Drummers Tommy Clufetos, Roy Mayorga on What It Takes to Back Ozzy, Corey Taylor | Revolver

Drummers Tommy Clufetos, Roy Mayorga on What It Takes to Back Ozzy, Corey Taylor

No More Tours 2 tourmates trade war stories in exclusive joint interview. Sponsored by DW Drums
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Tommy Clufetos (left) and Roy Mayorga
photograph by Matthew Stubs Phillips (Mayorga)

"The drummer is the backbone of the band," says Tommy Clufetos. "We're the engine back there. We've gotta kick everybody in the ass!"

Which is exactly what Clufetos has been doing as the drummer for Ozzy Osbourne's band on the metal legend's No More Tours 2 outing. But the tour has also been a twin-engine affair: serving as the opening act on the North American leg has been platinum-selling modern hard rockers Stone Sour, featuring iconic singer Corey Taylor (also of Slipknot) up front and Roy Mayorga kicking everybody in the ass from behind the kit. 

"It's been a really great experience," Mayorga says. "The crowds have been going off every night for both bands." He points to the previous night's show, at the USANA Amphitheatre in Utah, as an example. "It was downpouring rain the whole time, but the crowd was still going nuts. Wasn't it, Tommy?"

"For sure," answers Clufetos. "I didn't like the lightning, but it just added more power to the show!"

Clufetos and Mayorga have an easy rapport with one another, even as the two drummers come to their current gigs from different backgrounds and perspectives. Mayorga cut his teeth in punk bands growing up, before coming to national prominence as a member of Soulfly in the late 1990s. He joined up with Stone Sour in time to record their second album, 2006's Come What(ever) May, and hasn't looked back since. In fact, just before signing on with the band, he says, "I almost gave up. I literally put down my sticks until I got a phone call to come join Stone Sour. So I think about that every day, just how lucky I am to be here."

As for Clufetos, he has long been one of the most in-demand drummers in hard rock and metal; in addition to Ozzy, he's played with everyone from Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent to Rob Zombie and Black Sabbath. For him, the key to success as a for-hire drummer has always been a lot of hard work and preparation.

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Roy Mayorga
photograph by Matthew Stubs Phillips

"I'm a side man — I work for people," Clufetos reasons. "So I have to be at my best all the time, and I have to be ready for anything that might come my way."

Clufetos and Mayorga recently got together on a No More Tours 2 off day to discuss what it takes to reach the pinnacle of hard-rock drumming success, as well as some of the lessons they've learned along the way. They also were quick to note that, even if you get to the top of your field and find yourself onstage with legendary artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Corey Taylor night after night, the journey is never complete. 

"You have to keep dedicating yourself over and over," Clufetos says. "Because the challenges that you've got to go through to make a living at this, they're endless, man. And they're never going to end. So you have to just keep pushing and keep pushing and keep pushing."

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GET UP ONSTAGE AND PERFORM BEHIND ICONIC FRONT MEN LIKE OZZY OSBOURNE AND COREY TAYLOR?
ROY MAYORGA
 Well Corey, he's just a ball of energy, man. He's on fire onstage and offstage. It's great to play with someone like that, and to have him out in front just working it. Also, as a band we all have a really good chemistry together. It took me years to find the right chemical balance with other people, and now that I have it I can't ask for anything more. It's awesome. 

TOMMY CLUFETOS Playing for Ozzy, it's a learning experience every night. When you're working with somebody who's been doing it for 50 years, you can learn so much just by watching. Somebody doesn't always have to be saying something in order to be teaching you. If you pay close enough attention you can pick up a lot of invaluable tricks of the trade that will help to take you to the next level. So I've become such a better musician just from being in Ozzy's band. It's been a great gift to me. 

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR ROLE AS A DRUMMER WHEN YOU GO ONSTAGE IN FRONT OF THESE HUGE AUDIENCES? 
CLUFETOS 
To me, the drummer is the fire starter. You want to bring an energy and a passion so that when you hit that stage, you wake people up. And I know that's what Ozzy wants me to do. He wants me to fucking go for it. And he wants me to be relentlessly on that edge with the music. At the same time, you've got to be able to read your front man and read your audience and feel the vibe of the night. Because every night is different. 

MAYORGA Even if the crowd is difficult and not going off, you still have to go off, you know? The show must go on. So you have to keep focused and always pay attention.

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Tommy Clufetos
Courtesy of Tommy Clufetos

IN THAT RESPECT, DEPENDING ON THE NIGHT AND THE AUDIENCE, ARE THERE SOME SHOWS WHEN YOU MIGHT LAY BACK IN THE POCKET A BIT MORE, AND OTHERS WHERE MAYBE YOU'LL PUSH THE TEMPOS IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO A CERTAIN ENERGY? 
MAYORGA 
Definitely. Absolutely. 

CLUFETOS It's kind of an unspoken thing that you just go with the music and the feeling in the moment. Although I think there's a lot of modern music that is not that way. But you learn things by playing with guys that have done it so long. And one of the things you learn is that there aren't many rules. It's what happens in the moment that is the greatest thing about music. What worked last night may not work tonight. And sometimes what worked last night is something that you want to keep doing every night. You've just got to feel it. And that's the thing about drummers that maybe separates them from bass players or guitar players.

MAYORGA It's also what separates a great drummer from an average drummer — being able to pick up on those little nuances in the music, or from your front man, or from whatever it may be, every night. And of course you've got to have good tempo. Of course you've got to play with feel. But it's all the little details — the little things that maybe music teachers can't teach you, and that you just have to open yourself up to — that can really lift a performance.

