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Ex-METALLICA Bassist JASON NEWSTED, High School Buddy Remain Close After 33 Years

January 1, 2012

Kalamazoo Gazette has uploaded video footage (see below) of Jason Newsted, who played 15 years with the heavy metal band METALLICA, and Gary Kyes, paralyzed in a car crash, reminiscing in Kyes' recording studio at his Richland, Michigan-area home. The two became friends when both attended Gull Lake High School in the late 1970s.

Connie Kyes-Myland, Kyes' younger sister, moved from Indiana to Grand Rapids in June to help care for her brother, who was nearly killed in a car crash in 1992. She said Newsted and Kyes have been "good medicine for each other." Her family refers to Newsted as "Uncle Jason," a devoted family friend who stayed in close contact despite his celebrity status.

"He's Jason, and I wouldn't expect fame and fortune to change him. ... He's true to the core and that doesn't change with money, fame and rock 'n' roll," she said.

"Jason, being on the road, really kept Gary going," Kyes-Myland said. "There have been many times when everything sort of piles up on him, and lo and behold, it's time for Jason to visit. And boom, it's the shot in the arm Gary needed."

Read the entire article from Kalamazoo Gazette.

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