Metal rockers Drowning Pool formed in Dallas, Texas in
1996 by bassist Stevie Benton, drummer Mike Luce, guitarist C.J. Pierce
and vocalist Dave Williams.
Although success came to the group quickly, their
continuing career has been fraught with tragedies, trials and setbacks
that might have caused a lesser band to throw in the towel... yet
Drowning Pool has persevered and even played the main stage during the
recent Ozzfest.
Each of Drowning Pool's first three albums featured a
different lead singer. Vocalist, Dave Williams, was found dead on their
tour bus during the 2002 Ozzfest tour, a form of heart disease was named
as the cause. Jason Jones then took over and left the band after one
album for personal reasons. He was replaced by Ryan McCombs (Soil).
Their newest effort, "Drowning Pool" (Eleven Seven Music), was released
April 2010.
Drowning Pool's music has appeared in the films, "Saw
III," "The One" and "The Punisher," in the video game, "Tony Hawk's Pro
Skater 3," and issued by World Wrestling Entertainment. The band avidly
supports the military, playing overseas and Guantanamo Bay. They also
met with then-Senator Obama and encouraged him to support and help pass
the Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act of 2007,
which provides better mental health care for veterans.
"Mike is from New Orleans and I'm from a small town
outside of Dallas," Benton begins. "While we were in high school, for a
couple of years, Mike's family moved to my hometown because his mother
got a job there, so we went to high school together for two years.
"After high school he moved back to New Orleans, but we
always kept in touch. I started playing in the clubs in Dallas with some
other guys, while everything was good, the Dallas rock scene was
awesome, I didn't feel real strong about the guys I was playing with, so
I called up Mike and I was like, 'Dude, why don't you move back up and
play drums and we'll play all the bars for beer money on the weekend and
it will be a blast.' 'I've been playing with this guy in New Orleans
that's really good, why don't bring him with me?' 'That sounds great.'
So they moved up and we pushed the other guys out of the band and
started playing all the clubs in Dallas.
"Things were going well, but we didn't really feel like
our frontman had much of a spark," continues Benton. "I'd been friends
with Dave for a long time, so it was just a matter of... We were at a
keg party one night in a backyard, all of us around the keg getting
hammered with Dave and listening to Night Ranger and all these '80s
metal songs that drove everybody else away. We were just like, 'This
fits too good,' so we kicked the other guy out and Dave started jamming
with us and it really took off from there. It was good times back in the
day."
I ask Benton about the writing process.
"It's a shared responsibility," states Benton. "A lot of
the songs will start with a guitar riff that C.J. brings in and we'll
just build from there. We all sit in a
rehearsal room and stare at each other for hours on end going back and
forth about what to here, what to do there and at the end of the day
sometimes you come out with a good song, sometimes you come out with
crap, but at least we all did it together."
I wonder if McCombs inks his lyrics.
"Yes, for the most. You know
singers, they're sensitive folks, even if it's not their idea you've got
to make think that it was," Benton quips. "Nah, I'm
just kidding, he's great at writing lyrics, so it's good to have
that. Everyone is good for a line here or there, you can't disregard
anyone's opinion when it comes to putting together the best Drowning
Pool song possible."
We discuss the new album, "Drowning Pool."
"We definitely feel like it's our strongest effort since
'Sinner,' says Benton. "Since that 'Sinner' record this is the first
record we've been able to make that wasn't just in the middle of some
type of disaster or turmoil. It's the first time in our career when
we've been able to keep the same lineup and follow up on previous
successes. Any other time we've experienced success it's always been
followed by some kind of horrible thing that happened to us and bring it
all to a screeching halt, but on this record we were able to have '37
Stitches' (from the 2007 album, 'Full Circle') on the radio and we were
able to roll that right into Cruefest and then once that was over it was
right into the studio, so we finally could make a record feeling good
about ourselves and have all this momentum behind us. I think it really
helped to make a really strong record."
I have to ask how the band can still strive to success
despite tragedy.
"The first really bad thing to ever happen to us was of course Dave's
passing away, so after that, once we decided to stick together and stick
it out, anything else just seems like small stuff comparatively," Benton
responds. "Even the horrible, horrible last round with had with our
former label, Wind Up, even as bad as that was, to us, after what we'd
been through, it was just small stuff and we weren't going to sweat any
of someone else's bullshit."
Adding to the pressure, Benton suffered from Bell's
Palsey in 2007 and had to postpone some tour dates.
"After about two to three weeks into it I really got
nervous, but then everything came back. Compared to other crap that was
just another little thing," asserts Benton.
And of course, there's the controversies over some fans'
displeasure over the various vocalists.
"There's that group that no matter what we do, of
course, it's never going to be the same as when Dave was in the band and
some people are never going to accept that, but to those people I would
say, 'I'm right there with you, I wish Dave was still in the band too,
but there's nothing we can do about that,'" says Benton.
I ask Benton about his childhood.
"I had a cousin that was quite a few years older than me
that in the mid to late '80s was in one of the biggest local Dallas
bands," Benton shares. "He played bass in that
band, so he'd always get me into the clubs and I'd get to watch them, it
was exciting. He played bass so I thought, 'Hell, I could do that.'"
Benton took up the bass at age 15.
"I was in garage bands all through high school." Benton
tells me, "It was always just a thing on the side, I went to college. I
was going to be some kind of math major, I
didn't know what. I went to Colin County Community College, right
outside of my hometown. I was dipping my toes in the water to see if it
was going to take and it really didn't, I kept coming back to being
consumed with music. After several failed attempts at college in my
early 20s, I was like, 'Let me just focus on one thing for a while,' so
I started playing music and one thing led to another and then boom."
For fun, Benton is a big sports fan and especially
enjoys cheering on the Cowboys.
Returning to Drowning Pool, I want to learn more about
their charity work.
"The thing we've been working with most closely recently
is the Wounded Warrior Project," says Benton. "It's something that's
always going to mean a lot to us. We started
going over and playing a lot of shows for the troops stationed overseas
and got really immersed in their issues and what's going on
with them. I guess we were just
overwhelmed by the whole experience, so even though we're back here,
it's kept us involved in trying to do whatever we can for them once they
return home.
"The whole point, when we have the new record coming
out, of course the label's going around and setting up every interview
possible, trying to promote the record,
but it's nice when you have that spotlight to be able to do a little bit
of good with it instead of shameless self-promotion. It's nice to be
able to talk about something that
actually makes a difference in people's lives."
What's next for the band?
"You're always looking ahead, you have to in this
business to stay ahead because if you lag people forget about you pretty
quick," answers Benton. "There's so many bands out there these days and
it's all right there at the click of your mouse and you've got a brand
new record, so you can't blame people for being spread a little thin."
I invite Benton to share any last thoughts.
"Please call your local radio station and request
Drowning Pool 'Turn So Cold' and that will cover everything," Benton
says.
But then he has something to tell Ozzfest fans...
"I hope that they're all as excited as I am to see a
tour that so many of your rock legends have come from that. I guess it
was '84 that Motley Crue and Ozzy, the story of snorting ants and all
the debauchery that went along with that tour to be a part of it 30
something years later is a dream come true. I
can't believe it. When it's all said and done I can say that I toured
with Ozzy and Motley and it's pretty damn exciting," chirps Benton.
"Don't snort the ants," I tease.
"No, I can't hang with those boys," admits Benton with a
laugh.
Drowning Pool