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.

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