Dave Lombardo interview

There is no doubt that Dave Lombardo is one of the greatest drummers in the history of metal music. His recent departure from Slayer was a issue of discussion for the fans of the band. However, his current activity with Philm and the forthcoming visit to Greece gives us the opportunity to talk with him. Friendly and approachable he refered to the past, the present and the future as a musician, even though it was quite hesitant to discuss some of the issues that concern the fans of Slayer.

Since Philm is a new band would you like to tell us its story so far, basically the idea behind the band?
I met Gerry in about 1995-96 and we played together back then and we did some shows but i was really busy with Grip Inc and Slayer and Fantomas, so i couldn’t continue with Philm. After Tom Araya had the surgery on his neck, i had lot of time. I called Gerry and we got together to rehearse, back in 2007 or 2008 and we have been playing since then. We decided to do an album and we released “Harmonic” on Ipecac and now we are ready to go on tour. I am excited about this band and I enjoy playing lives.

What would you like to achieve with this band?
Like anybody wants I want to play lives, I want to play festivals. I want to show the stand to the world.

I asked that question because you have a career of more than 30 years, so it is a question after 30 years what a musician wants to achieve.
I love being on stage and I love being with the band and writing music, collaborating and arranging with other musicians. It is a passion and you love to continue doing it. To play live you have to create music, so it is a cycle that really satisfies, especially if you love your job and I love my job.

You released last year your debut album. After one year, would you like to change something on this album?
No. We are very satisfied with it. I am satisfied with every album i make. It is because that album marks a period in my life at a time. When i listen to an album, that album brings me back to that time. It is a picture of myself how I felt, the friends I was with, the things I did. So it marks a time of my life and this album marks that time, which I am very happy and proud of and I wouldn’t change anything, from the experience to the sound and to my performance. That performance marks a period of my life.

Have you started working on a new album, or it is too early yet?
Yes, we have started working on a new album. We have about 13-14 new songs and I think we are going to choose 12. When we complete this sort European tour we are going to start recording it.

You mentioned before Grip Inc. Do you have any plans after Gus Chambers’ departure? Are you going to go on with the same name, perhaps?
This is what i am planning to do. I met a singer recently. His name is Casey Chaos, he is from the band Amen. I spoke to him and i really liked the kind of singing. He has this punk edge to his singing, he knew Gus Chambers, because Gus has died and he knew some Gus’ friends. They are all from the same musical background. So he is compatible to sing in this band. What i am thinking is to rehearse with Grip Inc and we possibly do some shows. Jeff is doing some shows right now. We are going to experiment a little bit and then maybe in the future we record a record. Right now i want to get together with the other musicians to rehearse and to do some shows, where Grip Inc and Philm will be on the same bill.

As far as I understand the name of the band remains the same.
Absolutely. It is going to stay the same.

Do you remember anything from your live show in Greece back in 1997?
Yes, I do. I remember we played in a soccer field. I remember Bruce Dickinson played. I don’t remember the other bands.

Megadeth was there, the headliners.
Ok. I remember that night. Something happened, there was a riot. People were really crazy.

I don’t remember something like that.
There was a problem with the bus and people turned the bus over. It was something crazy that happened. Bruce Dickinson and i were taken away from the venue as fast as possible because of this and we left before everybody else left.

Anyway. I would like to ask you something about another issue. Some weeks ago you seperated your ways with Slayer. Would you like to say something about this?
I said everything on my statement. The only thing i do want to say is i hope we can work this out, for the fans, for the history of the band.

Do you believe that your relationship with the band has come to an end?
I don’t want to believe that.

As far as I understand you don’t want to say anything more about that.
No, no. I can’t say anything more. I just hope that we can work this out.

You rejoined the band in 2002. Compared to the first period in the band, what are the differences, which one do you prefer most?
I think the second period was a better period. I really enjoyed myself. We were more mature, older and we enjoyed life a little more compared to the past, when we were younger. It took us sometime to grow up a little bit.

May I ask you, which was the thing that irritated you most in the first period?
As I said, we started something very young and as a result the second period was better for me.

Which do you think is the greatest moment in your career?
There were a lot of great moments in my career. There were moments in my career, which were amazing and i can’t pinpoint any. My very first band ever and when i played live for the first time was amazing. We played at school. That was a big thing for me because when i was young that was a really good experience for me. Then i met Kerry and we rehearsed in my dad’s house the first 3-4 times. That was amazing too. Then we got signed. Then with Slayer i played the big 4, with Metallica, that was huge. And now with my new band Philm, with really close friends and we are going to Europe. I am excited, i cannot wait to take this band and share with the public the power this band has.

A moment that you want to forget?
I have to think about that.

I guess that the good moments are more than the bad moments.
Yes this is true. There are no bad moments in my mind. A highlight of my career was playing in the Lafayette Jazz Festival in Paris with other great musicians. That was an amazing time in my life because as a metal drummer always want to play metal and rock and playing at a jazz festival is something i always wanted to do, playing in a band that was different than i am known for.

Who is the colleague that you enjoyed most his collaboration all those years?
Mike Patton. He was one of the best collaborators i had. He is an amazing musician, composer, friend, artist, creator. He is all around.

What can we expect of your live shows in Greece?
You will have three musicians. Francisco Tomaselli plays for a band called War for ten years. They play funk. So he is a funk player. He is not known for playing rock or metal, he comes from a different side of music. But he knows how to play with Dave Lombardo, he knows how to play with the power i play. Then we have Gerry Nestler, who is very original in his own way. He doesn’t follow anybody. He brings his style. It is very powerful, this is all i have to say. We are like a big truck, a powerful truck. It is going to be excited. We are playing a lot of the songs of “Harmonic” and then we are bringing in and playing probably 7 new songs. Most of them are going to have vocals, but maybe a couple will not have vocals yet. But we are very excited about the music. It is a power trio. It is magic to have three musicians, three instruments.

Your description sounds very interesting and challenging.
I listen to music, I listen to what people are listening, I go to concerts, I see bands playing. So, I know what I like. People like slayer and I love Slayer. People like Fantomas and I love Fantomas and Kreator and Testament and other stuff. I don’t think I am wrong. You are gonna like it. If you like heavy music, you like this.

We love heavy music.
So do i. You can hear heavy music in classical, you can hear heavy music in rock and in non metal forms of music. It doesn’t have to be fast to be heavy. In jazz you hear heavy elements and even funk.

Ok, Dave that’s all. Would you like to say something before we finish?
I just can’t wait to visit Greece again. I remember when I was last there, with Metallica in 2010 and the fans were amazing. The Greek fans are very passionate and love music. So I believe it is going to be two exciting days. Something else is that the drum set will be on the front. So all the three musicians will be on the front of the stage and if you get on the front of the stage my base drum will be in your face.

Thank you very much for your time, Dave.
Thank you too.