Not a band to rest on their laurels, DevilDriver can be hard to keep up with because they never seem to stop or slow down in any capacity. Most bands that reach this level take the time to enjoy and bask in their success if only briefly, not DevilDriver. When most bands think they need a break, you can find the boys in DevilDriver pushing themselves harder than before. Lack of work ethics, attitudes of entitlement and complacency are absent in the DevilDriver camp.

Is it true you’re booked till May 2013?

“Yeah we’re booked. When I say booked, I mean that we know exactly what we are booked for. When we come off this tour, we head overseas to do the Metal Hammer festival that we’re headlining and we are extremely happy about that. After that around April/May we go in to start the new record. [I remark 'Already!'] Yeah already! We put out a record every two years and in order to do that you have to know when to get into that window. We’ve been writing so much music. They [rest of DevilDriver] wrote a song last night that is UNBELIEVABLE. After the record is finished we start back out on the road again in June and all the way through until at least the end of 2012. Wait…actually there is something booked if the world doesn’t go to hell there’s something we are talking about booking in 2013, so really I guess you could say we are booked until then. I enjoy the road and I hope the rest of the band does as well, because it’s about to get REAL HEAVY. I interject in jest ‘Maybe the band should consider a name change from DevilDriver to Workhorse. Yeah maybe the next record…that would be a great title for the next album…I’ll use it!”

If you have been in a coma for the past several years then you would have an excuse for ignorance regarding the sheer phenomenon that is a DevilDriver circle pit. I wanted to know if Guinness has sanctioned an official world record for them yet. ‘No they didn’t. When we did the first big one under the tent, they told us they didn’t know how to measure or sanction it. They actually showed up to Download without us inviting them when we played the main stage.

People were divided up into two…no wait I think it was about four or five groups so they could do circle pits. When I noticed the helicopter over head someone had told me that it was Guinness but we never heard back from them. It definitely would be cool though. I tease Dez that at Download with the massive crowd, thousands of fans chanting ‘Devil-Driver” with vigor, colossal circle pits and the likes of helicopters flying over head was a serious ‘Rock-star’ moment. “Rock-star is a dirty word Bro, I’m just a working class man, that’s it. I’ve met a couple of them and it’s no good.”

Ever wonder what it’s like to have people you have not and probably will never meet, publicly talk shit about you? I have.

“Gotta have a thick skin Brother! If I ever listened to any of that crap DevilDriver never would have made it past the first couple years. I isolate to the point of…stick and stones and all that, you know? It’s like, some guy sitting in his basement on his computer, who has no life experience and with nothing better to do, who will never get to tour, has something to say about what I do? It’s like come on dude get real.”

You were incubated from birth for five or six months? When’s the last time someone called you ‘Peanut’?

“Yeah actually I just talked to my Mom about that, actually it was around four months.”

As a result you were given a nickname. When was the last time someone called you ‘Peanut’? Dez’s face lights up with a big bright smile

“God, my Mom EVERY Christmas. She’s like ‘Come over here Peanut and give me a kiss.’ It’s my Mom, you know? That’s why I put that on my neck [tattoo of 'Peanut'] because she was fighting cancer at the time. She survived luckily and I’m very grateful for that. So I got that tattoo to remind me of the affirmation of life.’ Being friends with Dez for some time now, it was natural for me to discuss my own situation about my father in-law now battling stage four pancreatic cancer and the inevitable heart-wrenching experience of seeing my wife emotionally beaten while my hands are figuratively tied behind my back.”

At this point Dez wants to temporarily stop recording. I won’t go into detail, but for being such a brutal vocalist and road hardened individual, he possesses a much more compassionate and empathetic insight than one might assume. Seems kind of heavy right? Just when some brevity would be welcomed, Dez’s long time friend and road-mate Frank [affectionately known as 'Frankenstein'] busts into the lounge in the back of the bus with a handful of current issues of High-times magazine. “Finally it’s here dude!” Frankenstein exclaims with a level of excitement that would be warranted from news that Metallica have finally released the album that should have followed ‘And Justice For All’. The commotion is due to Dez’s interview being the feature of the issue.

