Its name may be derived from a popular insecticide, but when it comes to the actual band and its ability to survive in an industry with an antiquated business model decimated by technology, Atlanta, Georgia’s Sevendust exhibits an almost cockroach-like resilience.
On the heels of the band’s eighth studio opus, Cold Day Memory, and just days before a play in Fitchburg, Mass., the Crawler caught up with the durable rockers’ guitarist, Clint Lowery, to talk lasting power, lyrics and… believe it or not… lido decks. Here’s some of what went down.
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Nightcrawler: So here we are, a decade and a half later, with Sevendust. You’ve somehow managed never to have the megahit—or fall off the radar—in all this time. To what do you attribute this prolonged existence and ability to do what you love for a living when many others have fallen by the wayside?
Lowery: We write songs, and when you do that, you can last. But I guess the main factor is the fan base. We always try to not only cater to the diehards, but include them in the process.
Speaking of inclusion, I noticed all five of you wrote lyrics on Cold Day. What was that process like?
It wasn’t ever a thing where we do the Metallica and everyone has a sheet of paper. But everyone in the band has a voice as far as direction, and there’s always one person who eventually takes the lead.
And what’s this—Sevendust on the high seas? I see you guys are involved in ShipRocked, a cruise with rock performances and meet-and-greets?
Yeah, I’m not sure how that came about and we’ve never done one before, but it seems cool, so we’ll see. Just want to be careful not to turn into the Wayne Newton of metal, you know?
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No fear of that, Clint. For those interested, ShipRocked shoves off from Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 11, and sets a course for the Bahamas while the likes of Lowery, Vince Neil, Cinderella and Tesla keep the crew entertained. For tickets and more information, kindly point your browser to getshiprocked.com.
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In other news, Nick Loss-Eaton and his Leland Sundries make the trek from their homebase of Brooklyn, N.Y. to Belchertown’s Black Moon Cafe on Oct 14 armed with their debut studio effort, The Apothecary, and a vast array of instrumentation.
“Resonator guitar, accordion, harmonica, telecaster, slide guitar and banjo—if it’s on the disc, I’ll be bringing it,” Loss-Eaton declares.
The Boston Phoenix declared Leland Sundries “The Band meets Lou Reed.” For more info on the local play, check out their Myspace at .com/lelandsundries.
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Last up, the Crawler was tickled to find a ghost of his radio past on the other end of the mic during his weekly 100.9 WRNX appearance. With regular co-host Diane Vozella on vacation, morning man Steve Cantara tapped his longtime sideman Christopher “Quinn” Laursen to sit in from Oct. 4 to 8. And it was the team of Quinn and Cantara that first featured The Nightcrawler report on a regular basis back at Lazer 99.3 FM just under a decade ago.”I feel like all those dating shows—I should just let you two exchange roses or something,” Cantara quipped of the on-air reunion.
Off-mic, Laursen revealed that, since leaving the airwaves in New Hampshire, he did some radio in Denver, then settled into a new business venture in Oceanside, Calif. “It’s a small marketing firm called in8investor, which also deals with the stock market,” he explained. “It’s going well, but I am dying to get back to the East Coast, and considering the stock market opens at 9:30 Eastern Standard—6:30 my time—it really makes all the sense in the world for me to come back.”
To keep tabs on any and all things Quinn, visit his website at quinnradio.com.
Catch the Nightcrawler every Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. on the Steve Cantara Radio Show, WRNX 100.9 FM. Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 0071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.
