DISTURBED Singer Talks About His Label Imprint

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman recently spoke to Metal Edge magazine about his Warner Bros.-backed label imprint, Intoxication Records.

"[The label] is mine and [DISTURBED guitarist] Danny [Donegan]'s, who I invited in on it with me," Draiman revealed. "I value his judgment and his ear for music is fantastic. He's my songwriting partner, and there's nobody who I have greater trust in."

"I think that this 'Music As A Weapon' live album will probably be coming out in the fall. We still have a lot of work to do on it. We're hoping that the live album will be out soon to let people know about the label, and to start it all off. Obviously, we're a huge part of the creative process of this thing, and I hope that it will be a good starting point for the rest of what will go on at the label. There are still other bands that we're looking at, and we're always continuing to look, but it's just so difficult finding that first band to sign that you want to have associated with your name and what you stand for, and so on and so forth."

When asked if the label was something that he asked and fought for, Draiman replied, "I asked, but it wasn't much of a fight. It took a little bit of persuasion. There had already been a number of bands that I had brought to Warner Bros. anyway, before the label [Intoxication] even existed, just to bring to their attention. A couple of them ended up getting attention elsewhere, and I sometimes felt like I was constantly getting in the position of saying, 'I told you so!'"

With regards to whether he would be interested in signing non-metal artists, David said, "Sure, but not as a first signing. The first band that we sign has got to be a band that's true to what we are, or at least has to run in the same 'neighborhood.' Later down the line, once the label's been established? Who knows? But the first band that we sign has to be able to benefit from what we can offer them as DISTURBED as much as possible. Once there is a success story — any success story — it becomes much easier to do other things. I don't think I'd ever sign a pop act. I don't have to deal with the bullshit that's associated with pop artists. I really don't. I mean, there was a girl I was seeing for a little while who was involved in a pop act, and I saw a little bit of that 'world,' and it was just ridiculous. I can't even imagine having to deal with the childlike behavior that exists in that environment."