DLR Band disbanded
Luzier talks about DLR Band, The Nixons and much, much more...   
     Like a A-bomb landing right on top of your little head, drummer Ray Luzier provided the crash, bang and boom for David Lee Roth's "DLR Band" release and subsequent tour.         
      Unless you've ever had the chance to meet Ray after the show, you'd never know what a nice guy he really is. There were many nights at Club Dave last summer that Ray personally took the time to meet fans and make visitors feel welcome while DLR was nowhere to be found.    
     What follows is a partial conversation between Ray and DLR Army field correspondent Dave Valdez.
Click here to view a 3 min. clip of the interview.(Requires Real Player).

The following interview with Ray Luzier, former DLR Band drummer and current drummer for Nixons, and was conducted on Sunday, May 7th at Weslaco City Park in Weslaco, Texas. The "Concert in the Park" was part of the 6th annual Cinco de Mayo celebration to benefit the Weslaco Scholarship Fund. The event, sponsored by "The Big Rock Station", Q 94.5, The Valley’s Home of Rock and Roll, raises money for college scholarships for graduates of Weslaco High School.

Dave V: I became a fan of yours when I heard the DLR Band CD for the first time. I remember thinking, "who’s this drummer?" I’ve always been a Diamond Dave fan. Since ’78 and through the early Van Halen days. Dave has a reputation of playing with only the top musicians including Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, the Bissonette brothers, Edgar Winter, Jason Becker, and even Travis Tritt.

Luzier: "Yea, I’m a fan of all of them. Dave’s been hanging on my wall since I was twelve. I had a wall size poster of him doing a kick, so he’s my hero."

Dave V: When did you start playing the drums?

Luzier: "I started playing at age six, actually. I got my first real kit when I was eight years old. I used to play to stacks of records; whatever records I had. I’m self-taught."

Dave V: What other musicians influenced you?

Luzier: "Wow, tons of people. I listened to a lot of rock growing up. Everything from Led Zeppelin to Kiss. I was a huge Kiss fan. I also listened to Rush, AC/DC, Ted Nugent..Anything that comes from the heart….when people play what they feel. A lot of the surface stuff I don’t get in to, but anything that has depth to it and moves me, I love."

Dave V: Ian Moore’s music does that for me.

Luzier: "Yea, like that."

Dave V: Do you enjoy going on the road, or do you consider it a necessary evil?

Luzier: "I love it actually. I’m both a studio buff and I love playing live. I do a lot of sessions in L.A.. That’s how I make my living when I’m there so I love both aspects of it. They are two totally different things. On the road, I always say you play for free and the work starts when you get off stage, until the next gig. It’s pretty grueling on the road. Especially last year during Dave’s tour. We’d play with Bad Company for five days and then fly to Europe, play three festivals then come back. We’d deal with nine hour time changes and you had to look alive. The crowd doesn’t care if you came from Europe or where ever. It takes its toll but there is nothing better that getting up there when the fans are into the music and everyone appreciates what you’re doing."

Dave V: I wish Dave had played some DLR Band songs in concert.

Luzier: "You know what, we actually played Slam Dunk for about three or four shows and I was high as anything because I played on the record and I loved it. Then one day, Dave said, 'Let’s throw Dance the Night Away in'. Well, Dance the Night Away was a humungous hit and the crowd went nuts so, Dave said, "let’s just stay with the classics". Hey, you can’t argue with the boss."

Dave V: How did you get involved with the Nixons?

