Ray Luzier has got the life.

The West Newton native went from farm boy to stick man for heavy metal marvels Korn.

“Korn is not a band you just join, you really got to get inside it,” Luzier said hours before taking the stage at the West Virginia University Coliseum last week. “It's a very passionate, very emotional band.”

Luzier began developing his passion for the drums at age 5 while growing up on a 118-acre farm.

He said his family would play lots of music from Chuck Berry, Elvis and the Beatles and he would tap on cassettes and pots and pans.

Luzier found a love for rock music, and would listen to ACDC, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Rush and other bands obsessively.

“I'd just engulf myself completely and just sit there and soak it in and stare at the needle on the record for hours,” he said. “When you live on 118 acres, there's nothing much to do. There's farm work, but I had such bad allergies that my eyes would swell up and I couldn't breathe. I had a slight case of asthma and my mom would say, ‘Go to your room,' and my drums were in my room. I would sit there all day and just play ... I just played to records by ear and by memory.”

Luzier began to fine tune his craft by playing in the Yough High School jazz and concert bands, and was lead snare in the marching band. He graduated in 1988 and moved to California to study at the prestigious Musicians Institute after talking with a friend, a guitar player from Mt. Pleasant, about pursuing his dream.

The West Newton musician also said his family was very supportive.

In 1989, Luzier graduated from MI's Percussion Institute of Technology and later returned as an instructor at MI from 1992-2001, where he taught rock-style drumming classes and private lessons.

Luzier said it was Ralph Humphrey, pit department head of the Percussion Institute of Technology, who allowed him to develop a rock curriculum and teach courses.

Luzier is probably best known for his work with legendary performer David Lee Roth from 1997-2005.

“He's one of the best frontmen out there, hands down,” Luzier said. “I've played the Van Halen records and I had the poster of Dave hanging in my room when I was 12... I'd never thought I'd meet that guy, let alone be in his band.”

Luzier credits the time with Roth as when he learned what performing and touring is all about.

“From the first person to the last person in peanut heaven, he had those people on their toes and attentive,” Luzier said. “I always called it the ‘School of Roth' because it was like learning. It was learning about being an entertainer, not just being a musician. You're on stage, give them a show. You're in the studio, play from the heart. Dave really taught me a lot.”

Luzier also played with The Hideous Sun Demons, released an instructional DVD, and formed Army of Anyone after appearing at the NAMM convention in California with Billy Sheehan and Toshi Hiketa.

Army of Anyone featured Filter vocalist Richard Patrick and the DeLeo brothers, Robert and Dean, from Stone Temple Pilots, and was managed by the same company as Korn, The Firm. Luzier also played with Tracy G.

In 2007, drummer Joey Jordinson was leaving Korn because his band Slipknot was preparing for a new studio album. Jordinson was one of many drummers Korn used to try to replace the sticks of its original drummer David Silveria.

Luzier auditioned for Korn in Seattle, and impressed the group by immaculately drumming Led Zeppelin tunes.

Luzier said it was an intense transition to Korn from Roth and Army of Anyone.

Luzier played with Korn for the first time on Jan. 13, 2008. He was later officially named to the band, and is on Korn's latest release “Korn III: Remember Who You Are.”

“We went back to the original producer Ross Robinson to try and get that old school sound back,” Luzier said about the album. “No click tracks. No machines involved. We kind of went in four guys in a room, jam, and see what we came up with. It was pretty cool.”

Luzier said the band hopes to be back in the studio in the fall to work on a new album after the tour.

“We're always working on stuff,” he said. “It's pretty much a neverending process. We have festivals booked in Europe already. This tour goes into Canada, so we just keep going.”

Luzier has a message for those hitting drum kits and strumming guitar licks for the first time.

“Be a lawyer,” he said with a laugh. “It's a hard business. Your heart has got to be completely 110 percent wrapped around it to do something like this. You got to be completely dedicated, devoted to your craft. If you're not willing to get inside and sacrifice family and all that, I'd say do something else. There's a lot of elements that go into it.

“If you're really focused and determined and not going to take no for an answer then it's definitely something to get into. These days the music business is in such a weird rut that it's a hard thing.”

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