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ON
THE TOUR BUS WITH DROWNING POOL
Interview with Drowning Pool's Dave Williams-
by: Don Sill
The Ozzfest may very well be the biggest traveling metal festival in
the world. It has become a whose who of metal bands and is a standard
for those bands breaking out as well as those who already broke. Many
bands join the Ozzfest as virtual unknowns and after the tours run is
complete they have become metal superstars, such graduates of Ozzfest
include Godsmack, Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, and Incubus
who have since moved on to their own headlining tours. Ozzfest is a
must see for metalheads world-wide and is a make or break opportunity
for those bands who enter the line-up and this year is no exception.
Ozzfest 2002 marks Drowning Pool's second appearance at Ozzfest and
their first on the covenant main stage. Already making waves with the
success of 'Bodies" the boys are having no problem fitting in with the
main stage line-up which includes, Black Label Society; Adema, P.O.D.,
Rob Zombie, System of a Down & of course, Ozzy. Although Williams modestly
claims that he doesn't understand why the band has become so popular
he still gleams at the fact that he's now a part of the Ozzfest history.
Williams knows just how important Ozzfest can be and they are more than
up for the challenge. I spoke with singer Dave Williams on the tour
bus just hours before they would take the Ozzfest stage and they told
me what just Ozzfest means to him.
You
guys are graduates of the Ozzfest, moving up from the second stage to
the main stage, that must feel pretty good to move up, does it feel
like a promotion?
DAVE: You can't not help but think of it that
way.. I would definitely question ourselves as to why? But, we're not
gonna complain about it. Obviously Sharon (Osbourne) thought we needed
to be on the main stage and the record is still doing good, so it's
like a reward/promotion and we told her that we'll play behind the bathrooms
at 8:00 in the morning, we don't care as long as we can be a part of
it.
Is there a different vibe you get from the main stage that you didn't
have on the 2nd stage last year.
DAVE: Oh yeah.. That's always just the way it
is. I think it's more of a challenge on the main stage because by that
time of the day people have had a couple and they been out in the hot
sun all day and they just wanna sit down and catch their breath so it
takes a lot of work to get em' up and going. It's cool, but when you
do it you feel even better.
Do you ever miss the 2nd stage? You know with all the pit action and
stuff?
DAVE: (with a pause and a smile) Yeah.. Some of my best memories I've
had at Ozzfest were just going as a fan and just being in the middle
of a parking lot with the sun just kicking my ass and watching 9 guys
in jumpsuits and masks just destroy eachother and that's pretty cool.
Yeah, you've been to every single Ozzfest either as a fan or a performer.
DAVE: I've been to every Ozzfest since it started. To actually be on
it is just bizzare, it's a great feeling. I've seen some great bands
on Ozzfest..
..And now to be one of those bands has to be an amazing feeling..
DAVE: (laughs) Yeah, it'll humble you real fast.. (Laughs) Real fast..
Take me through an average day on Ozzfest.
DAVE: Um.. We do a lot of press, we do a lot of meet and greets and
signings for the fans. Other than that we just hang out and stuff. The
comadarodorie between the bands is incredible. We know everybody out
here and we just go and hang and it's just like a summer camp for rock
stars, it's pretty cool.
I heard that you guys brought your dirt bikes with you on this tour
and you guys cruise around and cause havic?
DAVE: Yeah..My bass player and drummer and sound guy have dirt bikes..
Where do they ride them?
DAVE: Most places, luckily, have a place to ride, they have trails and
stuff.. Look, as long as they don't break anything that's gonna hinder
their perfromance.. (laughs) (Laughs) Yeah, like a wrist or something..
Where's your dirt bike?
DAVE: I don't have one.. I just watch.. I ride a bicycle, it's safer..
What is the biggest misconception that people have about life on the
road?
DAVE: Um.. Wow.. We do a lot over the course of a day, but it's the
coolest job, I can't really complain. I get to travel all over the country
with a bunch of guys just like me, play music, drink booze and meet
girls, wow, where the problem. If you ever catch any rock star bitchin'
just stop him right there cus' now you know how it really is. I mena,
there'w obviously work involved, like anything, but the overall perks
and the good times you have definitely overshadows everything.
How long have you guys been on the road?
DAVE: When we wrap this Ozzfest it'll be 2 years straight on the road.
But, that's the way we like it. In the beginning we told our label and
our manager that we wanted to play with anybody and everybody everywhere
twice and they went, "Okay, be careful what you ask for," and we never
looked back.
How is it being away form home for that long?
Dave:I mean, it's tough, you're away from your family a lot. But, getting
to go to all of these places that I probably never would have gone to
if it wasn't for the music is a good feeling, especially going to places
over seas, it's just awesome. And the fans are great, fans everywhere
are great, they just want to have a good time, meet you and drink a
beer with you and that's easy for us (Laughs)
That has to be the best feeling because you remember what it was like
to be that fan at the Ozzfest and now you're on the other side so you
can give back.
