And as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS once said, being in a band is like being married to several people and sometimes marriages end in divorce. Dez doesn’t seem to carry any real animosity or resentment towards his former bandmates, despite what you read in the press. He just felt the need to follow a different musical dream and get back to what made him take up music in the first place. For him it was time to move on. But it appears one of his former bandmates doesn’t share the same sentiment and since that former bandmate is married to a member of another band (Sevendust) a rift was created when Sevendust attacked Dez in a song called “Enemy”, which appears on their new album. 

Dez was reluctant to talk about the issue, “I’m Italian, I would never air my business like that in public. If I had a problem, I would go knock on his door or if it was a business problem it would be attorney to attorney. So having this out in the press is really not a good way to go about business.”  In fact, he didn’t even know there was a problem until the Sevendust album came out and members of that group began speaking in the press about it. 

“I didn’t know there was any bad blood. I was actually amazed and I’ve got no bad blood with any of the rest of the guys at all.” Dez said of the controversy. “As a matter of fact, Lajon the singer--he’s like one of the nicest guys I met, he’s a really good guy. He’s gone through some really horrible hardships in his life lately and stuff.  So you know bad blood on the road is really never a good thing and it is the first time that I heard about it. I was just surprised that it was aired in such a way. I’m just a phone call away for someone that’s in the business. You can call me anytime, if you’re in the business you can get a hold of each other.”

He still doesn’t sound convinced that there is a real problem, to him it appears like a good controversy to get some press for the new Sevendust album.  “It’s so funny too, I must say this; it’s on the heels of their new album that they use me to get controversy, someone who’s known for being in the press. I’ve always been in the public eye. … I’ve grown up in the public eye so maybe they need to use me to get press or a little extra press out of it because if you think about it,  it’s double the press for them; every time they talk about it, they know I’ve gotta talk about it and every time I talk about it vice-versa.” 

You also get the feeling from Dez that he takes it all in stride. I asked him where he thought the animosity may have come from but he didn’t seem to know. So far the press focus has been on the Sevendust side, so I asked Dez if he could make out where this whole thing started. He said, “Morgan Rose is the Sevendust drummer and he’s married to Rayna who used to be a member of Coal Chamber. Now, she left Coal Chamber numerous times and we had to bring in another bass player named Nadia several times.  So that could be what the beef is about. She could have a business griping with Coal Chamber. I was by no means the head of Coal Chamber, it was a real f***ed up four person democracy, everybody was running their own gig. So I really don’t know what her beef is but I think that’s why it started because he’s married to her and she used to be in Coal Chamber.  They’re saying I treated her like s*** and this and that. I don’t know how loyal I can be to somebody who left me so many times during the makings of albums or weeks before tours. 

“I tried to give her all my life and all my loyalty but I didn’t know how loyal I could be after that kind of thing. If that’s what he considers treating her like s*** it’s like saying, I’m trying to give an analogy here, but if a guy keeps having a dog s*** on your lawn, how many times are you gonna feel like the a**hole because you actually yelled at him?” 

I asked, “so that last time when she left, it must have been pretty bad?”  Dez responds, “You know, the first time when she left it was for her kid, so that’s cool. I have kids, I’m a family man, so I was like ‘hey you gotta do your thing baby’. Then the next time was, ‘I’m gonna go out on the road with you’ and she never did, she just ended up going home, flying home, then calling us and saying ‘I’m quitting the band’ and everything else and it was ‘Ok, I wish I would have known that. It’s no big deal but just don’t leave us in a bad situation’.  Really I’ve got no ill will towards Rayne, I haven’t talked to her or seen her in years and years man. I only hope that her and her family, her children, I guess she’s got one child, her child is doing well and I have no ill will towards her."

Dez still seemed a bit puzzled about what set this whole thing off and where the real animosity came from on Morgan’s part. I asked him, “So it sounds like the whole animosity is totally one sided?” And Dez responded, “You know, I’m trying to figure out what the gripe is. The legitimate gripe has to be there somewhere and like I said, you know if it’s business then attorneys and everything else, you know you would have been hearing from them. If it was anything else, I would have hoped to just hear from him instead of all of a sudden… his side of the story is this, he wrote a song about me and the press got word and wind that it was about me so now he’s forced to talk about it… He’s using me to get press. If I run into any of the rest of the guys, I’m gonna stick my hand out and shake their hand, now and that guy, I really don’t know. I grew up on John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies and I’m not on the fence about anything, I don’t like anyone discussing me in the public because I’ve got a family waiting at home that I’ve got to support, actually two children and a wife, that means if you’re f***ing with me, you’re f***ing with my family. If you f*** with my family, I got to say it again, I’m Italian, I’m gonna remember it for the rest of my life.”

Dez may never forget what has happened but he doesn’t seem too interested in keeping this controversy going.  He’d rather focus on touring right now and winning over new fans for Devildriver. “This is actually the last time I’m gonna speak about it, even if somebody asks me for some major publication, I’m just gonna refuse to talk about it anymore.”  Whether the members of Sevendust will move on is anyone’s guess but Dez doesn’t seem like he wants to dwell on it or milk it for press attention, instead his heart and mind seem clearly focused on the future of Devildriver.

And that future is now for Devildriver. The band is currently on tour and Dez is having the time of his life, “The tour is incredible. 7 ½ weeks with Superjoint Ritual and Morbid Angel, it’s been incredible. The crowds have been nuts. I’ve never personally, from my past, experienced gigs like this, so it’s amazing,” Dez says. 

Even off the stage the bands are enjoying themselves, “And touring with those guys is really fun and like today we’ve got an off day, were driving getting ready to all meet up and go out for a big group dinner, all the bands. And then we’re gonna play in Chicago tomorrow night (Tues Nov 25), then we all fly home for seven or eight days and we’re gonna all go out again together. I don’t know if it’s with Morbid Angel but I know Super Joint and us are gonna go out and tackle the west coast for like 3 or 4 weeks in December too.” 

Dez doesn’t seem phased by the current slump in the music business or the pronouncement by some that “rock is dead”. I asked him, “So you’re on the frontlines and a lot of people right now are saying ‘rock’s dead,’ but do you even see that on the road?” Dez responded, “The whole industry as a whole is dead, I just think that I’m part of one of the bands that’s not pandering to the kind of sellout radio song in order to support myself. I have no problem with moving my family into an apartment and getting heavier and like you said going out on the frontlines and I’ve seen the crowds every night come out and when either Philip or I or anyone talks about heavy music on the stage you can hear the kids go crazy, they want it.  I’m seeing it with Superjoint and I’m seeing it with us. I’m just glad to be part of a new movement right now.” 

That new movement and Devildriver appear to be picking up steam. The group’s debut album is currently sitting on top of the R&R metal specialty chart.  Earlier this month Devildriver was the most added to metal radio. So the buzz is building and for good reason, as Roadrunner recently pointed out in a press release, one of their A&R people handed off a early demo of the Devildriver cd to a fellow employee with the pronouncement, "Listen to this...it will make you s*** your pants." 

So when the controversy is all over and the dust settles we will be left with the music and it appears Dez would rather get to that point now and forget about all the hoopla over that other band’s song. He just wants to go out and play the music he’s always wanted to play.  Controversy is always good for some attention but at the end of the day you have to have the music if you want people to buy into your vision. No one buys “feuds” between bands but they do buy CD’s and it appears that Devildriver is winning that battle. 

You can read more from the interview with Dez in the December Artist of the Month feature on Devildriver.

Preview and purchase music from Devildriver