. 100 percent! It’s not, like, ‘Well, if you do this, you can survive.’ No, 100 percent, all die.”Naming another thing he has learned over the years, Ellefson added: “This is a lesson for me, ’cause I don’t do it all the time. Travel light — just carry a light load. And I overpack always and I carry too many creature comforts with me. So it’s a good lesson for me to just remember that you don’t need to have that shit over there. Just travel light, man. And that’s really kind of more of just a mindset. Just kind of be ready to go. If the phone rings, go. Keep the bass tuned. Keep your body in good shape. When it comes, go, man.”Ellefson went on to say that it’s important for him to pursue projects that he genuinely enjoys rather than involve himself in things just for the sake of making money.”I had a friend. I asked him, ‘Man, should I or shouldn’t I,’ whatever the thing was,” he recalled. “And he asked me, he goes, ‘Well, is there money involved? I said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘Well, first of all, I always take the money out of it. If there’s no money involved, would I still go do it?’ I said, ‘Of course I would.’ He goes, ‘Then there’s your answer.’ He goes, ‘Don’t make it about the money. Just make it about going.’ ‘Cause every time I’ve — and I’ve only done it a couple of times when I’ve played… You do a gig or something and somebody dangles, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of money.’ And every time I’ve done it just for the money, there was never enough money. It was always unenjoyable and there was always something behind it that I didn’t like about it. So I’d rather just kind of go and do it. Even when I went back to MEGADETH, I was like, ‘You know what? Be willing to do this for free. Would you do this for free?’ And I was, like, ‘You know what? I would.’ Now, they paid me, but still — it wasn’t about that. It wasn’t about a paycheck. It was just about, ‘I kind of wanna go back out and play ‘Rust In Peace’ again. That’d be a lot of fun. That’d be a good time.’ And that’s how I just tried to always approach that gig.”Last month, Ellefson unveiled a year-end holiday treat in the form of a fresh and dynamic rendition of the 1980s classic “Ah! Leah!” by legendary singer-songwriter Donnie Iris. The track features an impressive lineup, including vocalists Chip Z’nuff (ENUFF Z’NUFF) and Stephen Shareaux (KIK TRACEE),along with Drew Fortier (THE LUCID) on guitar and Paolo Caridi on drums.This updated version of the radio rock favorite is now available on all digital platforms.Ellefson was fired from MEGADETH by Dave Mustaine in May 2021, just days after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving the bassist were posted on Twitter.In 2004, Ellefson filed an $18.5-million lawsuit against Mustaine, alleging the frontman shortchanged him on profits and backed out of a deal to turn Megadeth Inc. over to him when the band broke up in 2002. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH in 2010.Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band’s inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.[embedded content]