Jason Newsted fully commits to the song and task at hand. His primal songwriting instincts are just as intense and fearless as hisfamous live performances. The six-time GRAMMY®Award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame®Inductee fronts The ChophouseBand as vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He writes his own entry in the American Songbook, leaving his mark withthe same blood, sweat, and cheers that generations of fans have not only come to expect, but forever appreciate from him.Weaving together swaths of rock, country and folk with a heavy edge,his new music cuts a path into the South, circles aroundthe Bay Area, and returns back to the Heartland where Jason grew up. “The Chophouse is the continuation of myambassadorship of American music,” he states. “The Chophouse Band plays everything from bluegrass to fucking slabs of metal.We’re covering a lot of ground: There could be countryflavor to a song, but it’ll still have sharp teeth. It’s all Americana. I lookforward to playing some new tunes for everybody and anyone that would like to join in the fun!”Jason was raised on a small farm in Michigan. Thanks to two older brothers(eight andfive years his senior), he was exposed togreat music at an early age. Atfive years old, he heard Jimi Hendrix for thefirsttime. By ten, funk and soul from Detroit andChicago had ensnared him. He went on to embrace Kiss, Rush, AC/DC,Black Sabbath, and more.“I experienced Americanpopular music on the radio as it was being invented,”he muses.“I paid close attention. When you put all of this gathered andprocessed data into my blender and pour it out, this is what you get.” After four years leading Phoenix thrash juggernaut Flotsam and Jetsam, he got the call to join Metallica in October 1986. Youcan trace the origins of the Chophouse back to this era when he bought a home in Walnut Creek, CA. The open space above thegarage transformed into an all-night jam spot frequented by a revolving door of elite Bay Area players, including members ofFaith No More, Testament, Exodus, and many others. Returning from the road in 1992, he refashioned this de facto clubhouseinto a state-of-the-art studio with a lounge, instrument storage, and closed-circuit TV. “Jim Martin of Faith No More and hisbrother Lou christened the new studio‘Big Rigor Chophouse’,” he says, smiling. “It’s literally the house where you go to keepyour chops up.” The Chophouse became the entity that represents and encompasses his musical endeavors.As his career journey consequently twisted and turned over the next three decades, the Chophouse grew and evolved.Chophouse Records served as home to the music he released with Papa Wheelie, Echobrain, Voivod, and his eponymousNewsted Heavy Metal Music project. Following a whirlwind two years with the latter, he sowed the seeds for live appearancesand official recordings from The Chophouse Band; He continued to collect songs, wrote lyrics and poems, recorded demos, andjammedtirelessly with friends and collaborators, purely out of passion. Without any serious agenda, TCB have madeappearances at benefit gigs for 15 years, playing for causes as diverse as veteran’s relief, animal rescue and rehabilitation, andyouth music & arts education programs. Along the way, he dug into the American musical lexicon with guitar in-hand, followingJohnny Cash and John Prine down the line into origins of“Old chain Gang and mining songs.”“I learned my way around my old six-string acoustic,” he notes. “I put in the years and thetime in the Chophouse. I know I canplay my cowboy chords, and I know this right hand is wicked. It’s been developed for a lot of years, I realized this is where I canenthusiastically place my energy now. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody, I just want to enjoy myself and feel as alive aspossible”By 2022, Newsted had begun to split histime between Central New York and Florida’s Treasure Coast, where he established TCBHeadquarters. Singing and playing guitar, Jason assembled The Chophouse Band for 2026 with: Jesse Farnsworth [guitar, vocal],Jimbo Hart [bass, vocal], Humberto Perez [guitar], and Robert John-Tucker [drums, vocal].Among many highlights, “Lonely Man” offers an epic and entrancing tribute to his late father. Stretching past the seven-minutemark, softly strummed chords ring out, violin wails, and a hypnotic waltzing beat anchors the tempo. You can practically hearhim hold back the tears as he confesses,“Know that I tried...The lasttime I saw you, I cried.Lonely man.”A beautifullycomposed tribute by an emotionally charged artist, with tearful and haunting