Dez Fafara, formerly of Coal Chamber and currently of DevilDriver, is one cool guy. Before the second date of the Bound By the Road tour at Slim’s, I sat down with Dez in the smoke-filled back room of the tour bus to discuss life on the road, upcoming DevilDriver material, and Twitter.
HardRockChick: So last night was the first show of the tour- how was it? How did you feel about it?
Dez Farfara: Killer. Last night was in Pomona- it was amazing, you know, for a Thursday night there was 450-500 kids. It was amazing- a good time.
HRC: What makes a good show good for you and a bad show bad?
“We put this tour specifically together so we could hang out with people.”
DF: If you’re having a good time with the band, and the band is locked in, and it’s a loose show- and I mean it just flows- then that was a good show. And that was last night. People are coming over the barricade and circle pits are huge, and then it’s good- it’s a good time. And plus the bands you play with. We’ve got a lot of friends on this tour- I’m sitting with Jay Costa right now from Thy Will Be Done. We like all the bands on this tour. We put this tour specifically together so we could hang out with people.
HRC: You tour very extensively, yet, you’re a family man- you have a wife and kids- how do you manage relationships while you’re on the road so much?
“When she met me she kinda knew she had the life of the wife of a sailor.”
DF: I’ve been with my girl for almost 13 years. When she met me she kinda knew she had the life of the wife of a sailor. So, that’s that. But, she’s my rock, you know, I couldn’t go on without her. She’s behind everything I do. And the minute she’s not, I’ll fall right off the tracks and come home. She pushes me to do what I do, and she’s a huge part of my life.
HRC: How do you teach your kids about metal?
“I didn’t teach my kids about metal- I taught my kids about music in general.”
DF: I didn’t teach my kids about metal- I taught my kids about music in general. My youngest, who’s 12 and has got long hair and Slayer shirts- I wake up to heavy shit that I’ve never even heard of coming out of his room at 6:30 before school- it’s killer! (One of the crew interjects- “He teaches us about metal!”) He knows his shit. I’ve got three boys- the youngest being 12. I started kinda early in life.
See Dez’s kids star in the DevilDriver video for ‘Clouds Over California’
HRC: Metal and mainstream have always been at odds with each other, yet metal is becoming more mainstream right now. What do you think about that and where does DevilDriver fit into it?
“But if they crossover naturally and organically then it’s really cool to see that happening.”
DF: As far as metal going more mainstream- you’re only seeing some bands maybe do that, and they’re going to fall to the wayside if they don’t stick to their core. But if they crossover naturally and organically then it’s really cool to see that happening. As far as DevilDriver fitting in- I don’t think we really fit in anywhere, really. We have our own sound completely. We try to make sure that we keep that- our own unique gig, you know?
HRC: How about the live DVD that you have coming out- what’s going on with that right now?
“It’s not going to be your average DVD where a guy flies out for 19 days and makes it look like he’s with you for a year.”
DF: We’ve been recording this band on video since day one- since the first rehearsals. So it’s going to be something special. It’s not going to be your average DVD where a guy flies out for 19 days and makes it look like he’s with you for a year. We’ve really been filming for like 8 years. So, it’s gotta be something special. We’re talking to the label to try to figure out what’s really gonna happen and how we’re gonna do it. We’re in conversations right now. I’ll know in about 2 weeks really what’s going to happen and what the format’s gonna be.
HRC: And the new album- how’s that going?
DF: Well, we’re writing- we’ve got 6 tracks…
HRC: So you guys write on the road?
“I think 2 years is too long to wait for somebody’s tunes.”
DF: Yeah, we write on the road as well. We just started last night- the tour- so, you know, no one’s gonna start writing for 3 or 4 days- we’ve kinda got to get our sea legs on. But, we’re going in in April and May. It’s gonna be a good time. We’re definitely gonna record in Los Angeles. Picking producers right now. We try to get a record out every 20-21 months if we possibly can. I think 2 years is too long to wait for somebody’s tunes. I don’t know how old you are, but when I was coming up, you got a record a year or you really got pissed off at the artist. We’re trying to be that for our fans, and give them tons of tunes.
HRC: Speaking of fans, what do you think about social media such as Twitter and Facebook as far as keeping in touch with your fans?
DF: It all works real well. I just got on the Twitter thing about a month ago…
HRC: I saw!
“It’s good, I mean, it’s almost like the less words, it’s more personal.”
DF: Yeah, which is funny, you know, so I can be like, ‘I’m in Wal-Mart’…’I love Captain Crunch’ or whatever, you know. It’s good, I mean, it’s almost like the less words, it’s more personal. I don’t know how that works, but it’s working. So I twitter, and I blog and stuff. Our manager has to remind us, you know, to get out there. But it’s a good way to get in touch with your fans, definitely. And to get feedback as well. I’ve heard somebody say, ‘oh- you should play this song!’ And then after you hear it 20 times, you add the tune.
HRC: Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
“But I’ll stay resolute to that til the day I die.”
DF: Haha, no! I fall so short of any resolution I’ve ever made. Nah. To be a strong man out on the road. Good for my woman and my family. And to keep on rockin’. That’s my resolution. But I’ll stay resolute to that til the day I die.
Did you notice several sailor references throughout the conversation? I think I shall now refer to him as Captain Dez.
HRC & Capt. Dez
Read my write up from the show here.
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