“Forget ‘Rolling Stone’ put me in High Times! I’m so glad you are here to share this with me Bro! I feel like a kid in a candy store right now! My parents had me on Ritalin for eleven years. When I discovered weed when I was around fifteen, I found out I could focus better, do better in school. It was opposite of the stoner image for me. Now I have to get High Times to come and check out my dispensary because I can grow like a motherfucker!”

Recording is resumed. I had drawn a blank about where we left off and asked Dez.

“We were talking about my nickname that was given to me when I was a baby, then we got off the subject and because we’re Bro’s, we started talking about other stuff.

That’s right. Speaking of children your son ‘Simon’ contributed vocals to ‘Tirades Of Truth’ [The last kind words] on the last two lines of the chorus. Did he do anything on ‘Pray for villains’?

“No, it was the kind of thing where I picked him up at school, brought him to the studio to check it out. He was like ‘I want to sing and you can’t say no!’ So I put headphones on him, held him up to the mic and let him scream a few lines. I hope he remembers it for the rest of his life, I think he will. Now he’s almost thirteen with long hair, wearing Slayer shirts and is now at the point were he is informing me of what bands are heavier than me. [We both bust out laughing and agree that it was cool as hell.] I’m the greatest Dad… it’s like six-thirty in the morning and instead of saying turn it down I say turn it up!”

We go on about his son who is taking drumming lessons and aspires to be the next Gene Hoglan, and how my son happens to be a very brutal screamer. What Dez said next blew me away.

“We should get our kids together and see what happens.”

Wow, how cool of an opportunity would that be for my boy?!?

The discussion takes a different direction when we start talking about our kids downloading, which led to the topic of format evolution. I touch on the point that many kids these days view downloading MP3’s as the new format like that of it’s predecessor’s such as vinyl, Compact disc etc.

“My thirteen and fifteen year old don’t even own a CD, yet they have Ipod’s FULL of music. I don’t know where it’s going to go or lead to. It possesses the propensity to put underground bands out of work by the potential of not being payed for what they do and would not be able to do it full time unless they are on the road full time like a band like DevilDriver. I think somewhere around four years from now, record labels will cease to exist. If they do survive it will be because they were able to get enough bands to sign ‘360′ deals’. If you are a band reading this and you are getting a record deal or you want a record deal or are looking to get in this industry, WATCH OUT FOR THE TERM ‘360′ DEAL’! 360′ means fifty percent of EVERYTHING. Fifty percent of your publishing, merchandising, even fifty percent of your door take every night when you play, while they sit comfortable up in their ivory towers with no threat of losing THEIR jobs. We did not sign a 360′ deal and we never will. When we were in the process of resigning with Road Runner, they tried to get us to sign one and we refused. There was actually a stand-off for about a month. They finally came back and said they want the band. I said OK, for a decent rate then and give us some money to make a record but NO 360′. We would not be able to survive otherwise. Our merch pays for our food, our bus…our everything.”

Your long time friend Logan Mader was slated as producer for ‘Pray for Villains’ any plans to use him for the next album?

“No, I think we’re going to use Mark Lewis and Andy Sneap. No question Logan is a very close friend of mine, an amazing producer and artist but every record we seem to look for somebody different to help keep things fresh. Mark Lewis helped engineer ‘The last kind words’, got the tones and basically did about ninety percent of the work. Not to take anything away from Jason Zucoff. Sorry J, but Mark did do the majority of the work. Using Mark Lewis on the new album is like giving him a shot to stand up and be counted. We feel that is the right thing to do by him.’ I mention the possibilities regarding Mark Lewis and Andy Sneap working in tandem on a DevilDriver album. ‘It’s going to be unbelievable, Andy is an incredible talent! We are excited to get the tunes to these guys, they are really going to bring what we do to fruition. It’s not easy putting out a record every two years.”

