Tuesday, June 14, 2016

DISTURBED Singer David Draiman Talks About Importance Of Financial Management For Young Musicians

DISTURBED Singer Talks About Importance Of Financial Management For Young Musicians

June 13, 2016 54 Comments

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DISTURBED Singer Talks About Importance Of Financial Management For Young Musicians

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman got some very practical advice for younger musicians who may need some guidance about managing their finances. He told FaceCulture in a new interview (see video below): "I'm a very active angel investor in a number of differnet companies. I have a real estate development company. I have investments in all sorts of things, and I dabble all over the place. I'm still a businessman. But what I do for my primary living and what is my life is music, and that will never change."

Draiman, whose band's latest album, "Immortalized", became DISTURBED's fifth effort in a row to enter the chart at No. 1 (a feat shared only with METALLICA and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND), added that his goal with his various businesses is not always necessarily to make as much money as quickly as possible. "It depends on the individual entity," he said. "Most of them are diversification things, things that in today's environment, as a musician and as an artist — and not just in today's environment [but] always — it definitely helps for you to diversify, it helps for you to be smart with your money, to put in places where your money will make you money, and to not squander things as they come along, to realize that time is fleeting and to try and make the opportunities as they come your way, to be smart about the environment that you're in."

Draiman went on to say that he is far from the only rock musician to take an active interest in where his money is going and the investment options being offered to him. "I think you'll find that there are a lot of guys in our line of work that have been avid investors," he said. "I mean, you can go back as far as somebody like Duff McKagan [GUNS N' ROSES], who invested in Starbucks and Microsoft back in the day and now has a hedge fund that he helps manage and a business management firm for other musicians that he's a part of. Or you could go to the LINKIN PARK guys, who have their own venture capitalist fund that they now oversee as well for investment purposes."

He continued: "Look, it makes sense to be able to take part of what you've earned in this life and have it grow. And I hope that other musicians out there that do have their moments of profit and of success are wise enough not to squander those profits and that success."

Asked if he hopes that some of his outside investments will help him build a better future not only for himself but also for others, Draiman admitted: "I have no such grandiose aspirations. It's definitely a nice thought, but it's not an easy thing to change the world. And I think that as an artist, I will have a much greater possibility of having some effect on this world through my art than I will through any sort of investment or any other business entity."

DISTURBED kicked off a North American tour — its first in more than four years — on February 10 in Fargo.

Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/disturbed-singer-talks-about-importance-of-financial-management-for-young-musicians/#Xd4FqRoRpammxrOC.99

Friday, June 10, 2016

DISTURBED Singer David Draiman Has Become 'More Defensive Of A Very, Very Menacing World' Since Having His Son

DISTURBED Singer Has Become 'More Defensive Of A Very, Very Menacing World' Since Having His Son

June 9, 2016 30 Comments

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DISTURBED Singer Has Become 'More Defensive Of A Very, Very Menacing World' Since Having His Son

Arte conducted an interview with DISTURBED singer David Draiman at this year's edition of the Rock Am Ring festival, which was held earlier this month in Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked how having a very young son has affected his touring life now that the band is on the road in support of its latest album, last year's "Immortalized", Draiman said: "I do think about and do occasionally take my wife and son out with me on tour. It's difficult. My son's two and a half years old, so trying to find things to occupy a toddler with when you're couped up on a bus for hours and hours and hours at a time can be challenging."

Draiman also talked in more detail about his approach to raising his son in today's world, where so many parents exaggerate the dangers facing children.

"It certainly is very difficult for an individual to maintain their individuality in today's environment, for sure," David said. "And I certainly have become even more defensive of a very, very menacing world now that my son has come into it.

"All I can ever hope to be to my son is someone who's supportive, someone who listens and understands and points out possible other ways of thinking, ways of feeling, ways of approaching things, suggests rather than demands," he continued. "To be someone who can guide, if the hand is given — not force the hand. Letting him have the choices that he should have as an individual throughout his upbringing.