DAVE: Yeah, man.. It really is..
That must be crazy to go over seas and hear French kids singing "Bodies"
DAVE: God, it's bizzare.. They can't speak the language but they know
every word to your song.. Man, music really is a pretty powerful force.
Who do you guys hang with?
DAVE: We hang with the Zombie guys a lot, Black Label Society, Ill Nino,
Soil, Down, Adema, mostly everybody.. You have to really try hard for
us not to like you. I don't know if it's the way we were raised or being
from the South or whatever, but we get along with everybody. We just
treat people the way we want to be treated, that's a pretty fair way
to go.
What do you guys do after the show?
DAVE: We just get together and have some drinks and listen to music.
These festivals like Ozzfest are really good for that Comadordarie.
It definitely brings the bands together and it's more a united feeling
amoungst the bands.
DAVE: I think it trancends through the shows too and the fans catch
that vibe. Cus' you can feel tension when there's tension and most everybody
out here is just happy to be out here and cool to meet you for the first
time and that's awesome.
What goes through your mind just before you take the stage?
DAVE: Just think to myself, "Don't screw up." (laughs) Man, once I walk
out there It's on. You put your game face on you go out there and you
just do it and the harder the crowd goes off the harder I go off.
So you vibe off the crowds energy?
DAVE: Oh yeah, definitely.
What is the coolest city to play?
DAVE: Well back home.. Dallas is always really good to us.. East Coast
has been real good to us too.. Boston, Jersey, New York.. East Coast
and mid-West has been real cool.. West Coast you just have to try a
little bit harder, it's just a different vibe. I mean, there great fans,
great people but, it's just a different vibe. We just try and have a
good time wherever we go.
When you guys wrote 'Bodies" did you think that it would have become
the mosh anthem that it did?
DAVE: I still can't figure it out.. It's weird cus' when we wrote it
I though okay and I just kind said, "let the bodies hit the floor" and
the guys in the band go, "That's cool, maybe we should go and work off
of that," and I was like, "Are you Sure?" and they said it sounds catchy
and then it just turned into this monster. Even know, it's still this
incredible thing.
You guys must be getting a ton of chicks on the road.
DAVE: There always there (laughs)
Are any of you in the Gene Simmons ball park yet?
DAVE: Sheeeiit.. Not even close. They're always there and its all personal
choice. I tend to scare a lot of girls away, I don't know, I'm just
into having a good time and hanging out but, there always there.
That's a perk to being a rock star.
DAVE: That's cool.. I mean, I remember watching videos when I was a
kid going, "man, Motley Crue and Ratt get hot chicks." Yeah, it's cool
and we have fun with it and it's definitely there and I don't see it
slowing down anytime soon.
Speaking of Motley Crue. I heard that Nikki Sixx has been writing some
songs for you guys. That must be crazy to be working with Sixx..
DAVE: Yeah, we're gonna get together with him and try and get a vibe..
I mena, it's Nikki Sixx for God sakes, so yeah, it's gonna be cool.
He seems jazzed about it and he know that we're jazzed about it. Those
guys are God-like to us so.. But, Nikki has been writing songs for 20-something
years and anything that he can bring to the trable wouljd be more than
welcome and just to say that he was part of it.. I mean.. It's awesome,
I can't wait.
You also took the stage with Poison last week and say Kiss' classic
"Rock and Roll All Night"
DAVE: Yup.. We had a day off and we knew the guys and they knew that
were in town and they asked us if we wanted to come out and we said,
Absolutley." We're big fans. It was Poison, Cinderella, Winger and Faster
Pussycat and we met all of them and just told them how big of fans we
were. What'' weird wwhenyou tell somebody like that you're a big fan
and then they tell you that they like your band too.. It just doesn't
compute and I go, "Lets grab a beer," cus' that the only thing that's
real for me.
Cool, so you went out there and belted out a Kiss tune..
DAVE: Yeah, they called us out and we did "Rock and Roll All Night"
and it was just awesome.
Now, how did you hook up with Poison in the first place?
DAVE: I met Bret while we were making the record in LA a while back
and we talked a little bit. He was real cool then and when the record
came out he told us that we made a really good record. Bret told me
thanks for not backing down in the press about what you gre up listening
to, cus now it's "not cool" to like those guys, but those guys got me
through high school. They appreciate that I always give it up to them,
it lets them know that they meant something and they made an impact
and I will always give it up to those bands cus' I remember.. Man, I
lost my virginity to Cinderella so.. (laughs)
(Laughs) Did you tell Tom Keifer that?
DAVE: (Laughs) Yeah, I told him to his face and he said, "What Album"
and I told him it was "Long Cold Winter" and he thought that was cool..
You really love life right now, don't you?
DAVE: Hell yeah.. Everything is really cool right now.
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