While Zakk Wylde undoubtedly is the center of attention in Black Label Society, his closest musical partner for the past several years has been John “J.D.” DeServio. In addition to playing bass in the band, J.D. picked up co-producing and mixing credits on the new album, “Order of the Black.” He’s also the founder, bassist and driving force behind another band, Cycle of Pain, which released its debut album in 2009. With Black Label Society touring the United States and Canada throughout the fall on the Black Label Bezerkus, with support from Children of Bodom, Clutch and 2Cents, J.D. called in from the road to talk to Live Metal’s Greg Maki about the tour, the new album, Zakk Wylde’s sobriety and more.
LIVE METAL: I am a longtime Black Label fan. I was at the show last week in Philadelphia, and to me, it sounds like you guys are playing better than ever. How does it feel on your end?
JOHN “J.D.” DESERVIO: It feels great, although I gotta still play next to Zakk every night. That’s kind of a bummer. [laughter] I just look over at him with such hatred. [laughter] It’s fuckin’ awesome, dude. Me and Zakk have been brothers forever, and then Nickita (guitarist Nick Catanese) now, too. It’s always a good time.
How is the tour going, the Black Label Bezerkus?
It’s been phenomenal, dude. And let me tell you, the Canadian shows have been probably the best shows we’ve ever done. They’ve been really tremendous—3,000 people and just really, really great fans. All the shows have been tremendous, but especially up here. I guess we haven’t been up here too much. I think that’s why.
It’s a really diverse bill with Bodom, Clutch and 2Cents. Did you know those guys ahead of time?
I had met Clutch a little bit because we played some shows with them guys. But all the other guys were new to me, and everybody’s awesome.
For Black Label, you’ve got a really amazing new drummer in the band in Will Hunt. What’s it been like playing with him?
He’s killing, dude. He came in, did the record with us, he sounded great, and all the shows have been slamming. So Will fits right in, bro.
He seems to have a really different style than (former drummer) Craig (Nunenmacher) had. Can you just talk a little bit about the differences in their playing, and was there any kind of adjustment period for you?
There was no adjustment. We just let everybody be who they are. He’s different than Craig, for sure. Craig has different ideas, and Will has different ideas than Craig. Will’s a little bit more of a, I guess, practiced drummer, I would say, maybe. His chops are a little bit more defined than Craig. But Craig’s great. They’re just different drummers, so you just let them be who they are.
Before every show, the whole band goes out and does the meet-and-greets with the fans. But I know just from going to shows that you’re always out there wandering around, talking to people, shaking hands. How important is that fan interaction for you?
We love our fans. Without the fans, I don’t have a job. I hate when people, the so-called rock stars of this world, are just douchebags. It’s like, our fans rule, dude. You guys come out to see us, and I want to give the love back.
You’re active online on Twitter and Facebook. Is that something you enjoy doing, keeping in touch with the fans that way?
Yeah, it’s awesome. With the Internet and everything nowadays, you can keep in touch with pretty much anybody. It’s pretty insane. I’ve met people I haven’t talked to in 20 years on MySpace and Facebook. So it’s killer, man.
Let’s talk about the new album, “Order of the Black.” It’s my favorite Black Label album so far.
Really? Cool.
It’s still new, but have you thought about where you would rank it? Do you even think about that?
I’ll leave that for the fans. I think right now “Mafia” is still everybody’s favorite. I’m hoping that this one’s gonna surpass that. I love this new record. I co-produced it and mixed it, so I’m a little biased. But there’s some great songs on this record. We do four songs from the new record live, and they’re all going over great. So who knows, maybe this one will be the guy.
Yeah, last week those were my favorite songs at the show, and I want to hear more from it. I really love the album.
Oh, thanks so much, bro.
You mentioned you have a co-producer credit. What was your role as a co-producer?
Co-producer, pretty much to keep Zakk out of the room so he doesn’t ruin it. [laughter] So I think I succeeded there, and that’s it. No, Zakk has the ideas. I just kind of help him mold ‘em in perfectly. I had everything to do with the mixing, too. That’s the most important thing. When you get the record, it’s gotta sound good. You’ve gotta be able to hear everything really well. Pretty psyched on that, man.
What was it like recording at the new studio, the Black Label Bunker?
It was all new. It was totally all new. It was killer. It was great. It was cool because the studio had just been built, so this was our first thing we ever recorded there. “January” was the first song ever recorded at the Bunker. And then the whole record. So this was the first stuff we’ve done there, and it’s turning out great. It’s a learning process. You’re learning the room a little bit, you’re learning the gear a little bit. It’s killer, dude. It came out really good, and they’re gonna keep getting better and better from here on in.
Zakk has talked about starting a label and bringing other bands in there. Is that something you would be involved with, working with other bands in that studio?
Yeah, I get to co-produce and mix those bands, as well. But I don’t know when the hell we’re gonna have time to do that, man. That’s probably not gonna be ‘til 2012.
Have you personally noticed any differences in Zakk, both in the studio and out on tour, since he’s not drinking anymore?
Yeah, definitely. He sounds great. He really does sound better than he’s ever sounded, I think, and if that has something to do with the not drinking, then so be it. He’s the same dude. He’s out of his mind, he’s funny, he’s crazy. He’s sounding better and better every day, so we’re all proud of him and just psyched he’s sounding so good, man.
Your other band, Cycle of Pain, you were supposed to play a couple shows on this tour.
Yeah, I was going to, but we couldn’t actually get it together. It sucks when you don’t have the financial backing of a real record label. It’s hard to do things. People have to get paid. We’re older now. Everybody has families and shit like that. So I was supposed to do a few shows but couldn’t get it together. Last year, we opened up for Black Label for like three weeks, and then we did some Canadian dates and a couple one-offs, as well. It’s great when I get to do that, man, and I’m sad I didn’t get to do it on this run.
How much fun was that last year, and how proud did you feel to finally get that out?
It was tremendous, dude. It’s a tremendous feeling to play your own music, the shit you’ve done from the ground up, to play it for a bunch of fans and they’re into it. I really can’t tell you how great that was. It was amazing, man.
And to do it with some of your old friends must have been really cool, too.
Fuck yeah! My brothers, man. Me, Gregg (Locascio) and Joe (Taylor) were in a band when we were 15 years old. So for me to get that out to the world is pretty amazing. It’s an amazing accomplishment, and it felt unbelievable.
A year or two from now, when maybe you get another break from Black Label, do you see another Cycle of Pain album coming?
Without a doubt. I’m gonna start writing pretty soon, actually. I want to have one ready to go because my deal ends this month. So I’m gonna try to get another record deal with a record company that’s gonna promote it.
Alright, I won’t want to take up a ton of your time; I’m sure you’ve got other things to be doing. Is there anything you’d like to add or say to the fans?
We love ‘em. We love our fans. They’re the greatest fans in the world. I’m just psyched that they’re all coming out. We’re rockin’, dude, and hopefully we’ll be in their town soon.