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David Draiman answered an ad for a singer in a local Chicago paper, and so began the dizzying success of the hard-rock outfit Disturbed. If nothing else, it should prove that print media isn't dead yet.
But then Draiman chose to speak about the band's number-one hit album, Ten Thousand Fists (Reprise), with the King of all Digital Media, Mr. Skin. It's their third album, which will be supported by a headlining gig on this summer's Ozzfest.
A man of few words, Draiman did have some choice responses to questions about actresses that make him hot, why being on Ozzfest is like summer camp for the long-haired, tattooed, and pierced set, and what really disturbs him.
For more information about the band and tour, log onto its official website, http://www.disturbed1.com.
Do you remember the first nude scene in a movie you saw as a kid?
Oh, man ... I don't know. I have no idea, my friend. I can't remember back that far.
What about your favorite sex scene?
I haven't been seeing anything too racy lately [laughs]. I was always kind of partial to Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone (Picture: 1 - 2) from that era, in all her glory. Not the recent one, but the old one.
Have you seen the new one?
No. I heard it's bad, though.
She says she wanted to do more nude scenes that made it to the theatrical release.
I'm sure she did. God bless her!
What about the newly released Bettie Page (Picture: ) movie [The Notorious Bettie Page], you excited to see that?
I didn't even know a Bettie Page movie opened. I love Bettie Page. I don't know how Gretchen Mol (Picture: ) is going to pull it off, but I guess we'll wait and see.
When did you first become aware of Bettie Page?
Probably the illustrations you used to see every once and a while in old-school Playboys. They used to have a lot of Bettie Page.
You guys are about to go on tour, so what kinds of DVDs make the rotation on the tour bus?
You know, brother, as little frustration fuel as possible [laughs]. We get enough of our--how should I put it?--release from other areas. Sometimes we'll get the Playboy channel on the bus and let that run.
Do you guys watch a lot of cult, exploitation-type movies?
You know, not necessarily. It all depends, really. We actually tend to gravitate more towards comedies, believe it or not. Most of the other guys are always in the mood for something funny. I tend to like action films.
What kind of comedies?
Oh, I think we watched the South Park movie 200,000 times. Triumph the Insult Dog. We really don't watch a whole lot of sexy movies because it's all men on the bus and it's a little weird when you're throwing on something with a whole bunch of nudity. That's to see privately. When I'm private I'll occasionally surf online looking for some interesting stuff.
Does the band try to live like Sunset-Riot-era Led Zeppelin when on tour?
Well, we definitely know how to whoop it up. I'm not much of a drinker anymore, but the rest of the guys still do. While the rest of the guys are all married or engaged, I'm the only one that isn't, so as far as females and exploitation goes, I'm the only one left [laughs].
Care to elaborate on that?
I'm not a kiss-and-tell kind of guy. I love women. I make no apologies about it. I'm honest. I don't bullshit them. It is what it is.
Speaking about women, how about actresses, who do you think is the hottest?
Oh, yeah, that's the easiest question you've asked so far. Jessica Alba (Picture: - 2), definitely way up there, Salma Hayek (Picture: 1), Jaime Pressly (Picture: 1 - 2), Eva Mendes (Picture: 1 - 2).
How about growing up?
I was a big Raquel Welch (Picture: 1) fan. Bo Derek (Picture: 1), back in the day. 10 was the first one I saw.
You enjoyed One Million Years B.C.?
Yes, yes.
Have you had any famous hotties throw themselves at you backstage?
I'm not at liberty to say.
Sorry, it is my job to ask those hard questions. Comic-book artist Todd McFarlane is directing your Genesis cover, "Land of Confusion," video. Is it going to have those Splitting Image puppets like the original?
It's not going to be anything like it. We don't even want to say homage to the song. It's a completely animated piece with a lot of the imagery you see on the cover of the record that Todd illustrated. It takes that, I guess you can call him our mascot, the guy, we call him, that sort of menacing, grinning face that was made three-dimensional by Todd, he's kind of like the central figure in a world of war and turmoil battling against greed and the forces of evil.
You guys are touring now, are you also working on a new album?
Right now we're going towards the end of a break and we're about to head out to New Zealand and Australia.
And later this summer you're on the main stage at Ozzfest?
Yes, co-headlining with System of a Down.
What's it like, being on Ozzfest?
This is our fourth time. It's like summer camp for bands. It's a good time. You're on a summer festival, you have lots of scantily clad girls coming out, you got cookouts happening on a daily basis, a lot of community, a lot of friendly competition between the bands, trying to hit it harder than the last guy did, all that kind of stuff.
You just finished an album, but are you already working on the next?
[Guitarist] Danny [Donegan] definitely has a bunch of riffs he's cooking up. We haven't had the time yet to develop them into songs, but we're building up the arsenal so that when we are ready to go full force into writing mode we'll have plenty to work with.
I know you're originally from Brooklyn and from a Jewish family, so did you have a Seder for Passover?
