Lajon Witherspoon, who routinely whips crowds of thousands upon thousands into a head-banging frenzy as the frontman of hard rock band Sevendust, is showing us baby pictures.
The lead vocalist can't contain his pride over little Lajon Kingston Witherspoon, born on Dec. 17, and his beloved wife, with whom he celebrated a 12th anniversary on the day that we spoke.
Such is the life of a rock star family man, even one at the heart of a perennially successful metal group with a legion of adoring fans and millions of record sales to its credit.
"Before, when you sent us out there, we were young, single men on a tour bus without a care in the world," Witherspoon shares with Headlines & Global News during an interview at the Manhattan office of Sevendust's publicist. "Now it's not that at all. Now, it's we just rocked in front of 50,000 people, and it's 'What did you say, honey? What happened? I need to do what?' Reality. Definitely life has changed, man."
But that reality has not at all weakened the ties that bind the members of Sevendust, which in addition to Witherspoon are Clint Lowery (guitar, vocals) Morgan Rose (drums, vocals), John Connolly (guitar, vocals) and Vince Hornsby (bass). In fact, in some ways, it seems to have strengthened them.
"We're brothers," says the singer. "We love each other, we get mad at each other, and this guy can be a douchebag one day, but at the end of the day, we've grown up together. It's a true testament to when we were little, and I said, 'What would it be like if we all kept doing this and we had kids and wives and they would be at our show and be on the tour bus?' And that stuff is happening. It's amazing.
"I don't know how we've done it so long. There are bands that hate each other, and we've never been to the point where we hate each other. I look forward to seeing my guys. It's been crazy that we've been together that long and we still get along and hang out. Clint and his family are actually coming to my house to stay soon."
The Atlanta-based hard rockers are not only celebrating their 20th anniversary but also their first Grammy nomination, which comes in the Best Metal Performance category for "Thank You," the lead single from Sevendust's latest album, 2015's "Kill The Flaw."
The Grammy nod is a major milestone for Sevendust but in no way the band's first brush with big-time success. The band kicked off its career with three gold albums - a self-titled affair, "Home" and "Animosity" - and has maintained its high profile in a changing musical climate right up through 2014's acoustic album "Time Travelers & Bonfires" and last October's "Kill The Flaw."
After the Grammys on Monday, Feb. 15, the band will take a quick breather before a string of March dates in Australia and New Zealand before headlining a U.S. tour which kicks off in April that will feature support from Trivium and Like A Storm. Sevendust will also perform at some massive rock festivals like Rock On The Range and Welcome To Rockville.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Witherspoon chatted with us about the Grammys and performing in a literal warzone and took us backstage for a peak at Sevendust's pre-concert rituals.
What was your reaction to the news that Sevendust was nominated for a Grammy?
Couldn't believe it. I felt like, for me, it's a testimony to all the hard work, and to have that group recognize it, it's a big deal. A lot of people say it's not a big deal, and politically I understand the different reasons they have problems, but for me, for my band, it's amazing, and I think it's just putting another spark inside of us that makes us want to work even harder now.
You're going up against Lamb Of God, Slipknot, Ghost and August Burns Red. If you were a betting man, who would you put your money on?
I don't know. If you asked me personally what song sounds the best, ours! (laughs) I don't know what's going to happen, Slipknot's been nominated, they have several different nominations, and they've been in this category for a long time. I don't really know how it works. Who knows what's going to happen, man. I would think Slipknot or somebody like that would win it for how long they've been involved with the Grammys, but I would love to see Sevendust take the Grammy home. It would mean the world. A buddy of mine said if we do win it he's building me a case for the Grammy, and I said, "Build it big enough so I can sit inside it." (laughs).
As your career continues and you record more music, does it become harder not to repeat yourselves?
I think it's easier now because we've been doing it for so long. We kind of have a method, a way that we like to work together, so it tends to be easy for us. Especially "Kill The Flaw" was easy because I think we took so much time off and we were so excited about going in. But normally with Sevendust, it kind of happens, because I'm lucky to have not only be the singer in the band, but the other guys can sing; Clint Lowery can sing, who I call my Daryl Hall - no, I'm Daryl Hall, even though I'm short, I would rather be Daryl - that's my writing partner, man, we mesh great together.
How would you describe a Sevendust concert to someone who hasn't been to one?
I'd say a magical experience, because we try to get down. It's personal. I don't feel like we have fans, I feel like we have family, so it's not a concert, it's a family reunion, I always say that. So it's cool. It's a damn good show, and if you want to come see a good rock 'n' roll band with a little bit of metal, come see Sevendust.
How was the experience of recording the acoustic album and the ensuing tour?
It was great. So it wasn't like a normal "let's sit around the bonfire and be bored with some marshmallows"; it was a f----n' rock show. The crowd had a pit going, so we kind of brought that kind of acoustic element, but we brought it Sevendust style. We even had a keyboard player on tour with us and played these beautiful interludes and stuff, so it made for a great show. But I loved it, and I can't wait to do that in the future again.
Twenty years is a very long time in the music business, and a lot has happened in the industry since you started in 1996...
And I've seen bands come and go, and it's amazing that it's still here...
What are some of the challenges you faced as a band as the industry changed?
