Interview w/ John from Seether
I recently was given the oppurtunity to interview John, from the rock group Seether while on tour getting ready to head up to Canada. He called around 3 P.M. EST and was a great interview. Here is how everything went down.
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Hey John, how are you doing today? Good, man, how are you? I’m great, this is James with GetInMagazine, just have a couple questions for ya, I know you guys are on tour right now doing some headlining stuff, where are you guys at right now, Illinois right? Yea that’s right You actually got a show tonight right? Yea, yea, we had the day off yesterday, rolled in about 3 o’clock, we had a long drive from South Carolina. It was about 14 hours, and we got here late yesterday afternoon, had the day off, and we have a show tonight. Great, any snow up there? Not yet, it’s cooled down quite a bit, even in South Carolina, we were in Myrtle Beach man, there was like a front that rolled in, it was freezing there, right there on the ocean, I didn’t know it got that cold man. Oh yea definitely The temperature is going down; it’s getting to be Christmas time. |
I see it, I see it coming. I know your guys’ album was released on the 23rd (October), have you noticed a big response on like your MySpace and stuff like that from your fans.
Oh sure, yea. I mean from MySpace, just, you know the reaction, initially, its first week, it debuted at number nine. You know we were really nervous, we had been away from live performance for over a year, and you know haven’t released a new album, well “One Cold Night” came out in the fall of ’06, but really a proper release hasn’t been since “Karma and Effect” in 2005, so, we got a chance to do this sort of warm up tour I call it, you know supporting Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, which started in August which was kind of a great precursor for the launch of the CD, the new album, and I think that helps a lot, and yea, we have been real pleased with it’s reception you know?
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Now anything different from this album, verses the past ones that really stand out in your mind? Well we’re a trio, which is how the band originally was, going back to “Disclaimer,” just Shaun, Dale, and Myself. Pat Callahan left in June of 2006, and you know it was one less guitar player, his talents were mush missed, and then one less opinion as well. I think the three of us we’re very much on the same page, as far as goals for this album, and you know it was real easy when picking the songs, and we were all just kind of gelling, and really working well together, and I think just the 3 of us, you can tell it’s kind of a trio, and the Nucleus of Seether. Now with it being just the three of you, and you guys really picking and choosing what it is your going to go forward with, would you say it’s more vocals or music that determines the way that you guys go? I think it’s both, I think it’s really just the overall song. Shaun wrote close to sixty songs, and had narrowed it down with the label, and management, and ourselves. It’s always politics sometimes involved, you have to have those songs that will be the designated singles, then you’ve got a few songs you’re allowed more artistic freedom, to kind of open up and do what you like to do. And a song like “Eyes of the Devil” was a song that Shaun hadn’t completely written, in fact it was just a riff, and it was just us playing together as a band, kind of a jam if you will, that evolved into a song, which had never happened before. Usually the songs were pretty finished, and Shaun would present me and Dale with a demo, and we would just recreate the demo. So there was a lot of spontaneity on this CD, and I think that was a big change from the previous. |
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Do you think it was a benefit?
Absolutely, I’m real proud of this album, the songs, and the feedbacks been great, but more importantly we’re all proud of it, and you know, that’s all I can do. Unfortunate, what greater business can you put your heart and soul into something, and then have it critiqued by everybody, but we feel really good about it, and hopefully in the end, it will reflect as well.
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Now being over here, versus obviously South Africa, you know, do you think you get more of your influence from not being home anymore, or do you think it started there, or what do you think? Well I’m personally, I’m the American of the group, Shaun and Dale of course are from South Africa, and oddly enough, we were raised on opposite sides of the globe, but we have more in common, then I do with some of the friends I grew up with back home. I mean for me, speaking for myself, obviously my influences came from the American rock bands, the early grunge area stuff especially, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, and I think those influences were there, and we have that in common. But then again, not to sound cliché, but music is universal, and I think we have a lot in common as far as the bands we like, and the music, and those kind of fun tunes we will sound check to, songs that you may not expect, maybe a Nirvana cover, or Crash Test Dummies or something you know, songs that we had in common, even though we didn’t grow up you know, in the same country. |
Now have you actually gotten to go to South Africa?
Yes, I have been twice. The first time, I joined, I’ve been with the band 4 years, I joined in November of 2003, and New Years eve 2003/2004 we were in South Africa for a week to do a series of club shows over there, which was kind of there first real big coming back homecoming, which was crazy. Then we were back in January of ‘06, doing these huge stadiums man, over there with Club De Soul, Metallica, and a few other bands, and us supporting Club De Soul and Metallica, and that was just incredible.
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Now being able to go from one country to another, and do the global tours and stuff like that, what city would you think, you know, is your favorite, that’s where you want to be? Oh man, that’s hard, the Astoria in London is an awesome gig you know, as well as the Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan. I mean it’s really hard to say, big venues are cool, and small ones are great to, and the Mid-West of the United States is always great for us, Cleveland, Ohio, Columbus, Dayton, Pittsburgh, you know, Michigan region is just awesome, Texas is great, you know, Australia was a wonderful time, and a stadium in South Africa in Johannesburg with Metallica is incredible to. It’s really hard to say man, we’re just very fortunate we get to tour the world and bring our music to people you know. You guys are getting ready to go to Canada next right? That’s right; we will be supporting Three Days Grace in January. |
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And have you guys been to Canada before, or is this your first time?
Oh sure, yea yea, we have been there several times, and in fact we just got word that “Fake It” was number one up there, which is a first for us. You know it’s great, and achieving even more goals, in Canada that we haven’t set before. This will be a great tour for us, obviously Three Days Grace is from there, and to play in front of their audience, which I feel, there audience and ours are very similar, and I think it was a great tour over here with us in the states, and I think will be, hopefully knock on wood, just as successful in Canada.
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Now, with going on back to back tours, and stuff like that, is there something that you guys feel as a band, have to have with you while your driving on these long trips and stuff like that, anything in particular you have to take? That we have to have, mandatory right now, it’s Guitar Hero 3, we’ve got the X-box 360 kicking, we love that, and you know various movies, DVD’s, there’s a great movie right now I’m hooked on, that didn’t do really big, it’s "Idiocracy", it was a Mike Judge film, and that’s the big hit of the bus right now. But Will Farrell Movies, and like I said, right now is Guitar Hero, a little entertainment to help pass the time you know? Well you have to do something, you guys pulling any pranks on each other this tour, with the other bands? Uh, actually not to crazy, we had an awesome Halloween, everybody participated, and we all got dressed up. I can’t say too much, you had to be there to see us. Somebody was a porno star turn a professional ice skater, we had a dirty old man, and I think Elvis came back from the dead that night, so it was a pretty awesome show. |
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Anything particular, that any fan has done, just outlandishly, out of the ordinary to meet you guys? Uh, this fan of ours, a couple, 2 or 3 years ago, gave us a quote end quote Christmas cassette of Christmas songs, and it was her band, and basically I think it was her and her sister banging on drums and playing guitar, screaming into this tape machine, I didn’t hear any discernable music or carols whatsoever, it was kind of weird in fact. She’s a sweet girl but, huh, probably music isn’t going to be her trade. Well that’s why we’ve got you guys. One real quick last thing, anything you want to let the fans know, any message you want to get out before I let you go? Um man, just come out and see the show. We’re having a great time, the shows have been great, were on top of our game, and um, you know come out and see us live, the best way to experience Seether I think is live. |
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To visit Seether's MySpace page click here
By. James Wharton
