MUEN: THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW DEZ, WE�RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO TALK WITH YOU

DEZ: Hey well thank you very much! We�re not exactly a band that gets drive-time radio, so we need all the support and all the help we can get... it�s a huge help to us let me tell you!

MUEN: WELL IT�S GOOD FOR US AS WELL... YOU HAVE JUST RELEASED YOUR 3RD ALBUM "THE LAST KIND WORDS," FROM ROADRUNNER RECORDS.. WHEN DID YOU FIRST SIGN WITH ROADRUNNER, AND ARE YOUR PAST ALBUMS ON ROADRUNNER?

DEZ: Yeah, all the records we�ve ever done, have been on Roadrunner Records.. We signed with Roadrunner I believe, in �96, but we were offered a deal in �94, but I didn�t take it at that time.. I was still deciding on whether or not to get into a music career at that point - but yeah I think I signed permanently around �96.

MUEN: HOW IS THIS RELEASE ANY DIFFERENT FROM YOUR PAST TWO CD�S?

DEZ: I think the first Devil Driver record was more just stepping out and doing what we knew how to do.. the second record was written by everyone.. the second record was really creative, and a little scattered for me, but none the less, got rave reviews.. And with this 3rd record, we�ve really honed it in, and came back strong. With "The Last Kind Words," we�ve really defined the sound of Devil Driver and what Devil Driver is. It�s something unique and different and you can pin-point that the minute you hear it I think. I feel like it should have been our first record, .. there are two kinds of bands: there�s Gun�s N Roses that comes out with Appetite For Destruction, and after that everything is downhill.. but then there are other bands who constantly grow, and their records just keep getting better, and that�s more what Devil Driver is. We are only going to keep progressing and pushing the boundaries.

MUEN: THERE IS AMAZING GUITAR AND PERCUSSION WORK GOING ON IN THE MUSIC OF DEVIL DRIVER.. YOU ARE ALL SCHOOLED MUSICIANS RIGHT?

DEZ: Yeah .. Mike is actually a schooled musician, he�s classically trained as well, and is amazing on acoustic, however that really doesn�t play into the Devil Driver scenerio, not at this point in time anyways,.. and then everyone else is self-taught. The only musical instrument I (as a vocalist) play is the native american flute, which ofcourse, isn�t really being utilized in the music of Devil Driver, haha!

MUEN; IN YOUR WORDS, WHAT IS THE OVERALL THEME OF THE ALBUM, "THE LAST KIND WORDS?" HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?

DEZ: Well perseverance and determination have always been a real fore-front, and important part of my lyrics, ... there are times I�ll just be walking down the street and stuff will come to me.. but basically about living life to it�s fullest and taking no shit, and taking no prisoners.

MUEN: SO IT WAS PRODUCED BY JASON SUKOFF IN 2006, AND HE AND THE BAND DID SUCH A GREAT JOB ON THIS, WE ARE REALLY FLOORED BY BOTH THE SOUND QUALITY AND MUSICAL SKILL OF DEVIL DRIVER

DEZ: Thank you very much, to be complimented on your art is always the best feeling, so thank you!

MUEN: IS IT TRUE THAT MOST OF WHAT YOU HEAR ON THE ALBUM IS RECORDED WITH "FIRST TAKES" AND WAS COMPLETED WITHIN A MONTH?

DEZ: Yeah, most of it is first takes.. we found that the live sound and feel is the way to do it for us, and especially vocally... If I wasn�t ready and really on it, Jason didn�t even want it.. so alot of it was first takes. I would definitely work with Jason and/or Mark Lewis on the next record, because they know how to get that feel. When you can capture that live energy, and get that "in the moment" feel, there�s nothing like it, and I�ve worked with producers in the past where they will work on a vocal for 6 hours and they�ll get what they want and what they think they need, but in the end you are losing that live quality and that energy that comes out of the spur of the moment, whether it be vocals, drums or guitars as well.

MUEN: ABOUT THE SONG "NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST," I READ WHERE THAT WAS ABOUT SOMEONE DETERMINED TO LIVE "IN THE MOMENT"..

DEZ To many people spend their time crying about things that happened in the past, .. I have no time for that kind of shit. And then too many people worry about the future, so they forget what�s around them at the moment, and to be surrounded by the positive energy of the moment, you need to "live" in the moment.. that�s where I live, in the moment every day. It�s healthy.. there�s a couple rules, ... wake up earlier than everyone else, don�t hang out with people who aren�t positive. Expect everyone around you to meet your expectations of where you are going and what you�re doing, and if they can�t match your fortitude and intensity on the way you�re doing things in life, let them go as free to the wind as a bad dollar bill. I�ve always been a "the glass is half full" kind of guy.