It seems to be a three or four year cycle for most bands. Do you think the fault lies more with the artists or the labels?

“Both man. When we were kids we would get an album a year from our favorite band, whether it was KISS or Areosmith or whoever. Now when people wait three or four years between records, I don’t think they realize how it breaks down. Take my son for example. He’s going to get a record in grade six from a band he likes and then not see another record from that band until he’s in grade ten? You think he’s going to ’stay’ with that band? No fucking way. It’s kind of a rip-off when you think about it. People buy the record, pump it up to their friends, go to the shows then you jack them off and not give them any music for three or four years? It’s just bullshit. If I ever have to wait that long, it will be because I HAVE to wait that long to make an album.”

You haven’t had any significant amount of time off in the past…what has it been thirteen years now?

“I have not had any real time off since 1995.”

Any chance of that changing in the near future?

“My wife is asking me for a solid year off. I just can’t commit to that. I can totally commit to marriage and kids but I can’t commit to taking that much time off the road. It has nothing to do with my family, I LOVE being at home. We spoke about how we agree that it’s better to have a parent 100% present emotionally when they are home and how detrimental it can be to a child/parent relationship if the parent is absent emotionally.

“My Step-Dad growing up was ‘there’, but not there, you know what I mean? He came home from work and was an asshole to me. My Mom used to have to call the cops on him for beating me… that’s the kind of life I had.

“Now we get along well. I can sit there and crack a beer with him and say: you know you were a real asshole to me when I was a kid! Then he would respond ‘Fuck yeah, I’m really sorry about that.’ If I wasn’t able to go out on the road I would not get to do what I love, a bottle of wine and a microphone, and I would not see my friends. For example, you know, you and I are going to hang out all night and have drinks. Things like that I would miss out on. I am blessed everyday, but even when it comes to simple things like I can’t sleep in a normal bed for more than three hours. I can only get a good sleep in a bunk when the bus is moving and houses aren’t moving.’

Unless you are on a houseboat.

“Ha ha yeah, or if you live in California during earthquake season. When it comes down to it, if my Wife is adamant about me taking a year off I’m just going to tell her to pack up the kids and come out with me on the road for a year. She’s been out with me before. I’ve always admired Ozzy [Osbourne] and the family. That’s how they were. Same with Zakk [Wylde]. I love Zakk man, he’s one of my favorite people in the whole business. We want him to live a long time. From the time I was a kid he’s been so cool to me. Our bus pulled up beside his in L.A. We found out it was him, ended up drinking all day at the ranch beside us. To give you an example of how cool he really is, Zakk came out and introduced us at the House of Blues then handed my guitarists their guitars when they came out on stage! The guy is just amazing, I love that dude. Send him my best wishes.”

I acknowledge that ‘Pray for villains’ is the most technically proficient addition to the DevilDriver catalog and ask if this direction was deliberate. ‘Well, I think it’s important for musicians to get deserved recognition. This isn’t the fucking ‘Dez Fafara Experience’. Technical ability is something my guys have, so it’s good to see them showcasing it. On the next record it will be even more prominent.’ Something most people probably do not know about Dez, is that he plays Native American flute. I asked how he started.

“I broke the middle finger on my right hand playing with my Doberman. I was told I would never have a grip with that hand again, ever. I wouldn’t accept that. Going through New Mexico I picked up a Native American flute. It rehabilitated my finger, my hand, my soul. Two and half years later I own twenty flutes, and cut a record called ‘High desert moon’. You can check it out at www.myspace.com/highdesertmoon. I layed it out with Greg Wice who’s father is responsible for writing songs like ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’, ‘Bend me, shake me.’ by The Animals, and probably between twenty or thirty number one hits. Me and Greg held up in my house for about a week and a half recording the album, it was life changing for me. It can be therapeutic for me going from furiously screaming to playing my flutes, I can just get lost.’ Dez wanted to assure the fans that everything else that he is interested will be not ever be a part of DevilDriver. He states ‘There are so many things I want to do that can’t be a part of DevilDriver. DevilDriver is an entity that by design, was built not to let people down.”

