DevilDriver-ing with Dez


Words by Nikki May. Photo by Jade Kennedy.

Dez Fafara (far right) on tour in Australia with Coal Chamber

In 1993 Bradley James “Dez” Fafara was launched into the spotlight with his band Coal Chamber, where they produced three studio albums and two compilation albums and toured extensively around America and Europe. Sadly, after nearly 10 years, 2002 saw Coal Chamber disband. Later in 2002 Dez’s career went even further with the introduction of DevilDriver.

DevilDriver has been described as an amalgamation of groove metal and melodic death metal. After releasing albums Self Titled: DevilDriver, Fury Of Our Makers Hand, The Last Kind Words and Pray for Villains, the latest album Beast debuted at number nine on the Aria charts while they continue to tour playing to sold out crowds. In 2011 it was announced that Coal Chamber members Dez, Meegs, Mikal and new bassist Chela would reunite to tour Australia as a part of Soundwave 2012.

DevilDriver are currently touring America as apart of the Metal Alliance tour, then will be heading down under to Australia in May with Six Feet Under and Darkest Hour with shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

I got the opportunity to interview Dez about his recent tour with Coal Chamber, his upcoming DevilDriver tour and his side project with Mark Morton, band ‘Born Of The Storm’.

SMAC - I read that your bassist, Aaron ‘Bubbles’ Patrick, was recently released from hospital, how is his recovery going?

Dez - He is at home resting right now, he caught sever pneumonia and almost died so it was touch and go for a while there, he was in the hospital for about two weeks. He’s at home resting now and if all goes well we will have him come down and tour manage down in Australia but I don’t think he will be ready to play at that point.

Aaron is a very healthy guy, physically fit but still was hit hard by pneumonia. He is currently in LA resting and recovering hoping he gets better.

SMAC - Are you still on the Metal Alliance tour?

Dez - Yes we are, were two and a half weeks in. Were about three weeks left on this tour. Currently in the middle of 24 shows right now.

SMAC - That is a lot of shows.

Dez - Yeah definitely, I love to keep a brutal schedule. But at times you can obviously see it starts affecting you full stop. We have three more show then we got a day off, it’s going to be well worth it.

SMAC -DevilDriver last toured Australia in 2011 but you recently reformed with Coal Chamber for the 2012 Soundwave Festival. How did it feel touring with Coal Chamber after nearly 10 years?

Dez - Absolutely amazing to bring that down under for the first time, just incredible, I can't say enough about those shows, we had a great time. The crowd was feeling what the band was feeling which was pure excitement, so if the fans or the viewers can pick up on that, that we're feeling what they’re putting there, it was a pleaser all ways.

SMAC -The original bassist, Rayna, wasn’t apart of the lineup, so how was it touring with Chela on bass?

Dez - Rayna left the band a long time ago and when Chela just hit it she was a natural when it comes to being in Coal Chamber. She grew up listening to us and she’s a real good bass player. I found out working with her she had a great work ethic. 

SMAC- Mikal broke a few of his fingers while playing in Brisbane’s Soundwave, have you occurred any on stage injuries?

Dez - He went to go hit his symbol but it moved and he went to hit it full on and broke three fingers. He didn’t complain once. Finished the whole tour, went home got his fingers looked at and yeah it’s in a cast now. Have I suffered injuries? Yeah neck injuries, back injuries things like that from jumping off risers [drum platform] or whatever.

SMAC - You’ve toured Australia a few times now and Australia is known for its alcohol, have you found a favourite Aussie drink yet?

Dez - I like Coopers Green an awful lot.

SMAC - I’ve noticed you’re often asked about your favorite memories or moments on tour, I was wonder what is your worst touring horror story?

Dez - Let me think about that…We were coming out of Germany and we were driving for around six hours when we realized we didn’t have a trailer on our bus. We had to turn back around and look for it. It kind of ploughed into the side of a little curb, it could of very well of disappeared off into this forest. That kind of stuff you don’t want to see happen.

SMAC - You're no longer signed with Roadrunner Records, are you searching for a new label at the moment?

