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Devil driven

By Steven Patrick

Dez Fafara, vocalist for California groove metal band DevilDriver, is no stranger to the rigors of the touring lifestyle. It's a good thing, then, that Fafara absolutely lives for being on the road. Fafara's first taste of success came from his stint as the lead singer for the prominent nu metal band Coal Chamber from 1994-2003. Coal Chamber enjoyed their greatest success with their sophomore album "Chamber Music," which included a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey," featuring the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, on guest vocals.

Coal Chamber might have split up in 2003 as a result of internal conflicts and creative differences, but by that time Fafara already had a side-project going that blossomed into his full-time day job. That side project was DevilDriver, which also includes Mike Spreitzer and Jeff Kendrick on guitar, Jon Miller on bass and John Boecklin on drums. The band now has four albums under its belt and is working on the fifth. Currently, DevilDriver is continuing to tour in support of their 2009 effort "Pray for Villains."

Having played at Alrosa Villa Jan. 23, Fafara was kind enough to speak with UWeekly about how the new album is going, what DevilDriver will be up to in the near future, and a mysterious photograph he received from a fan.

UWeekly: How's the tour going so far?
Aww, man it's going insane. I mean, it's going amazing. The crowds have been unbelievable. Last night in Portland was just off the hook ... so many people just coming up on stage and diving off. Just goes to show ... hard work ... you know?

UW: Now, are you in the middle of recording a new album? If so, how is the progress going?
Nah, nah, nah ... we're just writing. We're writing on the road. That's what's going on with that. We're just writing right now. We're hoping to get in the studio April or May and hoping for an October release. From the tracks that I've heard, it's gonna be a ferocious record.

UW: DevilDriver played their first show together at the Alrosa Villa. Is that surreal for you considering what happened there and that you work within the metal genre?
Well, to be honest with you, last time we played it, I talked to my agent and said, "Nah, I don't wanna do that gig." I knew Dimebag real well and didn't want to do that gig. The way that they put it to me was, "The people in the area need a rock show, Dez ... and they are all sympathetic with what happened too, but this is their club ... their hometown club and they need rock shows to come to." Then I kinda thought, what would Dime do? At that point, what would Dime tell me to do? Dime would say, "Go rock the house!" He would. Crazy enough, about a month ago, [someone] came and handed me this photo of me ... (sighs) ... you know, I never said anything about Dime that night, right? We just did the set and got out of the building. Someone took a picture of me kneeling down between a song and I remember it was a really quiet moment in my own head. Everyone else was yelling everywhere on and off the stage, but there's this huge orb around me, man, and that's ... I can't explain the photo, you know. It's hanging up at my house right now ... it's ... everyone that's ever seen it goes, "What is that?" and I'd like to think that maybe it's the presence of something special watching over all of us, know what I mean? But that's really what I think about. It's bittersweet knowing that we played our first show there and that went down. Such a horrible tragedy went down there, but we're coming to give people a rock show, and I think that's what Dime would have wanted. That's what we're gonna do.

UW: You've been at this for a while, do you have any advice for a new band that's trying to get started into the metal scene?
Well, take your hometown scene and just roll with it. You've gotta own your hometown in order to own something national. Make sure that club is packed every time you guys play. Uh, give away free CDs, give away free T-shirts. You know, that's what I did in the beginning of my career - we'd pull up 200 T-shirts and give them away for free. Next thing you know, you walk around town and everybody's wearing your sh-t. Hook up with your local, if you do have local radio stations, or people who will play your music. You know? Go hook that up.

Originally Published: January 27, 2010

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