If there's any advice I could give to kids out there, anyone, is to be a businessman or businesswoman in the music business. It took us a minute to get to that point because the only thing we cared about was our music and getting out there. We didn't care about the manager that was stealing money from us and kept us on the road for six months, and at the end of the tour you get a T-shirt, and you're still happy because you get ready to go out again.
At the end of the day, once we got the right people in our hands, it's flowing the right way, due to us. I think we were destined to do this, and I would be a fool to mess it up.
You said earlier that you've seen bands come and go. But Sevendust is still here, and still very successful. Why?
I think we keep it real. We have a passion about it, and I think the people see that. They get it, and they want to be around that. We've never become those "rock" rock stars. Take everything with a grain of salt. I believe the same people you see coming up you see coming down, so I don't take it for granted, and I think people realize we don't take it for granted. We've been the same dudes. We might not hang out as much as we did back then, but we're still going to hang out, you know what I mean? We're not spring chickens anymore. But I think people know we're accessible; "What's up? How's it going? We're hanging out, let's have a beer." If I wasn't in the band I'd still want to be hanging out getting to know some people that are cool.
Looking back on the 20 years of Sevendust, what are some of the high points for you?
Woodstock '99. Going to Afghanistan, Iraq, Mosul for the troops, was a very incredible feeling. Scary and at the same time amazing to look at a kid that might have been at the House of Blues in Chicago the year before at 17 years old and then sitting there with a gun in Mosul, and he might not come back. I think it just put everything in more perspective and you realize...I couldn't believe that music made them feel so happy and that little piece of what we did made them feel at home. It was amazing for me to see the reaction that we got from those guys, like, "Oh my God, what are you doing here?"
We had to get Blackhawked into Mosul. A Blackhawk (helicopter) took us over, and you know it's kind of shady when a guy gets in and I got to sit by the gun and he puts the helmet on and the gun moves with him so he can shoot - I never saw anything like that before. We get there, and there's a military tank thing that picks us up, a Humvee, and we get in, and there's a gun up here like this (points), and as we're in there, the medic is with us, and they're all fully dressed, bulletproof. And we're driving through, and this place has been blown to smithereens, and we're going to a hub, the Diablos, 300 soldiers we're getting ready to perform for, and I'm like, "Wow, we've got so much security," and they said, "Yeah, these guys are supposed to be our allies but a couple of guys got picked off." What are we doing here! So you keep thinking about that. Imagine a building that's been blown up and that's where they live. It was just a culture shock. To be there was amazing.
On the other side of the coin, what were some of the low points or rough patches in the band's history?
A low point was when Clint left the band for his personal reasons, and he's sober for nine years now, which is incredible. That to me, even though we kept going, it was like the brother leaving home. And you saw him doing other things even though we were doing things, that was bad. But when he came back, it was great. Thank the Lord, (guitarist) Sonny Mayo came and helped us, and it was beautiful, he's our brother and everything, but the seed that started it was us, and that's what needed to continue to bloom.
What do you do to take care of your voice?
Smoke a joint, drink a lot of water and get rest. That's about it. I don't do the tea and all that stuff. The only time I ever do tea is like, that is a dire straits situation, that is a last resort, because I think it's a lot in your mind.
What about pre-show rituals?
I'm the DJ, so it goes from country to hip-hop, to metal, it's ridiculous. And something we've done every night since we've been together as a band is we pray before we go on stage. We get in a circle, and if you're in the room, you're going to get pulled into the prayer, we're at least going to ask you. That's a ritual. John will play his guitar, Clint might play his guitar, I'll do my little vocal warmups, and that's it. It's a cool startup. We call it trolley time, because I was in Florida many, many years ago, and every hour, the trolley would run, so an hour before a show is trolley time (laughs).
What are some bands or artists you keep revisiting as a listener?
Sam Cooke. I collect his stuff, by the way. I have Sam Cooke memorabilia. Prince, Thin Lizzy, those are my go-tos. Stevie Wonder is a go-to, I love old Black Sabbath. I just listen to it all, man. Anything with conviction, I'm down with. And then I got a 7-year-old that's into everything, so I know Miley Cyrus, and Sunday I think I'll be going to Sesame Street on Ice (laughs).
What bands do you consider to be peers or kindred spirits of Sevendust?
Staind, we came up with Creed, that was a big time in our lives, we toured with those guys, that was incredible. Alter Bridge would be somebody. I wish we could tour with Tool or Puscifer. The Deftones, Clutch, bands like that. We toured with all those guys.
When did you realize this was what you wanted to do for a living?
When I was a kid. When I saw my dad's band, Southern Production, and they did an album, but when I went to rehearsals and I got to see the instruments, and everything is so much bigger because you're a kid, but still today, the instruments, the amps, they still give me that feeling, the energy, the smell, that's what got me into it. And I knew something was weird when I was excited about going to church on Sundays, because I couldn't wait to sing in the choir because I either got to wear the red robe or the white one with the gold. I felt like I was puttin' on my gear, and to this day I still have that feeling. I think it all has to do with growing up as a kid I felt I would do this. I didn't know I'd be doing it at 43 still.
For Sevendust tour dates and more info, vist the band's official website.