Dez - Yes, were free agents right now. Were talking to a few different labels and we will just see how that goes.

SMAC - In February, Jeff Kendrick announced on Twitter that himself, John Boecklin and Mike Spreitzer “begun to compose and demo songs for DevilDriver's 6th album”, when should we expect to hear more about an upcoming album? Is there an estimated release date?

Dez - We have no idea about a release date at the moment. We're just starting to get together to write, it can take a while for us to find that sound. We have to commit to when were going to put out and when were going to go in the studio also have to secure a record label and all that. 

SMAC - Recently you’ve teamed up with Mark Morton [Lamb of God] and Kevin Talley [Six Feet Under, Daath, Chimira] to form ‘Born of the Storm’, so far Dust and No Where Fast have been released online, can we expect to see more from Born of the Storm?

Dez - I'll tell you what I tell everyone else, Mark Morton is the boss. I really appreciate him and love him dearly. He decides what comes out, he will release out of no where, he called me and said “That’s it, we’ve been sitting on it for years I’m releasing it right now” and I’m like okay go ahead, so it's really up to Mark. We have about 12 songs around nine or 10 of them are really curved out for sound. I’m real proud of it, its more like the bands Trouble, Soundgarden, Circus of Power so it's not really metal, it's more rock so I can showcase more of my singing voice and Mark can showcase his playing, which is I think is absolutely fabulous working with a guy like that, not only a good friend of mine but an amazing player.

SMAC -Your vocal style is noticeably different in Born of the Storm compared to DevilDriver and Coal Chamber, some fans have compared it to the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Soundgarden, were there any influences or a reason behind your vocal change?

Dez - I’m massively influenced by Chris Cornell, he is probably one of the best singers out there, he is definitely one I would compare myself to. Those are definitely big influences for me [Ozzy Osbourne and Soundgarden] but I would say more Soundgarden more Circus of Power, alot of classic rock for me personally. Mark will tell you Trouble is a big influence for him.

SMAC -What would you say the biggest difference is between the heavy metal scene in 1993 when Coal Chamber begun and heavy metal in 2012?

Dez - One difference is when Coal Chamber started heavy metal was pretty much dead. What alot of the bands like Coal Chamber, Korn, System, Static did was pretty much bring it back. Because what a lot of the hair metal bands did was pretty much kill the scene in LA. No one was going out to see bands. I think what we kind of helped bring it back a little. And the difference is nowdays everyone's heavy, there’s billions and billions of metal bands out and every ones going insane, we are getting very congregated and hopefully the cream will rise to the top over time and separate what’s happening right now. I think that’s the main difference between then and now.

SMAC -Do you have any DevilDriver ‘funny moments’?

Dez - Oh god…Our lives are hilarious together there’s just so many things that happen to us daily that are hilarious. There’s not really one main thing that comes to mind. We keep an open sense of humor about everything, so if the bus breaks down in the middle of the night chances are were laughing instead of being bummed out. Humor is everything with life especially when you’re on the road as much as we are

SMAC - With your birth name being Bradley James, how did you end up being known as Dez?

Dez - Dez is just a nickname that kind of stuck and it seams a bit more appropriate in the rock and roll world so I just kept it.

Please head here for all tour and ticket information.

Introducing...

Words by Jessy Rose

So, I am constantly being asked "Why do you fight, Jessy?".

My answer to this question is ALWAYS "because I freaking love my sport!".

Mixed Martial Arts isn't about blood and violence or trying to inflict pain against another person. MMA is about training your ass off, every single day of the week. Eating like a caveman (or woman) and never enjoying all those fine delicacies like donuts, chinese food or my all time favourite, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Not going out with your friends on the weekend, but choosing to get an early night so your body is ready to go just as hard in the morning. It's about learning something new, and practicing, practicing, practicing until that skill becomes second nature to you.

And finally when it comes down to fight time, it is about taking all that hard work, missing out on parties and nice foods, getting hurt, pushing through injuries, battling physical and mental fatigue, and pitting everything you have against someone who has (hopefully) been working just as hard. 

