Drowning Pool has been heavily involved in and around the music scene for about ten years now- and it’s no secret why they’ve remained such a hard rock staple.  Standing outside the Nokia Theater last night waiting to be ushered in with the rest of the press there was a lot of hushed talk about Drowning Pool’s first lead singer and the circumstances surrounding his death.  The various rumors were all addressed and then the subject matter changed drastically to how talented the individual members must be to overcome every obstacle set forth in front of them- and do it with flying colors.

A couple days before the show and on a total hard rock kick to get myself amped for the performance (I happily admit that when I do MMA training I still rock out to “bodies”) I caught up with DP’s founding member and bassist Stevie Benton as he prepared for his their performance that night in Sacramento.  We went over the usual- rock, creamsicles, and how a twenty-four hour Walmart can be close to Nirvana.

BNB:  So you’ve been on tour- just finished up last night in L.A.- how’d the tour go for you guys?

SB:  Great!  It’s been an awesome, awesome time!

BNB:  Was L.A. your last show?

SB:  Yeah L.A.’s our last show with Godsmack and Five Finger- then we’ve gotta fly to Alaska and do a show and then head down to do “shiprocked” play on a boat in the Bahamas!

BNB:  Wow- I feel so bad for you!

SB:  I feel like I’m gonna get pneumonia- we go from Fairbanks, Alaska one day to the frickin’ Bahamas the next day so that’s gonna be a temperature shock!

BNB:  Have you played Alaska before?  You don’t really hear of too many people heading up there!

SB:  Yeah you know this will be our second or third time heading up there- I don’t don’t know if a lot of people head up there to perform- but maybe that’s why the shows are so crazy, because they have nothing else to do besides like hunt bears or somethin’.

BNB:  So you guys just released your self-titled album last April and you’ve been on tour promo-ing it ever since!  This is the first time you’ve had the same singer for the last two consecutive albums- how has the chemistry changed with Ryan joining the band?

SB:  You know- it certainly made this recording process easier than previous ones because we didn’t have to go through the process of getting a new singer and feeling them out and finding out what their strengths or weaknesses are as far as songwriting- and adjusting to that.  We didn’t have to change labels in the middle of recording- which we’ve also had to do before.  There was no great tragedy- we were just able to have all this momentum roll right into this record as opposed to having to pick up the pieces from some kind of disaster!  There was just this really positive vibe and I think that reflects on how well this record turned out!

 

BNB:  So going from that- what would you say your main musical inspirations behind the last CD were?

SB:  You know we’ve really always been a band that just kind of wrote about what was going on in our own lives- and try to keep it vague enough so that any listener can interpret it to reflect their own lives.  So really the only influence we have is just our own life on the road- the good times it can be, and the beatings it can be, and your own personal drama- so when you break it down that’s really all they’re (songs) are about.

BNB:  So it’s really important for your music to be able to relate to your fans in one way or another.

SB:  Absolutely!  You know it really makes music enjoyable to the listener!  I know when I was a kid my favorite bands would write songs that had absolutely nothing to do with me- but it was ambiguous enough that I could here a line and think that I knew exactly what they meant, and exactly how they felt.

 

BNB:  So you’ve just about finished up your tour with Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch- any crazy show or tour stories?

SB:  Well you know- there have been some- but I don’t like to throw people under the bus and tell too much about what goes on- because you never know who’s involved in litigation, you never know who’s mom or wife is reading this- so I am always careful not to say too much.  But it HAS been a good time!  You know, we’ve toured with both bands before- so we were already tight and friends and everything, so it’s been like going to summer camp with your buddies and hanging out and just doing dumb shit. I don’t think any laws were broken- but it’s definitely been typical guy bullshit shenanigans.

BNB:  Ok- so we’re keeping the mystery alive!

SB:  Haha, yes.  Well I mean if I was drunk backstage running around with my pants down I wouldn’t want someone to report that and have my mom read it and call me up and say “Boy!  What the hell are you doing?!” So….

 

BNB:  Any pre-show vices or rituals you guys always do as a band before you perform?

SB:  I think we do what a lot of bands do- we just crank up some Pantera, or something like that and get fired up- and we have our own band shot- which is called “push up”

BNB:  I think I need to know what’s in that!

SB:  It’s vanilla vodka and orange Sunkist

BNB:  That actually sounds pretty good.

SB:  Yeah!  Do you remember when you were a kid (note to reader:  thankfully, Alzheimer’s has not hit me yet and I do in fact remember) and you had those ice cream orange push-up things?  That’s what it’s named after because it’s reminiscent of that!

BNB:  Sounds like a delightful little creamsicle.

SB:  yes so go to the store, and get those ingredients and go crazy- and if I see ya in L.A. I’ll make ya a push-up!

 

BNB:  So you guys have been around the music scene for about ten years now- where do you find fresh inspiration when you guys are feeling a little jaded?

SB:  When you’re feelin’ a little jaded- you know I think at times like that- and I don’t know if most musicians do this but I know members in our band do- kind of internalize you pains and struggles to help you write songs- you know if you listen to our stuff we’re not going to write any happy upbeat songs- we’re not shiny happy people- so you have to internalize your pain and make a song out of it- you know even if I COULD write one of those happy songs I don’t think I’d want to.  I think I’d write it and then I’d be embarrassed!  Not to say that we’re all a bunch of downers- we’re not, we like to have fun- but we’re not dancing around holding hands.  Being jaded is part of who we are- that’s a good word!

 

BNB:  So you’re off to Alaska after L.A. and then on to the Bahamas- sounds like you guys get to some pretty exotic locales!  Where’s your favorite place to play a show?

SB:  We toured Australia one time and it was awesome- loved that.  Toured Japan one time and that was awesome, loved that too.  But I always prefer touring in the states- and I hate, HATE touring in Europe.

BNB:  Really?!

SB:  Yeah!  It is SUCH a frickin’ beating- it’s the land of inconvenience.  First of all if you’re on the road- there’s no 24 hour truck stop, there’s no 24 hour Walmart.  Like if you don’t secure what you need by like eight at night- you’re totally f*cked for the rest of the night!

BNB:  I would have assumed the opposite- because metal’s really big over there!

SB:  Well the shows are ALWAYS great- but that’s like an hour of your life.  So the other 23 hours are a total beating!  Like, what if I wanted to go to Target?  You just can’t do that- I’m lost over there!  The best thing in the world when you’re on the road for 24 hours is an all night Walmart- go on the road for a month and tell me.

BNB:  Ok when I head out on the road I’ll be documenting the experience for you.

SB:  Yes, put your life on hold just for me.

BNB:  I’ll be live tweeting about it.

SB:  Oh sweet!

 

BNB:  So any advice to up and coming artists?

SB:  Yeah- play anywhere and everywhere you can.  You know- that’s how we ended up being at the right spot at the right time.  When we were comin’ up in Dallas, the music scene was really kickin’ and there were a lot of great bands all playing at the same places- but a lot of them took on this business approach so early on- and wouldn’t play for under a certain amount, and if it wasn’t just exactly what they wanted they just wouldn’t play- and to us that was always just a little anti-rock.  We just wanted to roll in and play and have a great time- so we’d play anywhere and everywhere, and I think that has a lot to do with why we made it out of there.

BNB:  Closing remarks?

SB:  Just….thanks for tolerating us for ten years.  We’re happy to still be here!

Just because their tour is over doesn’t mean DP will stay quiet for long- these kids live to rock.  The energy they exuded onstage at last night’s tour-ending performance was amazing, and had the entire theater on their feet, and moshing like it was 1999.  To keep updated with the latest and greatest in DP’s world head to www.myspace.com/drowningpool!