MUEN: SOMEWHERE IN YOUR BIO IT SAID THAT THE SUICIDE RATE HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED IN THE U.S... WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYMORE THOUGHT TO THAT?

DEZ: That�s in our bio? Well that shouldn�t be in there.. I�m not doing any research on the suicide rate.. but ok, my thoughts on that.. have you seen life lately? Have we really taken a look at humanity and mankind? Have we really taken a look at the planet and what we�re doing to it, and ourselves - or how we treat eachother? It�s no wonder people want a way out, and a way out quick.. but personally I think that�s a pussy way out, and I experienced that personally with a stepfather who blew his brains out with a shotgun when I was around eight years old.. and what I realized is that he didn�t have the tenacity or the strength to get thru life and to see another fuckin� day... in the end, our souls are here in this flesh bag of 99% water, to learn a lesson or two.. so why not just stay here and learn your lessons.

MUEN: WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF DEVIL DRIVER EVER DOING A BALLAD?

DEZ: Well I never rule anything out for Devil Driver, "in the moment" is how we make decisions.. just like I decided to do no "clean" vocals on this last record.. because it�s just a way for bands to do it now, and get radio, and get popular and sell out.. but I�m not going to rule anything out.. if we want to do a classical piece - we will, and if we want to do a ballad - we will. If we want to do a punk song, we will... I�m not going to rule anything out for this band.

MUEN: AT WHAT POINT IN YOUR CAREER DID YOU REALLY START NOTICING THE INCREASING NUMBER OF FANS, AND WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SAY TO THOSE WHO HAVE STUCK WITH YOU FOR SO LONG?

DEZ: Ah man, well we have worked so hard, and we have seen it grow dramatically show by show.. and obviously without all the people who come to the shows and back us, we�d be nothing, so a big heartfelt thank you to all those people, and we only hope that we can live up to their expectations as artists, and continue to bring them something unique and different to get them thru the day.

MUEN: ARE YOU GETTING EVEN MORE RESPONSE FROM EUROPE - AS OPPOSED TO THE U.S.?

DEZ: No, it�s all over the place right now, it�s growing incredibly... Canada, here, everywhere, so I really don�t know where is better or worse, all I know is we are working our ass off and traveling the globe, and it�s all paying off.. in the long run, the people are coming to the shows.

MUEN: YEAH, I ATTENDED YOUR LAST SHOW WITH LAMB OF GOD AND KILL SWITCH ENGAGE, AT THE LONG BEACH ARENA, AND IT WAS AMAZING!! DO YOU LIKE THE SHOWS BETTER, THAT ARE CLOSE TO YOUR HOME TOWN?

DEZ: Yeah that was a good show that night! All my family were there.. my mom was there, my kids, .. it was the first time two of my kids ever saw me live, haha.. being from L.A... that was great for me. This is my home, without Los Angeles I would be nothing, this is where I was born and raised and this is where Coal Chamber came from. I mean everything survives and is around L.A. for me.

MUEN: ONE THING WE LEARNED, THAT WE THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING, IS THAT DEVIL DRIVER HAS A TON OF FANS WHO HAVE "DEVIL DRIVER" TATTOOS!

DEZ: We�re finding that there is alot of that. I think we counted over 380 so far in the U.S., and 60 or 70 in Europe that we know of, haha! Some of those people will be in our DVD.. I mean that is awesome, and to hold a band in that high of regard, to go ahead and get a tattoo, .. it makes me as an artist, want to strive even harder to come up with more that somehow doesn�t leave those people empty handed. I never want to let anyone down like that - fans who would actually back us like that.

MUEN: WHAT IS THE MINDSET OF DEVIL DRIVER AS WE SPEAK?

DEZ: We just try to maintain a level of professionalism on and off the road, and continue to write.. we already have 6 new songs for a new record already... as we speak right now, I�m on my way to a rehearsal, and they�ve been there since eight o�clock this morning - show me another metal band who rehearses at eight in the morning and I�ll give you a thousand dollars..

MUEN: OFCOURSE THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE ON VID AND WELL DOCUMENTED BEFORE THIS DATE OFCOURSE..:) ABOUT YOUR LOGO.. IT IS THE CROSS OF CONFUSION AND IT MEANS "QUESTIONS EVERYTHING AROUND YOU," AND IT HAS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.. WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THAT FOR YOUR BAND?