DO EACH OF YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MOMENT IN YOUR RESPECTIVE SETS? 
MAYORGA 
I have a love and admiration for all our songs. But the part of the set that I really love is when we play "Whiplash Pants" into "Absolute Zero." That to me is like the smack-in-the-face part of the set. As a drummer, I get off on that. I really like beating the shit out of my drums to those songs. [Laughs]

CLUFETOS I don't really have a favorite part of the show. For me, the favorite part of the show is just having a great show. And then that one's done and you're on to the next. 

TOMMY, IN YOUR SET WITH OZZY YOU'RE PLAYING SO MANY ICONIC SONGS — "CRAZY TRAIN," "PARANOID," THE LIST GOES ON. DO YOU FIND YOU HAVE TO STRADDLE A LINE BETWEEN STAYING FAITHFUL TO THE CLASSIC VERSIONS WHILE ALSO ALLOWING YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE TO COME THROUGH?
CLUFETOS 
I don't think it's about one or the other. I think when you go up there and you play with conviction and you put your heart and soul into it, your style is going to come through. So I try to play what my ears feel are the parts that people want to hear, but then there's always little spots where you're going to be yourself, and your energy and your attitude come through and you put your personal stamp on things. I think you can make a song your own just through your energy, rather than by changing the parts. At the same time, songs just generally change from the record to the stage. 

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Roy Mayorga
photograph by Matthew Stubs Phillips

ROY, DO YOUR ALTER YOUR DRUM PARTS ONSTAGE FROM WHAT YOU PLAY ON THE RECORDS? 
MAYORGA 
After a year-and-a-half of touring an album, you do tend to change it up a little. So I keep things sort of close to the record, but I also embellish them by adding newer, different kinds of nuances. Also, we play the songs probably five or six bpms faster live than we play them on the record. So they all become a little different drumming-wise after a while. But the key parts are always there. 

THE DRUMMER IS ESSENTIALLY THE TIMEKEEPER FOR THE MUSIC. BUT DO YOU EVER HAVE NIGHTS WHERE YOU'RE PART OF THE WAY THROUGH THE SET AND YOU FEEL YOUR ENERGY IS LAGGING? AND IF SO, WHAT DO YOU DO? 
MAYORGA 
You don't think about it! You just go. It's instinct, man. For me, drumming is all instinct. You just do it. There's no other way to explain it. The show must go on. 

CLUFETOS I mean, doing this is a lot better than digging ditches! [Laughs] So if you can't pull it out of yourself, you'd better find another job. 

MAYORGA [Laughs] Exactly!

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH A TOUR LIKE NO MORE TOURS 2, JUST FROM A PHYSICAL STANDPOINT? 
MAYORGA 
You have to take care of yourself. You've got to get your sleep. You've got to eat right and exercise and go for long walks and stay hydrated and keep the juices flowing. And take your vitamins — I take a little bit of pre-workout supplements, which are great before a show. 

WHAT SORT OF SUPPLEMENTS? 
MAYORGA 
I've been taking this amino acid energy. It's great for muscle recovery, so you don't have to worry about cramping up in the middle of a show. It's been a lifesaver. 

CLUFETOS The thing is, rock 'n' roll drumming, it's physical abuse that we put ourselves through every night. 

MAYORGA Basically, we're doing a few hours of cardio every show.

TO THAT END, DO YOU HAVE A PRE-SHOW WARM-UP ROUTINE?  
MAYORGA 
Usually for me, I'll just hit the pads…

CLUFETOS Yeah, I can always fucking hear you banging away in the next dressing room! [Laughs]

MAYORGA …and Johny Chow, our bass player, will come in and jam with me and we'll do the first two songs of the set, just as a warm-up. Then I stretch out and hit the stage. That's my everyday ritual. 

CLUFETOS I have a simple little drum stool that I warm up on for a long time. And then I stretch out. But I'm very OCD. Two hours before we go onstage I start getting ready — shoes go on at this time, and I literally put on my pants at the same minute before every show. I think that helps me, because it goes back to this idea of, if I'm tired, I have a system. So no matter what, by the time I go onstage I'm ready, because I have everything dialed in and on schedule. It's like my wife putting our baby to sleep. She's got it down so that by the time 7:30 rolls around, the baby's out cold and we all get a good night's sleep. It's the same thing for me going onstage. By the time 9:00 hits, I'm ready. No matter if I'm sick or whatever. The ritual helps me get through it. 

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Tommy Clufetos
Courtesy of Tommy Clufetos

WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BEING A PERFORMING DRUMMER? 
CLUFETOS 
For me it's about loving what I do, and loving it so much that I'll do anything to succeed at it. And then actually getting to do it! And it's not just that you get to play in front of big audiences, or that you're making a certain amount of money. It's that you've put the work in. That's the greatest thing — that each day I can go onstage and go, "Man, I'm glad I did all that work. Because it's led me here"

MAYORGA A lot of the things that Tommy just said, I completely agree with and identify with. I think back to all those times of playing in sweaty garages and VFW halls in punk rock bands, and all the blood, sweat and tears and challenges and sacrifices. And every night before I walk onstage, I think, "Man, I'm really happy and humbled that I'm here and that I'm still doing this." 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THE KID WHO LOVES OZZY OSBOURNE AND STONE SOUR AND WANTS TO GROW UP TO BE A PRO DRUMMER LIKE YOU GUYS ONE DAY? 
CLUFETOS 
Stay out of my fucking way! [Laughs

MAYORGA My advice is just to be true to yourself, practice every day and believe in yourself. And play with fucking confidence. Don't hold back. Always give. It's that simple. 

CLUFETOS Honestly, if you want to do this you've got to go out and kick ass. Do whatever you can possibly do in the moment. The drive should be so overwhelming that you're willing to do anything and everything to get there. It has to overcome your soul. If you have to think about it too much, you probably should think about a different job.