Things haven't been the same since Disturbed frontman David Draiman quit Twitter in 2015 (wow, where did five years go?). It just doesn't seem right not seeing his caps-locked posts (which was a stylistic choice).
But now that he's had time away from social media and interacting with various press outlets (such as ourselves), Draiman has some regrets about how he acted.
Speaking to Kerrang!, he discussed his relationship with the press and admitted, even seeing some stuff he said out of context made him question why he said it in the first place:
You’ve had a rough ride in the press in the past. Why do you think that was?
“I’ve looked back at some of my earlier quotes and, regardless of whether or not things were taken out of context, I have to hit myself in the head and think, ‘What the hell was I saying?! Why did I say that thing like that?!’ I think that when you set yourself up to be a target, people are more than willing to take pot-shots at you.”
It must have been difficult, though. You’d overcome a lot of adversity – your parents were against you being in a band, your grandfather so much so he cut off contact with you. Did weathering that and still receiving those pot-shots hurt?
“It still does, in certain ways. Even though making music is your livelihood, it’s also a labour of love. It’s art; you’re creating things that you’re really emotionally attached to and are passionate about, so when people shit on that, and they shit on you and your delivery of it, then it’s a hard thing to take. They’re diminishing your pain. That’s the tough part. People are so cavalier with their judgements and their wordings, and understandably so, because we live in an age where there are no repercussions and accountability. You sit behind that keyboard typing away and nobody’s going to do anything to you. You can be anyone you want and say anything you want.”
He also explained leaving Twitter.
“There’s just no decency. It’s a bunch of high school kids insulting each other, having a contest about who can come up with the most grandiose insult. It’s childish. People are dying to be triggered about something. All you have to do is express your opinion on anything and someone’s going to fight you about it. As a band, it’s not like we’re using our social media to be influencers, so why bother?”
Nice to see Draiman mature. Surely, we have as well, going back and reading some of the articles I wrote, I also wondered who the hell that guy writing was. The whole interview with Draiman can be read here. Disturbed are taking the rest of the year off and rescheduled their tour dates for 2021.
