Gig

Lajon Witherspoon - Sevendust (Audio Interview) + Gig Review 17th March @ Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Mar 17, 2016

7 min read

There's so much that can be said about a band who have been together for 22 years making incredibly addictive music, but we've only got a short amount of space so we're going to condense all we can in the next few paragraphs. Atlanta heavy metal band Sevendust first burst onto the scene in the early 90's and from there they've been pushing themselves and building up their fanbase family of followers in the process and judging by their performance tonight, it's easy to see why the fans keep coming back.

Their impressive talent runs though every member of the band, there isn't one who slacks off while the others have to work hard to make up for their inability to perform and thats what works so well with this five piece consisting of lead guitarist Clint Lowery, John Connolly on rhythm guitar, bassist Vince Hornsby the maniac Morgan Rose on drums and the soothingly heavy (but addictively enticing) vocals of the man Lajon Witherspoon who took some time out from their show to have a chat to us backstage in Brisbane.

A quiet, yet fascinatingly humble bloke who was not only easy to have a chin wag with, but very open to discussing moments in his life which have affected his song writing and performing. We were exposed to an authentic experience tonight when Lajon broke down twice during the show, mid-song, after explaining to us all how certain songs related to friends and family of the band who were no longer with them. His dedication of the track Angel's Son to his father (which was originally written as a tribute to the band's close friend, Lynn Strait of Californian rock act Snot, who died in a car accident in 1998) spoke in volumes to the crowd who saw the suffering in this man's eyes and all we wanted to do was jump on stage and give this guy a huge hug.

The tears fell once again during the song Shine (which was revealed to be a dedication to his late younger brother) and the raw emotion that went into this performance by the whole band was absolutely astounding, words cannot explain the experience which left almost everyone in the room speechless and tearing up.

But it's those experiences which musicians share with their fans that really prove they're human and at times, more relatable than your best mate. It also gives us a look at the pain and emotions they go though when creating these albums which we grow to love and cherish for years to come. And it's no surprise their work was so well received in the States they actually picked themselves up a Grammy Nomination for their song "Thank You" in the Best Metal Performance alongside August Burns Red, Slipknot, Lamb Of God and the winners of the category GHOST. An achievement that'll be celebrated for years to come from all 5 members of the band who still haven't had the chance to come down from their night of accomplishment.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qt3QbEzq7Q&w=640&h=360]

It may have taken Sevendust 6 years to make it back to our shores but they've assured us it won't be that long before they make their return down under according to Lajon:

"Never again will it ever take us that long to get back again, we finally have the right people in our organisation and it's exciting."

"I would like to try to make it at least every 8 to 9 months to get back. We'll definitely not wait 6 years!"

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Sevendust - 17th March @ Eatons Hill, Brisbane[/caption]

We can only hope he sticks to his word because one concert certainly wasn't enough to feed the fuel waiting inside fans who have been dying to see this band in Australia for far too many years. There's still a couple shows left, both unfortunately sold out, but you might be lucky if you hit Lajon (check out our interview to find out how).