Luzier: "Through Ricky Wolking, the bass player. I met him in probably ’95. I did the Darren Housholder solo record on Shrapnel Records, and Darren introduced me to Ricky when we did that record together. It was a total a classical, heavy, solo, instrumental record. I call it a masturbating record because there were licks flying everywhere and it was you know, a lot of wanking going on. We just stayed in touch through the years and in ‘96 we did everything from disco bands, we cut more of those Shrapnel records and then he told me he got the Nixons gig, and I’d heard of them. I was kind of a fan of the first record. He loved it so much that he relocated to Dallas, cause everybody was in Oklahoma City at the time. Through the years we kept in contact, you know. When I was out on tour I’d check them out. And then, he called me up one day and I saw him last year at the Dave gig. He came out to one of the Texas shows and his girlfriend came up to me at Reunion Arena and we were talking. She said, 'yea the Nixons are having a little bit of problems right now. The records done but they are not getting along. Two of the members are not getting along with the other two'. And I thought, how could that be, they are such a family, you know. Just like a band that would never part. They’d been together for eight years but differences happen and people change and they lose interest. So they (Ricky and Zac) weren’t getting along with the other two members and they wanted to keep going. Zac and Rick felt that the band was too powerful to let go and so that’s basically what happened. He called me up when he heard that Dave might be doing the Van Halen thing. He said, hey, I heard you are off the road, can you fill in for a couple of shows. So, that’s what happened. We’re just really good buddies and I said, 'that would be great'. You know, they were doing South by Southwest in uh…

Dave V: In Austin.

Luzier: "Yea, Austin. So I said, I’d love to do it, that would be awesome. And I love playing with him. See, there are certain bass players that when you play with them, it is so unbelievably comfortable that you don’t have a doubt in your mind where the pocket is at. You know, I get hired for sessions in L.A. all the time, and there’s things where people ask me to do something on the fly and they might be really laid back or really spastic and you have to rock because you don’t want them to sound bad – it makes you sound bad. Rick is one of those guys where we just connect, instantly."

Dave V: What about with Todd Jensen?

Luzier: "Todd is another guy. Todd kicked my ass last year because he was so laid back. I’m a little hyper when I play so, I was on top of the beat. He taught me how to lay back a little more, because he’s played with everyone under the sun. People like Steve Perry, Paul Rogers, Hardline, everybody. He really taught me a lot. I loved playing with him. Totally different player than Ricky, totally different. But also great with a great pocket and feel."

Dave V: How did Dave hear about you?

Luzier: "I, like I said, do sessions in L.A. and I did the Mike Hartman solo record along with Greg Bissonnette; he actually did a couple of tracks. I did the record, and sometimes you’ll do sessions out there and you’ll do the record and then you won’t hear anything about it. All I ask the artist to do is to give me a copy of it because I like to keep of collection of them. I didn’t hear anything from Mike for about six months, then I called him up and asked, 'hey, how’s the record coming'? He said, 'Hey, it’s real slow, but it’s getting done and hey, I’m writing with David Lee Roth'. I said, 'What'! We recorded at Steve Vai’s house—the record I did with him. It was great. In the Hollywood hills, he has a great studio in his house. And so, obviously Mike worships Steve Vai, He just worships the guy. I was joking one day and I said, 'Yea, hook me up with Dave'. He said, 'I can do that, you know, I’ve got the contacts.' So, they needed writers for the last DLR Band record and Mike’s name got thrown in the hat and the next thing you know, he was calling up Dave and going over to his house. He called me up one day and said, 'I just got back from his 8 ½ million dollar mansion, I’m freakin’ out!' I said, 'This is great, I had no idea'. He said, 'Yea, and the best part is, he likes two of the songs you play drums on and he was asking me who the drummer was'. And I like, dropped the phone because I was like, this guy is an idol of mine. There were two guys from my childhood dreams, besides Kiss, I wanted to play with Dave and Ozzy. I thought, if I ever just meet them, let alone play with them…and then to be on stage with them for any one show….I still pinch myself. You never get used to it."

Dave V: Have you ever met Randy Castillo?

Luzier: "Yea, Randy actually came to a couple of my shows in L.A. He was in the audience. He’s a good guy."

Dave V: He’s in Motley Crue now.

Luzier: "Yeah."

Dave V: Does Dave ever visit any of his web sites…his official site or any others?

Luzier: "I really don’t know to tell you the truth. He says he doesn’t but, I would think out of curiosity, you know, if I was the Almighty, I would probably check them out just to see what people are saying. He says he doesn’t; he has the management check them out."

Dave V:  So, the DLR Band, is that a done deal or is there going to be another release?

