ROCKET Interviews Jonathan Miller & Evan Pitts of BELLUM

ROCKET: How has life been treating you?

MILLER: Hey, Rocket. Thank you for taking the time to do this. The past 3 years of my life have been critical in regards to growing up, getting inspired to play music again and doing my best to become a better man. I left the metal scene for a while to sober up and change EVERYTHING….the way I lived, the people I surrounded myself with, going back to school but more importantly reconnecting with Evan Pitts and doing something a bit heavier than DevilDriver and more purpose driven.

PITTS: Rocket! So stoked to talk to you. Thanks for doing this. I feel that I have been blessed with a wonderful family and an awesome band. I’m living the American Dream. I am in a heavy metal band with my brothers in Bellum. Manifest Destiny is prevalent in my everyday life. People have been attracted to Bellum like a rare earth magnet. In the last two months, I have received hundreds of messages from people who genuinely want to help us out.

ROCKET: Have you been going out to any good metal concerts this summer?

MILLER: I haven’t been to a single show this summer. I want to go see King Diamond on Halloween but it is sold out. Santa Barbara doesn’t get many metal shows. The last show I went to go see was DevilDriver and WhiteChapel at the House of Blues in L.A. I wanted to go visit the band and crew and give them hugs. Somehow they caught wind of me making the trip down there and a couple of the guys emailed me and told me I wasn’t welcome and advised me not to approach them. Just weird rockstar stuff. I wish them the best though.




ROCKET: That sucks. What a bummer.

PITTS: Yeah. Last night I saw Bellum practice for three hours. Videotaped it. It was the sickest video ever!

ROCKET: Let’s talk about what you’re doing musically now. How did you form together your new band BELLUM?

MILLER: I was actually the final element that closed the deal on the formation of BELLUM. Evan and I played in DevilDriver together ten years ago and he had always been consistent and solid with his friendship. When I got sober, a lot of people turned their backs on me. Evan never did. He showed me love and always asked me to come jam with him. Leaving DevilDriver, I wanted to do a complete transformation and I put the music down for a long time. I lost my inspiration to play. It wasn’t until Evan started playing me some of the BELLUM songs like “Trainwreck” and “Kill the Man” that my creative spark got reignited again.

PITTS: The metaphysical lineup of BELLUM was completed upon Jonathan David Miller’s commitment to his soul to live a life of faith, integrity and respect with brothers of honor. EXPLOSION!!!! I went to the rehearsal studios in Isla Vista to watch Alex Chante’s previous band practice. Alex and I got to know each other and hit it off. Andy came into the scene on his own will as did Jonathan. BELLUM formed it’s own entity.



ROCKET: How did you guys come up with that name?

MILLER: BELLUM means “War” in Latin. Evan started Bellum when he left DevilDriver ten years ago. The band has been in hybernation for a while and just released a few songs last month. We are actively doing press, seeking management and writing for the next record. We want to get on the road. We are doing it because we love the music and we are all equal in the project. Alex Chantes (drums) and Andy Villasenor (guitar) have poured their hearts into BELLUM as well and we are ready to start making waves.

PITTS: I took Latin in 7th grade and that dead language always spoke to me. All I heard was “Bellum”.

ROCKET: I love the track “Bayonet” you sent me. That shit totally cranks! When can fans expect an album release from BELLUM?

MILLER: November 7th the album will be released. We just finished up the packaging and artwork at this very moment. “Kill the Man”, our debut album will be available on iTunes and our website www.bellumxrecords.com.

PITTS: Thanks, man. “Bayonet” was the first song we wrote.

ROCKET: So you’re going the self release route?

MILLER: At this point we are self-releasing the album. We don’t wanna wait for a record label. We already have the next album written. Bellum just wants to get the music accessible to people who wanna hear it and crank it.

PITTS: My record label is BellumX Records. I am open to working with other people, investors, managers, distributors and labels.

ROCKET: What kind of guitars/ basses are you playing right now?

MILLER: I play my ESP custom as my main bass. They were very good to DevilDriver in the past. It has sharktooth inlays and the “Miller” High Life logo on the 12th fret. The thing is sick.

PITTS: I have 3 ESP custom shop Vipers from Mikey Doling. Black and Beautiful, Blue and Maple…..and the Green Inferno Soulfly album inlays from ESP.

ROCKET: What kind of amp rig?

MILLER: I am rocking an Aguilar bass rig with a SansAmp. It is huge.

PITTS: I have always played Mesa Boogie Dual and Triple Rectifiers, Randall Cabinets mixed with Mesa Boogie cabinets (4 x 12’s). ESP guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups and any badass pedals I can find.

ROCKET: Do you have any endorsements?

MILLER: Evan and I had endorsements with DevilDriver. We don’t have any at this point. We are literally building BELLUM from the ground up and starting from scratch. I was absolutely spoiled in DevilDriver. It feels good to have to do the grunt work again sometimes because it makes me appreciate what I have. The endorsements will come again in time.

PITTS: Miller and I had great support from our endorsements in DevilDriver. I would like to re-establish all musical endorsements for our brothers in Bellum. Alex wants to play DW drums. He currently plays on John Boecklin’s old dDrum kit.

ROCKET: Jonathann, now you left DevilDriver some years back to handle drug issues you were having. Would you mind sharing how you were able to get past that and get back to what you love doing which is play music on a pro level?