I brought up the subject of some of our past conversations about music. Dez used to tell me that he was not an Iron Maiden fan and that he never really got it. So of course I took the opportunity to rib him about the recent cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Wasted Years’ on ‘Pray for Villains’.

“We covered that song because the lyrics ended up meaning so much to me. Obviously I was familiar with ‘Number of the Beast’. After that I lost them completely. I just recently saw ‘Flight 666′ and thought it was FUCKING AMAZING! and I really started to listen to a lot of Maiden. Actually I take back all my previous statements I said to you. Now I’ve come full circle with that, I’m a MASSIVE fan now. Dez has an infinity for Westerns that is highlighted in ‘Pray for Villains’.”

I asked if he ever had any thoughts of producing a dark Western.

“Crazy you would say that Bro. I just talked to our film guy about it. [referring to the videographer that has followed DevilDriver from day one compiling footage for the highly anticipated DevilDriver DVD] If I were to entertain the thought of the laborious process to do a movie, I’ve got the perfect guy to star in it. He’s a Western singer cat that I’m helping to manage right now who’s name is Wil Ridge, you can check him out on myspace. He’s a good looking dude, the ladies love him. He kind of looks like Elvis!’ Dez has always wanted to take DevilDriver to Japan. I ask why it hasn’t happened yet. ‘It’s being worked on as we speak. We were going to go last year but we had other commitments. It was frustrating, but we are going to get over there for sure this year, without a doubt. It’s ridiculous for someone who has been in the business as long a me, to not go, to Japan. Every time the opportunity has been presented to go, something has come up. Like with Coal Chamber, it was like OK, do you want to do the Black Sabbath tour, Pantera tour, Megadeth tour or go to Japan? See what I’m saying? With DevilDriver it’s like you’re already booked solid, do you want to cancel to do two days in Japan? Of course we can’t do that.”

When asked what type of metal DevilDriver is, how do you respond? It is difficult to pigeon hole DevilDriver’s sound, so I asked the man himself why he thinks it is tricky to label them.

“I think it has a lot to do with the multitude of influences within the band. You’ll never be able to pin us into a category. We can’t even define what we are doing at this point. I’m sure ten years from now there will be a name for it. We coined it groove metal because we couldn’t figure out what to say. When I figure out what we are, I’ll let you know.”

One thing you can count on from DevilDriver is that they do not try to recreate the last album and will never give you the same record twice. One can only appreciate the contrast from album to album when it comes to Devildriver’s repertoire. When I asked Dez the direction of the new album this is what he had to say. ‘It’s coming from a totally organic place, that’s the first thing you will notice. The second thing is, it will incorporate more ferocity when it comes to guitars and tempo. I don’t want to use the word heavier because it just doesn’t sound right to use that word. I do think that the new record will surpass Pray for Vilans and The last kind words. If you think of those two records wrapped up into
this one, you’re good to go.

Dez couldn’t finish without some kind words about Hammer.

“What’s awesome about Metal Hammer is that they never just stuck us out there as the next big thing. They waited for us to grow, and they grew with us and finally gave us the cover when we deserved it. Now it’s come time where we’re pairing up. They’re going to want to be involved in what we’re doing this year, and we are going to want to be involved in what they are doing this year. We are going to fucking groove together, it’s going to be killer! We can’t wait to come over for Hammerfest, it’s going to be incredible for us. Everyone at Metal Hammer has treated me really well over the years. I want to thank them, the readers and everyone who helps put it together. I make a mean Lemon drop, want one?