Drummer TOMMY CLUFETOS Is Honored To Be Playing With ROB ZOMBIE

Deb Rao of Glam-Metal.com recently conducted an interview with ROB ZOMBIE drummer Tommy Clufetos. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Glam-Metal.com: Now the new ROB ZOMBIE album, "Educated Horses", is phenomenal. How do you like performing the new songs live?

Tommy: "The new songs are killer and people love them. The record is stretched out in a different area that Rob has done before. Heaver, lighter, it is great that people dig it. It still has the Zombie thing, he has his own style. Nowadays, there are so many of those horror rock bands, which Rob was so monumental in creating and influencing some of those bands. He stepped away from that on this last record, to show it is just about the music. I think that came across on the record and I was proud to be a part of it."

Glam-Metal.com: Tell me about your performance on "Educated Horses".

Tommy: "The record was done, even before I joined the band. Some of the tracks were being done with Josh Freese, and Tommy Lee, and Wes Borland. Rob decided to put together a new band, we did the Ozzfest. We got along so good, he has us come in the studio, and it just evolved from there. I ended up playing on half of the tracks on it, and Tommy Lee played on one, and Josh Freese played on a couple. I am honored to be in the same category as those guys who are unbelievable players, and rockers and jammers in their own right. So after we did the Ozzfest, I came in and did my thing. We tweaked some stuff. I am on six or seven songs. So it is killer."

Glam-Metal.com: How did you end up getting the gig with Rob Zombie? How did you meet Rob?

Tommy: "I actually never met Rob before I got the gig. I was playing with Alice Cooper. To make a long story short, we were playing here in L.A., at the Greek Theater. Blasko came out to see a show. We had talked at the end, and we made friends and he said if you are ever looking for a gig, and I mentioned if you ever need a drummer give me a shout. Eventually that happened. Zombie went on Blasko's word, 'You kind of have to hire this guy, he is the guy.' When I showed up the first day of rehearsal, we rocked it like it was showtime!"

Glam-Metal.com: It seems like rock in general is going back to artists like Ted, Rob Zombie, and Alice Cooper and the '80s. Fans are listening to these acts. Do you think it was easier for these artists to develop more of a following back then? How has the music scene changed?

Tommy: "It was definitely more back in those guys days, maybe easier is the wrong word to say. I know nothing about record companies back then; I never dealt with them. From what I am told, you could develop a career back then. You would get three or four albums to get a following going, and get your fame and your feet wet. But now it is like bands really don't really have a chance; if they don't blow up after their first record, it is done. You gotta be hot from the get-go. Drummers come up to me all the time, and ask what do I do to make it. There is not one thing. You have to be prepared, when the opportunity arrives, whatever that means. Whenever I got an opportunity to play with somebody, or jam with somebody, I always made the most of it. I made sure I knew the sound and did my homework. It kicked ass. Ii kicked everybody's ass, because that was the only way I was going to further myself. Nobody was going to help me out. That is how I dealt with my career so far. It really wasn't like hanging out, trying to plan this move or that. The only planning I did was onstage and hoping for the best. I think with bands today, that is the only thing you can do — go up there and demolish the living shit out of everybody, and hope for the best. If you are the best, you are going to rise to the top. There is always going to be music, and rock and roll. If you are that good, people are going to need ya. That is the only thing I can say. I don't know if it is better or worse. I think the business aspect has always not been kosher. That is rock and roll — take it or leave it."

Read the entire interview at Glam-Metal.com.