It's like a game of chess. MMA is about strategy. Intelligence. Tactics. Having an MMA fight is having the chance to take all your knowledge and formulate a game plan, multiple game plans even, just to adjust to the direction the fight is going. You are constantly preempting your opponents moves. Thinking two, three or even four steps ahead AT ALL TIMES. And if your strategy and execution is effective, you get the big WIN. That makes it all worth it. 

Always thank your opponent at the end of your fight because without them, you would never have the chance to show off your skills and all the hard work and dedication that goes into it. I have months of preparation for my fights. And my opponents do too. A little bit of gratitude and mutual respect at the end of the game goes a long way. 

I love Mixed Martial Arts. I love every single aspect of this sport. I love the pain I go through at training. I love drilling the same tiny move one million times in order to perfect it. I love waking up to go for a run before training. And I love sitting at home playing X-box on the weekends instead of going out drinking with my buddies. I LOVE EVERYTHING!

This is why I fight.

** Jessy Rose is a female MMA fighter and conditioning trainer based in Sydney, NSW. If you have a question about fitness, nutrition, women's health or mixed martial arts for Jessy, send us an email here.

Gamer Girl: Twisted Metal Game Review


Words by Proxy

Hey Guys & Girls Proxy here, I am doing a review on the new release of the classic series Twisted Metal. Like the past games in the series that were released on the original Playstation and Playstation 2 consoles, Twisted Metal is based around a competition by the name of Twisted Metal. Go figure. The competition is run by Calypso who is the sinister puppeteer in the game. The best and worst of mankind enter the competition and the last one standing will win the prize of a single wish. The competition plays out in a variety of battles across the in-game world that uses cars equipped with brutal weapons in a modern day jousting festival.









Unlike past games, only three main contestants enrol in Calypso's contest: Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, and Doll Face. Each of these crazy drivers bring along their henchmen to compete with, forming three gangs that wage war across suburbs and cities in game.


This means the single-player campaign is split up into three chapters. Each chapter comes filled with progressively difficult an interesting challenges that each end with a different boss encounter which all rock.


Twisted Metal celebrates a bizarre kind of action that shoves brutal game play down the throat of all those who play the game. It includes a, challenging single-player campaign and incredible multiplayer support for both on and offline.


Now a lot of people have said that the cinematic cut scenes and storytelling is the down fall of the game, well I say PFFFFFT to that. With a feel similar to the movie Sin City, it is not only dark but the game play is brutal & addictive which is complimented by a fearsome in game music soundtrack which includes music by artists such as Avenged Sevenfold, Sepultura & Rob Zombie.


Final words: I enjoyed the whole game and would give it a “Jawesome” 9/10


Proxy is

Welcome to Festival Season 2012

After seeing several spectacular festivals flop in recent months, it's a relief to know promoters are still willing to lay the big bucks on the line to get good headliners.

Groovin the Moo hits Townsville next Sunday, May 6, with a pretty colourful lineup including City & Colour (Can), Digitalism (Ger), Kaiser Chiefs (UK), Public Enemy (USA), Wavves (USA), The Maccabees (USA), Adrian Lux (Swe), 360, Andrew W.K. (USA), The Getaway Plan, Bluejuice, Parkway Drive, Hilltop Hoods, Kimbra and more. 

While tickets haven't yet sold out to the NQ event, there was a pretty healthy indication of locals' willingness to spend up on live music when Pete Murray attracted over 1000 punters into The Venue last weekend.

Tickets to the annual three-day fest (and my personal favourite) Splendour in the Grass officially go on sale tomorrow. With an initial lineup announcement including Jack White (USA), Bloc Party (UK), Smashing Pumpkins (USA), At the Drive In (USA), The Kooks (UK), The Shins (USA), Miike Snow (Swe), Gossip (USA), Dirty Three, Spiderbait, Shihad, Lanie Lane, Wolfmother and Missy Higgins, it looks like the three-day fiesta will give promoters yet another fruitful year.

For more info on either festival, head to the official GTM web site here or visit the Splendour web site here.