DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara is finishing up his seventh- count it: SEVENTH – run on Ozzfest, and The Pittsburgh Metal Music Examiner recently caught up with him to hear all about his history with the premiere travelling metal fest.

Examiner: I guess we should start with this summer’s Ozzfest since you are moving on up to the main stage.
Dez Fafara: Awesome. I can’t wait for that. Ozzy, Motley Crue, Halford, it’s going to be awesome. I have done Ozzfest so many times, and I haven’t been on the main stage since I was with Coal Chamber. That family has done a lot for me for the length of my career; I scarcely would even have a career if it wasn’t for them.

Examiner: It was the 1998 Ozzfest that you were on the main stage with Coal Chamber, right?
Dez: Yeah. Nobody has done it more than Ozzy and Zakk (Wylde). Me and Zakk are neck and neck, I think that Jamey Jasta is one show under us and he is on it this year with Kingdom of Sorrow. It’s good times.

Examiner: This being your seventh Ozzfest appearance, I bet you have some good backstage stories.
Dez: Yeah, but what goes on on the road stays on the road. I can’t really lend that stuff out. (laughs)

Examiner: (laughs) I understand.
Dez: I mean I was there at the Ozzfest when Lynn Strait from Snot, God rest his soul, came out naked from Limp Bizkit’s toilet. There have been a lot of really cool times, but the thing I will always remember most is the camaraderie of that tour. I have been on a lot of festival tours, but none of them are like family like Ozzfest is. Everybody is always hanging out and barbecuing backstage. You hear that from everybody, but that is the truth.

Examiner: Ozzfest is very important to us in the metal community… It is a great feeling having it come back.
Dez: There you go. We are so excited to do it. I can’t really speak for the rest of the festivals that are going on in the States right now, if they are doing well or not, but without Ozzy himself on stage bringing a bunch of bands; it just doesn’t seem like summer.

Examiner: I have said the same thing so many times. It just doesn’t feel like summer without seeing Ozzy.
Dez: And he is bringing a bunch of good bands with him this year. It is going to be a good time. I am excited to be on the same stage as Crue, I have done stuff in the past with Nikki Sixx so I know him. It is just good to be on that level to do this stuff with DevilDriver.

Examiner: Is Motley Crue that band you are most looking forward to watching this year?
Dez: Well, them, and I am looking forward to seeing Black Label Society. I am going to go watch them all the time; they are good friends as well. I love Halford. Not only is he one of the nicest guys I have ever met but his voice is absolutely incredible. So I am looking forward to hearing that, I am looking forward to the whole gig, man. Everything from the second stage bands to barbecuing in the back is what I am looking forward to.

Examiner: You are a real metal road warrior when it comes to touring, does it feel weird not to be on the road?
Dez: Well, I have only been home for about two weeks, so I am just starting to get my sea legs and learn how to work the f****** remote on the TV. The road is where I live. It is just something that is embedded in you or not. I love being at home with my family but I crave the road. I live for the road. I sleep better on the road in the bunk, it is a sad thing to say, but I do. Eventually you get to that point where if you are not out there, you are missing it 100% of the day. So right now, I am loving being home, but I need to get back out.

Examiner: You are starting to get a pretty large catalog of songs with DevilDriver, is it hard to pick your set list on these festival shows where you have limited time?
Dez: Yeah, if you only have 45 minutes it becomes difficult. We always want to play the hits, well, what people call the “hits” because you want to have an impact. But if you have an hour or an hour and fifteen while headlining, you can play whatever you want. Throw in some new tunes that you have never played before and stuff like that. So the Ozzfest set is going to be all tunes you are extremely familiar with plus maybe one or two that we have never played before, so look forward to that.

Read the interview in full over at HERE– where he goes on to talk about the bands next album…

Current album Pray For Villains is in stores now. Pick it up online HERE.

DevilDriver hit the UK in November for a full UK tour, kicking of November 5th in Newcastle. Check out the full run of dates and pick up tickets HERE.