I'm also a member of the tribe. I was supposed to go over to my parents, but it didn't really end up happening. I'm kind of being a bad Jew at the moment.
But then Draiman chose to speak about the band's number-one hit album, Ten Thousand Fists (Reprise), with the King of all Digital Media, Mr. Skin. It's their third album, which will be supported by a headlining gig on this summer's Ozzfest.
A man of few words, Draiman did have some choice responses to questions about actresses that make him hot, why being on Ozzfest is like summer camp for the long-haired, tattooed, and pierced set, and what really disturbs him.
For more information about the band and tour, log onto its official website, http://www.disturbed1.com.
Do you remember the first nude scene in a movie you saw as a kid?
Oh, man ... I don't know. I have no idea, my friend. I can't remember back that far.
What about your favorite sex scene?
I haven't been seeing anything too racy lately [laughs]. I was always kind of partial to Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone (Picture: 1 - 2) from that era, in all her glory. Not the recent one, but the old one.
Have you seen the new one?
No. I heard it's bad, though.
She says she wanted to do more nude scenes that made it to the theatrical release.
I'm sure she did. God bless her!
What about the newly released Bettie Page (Picture: ) movie [The Notorious Bettie Page], you excited to see that?
I didn't even know a Bettie Page movie opened. I love Bettie Page. I don't know how Gretchen Mol (Picture: ) is going to pull it off, but I guess we'll wait and see.
When did you first become aware of Bettie Page?
Probably the illustrations you used to see every once and a while in old-school Playboys. They used to have a lot of Bettie Page.
You guys are about to go on tour, so what kinds of DVDs make the rotation on the tour bus?
You know, brother, as little frustration fuel as possible [laughs]. We get enough of our--how should I put it?--release from other areas. Sometimes we'll get the Playboy channel on the bus and let that run.
Do you guys watch a lot of cult, exploitation-type movies?
You know, not necessarily. It all depends, really. We actually tend to gravitate more towards comedies, believe it or not. Most of the other guys are always in the mood for something funny. I tend to like action films.
What kind of comedies?
Oh, I think we watched the South Park movie 200,000 times. Triumph the Insult Dog. We really don't watch a whole lot of sexy movies because it's all men on the bus and it's a little weird when you're throwing on something with a whole bunch of nudity. That's to see privately. When I'm private I'll occasionally surf online looking for some interesting stuff.
Does the band try to live like Sunset-Riot-era Led Zeppelin when on tour?
Well, we definitely know how to whoop it up. I'm not much of a drinker anymore, but the rest of the guys still do. While the rest of the guys are all married or engaged, I'm the only one that isn't, so as far as females and exploitation goes, I'm the only one left [laughs].
Care to elaborate on that?
I'm not a kiss-and-tell kind of guy. I love women. I make no apologies about it. I'm honest. I don't bullshit them. It is what it is.
Speaking about women, how about actresses, who do you think is the hottest?
Oh, yeah, that's the easiest question you've asked so far. Jessica Alba (Picture: - 2), definitely way up there, Salma Hayek (Picture: 1), Jaime Pressly (Picture: 1 - 2), Eva Mendes (Picture: 1 - 2).
How about growing up?
I was a big Raquel Welch (Picture: 1) fan. Bo Derek (Picture: 1), back in the day. 10 was the first one I saw.
You enjoyed One Million Years B.C.?
Yes, yes.
Have you had any famous hotties throw themselves at you backstage?
I'm not at liberty to say.
Sorry, it is my job to ask those hard questions. Comic-book artist Todd McFarlane is directing your Genesis cover, "Land of Confusion," video. Is it going to have those Splitting Image puppets like the original?
It's not going to be anything like it. We don't even want to say homage to the song. It's a completely animated piece with a lot of the imagery you see on the cover of the record that Todd illustrated. It takes that, I guess you can call him our mascot, the guy, we call him, that sort of menacing, grinning face that was made three-dimensional by Todd, he's kind of like the central figure in a world of war and turmoil battling against greed and the forces of evil.
You guys are touring now, are you also working on a new album?
Right now we're going towards the end of a break and we're about to head out to New Zealand and Australia.
And later this summer you're on the main stage at Ozzfest?
Yes, co-headlining with System of a Down.
What's it like, being on Ozzfest?
This is our fourth time. It's like summer camp for bands. It's a good time. You're on a summer festival, you have lots of scantily clad girls coming out, you got cookouts happening on a daily basis, a lot of community, a lot of friendly competition between the bands, trying to hit it harder than the last guy did, all that kind of stuff.
You just finished an album, but are you already working on the next?
[Guitarist] Danny [Donegan] definitely has a bunch of riffs he's cooking up. We haven't had the time yet to develop them into songs, but we're building up the arsenal so that when we are ready to go full force into writing mode we'll have plenty to work with.
I know you're originally from Brooklyn and from a Jewish family, so did you have a Seder for Passover?
I'm also a member of the tribe. I was supposed to go over to my parents, but it didn't really end up happening. I'm kind of being a bad Jew at the moment.