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On the one hand, there's the music -- angry, guttural, obscenity-laced. Death metal, it's called.
On the other hand, there are the musicians, well-spoken, gentle even; one's a nice Ventura kid, a graduate of St. Bonaventure High School, who openly thanks his parents for the love and support that have allowed him to make a living playing music.
An ironically nonvicious cycle emerges.
Which is fine with said musician, John Boecklin, drummer for DevilDriver, a hot new Santa Barbara-based band whose self-titled debut CD is tearing up the rock metal charts.
Chatting via cell phone last week on the road in Corpus Christi, Texas, Boecklin, 23, said he's just plain happy to be out on his first major tour.
"It feels awesome," he said. "It's exactly what I always wanted to do -- on the road; no ties. I'm young, and my body can take it."
He looks forward to his first hometown gig with the band, which opens for Superjoint Ritual on Saturday at the Ventura Theatre. But whatever -- he just wants to be on a stage somewhere, performing for the band's fans.
Even on the phone that day, preparing for an outdoor show in near-freezing weather, Boecklin was charged. "I'm ready to play," he said. "I can't wait."
DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara shares the enthusiasm -- and has an obvious brotherly pride in his bandmates. Of Boecklin's return to Ventura for this weekend's show, he said: "This is a definite home show for him. For him, it's the Ventura hometown boy makes...