Luzier: "I don’t know. I don’t think so. We’re going to see what happens. I was bummed because we were actually in the writing process on the road. There were some songs done that I liked even more than the DLR Band record, which I think is really good. I really wanted that to happen. So it may not be out of the question in the future. Right before we disbanded, Dave said, 'this isn’t over yet". His big funny line was, 'wait until I’m mega-famous again …we’re going to do this thing again... (Ray Laughs..).' I hope, down the road it happens. He’s so full of energy. I don’t think he’s gonna quit for awhile. He’s got too much energy left in him to even think about stopping. I’m hoping, down the road, he calls me. I hope to God. I think we had a good time on the road. We got along really well. I’m not a big partier, he is. I though for sure that would be one weakness on my part but he respects me. I don’t drink a bottle of Jack a day."

Dave V: And it’s real Jack too. We were in the front row for two of the shows and got showered. There is no icedtea in those bottles!

Luzier: "It is real Jack. I can vouch for that. I felt bad for some of those people. He’d be doing his thing and there’d be people with their eyes burning."

Dave V: I read a news article about one of the shows. It mentioned a girl who got showered with Jack Daniels at one of his shows. Apparently she didn’t appreciate it. But hey, that’s Dave. If you are going to be in the front row of a David Lee Roth show, you’ve got to expect the unexpected, right?

Luzier: "Absolutely, absolutely!"

Dave V: Thanks a lot, Ray. We will continue to follow your career. I’m glad that Dave brought you onboard to show you off to us.

Luzier: "You know, I can remember sitting in my bedroom in Pennsylvania, desperately trying to figure out Hot For Teacher and thinking, 'what’s Alex doing?  How come I can’t play that?'. And then playing that on stage night after night with Dave was a dream come true. You can’t even put a price tag on that. The culmination of everything was great. I would have done it for free. Who knows, we’ll see what the future brings. Being in the Nixons is my top priority right now. I have a lot of other projects of my own waiting in the wing. I write my own music and I’ve been hacking with the guitar for about three or four years just to write my own ideas. Someday I want to put my own thing together. Some of my ideas I’m bringing to the Nixons right now. Some of the stuff I write is very weird. It’s everything from heavy to Goo-Goo Dolls. It’s very diverse. I’ve played some of that stuff for Zac already that he likes. I’m really stoked about writing for the next Nixons album because there are four really different personalities that will come through in the songs.

Dave V: That may be a year or more down the road, am I right?

Luzier: " Probably. We have to support the new Nixons album, before the next one comes out."

Dave V: What about working with Freak Power Ticket again?

Luzier: "Right now, Freak Power Ticket is dead. I think in the future, because we had enough songs to start another record, we could do some more writing. I love the singer, Sean Dailey. He’s going to come on the road with the Nixons this summer. He’s kind of jobless right now. He wants to come on the road and work as a tech and do whatever. He’s a great guy. He and Ricky Wolking actually have a side project. He is a very talented guy with so many ideas that are so creative. He’s got to be known! He’s just one of those guys that has just got to get out there."

Dave V: Did Sean Dailey have a part in designing the Freak Power Ticket web page? I love the craziness of the site.

Luzier: "No, that was Skid from the band Love/Hate. Do you remember Love/Hate? The bass player, Skid, does web sites for people. That’s how he makes money. Darren Housholder, the guitarist for Freak Power Ticket, played in Love/Hate. In fact, he was on the "Let’s Rumble" record. They kept in contact and Skid just put it together and said, 'here, tell me if you like it', so we really dug it and just kept it like that."

Dave V: The David Lee Roth official web site, Slawterhouse, seems to have been abandoned. The last time they updated the News was December 10th.

Luzier: "I don’t get that at all. That’s a bummer, man, because that’s supposedly the official site."

Dave V: The Lounge, (the message board or chat lounge) part of the official site, is the only thing active. That’s really the only part that’s still alive. Most of the people who post there are really die-hard fans, like me.

