Ex-DevilDriver Members Discuss New Band Bellum

By Andrew Bansal

Santa Barbara, California based metal quartet Bellum comprises former DevilDriver members Evan Pitts on guitar and vocals and Jonathan Miller on bass, along with Alex Chantes on drums and Andy Villasenor on guitar. The band has been around for a number of years but began in earnest with this lineup and has completed work on their debut album ‘Kill The Man’, slated for independent release later this year. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Miller and Pitts about the formation of the band, the musical style, the DIY approach, future plans and the DevilDriver past. Read the conversation below.

Firstly, tell me a bit about the formation of the band.

Jonathan: Well, I was one of the founding members of DevilDriver along with Evan Pitts, and played on the first five records. I left DevilDriver in 2011 and I started playing with Evan’s project Bellum. This project was something that was almost ten years in the making, and for the reasons that I left DevilDriver, it was a nice change for me to get back together with Evan because he wrote the first DevilDriver record and he started the band with Dez. It’s pretty cool that we’re getting a second shot at this. We’ve had the first album for Bellum recorded. I thought I was out of the music industry when 2011 came around, but I got inspired to play with Evan.

Evan: Yeah, essentially I was going out to a studio that I rented and this band was practicing out there. Their drummer Alex Chantes was just really good, so me and him befriended each other and started jamming on our own. Andy Villasenor the guitar player and Alex were in a band together at the time too, and Andy came along, just picked up the guitar and started jamming with us. It was one of those things that just kind of happened. We were so lucky to link back up with Jonathan. I knew that his destiny in DevilDriver was set and he would still be there if he was meant to be there. He’s here with me now and I feel like that’s where his life and his path led to even though he may not have realized where he was going at the time. I feel lucky to get back together with him too because DevilDriver was a passion for me. It was my first signed project. I started the band. I found Dez in a restaurant. I left him a note and a CD and he actually called me, and we started jamming. We jammed with a bunch of different guys for a long time. It’s funny that with Bellum I’ve never had this problem and never had to jam with ten different guys to find the right guys. Andy and Alex were already in a band together so they were playing well, and Jonathan and I have been playing the same kind of music for over a decade even though I wasn’t in the band. We were still friends and kept in touch. It’s one of those great moments in life when a guy like that comes back to you and you get another chance to do something that’s really an inspiration to you as a player.

Since you already had this band existing before reuniting with Jonathan, where does the name Bellum come from?

Evan: Well, we had our name, we were jamming and we had songs but I don’t feel that the band itself truly formed until all four of us came together as the current lineup. It’s a different kind and a different level. When musicians are meant to play together, you end up getting some really magical parts recorded and that’s where true music comes from. One of the biggest things for us was it happened all at once. The name Bellum itself, I did Latin for a year in school, and it means war. I don’t necessarily entitle the band Bellum because I endorse war, in fact it’s quite the opposite. I wrote a lot of Eastern philosophy type lyrics and honestly I have a lot of things to say about stuff that has to do with Tao Te Ching, and the lifestyle that’s quite Yin and the Yang. With Bellum, I feel that the lyrics that I write, there’s a light and a dark to it, and it translates in the art, the videos and all that too.

When this lineup of the band came together, did you have any aim in terms of the musical style you were going to pursue?

Evan: I think it was just natural. I would spit out a riff and Alex would start playing and it was magic. When Andy came along, stuff would literally just pop out. Miller came up with his own bass lines too. It all comes together and it works every time. That’s why we do it, because it’s fun. We’re doing it anyways regardless but now we want to share it with the world.

Jonathan: I spent ten years of my life in DevilDriver, and that was my dream come true. Those guys were my brothers, they were my blood. I left to get sober and there were broken and strained relationships, I did a complete 180, went into sober living and started working spiritual principles on my life. I tried to clean up the mess that I made, and it hasn’t been reciprocated by some of the people but that’s ok. It’s not for me to decide when someone wants to make peace. But I didn’t even want to pick up a guitar again, I didn’t want to play music and I wasn’t inspired but when I started hanging out with Evan again, something just drew me in. The music was good, the vocals were right where I wanted them to be, and I feel like I’m supposed to be doing this. It feels good right now, the vibe is there and I feel like there’s a higher power at work. That’s where it’s supposed to be.

You’re doing this band DIY style at the moment. Is that how you’re going to release this album?

Jonathan: Well, we started off doing this because we love heavy metal, we love making music and we really do this for ourselves, for our own spirit. We didn’t really set out with the intention of doing this to please anyone. We did it because metal is in our blood. It’s a totally different situation to being on a major label like Roadrunner. That’s top notch. But if you’re in a metal band it’s nice to be able to have control of your music and have the right to just do whatever you want to do. We’re a little bit older and wiser than we were, and we’re just doing it for the love of it.

Evan: But with that said, we do welcome anything at this point because Bellum-X records is owned by us and that’s the only way we can put ourselves out. So, I absolutely already have a record label and a website for it, and the CDs are going to be up for sale on November 7th. We are wanting to talk to people about distribution and may be even record deals just to throw it out there, and looking for people to tour with.

So, have you played any shows yet? What are you planning in that regard?

Evan: We’re definitely planning on playing shows and touring, talking to promoters and a couple of different people. I think we’re going to start out playing a couple of venues down in LA that we’re familiar with and we really like and will draw a crowd to, and we’re looking for bands to tour with. No, we haven’t gotten out there and played our stuff live yet because I actually want to release our album first and have something available as a product. I’d like to play a couple of bigger shows after we release the CD.

Jonathan: Yeah in regards to touring, I toured for ten years with DevilDriver and it’s something I’d like to be able to do again. Evan toured on the first album, we know how to play live, we know what we’re doing. We’re going to be prepared and tight, and we’ll play anywhere for anyone. We’re stoked, man. There’s a fire lit right now and we’re just rolling with it.

How do you see DevilDriver fans perceiving this music? Do you think it’s something they’re going to like?

Jonathan: Well, I think there’s a lot of personalities in DevilDriver, past and present. Some people really like John Boecklin’s drums. Some people really like the first album and music on it that Evan wrote. Some people Dez and his vocals, and I think if you don’t discriminate and listen to Bellum for what it is, your heart will tell you whether it’s good or not. There’s always going to be people that love your music and people that hate your music. That’s just how it is. We’re open to whatever feedback people want to give to us about the music. When DevilDriver started, Dez was in the spotlight but I think the spotlight slowly made its way towards the rest of the band members, because the band is not just a bunch of hired guns. It’s a fucking force. I look at some of the press that John Boecklin gets for his drumming and some of the guitar press. The dudes can play, there’s no doubt about that.

Bellum links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram

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