Dez Fafara - DevilDriver (19/06/2014)
Well and truly at the tail end of a mammoth tour across Europe and the US, disarmingly open and friendly DevilDriver front man Dez Fafara chatted to The 59th Sound about life on tour, the band’s impending time off, and a subsequent Australian tour with death metallers Whitechapel.
“On tour I’m just Groundhog Day. I go to bed at about four in the morning, wake up at about one or two in the afternoon, try to find some food and a shower, then do press. About seven thirty, or eight o’ clock we’re back here (the hotel) if we’re going on at ten or ten thirty at night. I’ve got a bunch of friends or my crew here so we have a few cocktails and just try to get ready for the show. I just try to live it the same every day so it kind of gets you in a groove”.
“We’re in the united states now on a six-week tour with only three days off and it’s just been incredible. We’re on the down hill now, so I’ll be home in about twelve days. We’re taking two months off, and this is the first time I’ve taken a summer off in over twelve years. I’ve never taken July and August off, so I’m just gonna be at home, surf, and hang out with my family”.
“We’re on this tour now with Whitechapel, and they’re a good band, and good guys. We just said to them, y’know, “When’s the last time you went to Australia?”, and they reminded us they had to pull out of Soundwave once due to some family issues. So we were like “Well, come on back! Come with us!” Our crowd likes them and their crowd seems to like us, even though we’re so different from one-another. They’re more of a death metal kind of a band, and we’re more groove metal. It seems to be working really well, and a couple of the guys really get along well together which is a really important part; the camaraderie of a tour”.
With two very different sounding metal groups inviting fans of each to bang heads side-by-side at a show, it’s curious to hear if Dez has seen a change of energy in the crowds to which they’ve played on this particular tour.
“Oh, most definitely. We do a joint meet-and-greet at night, and it’s cool to hear a DevilDriver kid go “I never really heard of Whitechapel, I like you guys!” Or a kid in a Whitechapel shirt say “I wasn’t even familiar with you guys. I watched you tonight and you got something fucking special, y’know?” We hear stuff like that every night, so I think it’s one of the reasons we chose Whitechapel. You don’t want the same kind of band out as you, you should always have something different. We seem to be really working”.
Devildriver’s latest LP Winter Kills has been out for nearly a year, and with such an epic tour to accompany it, Dez is quick to make clear that such a thing doesn’t necessarily mean he’s about to play favourites. The first of their albums released with Napalm records, Winter Kills has made an unprecedented mark on global charts for the band, a feat Fafara believes their new label has more than help achieve.
“What I have is favourite songs, I don’t have a favourite record. I think all of our records kind of have a signature sound, but everyone of them is so different from each other that I can’t really have a favourite, just favourite songs to play. There’s a lot of songs of the first album I still love to play, and same goes for all of our records. I think it’s important to note that our sixth record now has debuted higher all around the world and it’s starting to catch on, which is really cool”.
“We’ve been together a while, and putting out six records in ten years, I mean… Our first record we were together, like, six months. I knew that over the years the project would grow and get better, and I think that’s what’s really happening now. (Napalm) love the music and are behind us in every single way when it comes to press and pushing the band. It’s also a creativity thing, they let us do what we want, and they like it! They fly the Devildriver flag. We’re one of their more prominent bands, and I’m excited to be the flagship for that label”.
In elaborating on the creative process, Dez explains that nothing is forced. Even their exceptionally popular cover of AWOLNATION’s internet hit Sail was a very organic and personal choice.
“I think you have to let it come out naturally. I think it you try to contrive your art at all, you’ll fuck up. Unless you’re a radio rock band. There’s a lot of big radio rock bands and they have to write certain kinds of songs to make sure they get that radio… etcetera. We don’t do that in Devildriver! It comes out natural and if you like it, you like it, and if you don’t, you don’t. We tend to make music for ourselves and then the fans like it, which is working backwards from a lot of projects who will just write for what they know is going to be popular. We don’t do any of that”.
“(The Sail cover) was a crazy last minute thing. We needed something for the bonus edition, I was in the car with my kids, they were playing Sail, and I heard the lyrics “Blame it on my ADD” because I’ve suffered from ADHD and ADD my whole life. My parents had me on medication for years for it, and I heard the chorus “Sail”, and I’ve been on tour for twenty years so I immediately thought ‘Let’s cover this’. I remember sending the guys the tune, they were all together demoing stuff at (guitarist) Mike’s house and within five minutes I got a unanimous “Let’s do it!””
With the Devildriver/ Whitechapel tour only a few short months away for fans down under, Dez departs with welcomely expressed message for all the kids who are considering coming out to see the shows.
“Get out and get ready to get in the pit! This is going to be a good one. I can’t wait to do these shows, man. As soon as it was confirmed there was a big roar within our entire camp. We’re excited to come do this, so get your tickets now because I have no doubt every single one of them is going to sell out!”
Australian fans can unleash the beast with Devildriver and Whitechapel throughout September. Get on board!
