The way these two rockers, David Draiman of Disturbed and Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, have buried the hatchet regarding past perceived offenses might actually have you believing in a thing called love.
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Hawkins, on his Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube series, has been giving followers a behind-the-scenes look into his world and the world of Rock in general while answering pressing questions sent in by fans. In a video posted on July 8, The Darkness singer answered honestly when asked about his "worst experience" as an opening act. You can watch below, starting at around a minute and a half in.
Hawkins remembered when his band had opened for Disturbed at Brixton Academy in South London as the worst, and maybe best experience in a way. He quite enjoyed most of the things that were thrown at the band while on stage: "Shoes, bottles, and coins," he says. "The thing about coins is, it's money, so in a way it's a good thing really... it kind of made me perform more, which made them more angry." Additionally, while at the front of the stage, Justin vividly remembered getting hit with a piece of chewed gum right in his mouth. "It was just a brilliant shot, I had to respect it, really," he admits.
"Afterwards, I seem to remember [Disturbed singer] David Driaman wasn't very pleased with me. I may have issued an admonishment to the throng, which didn't go down very well with him," he explained. "But you know, what are you gonna do, who gives a f***? I'm just kidding," he said, laughing. Continuing with the story, he says if a crowd that was there to see his band treated their opener poorly, he would be sure to apologize; "That didn't happen with Disturbed. I think actually it had the opposite effect, I think they were angry with us, but uh, not my problem."
Draiman -- who told Metal Edge magazine back in 2004 using some very colorful words that he thought The Darkness was in essence “a joke," adding that he liked their hit single "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," but “it’s not metal” -- caught wind of Hawkins' telling of the story, and chose to respond on Twitter.
“Sorry you feel that way.” Draiman wrote, mentioning Hawkins and The Darkness in his Tweet. “There’s a lot of things I regret saying in the past and this is one of them. It’s been 20 years. I think we’re both old enough to have a pint at some point and laugh about it.”
Hawkins responded in kind saying, “This is awesome! I don’t drink any more but I’ll take a non alcoholic beer. Thanks... so cool that you reached out.” Draiman then answered again, saying, “We’re both survivors of this industry. Im sure we both have stories to tell. Let’s figure out when we’re both in the same place/same time and make it happen.” Hawkins apparently, is "down," and slid into Draiman's Instagram DMs.
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Follow along with Hawkins on his YouTube channel for more tales, and dive into Disturbed's brand new single, "Hey You," as we discuss how the group has been handling all of life’s little nuances post-pandemic, and find out what’s in store for 2022 and beyond in our recent Audacy Check In!
While you're in the mood -- browse and favorite some of Audacy's all-new Rock stations like Venom, Masters Of Metal, IndustriALT, Don't Metal In My Affairs, Arena Rock, Wake Up and Rock, and The Roots of Rock for those who crave the early days.
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