Every time a band comes into their own, they all say the same thing: It’s not about the money or fame. It’s not about being on the radio or in movies. It’s about the music. Sadly not all these bands live up to their word. Since becoming somewhat a part of this industry, I’ve come across many types of bands and what they have to say sometimes gets lost amongst all the cliches. Not Dez.

For as long as I can remember, Dez Fafara, even back in the Coal Chamber days, has been nothing but true to his word. When I finally got the chance to interview him, his words stuck out and have made an impact. Dez has even said that he laughs at himself and doesn’t take anything too seriously. He’s also been known to follow the “Question Everything” belief, which I think you’ll understand a bit more if you continue to read on and see for yourself just what Dez has to say about his questioning, how the band affects him personally, and their crossover…

S!: DevilDriver has been together since 2003. What do you feel is the most defining moment in the bands career?

Dez Fafara: I think the growth from the first record to the third one. A lot of bands think that their first album is the best and everything after doesn’t live up to it. Devildriver is one of the bands that is growing and changing all the time. We had enough time to really find ourselves and put out something that reflected on us.

S!: Why do you think you have such a good working relationship with RoadRunner Records?

Dez: Gee, I’ve been there so long. It’s coming up on 11 or 12 years now. [Laughs] They know me and I know them and for a record label, that’s something a lot of people look for. We like to know how the company works and with them, we do. We totally appreciate them and hopefully they appreciate me as a artist with them for so many years. It just kind of works out.

S!: Who decided to break the Guinness World Record for the largest circle pit at the Download Festival in 2007 and how did that go?

Dez: Someone in the band spoke up and said something. They said you know, kids have been doing this kind of thing for years at all of our shows. I mean, we know the kind of crowd that is going to be there for us. We figured we would try and submit it and it was all fun and games to us until we heard back from them a week later actually refusing to put us into it. It was cool though because it was enough for us to even hear back from them. They said they didn’t even know how they would go about measuring it or how many people it would take. We think in the long run they were more concerned about people getting in there and getting hurt. I mean the label called us and told us we’d never believe what they had just gotten and it was that letter rof refusal. That was just great though.

S!: Based on your previous logo, what does the phrase “Question Everything” mean to you personally?

Dez: That is what I teach my children. Literally question authority, religion, everyone around you. That is the only way you can grow as a person. It means really take a listen to what people say to you. Listen to your elders or if you go to church to your pastor, or your teachers, or anyone. Put it in your mind and then learn to question it. Once you question everything, you’ll get different answers or come up with different priorities in life. It leads to a more whole person I believe. Rather than being a sheep, my kids grew up with a huge poster in their rooms that said question everything. I don’t want my kids to be sheep or anyone to be sheep for that matter. Even though we pretty much all are at some point, we have to start questioning everything.

S!: Everything DevilDriver (from song titles to artwork) has a personal meaning to you. If you could sum your life up in one sentence, what would it be?

Dez: Insane. [Laughs] Unbelievably insane and lucky. How’s that?

S!: In reference to your feud with Venom, what is it like to be feuding with one of your “heroes”?

Dez: It was never really us feuding with him, but him feuding with us. And for anyone out there, I grew up on Venom, we were offered a tour with them, we really wanted to do it and they postponed it many, many times. They finally came back to the table with it but we had already got our tour in Australia planned. I mean, tickets bought and everything. So we couldn’t do the tour and he went on Satellite Radio talking shit about me. I of course had to come back and remind him that he needed us on that tour from the looks of their ticket sales.

As for your question on what it being like to feud with someone I looked up to for so long is just, wow. I looked up to him as such an inspiration and for so long and just wow. I looked up to that dude? [Laughs] I listened to his music so early and I created Coal Chamber while listening to music just like that. Now to have something like this go down with a guy like that is just ridiculous really.

S!: Tell us about your most recent album, The Last Kind Words!

Dez: I’m very happy with it. We made the record we needed to make. After the first and second album, it seems as if it is really out of the box. However as a band we needed to hone in and create something that showed how we’ve grown after all this time. We needed something really strong and this album delivers that. We’ve been touring with it non-stop now and we’ve already been writing for a new record. We have four or five new songs so the band is extremely dedicated to this project. It almost should have been our first one but we had to find ourselves first. I’m really excited to see what this next record will bring now. At this point, it can only get better. All the songs are amazing so far and it’s obvious.

S!: What are your thoughts on your music streaming through pop culture such as blockbuster movies and television shows?

Dez: Those kind of things are lucky for bands that don’t get radio time. It’s a great crossover thing for us. One of the members was talking to someone from Scrubs and he had asked him if he knew how to get in touch with Ministry. [Laughs] So my guy just asked why he didn’t put our song on the show and gave him a CD. Next thing I know, we’re in an episode of Scrubs! That kind of thing can pay off a label for those of you that don’t know. I mean, you can pay off the debt you have with them if you have a break like that. I had never seen the show until I saw the episode with our song in it and I laughed my ass off! I mean, I never take myself too seriously so that show was perfect. It was great!

S!: After this tour, what can your fans expect from DevilDriver next?

Dez: We are going to go to the UK, some festivals in the Netherlands, South America, a few dates in Japan, and we just keep booking. We are wondering if we’re going to to come off the road in October to work on the new record or if we’re gonna’ keep going. We’ve been putting the miles on the road down hard.

S!: Any last words to our readers out there?

Dez: Thanks so much for your support and if you liked Coal Chamber, come check out a Devildriver show! Thanks for everyone who has supported us, even you Jacki, thanks for wanting to be apart of this!

• Official Site: http://www.devildriver.com
• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/devildriver