Korn’s Ray Luzier recently made an appearance at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California as part of “Pearl Day.” During the event, the drummer explained how he transitioned from a “farm boy” to a “major rock star.” Interestingly, he also claimed he once “had two really big bands, and because [he] didn’t party, [he] got let go.”
“I’m just a guy that hangs out with rock stars. I don’t really consider myself the whole rock star… Trust me, I like reaping the benefits of [being a rock star]. Private jets don’t suck, I gotta say.
A big part of it is, like, stay humble. You never know what’s gonna happen. When I got [the KORN] gig in ’07, [then-KORN bassist] Fieldy told me, ‘Yeah, we got another year or two.’ So I’m, like, ‘Okay. I’m here. Let’s do this.’ I’m used to being a chameleon. I’m used to going from one gig to another. And so every year would go by, I’m, like, ‘Here’s another set of tour dates.’ ‘Here’s another album cycle.’ ‘Now we got new management.’ ‘Wow, we’re doing this now.’ Now we’re doing stadiums again. We sold out South America in, like, 63 minutes two months ago. Yeah, it’s insane. The popularity — you used to see fathers, sons, mothers and daughters. Now you see grandpas and dads. It’s the coolest thing ever. They all have KORN shirts on… But it’s a beautiful thing to watch the generations keep coming by. It’s such an awesome thing to see.
Stay away from drugs. Don’t do drugs, kids. No drugs — ever. Seriously.
When I moved out here [to Los Angeles] — I mean, come on. I played with David Lee Roth for eight years. Drugs were free. Dave’s whole thing was, like, ‘I used to have a drug problem. Now I can afford ’em.’ So that was eight years of that bipolar maniac stuff. So I saw what it did [to other people].
I wanted longevity. I wanted to do this till I can’t pick a stick up anymore. Like, literally… I wanted longevity, no matter what. It’s my whole thing of, like, hard work.
When I was a student here [at MI], I never did anything but play drums. I would literally go to class, go home, get something to eat real quick, go to 7th Street downtown rehearsal, rehearse with my band from, like, five to nine or 10. I’d come back here, and I had two-hour slots carved out with other bands here. So I was out of my fricking tree. You would never catch me without [a drum stick] in my hand — for years, in my twenties. My whole thing was, like, ‘I’m gonna get so good, no one’s gonna deny me.’ That’s not the attitude to have, because you never know., I didn’t get gigs ’cause I didn’t have dreadlocks. I didn’t get gigs ’cause I didn’t work out enough. You’d be surprised, the reason you don’t get gigs. I’ve lost gigs ’cause I didn’t do drugs. That’s a true story. I can’t name the bands ’cause they’re hugely famous. But I had two really big bands, and because I didn’t party, I got let go, and it was straight up. And that was weird, because when I got the David Lee Roth gig, I was freaking out. I’m, like, ‘I’m not losing this gig,’ ’cause I grew up with VAN HALEN playing all this stuff. Big old Jack Daniel’s bottle comes around, here comes the joints, here comes the blow. And I’m, like, ‘Oh. Damn, I’m done.’ And then it was, like. I’ll never forget, Dave called me out. He’s a smart guy. He may be kind of a clown, but he’s a smart dude. A big old bottle of Jack Daniel’s. It’s coming around. I [pretend that I’m taking a swig], and it hits my lips, but I don’t swallow it. And it had to go back in the bottle. Shit like that, ’cause I was, like, ‘I’m not losing this gig. I’m one of you. Look at me. I can do this.’ Whatever. So, two months goes by and then Dave goes, ‘Luzier, you don’t party at all, do you?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, shit.’ I go, ‘Hey dude. Whatever you do, that’s you. That’s cool. I don’t care. You could do [whatever you want].’ He goes, ‘No, that’s great. I want somebody that can drive the ship back here. The drummer’s gotta provide the time. I don’t want you partying.’
So that’s one of the things. I wanted the longevity. Stay away from stuff that’s gonna interfere with longevity. How many people you know in rehab? I filled in for STONE TEMPLE PILOTS on three gigs. [Late STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer] Scott Weiland, rest his soul, he was so gone when I filled in for them during those shows. It was so sad. He was on his, like, 30th rehab, and it just broke my heart ’cause he’s so talented.
So if you mix all that — longevity, hard work, persistence… You gotta get out there. In today’s day and age, with the phones and everything, obviously you YouTubers out there and all the influencers, that’s an instant way to get reach people. But you gotta put the work in.
This whole A.I. crap is driving me nuttzo. Jesus. There’s, like, A.I. songs charting. Do you guys know that? Country songs, and it’s, like, ‘What is going on, dude? Play your damn instrument. Dave Grohl said it best: ‘Get in a garage and suck. Get in your lab and suck — until you don’t suck anymore.’ I can’t even listen to [SiriusXM’s] Octane right now, and I’m a huge fan of heavy music. All those bands sound the same. They fix ’em in the computer, they lock it up. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve fixed drum parts in the past, on KORN records and stuff. But we’ve never locked it up to a grid and sucked the soul out of it. Today’s music’s missing so much soul. I sound like an old dude, but you know what I’m talking about, right? You wanna be able to play your instruments so when people go see you live, they’re not going, ‘They don’t sound like that. The record sounded really great. That singer’s in perfect pitch. How come they suck right now?’ Duh. The new KORN record we’re doing right now was [recorded] all to two-inch tape, and I’m so proud of that ’cause we just laid it down.”
Metal Anarchy 
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