MILLER: It wasn’t so much a particular drug issue but more of a “lifestyle” issue that was out of control. We toured so much that I used alcohol to cope with everything. When the booze is free and the coolers are stocked on a daily basis, it can be difficult to pass up. I always had alcohol in my system and it got to the point where alcohol stopped working and I was just maintaining.

I drank alcoholically, ate alcoholically, indulged in everything from women to drugs. It was the cliché. I burned out being fucked up everyday. I started to detach from the rest of the band and lost my passion for writing music, touring and hanging out with the rest of the guys.

Given the circumstances, I spent the majority of my time with those dudes and we didn’t always get along. There were some elements in that camp that were poisonous and it was very cut throat. I didn’t enjoy their company anymore. Some people use cocaine, some use women, some work out at the gym, some find healthy hobbies like kiteboarding… I used alcohol. The thing is… is that no one knew I was drinking during the day or in the middle of the night.

When I told friends and family that I was going into recovery to get sober, they were baffled because they never saw me sneaking drinks or popping pills. It was just a very unhealthy way to live for so many years. I quit the band in 2011 and wrote a letter which was released to the press. Evan also quit DevilDriver on his own. Killing the party was the best decision I ever made. I just needed to stop and find myself again.

ROCKET: Do you still talk to Dez or any of the other DevilDriver guys? Were they supportive at all during your recovery?



MILLER: No. None of the guys were supportive except the band’s manager, Steve Davis and our front of house engineer, Leonard. They are compassionate guys and my love for them is great. The rest of the band wiped their hands of me. They did the same to Evan. I am ok with that though. It hurt at times, but I have played a part in hurting people’s feelings too. I am just trying to do the next right thing and practice kindness and tolerance.



PITTS: Yes. Some of them. I would really appreciate it if people that you gave your life and soul to would reciprocate the same with no expectation of reward in return. I will always thank myself for being the founding member of DevilDriver, seeking out Dez at a restaurant and finding the rest of the band on my own.

ROCKET: What was your favorite show you ever performed with DevilDriver?

MILLER: My favorite DevilDriver show was probably Santiago, Chile or some of the shows in Texas. Moscow was phenomenal. All of the Australian shows. London always. Paris, France with Behemoth. Too many!

PITTS: The last one I played when I was able to get away from the evil that was following and tormenting me… threatening me with black magic and trying to ruin my relationships and discredit my writing of the first album. FUCK YOU for discrediting me on the first album. That was my soul on a CD. You know who you are. You will go to HELL for what you did ( X’s 3). Love, Dragon!!!!

ROCKET: Would you guys ever consider going back to DevilDriver if they were to ask you to return in the future?

MILLER: It’s hard to say. I would do it if Evan did it. Evan wrote the entire first DevilDriver album.
PITTS: Considering the fact that I started DevilDriver, I would have to ask myself to return!!!!! And NO. I would not return to my former project. It’s unfortunate when evil follows the good.

ROCKET: Have you listened to the new DevilDriver music since you departed the lineup? Is so, what did you think?

MILLER: I will be honest. I listened to it a couple of times. It sounds great sonically. It just doesn’t have anything that special in my opinion. Boecklin’s drums are fucking sick. It was just kind of forgettable. There are moments that sound pretty cool but I think that DevilDriver had their time and now it’s over. Dez is going back to Coal Chamber I guess?

PITTS: I only listened to the songs that I could find Miller’s name on. It makes me sick to my stomach to listen to something that has no credibility or spiritual content in the lyrics. I have little respect for people that treated me with less respect or none. I really enjoyed listening to the drumming. It was remarkable.



ROCKET: So have you begun booking shows for BELLUM yet? Do you have a booking agent or manager yet?

MILLER: We are playing our first show on September 25th , 2014 at Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara, CA with GREEN JELLO.

PITTS: Yes, we are talking to several bands right now about going on a tour. US, maybe UK…..possibly Australia. Miller and I are so lucky to have contacts in the music industry for all of the hard work that we did.

ROCKET: How does the songwriting process for BELLUM work?

MILLER: All four of us write and it just happens. There is a special bond between the four members and it just happens. Everyone writes music and we all listen to each other and respect the next guy’s opinion or idea. It is refreshing. Andy Villasenor records all new music in BELLUMx studios. He is extremely talented at recording. He played in a band called Built On Decay with our drummer Alex Chantes out of Santa Barbara.

PITTS: First of all, we do not call this a songwriting process. At band practice our meditation is rewarded with vibrations of love and light, resulting in sonic devastation.

ROCKET: Will BELLUM cover DevilDriver out at shows?

MILLER: No.

PITTS: Fuck no. I play my own songs.

ROCKTE: What is your ultimate goal with BELLUM band now that you’ve got the ball rolling again?

MILLER: We want to tour. We want to inspire people. We want to make people happy.

PITTS: Andy, Alex, Jonathan and Dragon have declared BELLUM. It is a declaration of WAR in Latin. Get ready you fuckers!!!!!

ROCKET: Thanks for rocking this out with me, brother. Best of luck with your music. Any last words for the fans?

MILLER: The fans are where it’s at, dude. Thank you, Rocket!!!!

PITTS: We look forward to sharing our music with the universe. Please feel free to be a part of the Bellum Army and come hang out with us when come to your town. Thank you, Rocket. You’re the man and I appreciate your support.

https://www.facebook.com/Bellumsb

http://www.bellumx.com