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Guitarist Mike Spreitzer<\/strong> quit DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong> after 20 years earlier last week.<\/p>\n Spreitzer<\/strong> cited DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong> not feeling like a full time job for the past 10 years as the main reason, later noting that he never intended his side project Verona On Venus<\/a><\/strong> to become his main gig. On his side project, Spreitzer<\/strong> said “the mere creation of my side project was met with a heavy amount of negativity from a specific individual that made things extremely uncomfortable for me.”<\/p>\n Now in an interview with Scott Penfold<\/strong> of Loaded Radio<\/em>, Spreitzer<\/strong> revealed the “specific individual” was DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong> vocalist Dez Fafara<\/strong>. Spreitzer<\/strong> also mentioned that he was cool with Fafara<\/strong> reforming Coal Chamber<\/a><\/strong> twice while he was in the band, and isn’t sure why a side project would be a big deal.<\/p>\n “Unfortunately, yes. I really hoped it wouldn’t be a problem, and I have a lot of friends that get a lot of support from the bands that they’re in, who they would consider their boss. Like Nita<\/strong> [Strauss<\/strong>] and Alice Cooper<\/strong>; Ozzy<\/strong> has always been cool with Zakk Wylde<\/strong> doing Black Label Society<\/a><\/strong> and Zakk Sabbath<\/a><\/strong>. Cesar<\/strong> [Soto<\/strong>] from Ministry<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 I remember when he first released Man The Mute<\/strong> record that he did, I bumped into Al Jourgensen<\/strong> at an art show once and he just couldn’t stop talking about how proud he was of Cesar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “Monte Pittman<\/strong>, he’s in Ministry<\/a><\/strong>, and Madonna<\/strong> seems to be just fine with him doing that. And even Zakk Wylde<\/strong> with his drummer Jeff Fabb<\/strong>; [Jeff<\/strong>] just released a record on his own. And so I really didn’t see it being a problem. I never intended to make Verona<\/a><\/strong> a priority over DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong>. I had a lot of time during the pandemic, and I just wanted to keep on writing, so I did.”<\/p>\n He continued: “Yeah, unfortunately, it is, because I really gave him my blessing, when Coal Chamber<\/a><\/strong> started doing \u2014 even when they were at their first reunion. And at their first reunion, quite honestly, I needed the break at the time. Unfortunately, I think that was a big reason which led to John Boecklin<\/strong> and Jeff Kendrick<\/strong> leaving the band [in 2014], because DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong> went on hiatus and it was not in their best interest at the time to stick around.”<\/p>\n Spreitzer<\/strong> also said he hasn’t spoken to Fafara<\/strong> about quitting DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong>, saying: “Honestly, I haven’t spoken to Dez<\/strong> about it. No, I haven’t. I’ve seen how things have went when other members have left the band, and I honestly felt like this was the best way to do it.<\/p>\n “I don’t really wanna get into it much more than that because of obvious reasons, but all the other guys understood where I was coming from,” Spreitzer<\/strong> continued. “And I wanna work more, and as of now, unless someone comes knocking on my door that wants me to join a band, which, depending on the band, I would definitely take into consideration, but right now I just wanna go full throttle with my new project Verona On Venus<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n “I’m excited to do things my own way and mix things up. Obviously, Verona<\/a><\/strong> sounds a lot different than DevilDriver<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 it’s a completely different style of music \u2014 and it’s time for something new for me. It’s been 20 years, and it’s been a lot of fun, but sometimes people just feel like moving on, and that’s how I feel right now.”<\/p>\n \n