Todd Gingell
DEVILDRIVER/WHITECHAPEL
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 20 JUNE, 9AM
FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - BRISBANE, THE HIFI – 18+
www.thehifi.com.au
SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - SYDNEY, THE HIFI – Lic A/A
www.thehifi.com.au
SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER - MELBOURNE, 170 RUSSELL – 18+
www.170russell.com / www.oztix.com.au
“On tour I’m just Groundhog Day. I go to bed at about four in the morning, wake up at about one or two in the afternoon, try to find some food and a shower, then do press. About seven thirty, or eight o’ clock we’re back here (the hotel) if we’re going on at ten or ten thirty at night. I’ve got a bunch of friends or my crew here so we have a few cocktails and just try to get ready for the show. I just try to live it the same every day so it kind of gets you in a groove”.
“We’re in the united states now on a six-week tour with only three days off and it’s just been incredible. We’re on the down hill now, so I’ll be home in about twelve days. We’re taking two months off, and this is the first time I’ve taken a summer off in over twelve years. I’ve never taken July and August off, so I’m just gonna be at home, surf, and hang out with my family”.
“We’re on this tour now with Whitechapel, and they’re a good band, and good guys. We just said to them, y’know, “When’s the last time you went to Australia?”, and they reminded us they had to pull out of Soundwave once due to some family issues. So we were like “Well, come on back! Come with us!” Our crowd likes them and their crowd seems to like us, even though we’re so different from one-another. They’re more of a death metal kind of a band, and we’re more groove metal. It seems to be working really well, and a couple of the guys really get along well together which is a really important part; the camaraderie of a tour”.
With two very different sounding metal groups inviting fans of each to bang heads side-by-side at a show, it’s curious to hear if Dez has seen a change of energy in the crowds to which they’ve played on this particular tour.
“Oh, most definitely. We do a joint meet-and-greet at night, and it’s cool to hear a DevilDriver kid go “I never really heard of Whitechapel, I like you guys!” Or a kid in a Whitechapel shirt say “I wasn’t even familiar with you guys. I watched you tonight and you got something fucking special, y’know?” We hear stuff like that every night, so I think it’s one of the reasons we chose Whitechapel. You don’t want the same kind of band out as you, you should always have something different. We seem to be really working”.
Devildriver’s latest LP Winter Kills has been out for nearly a year, and with such an epic tour to accompany it, Dez is quick to make clear that such a thing doesn’t necessarily mean he’s about to play favourites. The first of their albums released with Napalm records, Winter Kills has made an unprecedented mark on global charts for the band, a feat Fafara believes their new label has more than help achieve.
“What I have is favourite songs, I don’t have a favourite record. I think all of our records kind of have a signature sound, but everyone of them is so different from each other that I can’t really have a favourite, just favourite songs to play. There’s a lot of songs of the first album I still love to play, and same goes for all of our records. I think it’s important to note that our sixth record now has debuted higher all around the world and it’s starting to catch on, which is really cool”.
“We’ve been together a while, and putting out six records in ten years, I mean… Our first record we were together, like, six months. I knew that over the years the project would grow and get better, and I think that’s what’s really happening now. (Napalm) love the music and are behind us in every single way when it comes to press and pushing the band. It’s also a creativity thing, they let us do what we want, and they like it! They fly the Devildriver flag. We’re one of their more prominent bands, and I’m excited to be the flagship for that label”.
In elaborating on the creative process, Dez explains that nothing is forced. Even their exceptionally popular cover of AWOLNATION’s internet hit Sail was a very organic and personal choice.
“I think you have to let it come out naturally. I think it you try to contrive your art at all, you’ll fuck up. Unless you’re a radio rock band. There’s a lot of big radio rock bands and they have to write certain kinds of songs to make sure they get that radio… etcetera. We don’t do that in Devildriver! It comes out natural and if you like it, you like it, and if you don’t, you don’t. We tend to make music for ourselves and then the fans like it, which is working backwards from a lot of projects who will just write for what they know is going to be popular. We don’t do any of that”.
“(The Sail cover) was a crazy last minute thing. We needed something for the bonus edition, I was in the car with my kids, they were playing Sail, and I heard the lyrics “Blame it on my ADD” because I’ve suffered from ADHD and ADD my whole life. My parents had me on medication for years for it, and I heard the chorus “Sail”, and I’ve been on tour for twenty years so I immediately thought ‘Let’s cover this’. I remember sending the guys the tune, they were all together demoing stuff at (guitarist) Mike’s house and within five minutes I got a unanimous “Let’s do it!””
With the Devildriver/ Whitechapel tour only a few short months away for fans down under, Dez departs with welcomely expressed message for all the kids who are considering coming out to see the shows.
“Get out and get ready to get in the pit! This is going to be a good one. I can’t wait to do these shows, man. As soon as it was confirmed there was a big roar within our entire camp. We’re excited to come do this, so get your tickets now because I have no doubt every single one of them is going to sell out!”
Australian fans can unleash the beast with Devildriver and Whitechapel throughout September. Get on board!
Todd Gingell
DEVILDRIVER/WHITECHAPEL
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 20 JUNE, 9AM
FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - BRISBANE, THE HIFI – 18+
www.thehifi.com.au
SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - SYDNEY, THE HIFI – Lic A/A
www.thehifi.com.au
SUNDAY 7 SEPTEMBER - MELBOURNE, 170 RUSSELL – 18+
www.170russell.com / www.oztix.com.au