One Liners!

One-liners: ‘We put the past behind us’
Dez Fafara considers Coal Chamber reunion shows plus Mastodon, White Wizzard, Evile, Godsmack vs Motley Crue and moshing etiquette study

By Andrew McDonald
Coal Chamber

Comeback consideration: Fafara with Coal Chamber

DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara has revealed that he would consider reuniting with Coal Chamber.

He split the nu metal act in 2003 over his bandmates’ use of methamphetamines. But he now says guitarist Meegs Rascon and drummer Mikey Cox are “clean off of hard drugs.”

Fafara says: “We put the past behind us. We’ve been friends for years – they come out to DevilDriver shows. I don’t know if I’d entertain a reunion, but I would entertain some shows. Definitely.”

* * * * *

Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher wanted his presence to be felt more on forthcoming album The Hunter after feeling outshone by fellow axeman Brent Hinds on their previous record.

Kelliher reports: “A lot of our last album, Crack The Skye, was written when Brent was in the hospital, so some of the songs were pretty heavy. I approached this record in the same way, but Brent came back full force and he had a lot of the album written out in his head, so some of my tunes didn’t make it. I did want to shine. I think the songs that I contributed to heavily really do.”

* * * * *

White Wizzard have announced another lineup change. Jake Dreyer is the latest addition to the Los Angeles-based quintet, replacing Lewis Stephens.

Mainman Jon Leon says: “Jake is a great guy and a fantastic talent. Lewis has toured with us over the last year and we wish him well on his new engagement and life in Wales. We now have a permanent final member and look forward to slaying you in the next few months.”

* * * * *

Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin has revealed more about the feud with Motley Crue which led to his band writing the track Cryin’ Like A Bitch, said to illustrate the bad feeling between singer Sully Erna and Crue’s Nikki Sixx.

Larkin says: “We get along great with Mick Mars and Tommy Lee. I got along great with Nikki. In fact, he had called me over one time and asked if I would like to play on his Sixx:AM project. But then, four weeks into the tour, him and Sully had this clash.

“They were real weird with our guests getting backstage, like they might want to look at Motley Crue. Our guests were there to see us and they didn’t give a shit about Motley Crue. They’re a band that we all respect. It just kind of fronted us a little that they would think our guests would be star-struck over them.”

But when asked directly whether Cryin’ LIke A Bitch is about Sixx, Larkin says: “It’s difficult for me to restrain myself from answering that question because, as honest as I’d like to be, the other side of me doesn’t want to give anybody the extra exposure, even if it’s negative.”

* * * * *

Evile drummer Ben Carter says they’d love to open for pop star Lady Gaga. He explains: “She’s great, and I’m not ashamed to say that. She’s more than just a manufactured pop star; she has a true love for metal. The metal purists out there would probably never listen to us again, but music is music, and sometimes you can’t afford to be so narrow-minded, especially in the climate of the industry today.”

* * * * *

A university graduate is writing a thesis on the etiquette of the moshpit.

The report is part of masters student Gabby Riches’ degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Alberta.

She says: “Moshing started in the early 1980s, in the American hardcore punk scene. Bad Brains used to yell at their audience to ‘mash it up’, but the singer had a thick Jamaican accent, so people heard ‘mash’ as ‘mosh’.

“At first, moshing can feel intimidating and frightening, but there’s a sense of exhilaration and community. There are rules like no spiked jewellery and no sexual contact. One of the most important ones is to help someone up if they fall.”