DAVID DRAIMAN Says Writing And Recording Away From DISTURBED 'Has Been A Wonderful Experience'
Australia's Heavy magazine recently spoke to DISTURBED frontmanDavid Draiman about his new project, DEVICE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Heavy: So where did the idea for DEVICE come from?
Draiman: It came about quite accidentally, to be honest. [The members of DISTURBED] always intended during this hiatus to do some of things we'd never had a chance to. I'd planned to do some producing, working with the guys from TRIVIUM on their new record, but I'd not really planned another project. Geno Lenardo from FILTER, a friend and colleague of mine, reached out to me about participating in the"Underworld: Awakening" soundtrack. I told him to send me some music, and I listened to what he sent me and was really into it. I wrote something to it, and then called him the next day and said, "Alright, when are we tracking this, because it's big?" So I flew to Chicago within a week and tracked it, then kind of sat back and was really amazed at what we'd done. Lakeshore wanted to use it as the lead track on the soundtrack, but we had a DISTURBED track from "The Lost Children" B-sides compilation out on radio at the time and we didn't want the two tracks competing with each other. So I said, "Let's hold on to it, and wait for the next opportunity." Then the song grew on us, and we started talking and said maybe we should write some more, so Geno came out to my home in March 2012 and we started writing. "Hunted" was the track for the soundtrack, and it set the template for what the project was to become.
Heavy: Has it be a different experience writing/recording away fromDISTURBED?
Draiman: It's been a wonderful experience. [laughs] I've been loving it, really, just free to go and create. With as much respect as I've had from the people I've been working with, with as much great input I've had from the people I've been working with, it's really been an amazing new experience and process. Like, imagine you have an opportunity to create something really amazing and unique after already being in the business of doing that for 16 years; being given the chance to start over again with all the knowledge and experience that you've already accumulated, and being a better musican as well — I'm chomping at the bit. I love being the guy where nobody has any idea what this is about yet. Although that has some weird consequences. I think it's pretty ridiculous I'm nominated for aGolden God award, for instance. I don't get it — I'm very thankful and I thank everyone so much for the nomination, but no one has heard this! How can you nominate something for "best new act" when you haven't even heard it. I appreciate it, but … it's almost an overwhelming vote of confidence, and it can be quite a burden to have to live up to that kind of hype.
Heavy: You've seen a lot over the past 16 years in the industry. Would you rather be launching DEVICE in 2013 or in 2003?
Draiman: Oh, I would so have preferred to put it out in 2003! It's just night and day … even as hard as it was in 2003, it certainly wasn't as bad as where we are now. As a business, it has gotten so much worse. It's trench warfare out there, everybody fighting for everything, everybody expecting to do everything with nothing. [laughs] Really, it's an unreasonable state of affairs; as an industry, it's very frightening. We all, no matter who we are, no matter how strong a record we've created, we all need all the luck in the world right now. And I believe if you're going to go into battle, you better bring your biggest guns — that's what I'm doing with DEVICE.
Read the entire interview from Heavy magazine.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
Foo Fighters to Start Working on Next Album This Week
Good news for Foo Fighters fans: frontman Dave Grohl says that he will begin working on the band’s next studio album this week. NME is reporting that while attending the Brit Awards on Wednesday, Grohl told the event's host, James Corden, that he will be “return[ing] to Los Angeles tomorrow to start work on a Foo Fighters record.” When Corden asked when fans might get their hands on the new album, he replied, “eventually.”
In other Grohl news, the singer will be the keynote speaker at next month’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. He will deliver his address on March 14 at the Austin Convention Center, the event's main venue.
RHCP Drummer Chad Smith to Lobby Congress on Importance of Music Education in Schools
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith is headed to Washington D.C. next month. The Grammy-winning drummer has announced that he will be joining members of the National Association of Music Merchants to lobby Congress about the importance of funding comprehensive music education in our nation’s schools.
“I am a perfect example of someone who's been musically educated exclusively throughout grade school, middle school and high school by the public school system,” said Smith in a statement. “If there hadn't been a music program in my public schools, I would not be where I am today. Every kid -– and I mean everyone –- needs a chance to learn and grow with music.”
Smith will be speaking to NAMM delegates and guests at a dinner at the U.S. Capitol on March 19, and will be in meetings on Capitol Hill with members of Congress on March 20.
Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz Promises Darker Songs on Disarm the Descent
Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz says that the band’s upcoming album,Disarm the Descent, will feature some heavier themes now that they’ve reunited with original frontman Jesse Leach.
"There's a lot of dark stuff on the record,” he tells Billboard. “I know Jesse gets the rep of being very positive all the time, but the stuff he talks about on this record, some pretty unhappy stuff gets on there."
Dutkiewicz adds that Leach’s fierce lyrics helped influence the sound of Disarm the Descent. "The only kind of goal I had, personally, was to make a more aggressive record and give it a little more teeth than the last record [2009's Killswitch Engage], which was a little too singer-songwritery to me,” he explains. “And after that, the main thing we were concerned about with Jesse was that he was going to be able to give those songs some character and do 'em justice. And he did." Disarm the Descent is due in stores on April 2.
