Sevendust 2003

Lajon of Sevendust
photo by Angela Ransom Villand

If you’re looking forward to Sevendust hitting you with the kind of high-energy rock show that’s made them famous, you’re going to have to wait a few weeks. Before hitting the road with Staind later this fall, Sevendust will be through the area with a handful of acoustic shows. “It’s the quiet before the storm,” says front man Lajon Witherspoon.

Sevendust’s latest album, “Seasons,” emerges in the wake of three successful albums, but nothing that has dominated the charts or mainstream radio.  When the band chose Butch Walker , an artist and producer who is best known for his pop rock work, to produce the album, many speculated that it was an attempt to gain a cross genre appeal.  Witherspoon takes offense to the suggestion. “We worked with Butch because he’s coming from where we’re coming from,” Witherspoon says. “We’ve known Butch since the beginning of our career.”

Interestingly, Walker played a significant part in Sevendust’s early career, providing insight both with writing and with the production of the band’s first demos.  Working with Walker at this point in their career and recording the album in their home town of Atlanta allowed the band to come full circle in a sense, drawing on their past while dealing with the immense growth they have experienced both as musicians and as people.

“Seasons” is a reflective and personal album, drawing inspiration from a transformation “from kids to men,” as Witherspoon puts it.  Growth, loss, family, and sobriety are all issues that the band has experienced as of late, and the album serves as a vehicle to realize and speak to these changes.

The upcoming acoustic tour will feature a listening party prior to the show followed by an opportunity to ask the band questions after hearing the album. At each show, one fan will be chosen based on the question asked to sit on stage for the band’s performance.

While the format is a bit out of the ordinary, Witherspoon isn’t at all apprehensive about the tour.  On the contrary, he believes that fans will appreciate and embrace the diversity and musical range Sevendust has achieved.  “A lot of bands are not able to go out and do an acoustic set and then turn around and whip ass on everybody,” Witherspoon says. “We like to do it all, and if we have the means to, then we’re going to.”

Sevendust will be at The Rave in Milwaukee on September 8.  After the acoustic tour wraps later this month, the band will support Staind on a national tour.

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