DEZ: To me it means question christianity, question religion, and everything around you is a good thing to do... I raised my kids with a big huge sticker on the refrigerator that read "Question Authority" .. and that means me, and it means everyone.. parents, preachers, teachers.. question everything because it helps to open the mind. The "cross of confusion" for us was perfect because "Devil Driver" sounds evil, but it actually means "to drive away evil" and as well as that, it has a religious context because the Sagarin Witches (Italian) used them for bells... so I wanted some kind of symbolism that had religious antiquity.. actually it was my wife that brought up the notion to use it, and I thought it was absolutely perfect. We did a couple tweaks on it to make it our own, and went from there...

MUEN: YOU DID ALOT OF TOURING, SUPPORTING SOME AMAZING BANDS SUCH AS LAMB OF GOD AND KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. .. WHO IS SUPPORTING "YOUR" TOUR RIGHT NOW?

DEZ: Napalm Death.. let me rewind..., "the legendary" Napalm Death.. I mean that�s all I got to say.. we also toured with that band ten years ago, and I remember we ripped apart a dressing room in Germany for my birthday with Machinehead, and the promoter said he�d never have either one of us back again, .. and he�s since had us back numerous times throughout the years, so I couldn�t wait to see those guys again, and to have a band like that open for us is just such a great honor..

MUEN: WHO ARE THE OTHER OPENING BANDS?

DEZ: Uh.. Invitro, which is Mike Doling from Snot and 36 Crazyfists, which is sort of the odd man out on the tour, but we partied with them in Germany, and they are just such nice cats, and I wanted to do a tour with them. Walls Of Jericho had some problems with their label so they say, so who knows.. we just sorta forgive and forget..

MUEN: WHAT TYPE OF BAND DO YOU USUALLY PREFER TO OPEN FOR YOU?

DEZ: Well I like a diverse band.. Invitro is sort of a punk band, 36 Crazyfists is hard to categorize... it�s groove laden, .. Napalm is you know, haha, Napalm! I just like the fact that each one of these bands are as far away from eachother musically as they possibly could be. We don�t sound anything like eachother so the fans will get a diverse package. And we did that as a decisive move as well. We don�t want it to be just a rawr fest.. Nothing worse than hearing 5 bands together who all sound the same..

MUEN: DO YOU HAVE ANY SHOWS COMING UP OVERSEAS?

DEZ: Yeah we have some shows lined up overseas with Opeth and Arch Enemy that are going to be great. We have some South American shows being put together and also Japan. Also some plans for a Canadian tour as well. So yeah, a lot more work and touring coming up.

MUEN: ARE THERE ANY CITIES OR PLACES THAT YOU PREFER OVER OTHERS WHEN YOU ARE ON TOUR?

DEZ: Oh... my bed with my wife and doberman... but that's not what I want to say... otherwise no it doesn't matter where it is! Anywhere where there may be at least 50 people and a microphone.. hand me a bottle of wine and I'm going to scream my ass off period.. it doesn't matter to me where or when or how - rainy, cloudy, sunny, 50 people, 500,000 people - I don't care, it's all on!

MUEN: I HEARD YOUR DRUMMER JOHN WAS SEEN AT THE NAMM SHOW..

DEZ: Yeah! You know what's really great is people are starting to take notice of the players that we've picked to be around us over the years. And John is a great drummer as well as guitar player! He writes alot of the music, so yeah he's getting some recognition! We chose some great guys and I think over the years we will manage to hang tight together, I don't foresee any changes, right now everybody is happy and working towards the same goals. That's really good to see out of a band, because usually it's nothing but alcohol, drugs and drama... fame, and egos, all that, and we don't put up with any of that shit..

MUEN: IS IT TRUE YOU ALMOST MADE THE GUINNESS BOOK FOR THE LARGEST CIRCLE PIT?

DEZ: Yeah well that was almost a joke.. the fact that they wrote us back a six page letter to our label was just enough in itself, ha! They said they couldn't do it because they didn't know how to measure it. But we were sure it was because if someone got hurt they'd be liable for suite so.. yeah.. it would have been between like twelve and possibly twenty thousand people and, since then other bands have been trying to do it so we're going to lay low awhile and let everyone else try to take that gimmick and let it happen for themselves... I got something invented for the next tour that is going to be uh... oblideration! It's going to be intense.

MUEN: ANY LAST WORDS FOR THE INTERVIEW?

DEZ: Never say "can't" ..

Interview by Shauna O' Donnell