When Coal Chamber emerged with their eponymously
titled debut album in 1997, many critics accused the
LA-based quartet of mimicking Korn. Tired of defending
themselves, Coal Chamber said “just see us live.” Well, it
appears many people have. The band has toured
throughout 1997, giving many members of the press the
opportunity to reassess the band and formulate a much
higher opinion.
Singer Dez Fafara was a bit tired “from touring and a
touch of the flu,” as he explained between coughs, but
nevertheless he managed to divulge what’s been
happening since last summer’s legendary Ozz-fest...
NYrock: You’ve won the much sought after Kerrang! Award for
Best International Act of 1997. That’s quite an
achievement…
DEZ: It’s great. Wow, yeah, that award was so mind blowing,
especially because we had such great competition. It’s not
that we’ve won. It’s also that we’ve won against acts like
Korn, Marilyn Manson and No Doubt. They’re great
established bands, really high class, and we came from out
of nowhere and won.
NYrock: You sound as if you’re still surprised about it. Obviously
you must have deserved it...
DEZ: I think the explanation for it is pretty simple. We’re touring
a lot. We’re always on stage, and on stage we try to give it
our all. Even if we might not feel like it. Even if we’re
having a low, or one of us is not in top shape.
NYrock: You’ve toured extensively in ’97 and it doesn’t look like
you plan to slow down in ’98. How do you manage?
DEZ: We were so busy. You know sometimes it’s pretty hard
not to lose track. Basically, we’re on stage every evening.
I’m trying hard to remember when our last day off was....I
can’t really remember...I think we had a day off....Oh well,
it doesn’t matter.
You lose perspective on the road. I think every band who
tours a lot can tell you about that. Last year we spent six
days at home, the rest on the road. Even our "Loco" video
was recorded while we were touring with Pantera.
Being on the road so much has a very surreal character, the
feeling you get from it. It’s pretty strange but I don’t want
to complain. After all we were on tour with great bands.
We were touring with Pantera [at the personal request of
Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul], then with Megadeth, and
then Pantera again. [They’ve also toured with Type O
Negative.] It was really fantastic because they’re cool
bands, you know. If you like the bands you’re touring with,
then it’s easier to take the strain.
NYrock: Don’t you miss home?
DEZ: Of course I’m
missing home,
my friends,
my dogs,
everything
and the others
feel the same,
but we made
a decision and
we’re gonna stick to our guns. We all decided it. We all
agreed on the fact that the band is going to be the most
important thing, that the band comes first, that for a while
the success of the band is an absolute priority. Being on
tour so much and missing home and all that are the
consequences, but if you make a decision you have to face
the consequences. There’s no way around that. Another
thing is that it’s going better and better. That’s what we
wanted in the first place and because we want it still we
can’t slack. We have to continue.
NYrock:Can you write songs while you’re on the road?
DEZ: We really wrote a hell of a lot of songs [on the road]. One
of them is called "Anxiety" and we already played it a
couple of times live. We have about 80 new songs as
material for the new album. So, I don’t think we have to
worry about not being able to make a new album...
NYrock:80 new songs? Did I hear that right? Was it really 80 and
not maybe something like 18?
DEZ: Nope, 80 new songs. We have a lot of material to chose
from...or maybe we’ll record all of them and make a 5-CD
box-set. Ha! Ha! Ha!
NYrock:So when can we expect a new album?
DEZ: At the moment we don’t really care about recording a new
album. We don’t even think about it yet. We just keep
writing new songs. The most important thing for us right
now is touring and I don’t think that’s going to change
anytime in the near future.
NYrock:You left Coal Chamber for a while...
DEZ: It was a mistake to leave Coal Chamber, but I came back,
didn’t I? I accepted that fact that touring and a lot of hard
work is required and I’m doing my best.
NYrock: A lot of people compare you to Korn and even go as far as
calling you imitators. How do you feel about that?
DEZ: We like the same music. We had the same influences.
We’re friends with them. Big deal. The critics didn’t know
all that much. They just thought they knew. They heard
certain similarities and that was it. When they saw us
playing live, they noticed that we’re not a weak copy, but
that we’re a good band who can hold up their own.
NYrock:You’re still pretty close to your fan base...
DEZ: We’re not trying to play the big rock stars and pose and try
to act different than we are. That’s not our thing, not our
cup of tea at all. We’re trying to be as real and personal as
possible. The whole rock star attitude makes me sick. We
all hate it. You know the bodyguards and the musicians
sheltered like the Queen of England.
We’re playing for our fans. We want to be in touch with
them. I think it’s important for a band to be in touch with
the audience, to have contact with the fans. We’re playing
for them, so it’s important to interact with them. I think in
that respect we’re just like Korn; they’re also down to earth
and not stuck up. They like being close to the audience.
NYrock:What was the story about your bus driver? I heard he died
during the tour...
DEZ: That was something that shocked us. It was so unexpected
and tragic. You know the guy just went to have a shower
and died in the shower. Bang. Heart attack. It was crazy.
We woke up in the morning and wondered why the bus
was still in the same place as the night before, but we didn’t
think all that much about it. We were waiting in the bus and
all of a sudden the cops showed up and told us our driver
died and how it happened. We were really shocked.
NYrock: Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager,
manages you too, how did that come about?
DEZ: It was pretty easy. We used to hang out at the Ozz-fest and
we met Sharon and got to know each other. She liked us
and we always respected her work, so we decided to work
together. It’s really great. I mean she’s a real force in the
biz and she helps us a lot, makes contacts and all that. We
visited her in London, that was cool. Ozzy and I were
riding a motorbike in his garden. That was great. I loved it.
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