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DISTURBED: Recognition is sweet for Grammy-nominated band with El Paso ties
Doug Pullen / El Paso Times
01/30/2009

EL PASO -- When Disturbed singer David Draiman drew on some pretty troubling experiences from his teen years to write "Inside the Fire," probably the last thing he expected was a Grammy nomination for the song.

"I didn't believe it, to be honest with you," he said. "I thought it was a big joke. "We didn't expect it. We had to go online and see if it was even there."

It was. Now the Chicago hard rockers are in some pretty serious company.

"Inside the Fire," about an ex-girlfriend's drug addiction, is vying for the Best Hard Rock Performance against Judas Priest's "Visions," M tley Crüe's "Saints of Los Angeles," Rob Zombie's "Lords of Salem" and The Mars Volta's "Wax Simulacra."

That's makes for an interesting competition, since Disturbed bass player John Moyer is El Paso born and bred, a 1992 Coronado High School grad who remembers how "we all participated in the battle of the bands back in the day." The Mars Volta also has El Paso roots.

Neither Moyer nor Draiman's making any predictions about who will win when the Grammys are handed out Feb. 8. The band's busy with the six-week leg of a winter tour that brings it to the County Coliseum on Monday with Sevendust and Skindred.

For Moyer, who now lives in Austin and played with Soak and Union Underground before joining Disturbed in 2003, there's something special about playing the arena where he played as a kid helping his mom, a horse rancher, during rodeo week and later saw bands like White Zombie.

"The fact that my band happens to be playing the Coliseum, I admit there's a certain amount of pride," he said by phone, sounding a little embarrassed.

Draiman takes similar pride in getting that Grammy nomination, a high-water mark for the group he formed with guitarist Dan Donegan, drummer Mike Wengren and original bassist Steve Kmak more than 10 years ago in Chicago.

Disturbed has quietly become one of the most successful rock bands of the decade. Album sales have topped 10 million since the release of their first album, "The Sickness," in 2000. Having a major hit -- "Down With the Sickness" -- right off the bat didn't hurt.

Their last three albums, including last year's "Indestructible," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album sales chart, a feat that has been matched by only six other rock bands, including U2 and Van Halen.

Not bad for a band that has flown largely under the mainstream radar for the better part of its existence. The 35-year-old Draiman attributes their success in part to the consistency of their recorded output.

"I think that we have been very, very careful to always put out records that from start to finish are listenable. There's no filler on our records," he said. "We're able to have a fairly consistent offering each time out. The fans that we have have come to expect, and trust us, that when we put out a record it's going to be what they're looking for from Disturbed each time out. We're building that trust, and being who we are is what built that."

Moyer, 35, agrees. "That's one of the strongest things that has kept this band viable and alive," he said. "The band keeps evolving."

Part of being who they are is reflected in a sound that stays true to their influences. "There's no question we derive from the classical metal artists, like Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica and Pantera. They made us want to pick up the instruments and play," Draiman said.

But they also feel the need to evolve their sound from album to album, which Draiman believes they have done again with "Indestructible." Songs like "Enough" and the Sabbath-like "Haunted" balance Draiman's melodic vocals with a measured sound that can veer from piledriving thrashy to harmonic hard rock.

"We always feel like it has to be evolving on some level, whether it's in terms of the complexity, the power or its precision, its catchiness," Draiman explained. "With each record, we try to raise the bar on some level."

"We are four records deep," Moyer added. "We have a wonderful track record that has opened the band to other things."

Lyrically, Draimain tries to "pull from the subject matter that's close to my heart," whether he's writing about drug-addled ex-girlfriends; the "social vampires and horrible people that prey on the misery and suffering of others" on "Haunted" (a song about his five-year residency in Los Angeles); or the title track, inspired by both the conflict in Iraq and the warriors on the front lines.

"They always deliver the same energy and the same sound that people expect from Disturbed, that aggression that people really love. That's what keeps bringing people back to them," said Courtney Nelson, program director for rocker KLAQ-FM (95.5), which plays their music regularly.

The group's success also reflects a strong internal bond, one that didn't necessarily come easily when Draiman auditioned to replace the group's original lead singer in 1996.

"It was gradual. We came from very different parts of the city. I'm from the North Side. They were South Side," he said, referring to his blue-collar Chicago neighborhood and their white-collar origins.

But band members have cited Draiman's preparedness, his work ethic and ability to sing and write with his own voice as assets that attracted them to him right off the bat.

Now, he says, they've grown into a family.

"It was natural, in a sense," he said, "but it definitely does take time. We just have a tremendous mutual respect and admiration for each other."

That family was tested when original bassist Kmak was fired in 2003, replaced by Moyer, who won out after a mass audition. Monday's show will be his first here with the band.

"He's looking forward to seeing friends and family," said the Q's Glenn Garza. "He said he'd like to come back when he can spend more than a day here."

Of course, the other key component in Disturbed's ascent is their love for touring and their reputation for intense performances. The El Paso show precedes their fourth annual Music as a Weapon tour, which will feature Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and Lacuna Coil.

A Grammy would be nice. "Oh, we need it," Draiman said. "Everyone needs it."

Moyer sounds like his reward is playing for the hometown crowd. He's not one to put himself on a pedestal, either.

"I don't imagine I've made it," he said, when asked. "It's just an ongoing journey. I come back to El Paso all the time, but I don't often get the opportunity to play there in my band."