Sevendust has gone through some rough times both financially and musically. The band has struggled with money and record label issues, according to drummer Morgan Rose. Sevendust considered it a relief when it finally completed its latest album, Next.
“I’m pretty amazed we actually pulled it off,” Rose said. “I mean, since we had no label, no funding and had been ripped off so bad for so long … we had to go to the bank and literally put our houses on the line with children at home and make that gamble.
“I remember,” he added, “signing my name on the first form for $100,000 and saying ‘Man I am responsible for a chunk of this money, and I don’t have it, so I hope someone likes this record.'”
The band also went through a difficult time when longtime band member Clint Lowery left to join Dark New Day. His departure left Sevendust with a big hole to fill. The band didn’t let it slow them down and they quickly moved on and created the music they wanted.
“Clint is a great song writer and he added an element to our band without a doubt, but we were a band before he was in it,” Rose said. “We knew that we could easily put a record together, so that wasn’t the issue. The issue was how much material we would be able to write and how much would we have to choose from.”
Lowery’s departure may have helped the band in the end, Rose said.
“[Lowery] tended to be kind of a stickler and would over analyze a lot and now we were able to let the songs breathe a little bit,” he said.
The band quickly replaced Lowery with longtime friend Sonny Mayo, and the band hasn’t looked back since.
“He’s the easiest guy in the world to deal with, so that makes it real simple,” Rose said. “We have known him since our first record, so we were able to build camaraderie.”
Sevendust has successfully battled through these hard times and are now back on tour doing what they love. The new tour kicked off on Jan. 18 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and the band will perform at the Electric Factory Jan. 28. Wicked Wisdom, a band headed by Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, will open for the group.
Wicked Wisdom has only been around for a short time, but the group has come far in its career, playing on the second stage of Ozzfest just last summer.
While it is strange to associate the wife of a hip-hop artist with heavy metal, Sevendust vouches for the group’s talent and authenticity.
“She’s a great girl and takes her stuff real serious,” Rose said. “I’m pretty impressed with the fact that she is able to have a family, have an acting career, and be able to put a band together, and write songs and tour. She has a chip on her shoulder with some of these lyrics, so it’s not like some innocent little thing; she really has something to say.”
It has been a long career for Sevendust ever since their arrival to the metal scene in 1997. They have never had mainstream coverage from MTV, and even to this day they’ve continued to remain relatively underground. The one thing that keeps them going are those loyal fans who come to each of their shows. This tour is not just more of the same but the best they have ever had, Rose said.
“[This tour is] better than any we have ever had. I don’t understand why people keep coming out like this. … I mean, the loyalty is just outrageous,” he said. “We are not getting any MTV at all, and these kids keep coming out.”
Rose said that the group’s stop at the Electric Factory this Saturday will satisfy any fan.
“We’re actually playing stuff off the first record and stuff that went off the other records that we haven’t played in years. It’s a pretty cool stage setup and it’s something we have never done,” he said. “The rest is going to have to be a surprise.”
Dan Cappello can be reached at dancaps@temple.edu.
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