Luzier: "I think that’s why I started going to the DLR ARMY and the VH site, because they were much more informative. In fact, my fiancée was making fun of me because before the manager faxed me the itinerary, one of the web sites had posted it already and I printed it from that web site. I wasn’t sure if it was accurate or not, but I just had to know where we were going. We were booking shows on the fly, so late some times. The DLR Band tour was one hell of tour. One of my dreams is to have the Nixons open for Van Halen in front of a minimum of twenty thousand each night. That would just be the ultimate for me. We’ll see what happens."

Dave V: Good Luck, Ray. You’ve been very gracious.

Luzier: "Thanks! You guys stay cool. Say hi to the loved ones. By the way, what is today, Sunday?"

Dave V: Yes.

Luzier: "You know, I don’t know what day it is sometimes. My fiancée tells me, 'What do you mean, you don’t know what day it is. She’s a flight attendant. When I’m on the road, there are no 'weekends'. Sometimes our weekends are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday."

Dave V: When are you getting married?

Luzier: "I hope soon. We don’t have a date because of the road. With Dave, we had a bunch of AC/DC dates booked and all kinds of stuff going on. So I told my fiancée that we should probably wait. That’s a hard thing to put a hold on. I couldn’t just say, 'Sorry, Dave. I’m taking a week off'. You can’t do that when you’re working for a powerhouse like that. With the Nixons, I can. They are really cool about that. We were hoping for an August wedding but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I want the free flights and benefits. She flies for free everywhere! Yesterday, she came up for the Bush and Godsmack show at Red Rocks. She just jumps on a plane and shows her ID badge. It’s like boarding a bus. It’s nothing for her. If I play Vegas, she shows up to Vegas. With my luck, a week after we get married she’ll decide not to be a flight attendant anymore.
      My whole family lives in Pittsburgh and I’m really close to my family. It sucks living 2600 miles away. I try to go home at least twice a year…sometimes three times, and my folks come out to see me. If I play on the East Coast, they’ll come out. When we get married, it will be great. I’ll be going home once a month if I can. I’ll just show up and say, 'Ma, what’s for dinner?' Then I’ll go home."

Dave V: Thanks again, Ray

Luzier: "You folks stay cool."

       Luzier granted Valdez an interview at a recent show with his new band The Nixons. During that interview Valdez, of course, asked him about the future of the DLR Band which logically segued into a discussion concerning the future of Van Halen.    

Per his and his management's request (as well as others), the aforementioned video and audio regarding his statements on Van Halen — that we promised you fans — will not be included in the interview     

       The bottom line is this — we have the interview and are choosing not to run certain portions because Ray asked us not to. We promoed the interview to let you know what the fuck was going on, to get the word out from a legitimate source.    
       People saw it, they became upset. Ray asked us to take it out, we obliged. End of fucking story.    
       And it's as simple as that. No lawyers. Bugs Bunny did not threaten to chop our balls off. David Lee Roth did not send over a truckload of hookers to occupy us while he rifled through DLR Army offices to gain access to the interview (though it might have been a nice gesture).    
       Though we regret not being able to give you the entire interview, let's rehash what we consider an awfully big revelation — The DLR Band has disbanded. Another release from the band in the near future (as we've been led to believe)? Ray doesn't think so.    
       So unless Dave fired his entire band, is headed back to Vegas, or is planning to hang it up (which Ray says won't happen for a very, very long time)... where would that put him?    
       Not exactly classified information, but from a much better source than "the guy whose cousin worked next to a girl who was dating a guy who drives a cab and who picked up a roadie's baby-sitter who confirmed Dave was working with Eddie again." We've all heard that shit before. Now you've heard it from someone who really knows.     History will show we were ahead of the curve in bringing you the latest and most legit info out there. Until then shit-talkers and naysayers, eat us and smile!

Click here to view a 3 min. clip of the interview.(Requires Real Player)

Links to other bands and cd's that Ray had played on:
1. Tracy G's "Driven" http://www.tracyg.com
2. Freak Power Ticket  http://www.freakpowerticket.com
3. Mike Hartman's "Black Glue"  http://www.mikehartman.com
4. Medicine Wheel "Small Talk"
5. Currently touring with The Nixons  http://www.nixons.com

Special thanks goes to Dave Valdez for busting his ass to get the interview.
Click here to contact Dave Valdez.