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No Animosity for Sevendust
By Rex Rutkoski

Sevendust’s bus rolls to a stop at the Canadian border, delivering the band another positive sign that rock’n’roll life is good again.

The customs official is in a good mood as he boards the vehicle and asks, tongue-in-cheek, "Are you bringing back anything from Canada besides drugs?" Laughter fills the aisles.

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Just as quickly, it seems, he exits wishing the musicians a good day ahead.
That forecast appears to be both literal and figurative for the hard rocking quintet, which already has sold nearly two million albums since debuting in 1997, as it embraces a new day of its career.

So why shouldn’t they take drawing a cool customs officer as still one more omen that the best is yet to be?
After all, it got a little ugly there for a while when they returned from an eternity on tour and found that after all their hard work, all their endless nights taking their music to the people, they were nearly broke.
A divorce of their old management ensued, replaced by a fresh team and attitude.

"We couldn’t wait to get back there (playing shows)," lead singer Lajon Witherspoon says, easing into his seat again as the bus returns the group back to the United States following a weekend video shoot north of the border. There’s the Letterman show to do, and another program and then it’s on to the next town, the next show, on to the world. And that’s the way Sevendust wants it to be – on their terms.

There’s a new sense of purpose.
"The magic is back. It’s exciting again. It’s great. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else," says Witherspoon. "I still think we have a whole lot to do. I feel like so many people haven’t heard Sevendust.
"What more can you ask for? We’re on our third album. We’re still together and happy and we feel blessed."
Their latest CD, Animosity , is both a statement on where they have been and perhaps where they are going.

"We’re a real bunch of brothers that enjoy doing music and there’s never been a rock star attitude," says Witherspoon. "It’s a pleasure to be in this band."

"Real" is an important word to Witherspoon, "We’re a real band. We don’t try to do anything that is not for real."

That the road has been so far for the Atlanta band, which has played Woodstock, Ozzfest and the Vans Warped tour; toured and befriended Creed (they are now managed by Creed’s management firm); and built a reputation as true road warriors, playing more than 800 shows in less than four years.

"We think the band has grown each time," says Witherspoon. "Just think about how much you learn in a year."

Touring so intensively was the only way to build the band’s name he says. "MTV and other outlets like that weren’t accessible to us back then. The way to see Sevendust was to come to a show and get your ass kicked by a hard working band."

They had little time to make the second album Home .

"With Animosity we were able to go home, take time out to write and learn the songs and be happy with them. We went in with a whole new attitude. We weren’t stressed out. There was no deadline where we had to go on tour tomorrow."

There was with Home .

"You have your whole life to write your first album and two or three months to write a second one," Witherspoon says. "We needed to stay fresh in people’s eyes, trying to keep that momentum going as far as the industry was concerned. We were rushed. We went right onto the Warped tour and never got off the road."

The relaxed approach to Animosity has resulted in what Witherspoon believes is the best album in Sevendust’s career. "Sonically and musically we wanted to go as far as we could and we definitely did," he says. "Even right now new music already is being written. There’s so much more."
The creative process for the band is open ended.

"We’d be crazy if everything came from only one person’s point of view when we are all grown men and all have thoughts and feelings," he reasons. "If they are good, if it’s a song from your heart, they go down."

"Damaged," on Animosity , for example, is a song about a friend of guitarist John Connolly’s. "It was something he needed to get out," Witherspoon says. "That’s our therapy. We go out on stage and pour our hearts out and it takes us back to those places and times in the songs. Animosity is like a great therapy lesson."

The group hired Ben Grosse (whose credits include Fuel and Filter) to produce the CD. "We loved working with him. He became like a sixth member of the band," Witherspoon says. "The vibe was just there. He wanted to make us sonically the best we ever sounded and capture us like we’ve never ever been able to do that."

Witherspoon says some people may not agree, but he believes this is the band’s heaviest album. "You can’t paint the same picture over and over again. Animosity is a beautiful painting as far as the melodic and heavy. We didn’t want to worry about trying to be the heaviest band in the world any more."

He thinks that some people expect Sevendust to be just that. "We never wanted to be that way, because it’s about music. I love metal, but it’s not all about just metal. It’s about music and songs and rock’n’roll and R&B and all the things we learned. There are a lot of sides to Sevendust."

The singer says while he does not know where the music industry is right now, he feels Sevendust has a place in it.

"We definitely are not ignored. I just know we have a certain space with a whole bunch of friends across the world. I don’t want to say fans," he says. "We have a relationship with a lot of people whether they want to realize it or not. If you bought our third album you kind of know us in a sense, and we kind of know you. It’s cool to go back to the same towns and to see these kids, who have now grown up, are still there with you. It’s a beautiful thing to see. We really have a relationship. We know each other."

Want to Go? Sevendust, Tuesday, April 15, The Boathouse.