harmonies. Afinal, respectful send-offfrom son tofather. “Our Dad died on November 9, 2021,” he recalls. “It was within COVID, so we had to communicate through glass. He wasa strong, proud individual. He didn’t drink, smoke, or curse. He was a solid citizen, a go-getter. He wasn’t afraid to sweat. He setan incredible example. No matter what we did, he was supportive of us—especially when it came to what we achieved with themusic. He volunteered at his church, he was good with everybody, a friendly, people person, but he became an isolated guy. Wehad great admiration for each other. I wrote ‘Lonely Man’ ten days after he passed, processing grief through song. Thecomposition is mesmerizing, sorrowful, enlightening, honest, and somewhat hopeful.” “Blackbird” takesflight on a swinging bluegrass groove, accented by old schoolfiddle and countryfied harmony vocal. He leansinto the hypnotic hook, going on to sing,“Blackbird walking on the water, like Jesus himself, just a little smaller.I try to seeevery sunset that I can from our dock, where the Loxahatchee River meets the Atlantic. One day, I was sitting there with myguitar and watching the black Cormorantsfloating andfishing. You see them for a moment, then they dive and disappear for awhile. Suddenly, they’ll pop back up with afish in their beak, run along the water, andfly away. I write about our surroundingsand life experiences. To me,‘Blackbird’appropriately represents the folky element of The Chophouse Band.”Elsewhere, Jason and Co. cover “Hillbilly Grave” originally composed by Guy Clark’s accompanying guitarist, Verlon Thompson,and lateviolinist Sue Cunningham. TCB pay a heavy-handed homage to the original with honor and reverence. “Our mantra is,‘We respectfully play hybrid versions of songs from our greatest heroes’,” he goes on. “Heroes can be older or younger. Verlonfirst sat in at a Chophouse gig more than ten years ago. It was our initial contact with an artist of legitimate Americanapedigree.” Well-traveled, living legends from different generations and genres, making authentic American music together,speakingtheuniversal language.The contemplative “Any Good Water” stitches together moments of regret, nostalgia, and hope into a poignant patchwork.Emotion pours between the cracks of acoustic guitar and violin, and he surveys where he started,“Took the long way ‘round,instead of falling down.”He goes on to assure,“Ain’t got to ask me.., one look, my face will tell, there’s plenty o’ good water lein this well.”“Astime rolls on, We get put in check by different challenges,” he states. “Our hearts and minds may remain the same, but ourbones may say,‘Now you canonlydo this’. As bassist/vocalist for Metallica in their prime, I was the engine of a giant locomotiveroaring uphill at full steam for a decade and a half. It can get the best of you; I equate touring years with dog years. I’m thinkingto myself,‘Do I have anything left?’I’ve weathered tours, tests, trials, and surgeries, but I’m still here, everybody. I’ve got a lotmore energy, love and music to share.., simply for the sake of sharing.”Jason Newsted has dedicated himself to art and music. In Flotsam and Jetsam, he composed the lion’s share of the songs onbass, and penned the lyrics for the classicDoomsday for the Deceiver LP. Throughoutfifteen years in the world’s most successfulheavy metal band, he took part in captivating millions of fans in arenas and stadiums worldwide. He held down the bass onMetallica studio albums, including the history-making 2X-DiamondThe Black Album(the best-selling LP in the history ofSoundscan). As a member of the metal megastar outfit, he received six GRAMMY®Awards and was inducted into the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame®in April, 2009. Moreover, Jason’s expansive catalog has featured recordings with Echobrain, Voivod, and thecritically acclaimed Newsted Heavy Metal Music project. His list of collaborations includes: Tina Turner, Tony Iommi, Ian Gillan,UNKLE, Sepultura and Gov’t Mule, in addition to touring in Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Beyond decades of music, he stands out as anaccomplished visual artist whose artwork is included in international collections and galleries.In the summer of 2026, he takes The Chophouse Band on theirfirst-ever tour, supporting Blackberry Smoke in North America.“I’m someone who’s been a few places,” he leaves off. “I’ve had some very close calls. I need to feel as alive is possible. That’swhy I’m doing everything I do right now. Every day matters. Everything else matters. Having music coursing through my veins, this is how I can feel the most alive"