MEGADETH band assistant, Rikki Cameron, has checked in with the following update:

"And at long last, we finally get a little bit of rest!! Canadian Carnage and now American Carnage has ended and Megadeth and their crew is taking a much deserved rest for a couple of weeks before we head back out for the Jagermeister Music Tour to kick your butts all over again. :) It feels like we've been going non-stop since we started touring in March, the very first of the Rust In Peace 20th Anniversary shows. And certainly since the return of our beloved David Ellefson. Thankfully, we were able to chronicle that first leg of the Rust In Peace tour by putting out a DVD- Megadeth Rust In Peace Live from the Hollywood Palladium show on March 31, 2010. The DVD and CD were released this week, so definitely make sure you pick it up! I had not seen any of the footage from the filming before this was released and after days of searching to buy it, I finally got my hands on a copy yesterday. Thank you Hot Topic for carrying it, Best Buy was all sold out!! I must say, those of you who have seen the backstage footage will know what I'm talking about, I am incredibly humbled and borderline speechless at the appreciation shown for my hard work by Mr. Mustaine. I love my job, I love what I do, I love the people I work for and with and all of their families. I'm truly blessed to have found a 'family' who not only takes me for what I am, but appreciates me for it and isn't afraid to say so.

I want to take a minute to reflect on everything that happened during the last six weeks. I have switched roles slightly, here within Megadeth. I'm now dealing fully with the band and less with the production aspect of the shows. We've had some personnel changes and have welcomed some new faces and are doing everything necessary to keep this a well oiled machine. It was overwhelming at times during the transitions, but so interesting to watch as Megadeth's stage show was constantly evolving. We added so many bits and pieces here and there to bring it to another level. The sound and lights continue to blow everyone away, we've added set changes, wardrobe changes, even a surprise addition of Vic Rattlehead on stage! And the evolution shows no signs of slowing down. We've had some fantastic guests join us for the shows, many of whom have previously been mentioned by either David or Shawn in their updates: Evan Seinfeld of BIOHAZARD joined us in New Jersey, Charlie Benante of ANTHRAX came out to say hi and preview what they're up against in Chicago, The Big Unit- Randy Johnson photographed Megadeth in Phoenix (and as a baseball fan, let me tell you, that was REALLY awesome.), LA was of course a who's who of the music industry- Tony Campos of STATIC-X (and a dear friend of mine), Robert Trujillo of METALLICA, the lovely Miss Metal Sanaz, and the one and only Kenny G. David previously posted my picture with him, but I have to state that Kenny G is a really great dude. My mother told me after Europe 'you never meet anyone cool.' Of course my response was 'are you kidding me?!?!?' and she said 'well, nobody I would think was cool.' So that picture is for you, Mom. Kenny G was super cool, but I still will never understand your obsession with Michael Bolton. ;) San Francisco brought us the Metallica heavyweights of Lars and James and our friends Robb, Phil and Adam of MACHINE HEAD. To anyone who STILL doesn't believe that the reconciliation between Dave and Lars/James is a fool. The past is buried and new friendships and respect have been made. It's inspiring to the world to witness this as it shows that anyone can resolve their differences and time does in fact heal all.

To those of you still living in the dark ages, Dave Mustaine also released a book. Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir is a New York Times Best Seller and is a great read for all music fans. To many of you who have attended the book signings, you've probably seen me standing off to the right, probably returning a million emails from the convenience of my blackberry, ha. It's a really cool experience to get to see the fans getting to meet their idol and how much he as affected their lives. You'll generally see a smile on my face as I watch the interactions, it really is a joy to hear all of their experiences. The most common question we get asked is 'why can't he sign my cd covers?' or similar. I want to address this to help out the fans: Dave does a book signing every day that Megadeth has a show. He tries to sign for as many people as he possibly can, generally in the 200-400 people per day range, he personalizes every book, he shakes every hand, then he goes back to the venue, does soundcheck, hours of press, generally a minimum of 3 meet and greets, warms up/rehearses for 2 hours, then he plays his a#% off for 70 minutes on the stage. Sometimes we have 3 and 4 days in a row of shows before a day off. His schedule exhausts me and I don't nearly exude the energy that he does on a day to day basis. In order to make the time to sign for all of the fans at the book signing, we have to keep the rules fairly tight. If he signed memorabilia for every person and/or took photos, there simply aren't enough hours in the day. Press and Meet and Greets would have to be cancelled, not to mention he'd be so tired he'd be unable to put on the show that the fans deserve. And people don't realize but sometimes, some of the people in line are professional autograph collectors. They don't care about Dave or Megadeth or the fans who took time off of work and shelled out hard earned money for this book. They only care about ink on paper so they can make a quick buck. Some of those people are flat out rude about it. Have some respect to the few people who are rude (99% of people are NOT rude at all, I want that to be made aware). Megadeth and Dave Mustaine do way more to show their fans appreciation then any band I've ever worked for and anyone I've ever seen. Don't be upset when you can't get other things signed. How many people in other countries would do just about anything to have that very same opportunity to stand in that line and shake his hand and tell him what his music had meant to them? I'm sure all of you Non-American Megadeth fans can vouch for that! My point is that Mr. Mustaine does not sign other memorabilia during book signings, not out of disrespect to you, but out of respect for every person who is there and to the fans who attend the show. I, for one, say thank you for taking the time to show your fans that they are truly important to you.

Now, Megadeth fans, I'm going to resume my much deserved vacation. I'm in Chicago for a week or so visiting friends, trying to recoup a bit, so I'm all fired up and ready to go for the next round! Might even stay a few extra days to catch the DEFTONES and ALICE IN CHAINS when they play here (the Deftones are my favorite band and Alice in Chains are amazing!). And I'm sooooooo looking forward to the Pacific Rim tour coming up in December. I've never been lucky enough to go to Australia and New Zealand, and what better way to spend my birthday than a show day in Auckland! (No offense, Billings, Montana. You were great last year, but I think even you understand!) If you do nothing else today, take the time to say thank you to somebody who means a lot to you. I'm taking this blog to say thank you to each and every one of you. :)"
-Rikki

Band Assistant

Megadeth

As previously reported, Confirmed dates for Leg Two of the American Carnage Tour, which features the original Clash Of The Titans lineup of SLAYER, ANTHRAX and Megadeth, are as follows:

September

24 - Verizon Wireless Theatre - Dallas, TX*
25 - AT&T; Center - San Antonio, TX*
26 - Verizon Wireless Theatre - Houston, TX*
28 - Lakefront Arena - New Orleans, LA*
30 - Civic Coliseum - Knoxville, TN

October

1 - The Arena at Gwinnett Center - Atlanta, GA*
2 - Hard Rock Live - Orlando, FL
3 - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre - Miami, FL*
5 - Hampton Coliseum - Norfolk, VA
6 - 1st Marina Arena - Baltimore, MD*
8 - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Uniondale - Long Island, NY*
9 - Toyota Pavilion @ Montage Mountain - Scranton, PA*
10 - LC Pavilion - Columbus, OH**
12 - Freedom Hall - Louisville, KY
14 - War Memorial Coliseum - Ft. Wayne, IN*
15 - DeltaPlex - Grand Rapids, MI*
16 - Eagles Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI**
19 - E Center - Salt Lake City, UT
20 - The Pearl - Las Vegas, NV
21 - Gibson Amphitheatre - Hollywood, CA*

* $10 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale

** $5 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale