Interview with drummer Bobby Jarzombek, Iced Earth, PainmuseuM, Halford, Demons & Wizards-www.bobbyjarzombek.com

Metalforever.com recently caught up with metal drummer Bobby Jarzombek to discuss PainmuseuM, Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards as well as his new DVD. Bobby has become without a doubt one of metal musics premier drummers!

MF.com- It must have been great to be back working with the guys from the Halford camp-Please let us know what it was like working with Metal Mike & Roy Z on the new PainmuseuM- how was it different or the same from writing sessions with Halford?
Yeah, it was great. Anytime you put those two guys in a room together there's gonna be a lot of laughs, story telling, some drinking, etc. - I get a smile just thinking about it. It was very cool and laid back. No pressure or deadlines. Roy mixed it at his place so anytime I got the chance I would go over and hang out, play some Playstation (I got such a headache), go swimming or whatever.

MF.com What are your personal favorite tracks on the new PainmuseuM CD & why???
I like 'Hosanna', 'Dogs In A Cage', 'Pain Museum', 'Scars In Black' - anything with cool drumming, ha ha! I prefer the stuff which has some sort of rhythmic twist or half-time into double-time section changes.

MF.com Tell the fans about your intro to the bonus Japanese track-Scars in Black-it sounds reminiscent of the intro to Painkiller, but much faster and much more powerful...
Yeah, I like that one. One aspect about that intro and the 'Dogs In A Cage' intro is that they have a bit of implied rhythmic modulation which I applied to make them sound as though they were speeding up or slowing down.
On the SIB intro I play an Eighth note triplet figure (with a few sixteenth triplets thrown in there) in unison with the snare and bass drums. I then play a sort of 'Painkiller' pattern that is widely used. In its basic form it's: one on the hand, four on the feet, one on the hand, two on the feet, and variations of that. It's difficult to get away from the 'Painkiller' comparison because anytime a drummer plays those alternating strokes, it is reminiscent of the Scott Travis intro.

MF.com What are your thoughts on the initial reaction from fans, press etc..-it appears there are favorable reviews everywhere about Metal For Life???
I think it's great. Over the last few years, metal has divided up into several different genres and dozens of sub-genres. I think most metal fans today are a lot more open minded and can put things in perspective rather than being close-minded about marrying the various styles of metal. 'Metal For Life' has touches of power metal, death metal, classic metal, etc.. I think the favorable reviews are happening because when people hear the 'Metal For Life' CD they realize that it contains some great songs and killer musicianship.

MF.com- Finally, what do you think about new vocalist- Tim Clayborne- what should fans know about this great singer if they haven't yet checked out Metal for Life yet?
Well, if you're sitting down when the CD starts he'll definitely rip you out of your chair, ha ha! Tim is an aggressive singer with a lot of on-stage charisma. Great dude, too!

MF.com How was it touring with Iced Earth- playing with Jon Schaffer & Ripper Owens- will you continue to work with them along with PainmuseuM???
It was great touring with Iced Earth and, yeah, I'll definitely continue working with them. Tim is funny. He would do anything to break up the monotony. Sometimes if we were bored while traveling on the bus, he would just start talking about nothing, something like: "I was walking down the street yesterday and this woman threw a taco at me, so I picked her up and threw her down on the ground...." He would just continue on and we would ask him questions about the incident as if it really happened - it's pretty funny.
Iced Earth had plans to continue touring last year but then Jon hurt his back. Hopefully, we'll be able to get back out on the road sometime soon.

MF.com Rumor has it that you recently also worked with J. Schaffer on his side project Demons & Wizards- can you elaborate a little on this project- will you be asked to tour with them as well or did you simply help them with the studio work?
While I was on tour with IE, Jon and I hit it off very well. He asked me if I would be interested in playing on the next Demon & Wizards CD. He sent me some songs that he and Hansi wrote and I thought that it was real cool stuff. The music is very diverse in tempos and song structures. There are a few blazing tunes on the CD and a couple of things with layered orchestration. Of course, there's also a few songs with Jon's trademark rhythmic picking, which I had to play in unison on double bass. That was tough.
I'm not sure about the touring situation with D&W. I guess once the CD comes out, Jon will look into some touring possibilities and if they ask me, I'll be there.

MF.com We know that you recently released your own personal drumming DVD- can you please elaborate more on your DVD- how is it being released, what is the content- most important how can fans buy it??
Thanks for asking. I released the VHS version of 'Performance & Technique' almost 2 years ago. The VHS is a 50 minute program which includes 3 songs, 2 drum solos, a visual demonstration (stick twirling, tosses, etc.), an 11-step double bass workout concept that I call the 'double drop', etc.. In addition to the 50 min. main program, the DVD contains 4 bonus segments including 'Selecting Cymbals At Paiste' - a 17 min. segment in which I demonstrate various techniques I use when choosing ride and crash cymbals; 'In The Studio' - 30 min. of video footage in the studio with accompanying commentary about click tracks, producers, engineers, etc.; 'Soundchecking The Drumset' - prior to a performance I demonstrate the proper procedures for checking a drumset, and 'Photo Gallery' - various photos of myself with Halford, Riot, Pain Museum, and Spastic Ink.
The DVD was just released by Warner Bros. Publications and is available at all major music stores including Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc.. You can purchase it online at http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.musiciansfriend.com/, and wherever instructional music DVDs are sold. You can also check out video clips, contents, and order it from my website at www.bobbyjarzombek.com.

Thank you Metal Forever for the great questions! See you all on the road!
Bobby