"Individuality is a personal thing. It's based on your own personal feelings and expression of self. So, really, it's nobody's business to judge you but yourself. And if you feel that you're expressing yourself as an individual and you feel confident in it, then that really should be all that matters."

Last summer's release of "Immortalized" ended DISTURBED's nearly four-year hiatus, during which Draiman spent time with his wife, model/wrestler Lena Yada, and their son, Samuel, who was born in September 2013.

Although Draiman's son was born healthy, David's then-project DEVICE canceled all its tour dates so that the singer could be close to home after his wife began having complications with the pregnancy.

Back in 2013, Draiman told The Pulse Of Radio how he hoped to raise his son. "Oh, I'm going to raise him on BLACK SABBATH and METALLICA and football and MMA and all things that should matter for a young boy, and discipline and strength and honor and courage and everything that I would hope to instill within my son," he said. "I'm very much looking forward to utilizing the wealth of experiences that I've gone through in my life to help guide him through the darkness."

by Taboola

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Disturbed's David Draiman Talks "The Sound of Silence"

Disturbed's David Draiman Talks "The Sound of Silence"

2016-06-05

disturbed david draiman image anne erickson

STORY BY CHARLES KEN

DAVID DRAIMAN SAYS DISTURBED’S COVER OF ‘THE SOUND OF THE SILENCE’ IS A TUNE HIS PARENTS CAN ENJOY

Things keep getting bigger for Disturbed. The metal band’s cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” not only hit No. 1 on the active rock charts earlier this year, but it’s found crossover success with a mass of people who had never heard of Disturbed’s heavier breakouts, such as “Down with the Sickness” or “Indestructible.” The song has been on theBillboard’s Hot 100 charts since March. It’s also the first Disturbed tune to be sent to Top 40 radio and has more than 56 million YouTube views and counting.

David Draiman has fronted Disturbed for more than two decades, and he’s stunned by the song’s response.

“I couldn’t be more flabbergasted by the whole thing,” Draiman told The Wall Street Journal.

It’s a song everyone in Draiman’s family can appreciate.

“(It’s a song) that my parents can play for their friends with pride without having to warn them not to be frightened ahead of time,” Draiman said. “I have fans saying, ‘Finally, me and my mom can actually agree on music for once!’”

“The Sound of Silence” also highlights Disturbed’s melodic side and Draiman’s powerful, almost operatic vocals.

“We pride ourselves in being rhythmic and aggressive, but we also have been intensely melodic,” Draiman said. “Any of our root melodies, you could pull from our bed of music and place in any other bed and it will make sense. There’s still big hooks and I think that’s what they are discovering.”

“I’m not a screamer,” he added. “I’m a singer.”

The guys of Disturbed are currently on tour and have plenty of festival dates ahead. Find their updated schedule on their website.

Photo by Anne Erickson

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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

DAVID DRAIMAN On DISTURBED's Pyrotechnics-Laden Stage Show: 'We Blow It Up Pretty Good'

May 30, 2016 38 Comments

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DAVID DRAIMAN On DISTURBED's Pyrotechnics-Laden Stage Show: 'We Blow It Up Pretty Good'

Cameron Buchholtz of the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station conducted an interview with DISTURBED frontman David Draiman at this year's Rocklahoma festival, which was held May 27-29 at Catch The Fever Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about DISTURBED's current pyrotechnics-laden stage show, Draiman said: "We blow it up pretty good, that's for sure. We go through a lot of accelerant [laughs] up there. It gets hot. But we love it. We live for it. And certainly the fans seem to be responding to the pyrotechnics with a lot of excitement, so we're excited to bring it to 'em."

He added: "The most challenging part of it is that when you have that much pyro going on at specific periods of time, it burns off all the oxygen on the deck, so you really need to watch your breathing technique as a singer. I need to make sure I know where I'm taking my breaths, and it's not just for the sake of the music, but for the sake of the pyro hits too, so it's more challenging, for sure."

DISTURBED's "comeback" album "Immortalized", was released last August and debuted at the top of The Billboard 200 chart. That made it DISTURBED's fifth effort in a row to enter the chart at No. 1, a feat shared only with METALLICA and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND.

Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/david-draiman-on-disturbeds-pyrotechnics-laden-stage-show-we-blow-it-up-pretty-good/#ipzWHAPUxuZCOpPe.99

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

With ‘The Sound of Silence,’ Disturbed Finds a Crossover Moment - Draiman

With ‘The Sound of Silence,’ Disturbed Finds a Crossover Moment

'I couldn’t be more flabbergasted by the whole thing,' singer David Draiman says

MIKE AYERS

May 25, 2016 3:00 pm ET

0 COMMENTS

On Disturbed’s “The Vengeful One,” lead singer David Draiman sings, “Hear the innocent voices scream, as their tormentors laugh through all of it.” Now the heavy metal band has an unlikely hit with their cover version of Simon & Garfunkel‘s wistful “The Sound of Silence,” crossing over into territory they’ve yet to experience in their 22-year career.

“I couldn’t be more flabbergasted by the whole thing,” Draiman says.

He adds, “[It’s a song] that my parents can play for their friends with pride without having to warn them not to be frightened ahead of time. I have fans saying, ‘Finally, me and my mom can actually agree on music for once!’”

The song has been on the Billboard Hot 100 since early March, peaking so far at No. 42 — a career high for the band. A recent performance of “The Sound of Silence” on “Conan” has racked up more than 10 million views on YouTube – the late-night show’s highest total views for a music performance.

The song continues to make strides in places where Disturbed’s music isn’t typically found. On Monday, a finalist on “Dancing With the Stars” used their version in one of the season’s final dances. Earlier this month, the band’s parent label Warner Bros. shipped the song to Top 40 radio, also a first for the band.

Paul Simon, too, has become a fan. “I was surprised…it was a pretty moving performance,” Simon said on the BBC’s “Later…With Jools Holland” of the “Conan” performance.

Disturbed’s last five albums have hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and their version of “Sound of Silence” has sold 660,000 downloads to date and has been streamed more than 54 million times, according to Nielsen Music.

Covering songs on an album isn’t a new thing for the band. On prior records, they’ve covered Tears for Fears’s “Shout,” Genesis’s “Land of Confusion,” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” In choosing “The Sound of Silence,” the band wanted to get away from the ’80s and go further back in time. They also ditched the guitars in favor of a piano.

“We had always had it in the back of our mind that this was the track on the record that was special,” Draiman says. “[But] we didn’t know if it would be convincing enough.”

Warner Bros. got wind of the cover in January 2015, when a few executives went to a private listening session in Las Vegas, where the band, on hiatus at the time, played them a few songs including “The Sound of Silence.” Xavier Ramos, a senior vice president of marketing for the label, left thinking it would resonate wide.

“It was pretty much a game changer,” Ramos says. “Both for their fanbase and expanding their fanbase.”

Still, Warner Bros. decided to roll out with two singles ahead of “The Sound of Silence,” songs that were more in the classic Disturbed vein of heavy guitars and charging rhythms. But the Simon & Garfunkel cover had steady individual download numbers after the record’s release, and Draiman says the label seized upon that.

“All of a sudden, the people at Warner Bros. started seeing what was going on organically and they reacted,” he says. “Where there’s smoke, sometimes you can help make a big fire.”

Warner Bros. credits the song’s popularity to the video for “Silence,” which was launched in early December 2015. To date, it’s gained more than 56 million views, a record number of views on YouTube for the group. Ramos says a majority of the video’s viral outbreak occurred through fans sharing it on Facebook, where people who weren’t typically fans of heavy metal or hard rock fell under its spell.

Draiman also says the band’s approach to music helps with its crossover appeal and the growing number of fans who have discovered the group through their Simon & Garfunkel cover.

“We pride ourselves in being rhythmic and aggressive, but we also have been intensely melodic,” he says. “Any of our root melodies, you could pull from our bed of music and place in any other bed and it will make sense. There’s still big hooks and I think that’s what they are discovering.”

“I’m not a screamer, I’m a singer,” he adds.

Related Story: The Weird Global Appeal of Heavy Metal