By Therese McKeon

On a recent warm up tour for "Animosity", I had the pleasure of checking out two amazing live shows featuring Stereomud, Drowning Pool, and Sevendust. Not only did the show experience rock but I was also treated to a walking tour of the band's house at Bearsville Studios where they were recording a track for possible inclusion on the new release (out Nov 13th). Lajon Witherspoon checked in with Shoutweb to tell us about the recording of the new record, how the songs are going over live, and why their Bearsville rooming quarters spook him in a Blair Witch movie type of way.

Lajon Witherspoon - vocals
John Connolly - guitar
Clint Lowery - guitar
Vinnie Hornsby - bass
Morgan Rose - drums

Shoutweb: Good to hear from you! Tell me about this tour you guys are doing.

Lajon: We're on tour with Drowning Pool and Stereomud. This tour is actually a warm up tour. What we wanted to do was take out bands that we love. It's like our own little Family Values Tour. Drowning Pool are our brothers from Dallas. We've known those guys forever. We're happy to see the success that they're enjoying. It's just amazing to be a part of it. There is such a difference between when they were opening for us before. Now, when they came out on this tour, it's just fun. Stereomud, of course, we grew up with those guys! Or at least half of them anyway are from Atlanta. Clint's brother Corey is in the band too. It's really a weird situation each night after the show. You got a bunch of guys hugging each other. It's fun, you know? We're just so happy and blessed to be in the situation we're in, to be able to tour the world with people that you want to. This is something that we got to put together ourselves.

Shoutweb: So, I know you guys were in New York working on some songs. I've heard that this new record is going to be half hard and half soft. Is that accurate?

Lajon: I think what it is with our third album is that the melodic stuff is definitely more melodic and the heavy stuff is even heavier. It's still Sevendust. It's heavy music meets songs. That's what I like to call it. It's not softer but maybe there are some songs on there that maybe sound a little different because there is more melody in the verses but they still continue to kick ass in the chorus. I think it's a very evenly mixed album. It's incredible. I'm so proud of what we've done. This is really the first time too that we've really been able to live with the work that we've done. On that second album, we were going in and writing songs each day and trying to live with them was really hard. With this album, we had the time to take away. Time to get to know ourselves and re-evaluate. That's what's exciting about this.

Shoutweb: Before you went in, did you have it all in the bag already?

Lajon: Not all of it, but a big, big portion of it. It was good enough to where we were like, "Okay, we wrote this a month or two ago, let's listen to it now." If it still sounded good then we knew we had something.

Shoutweb: Is the record done yet?

Lajon: You know! You were there. We were in Woodstock, NY the other day recording "Live Again" but we don't actually know if that song is going to make the album. We have to see how the album is sounding once it's mastered. We'll see what happens. That was the last actual song that we recorded for the album.

Shoutweb: So, the fact that you're alive tells me that there was no Blair Witch incident? (laughter)

Lajon: Can you tell me... was it not scary?

Shoutweb: It was scary. I'm kind of used to it because I come from the country where there are no streetlights and everything is real dark at night. I can imagine coming from a city that it would be really scary to be in complete darkness. That house had far too many little doors.

Lajon: You know what? I'm going to be honest with you. John and I slept with every light on in the house! (laughter)

Shoutweb: I felt so bad leaving you guys there alone in that cabin-fever like house. It reminded me of the movie "Psycho".

Lajon: He slept with his bedroom door open. I slept with my bedroom door open. We told each other, "If you get up in the middle of the night, just yell INCOMING!" (laughter) Wow... that house was so damn scary. (laughter)

Shoutweb: Did you get any sleep?

Lajon: I slept. John said he didn't get a wink of sleep. I was so tired just from singing every day at the beginning of this tour without a day off. I just passed out and the next morning I went downstairs and the little light was turned off. I yelled, "John, did you turn it off?! Who turned it off?!" I was spooked but John did turn it off himself.

Shoutweb: Thank goodness.

Lajon: That's a good story! (laughter)

Shoutweb: This could start good buzz about the record. I hear if you play it backwards that you can hear weird stuff.

Lajon: Yeah! Like, you hear a little girl behind those doors. (laughter)

Shoutweb: Well, speaking of spirits, you have mentioned on this tour that you feel Lynn Strait's presence during the singing of "Angel's Son".

Lajon: Yes, that's a good spirit. It doesn't spook me at all. It's unfortunate that that song had to be written at all. We felt that it was closure for us. As a band, we felt it was something we wanted to do. Someone asked me today if it was hard to go back to that. After you write a song like that, it doesn't make it as hard but it makes you remember. I really feel Lynn watches over us.

Shoutweb: The video was unbelievable. How did that come together?

Lajon: When they said that they wanted to drop the song as the first single off the record "Strait Up", it was a great feeling for us. It's the only song that wasn't written by Snot. It was something that Clint and Morgan put together. They wanted to do a video and have all of his friends and they told us, "Bring everyone you guys know." Lynn's Mom sat by me the whole filming. That was so hard because it was REAL. It was no joke. This was no acting. It was all people that loved him. When you try to think about that day and the beautiful sunrise and then the beautiful sunset at the video's ending... it was amazing. I feel like Lynn was definitely there that day. A lot of tears were shed that day.

Shoutweb: Wow, amazing. It gives me chills. Let's talk about some of the other songs you're playing live on this tour. I was at the Birch Hill show and then the gig at The Chance in Poughkeepsie so I heard some of the great songs you guys are trying out.

Lajon: I think the new songs are going over great. A lot of times I forget that we haven't been out in eight months. The fans are just excited anyway because they haven't seen us play. The energy is there. I feel like, "Let's do this!" And then to have these new songs going over great, is just so much fun. These kids are even trying to sing them. They never heard the song before but shit still comes out of their mouth! (laughter) There are people that have been to a couple shows already. Even in the last week, they've come to different shows. They've been from Georgia to damn Canada! They are all telling us, "This is my favorite song." Last night, a guy walked up to us and said, "I love Crucified and I love Praise" and we're wondering how the hell he knows these songs. Then he says, "I have the set list right here." We're like, "Well, how the hell did you get that?" It's just incredible.

Shoutweb: On the messageboard, I read people posting about the shows already.

Lajon: Let me tell you where we're playing today. It's at this beautiful theatre outside in Quebec. The stage is separated from the people with a moat of water. It's coming down like a typhoon right now. I'm looking at it through the glass right now.

Shoutweb: It's pouring down rain and you're playing outside?

Lajon: Yes, it is raining like crazy. We're right beside Lake Ontario. You can see the ships from the stage and all these beautiful old buildings that surround it. I don't know how many people are going to show up.

Shoutweb: Wow, it will probably be one of your better shows. You'll be thinking that you don't want to go out there but it will be great.

Lajon: I do want to go out there and get wet because we've never played here. I just don't know how many people are going to show up. I think it's sold out.

Shoutweb: I was at the Birch Hill show on Sunday and I was almost standing out the door. It was so crowded and so damn hot!

Lajon: It was hotter than three rats fuckin' in a wool sock. Now that's hot! (laughter)

Shoutweb: (laughter) One of the highlights was Davey from Drowning Pool coming out on stage with you guys.

Lajon: Yes, he comes out and sings "Walk" by Pantera.

Shoutweb: Is that something you planned?

Lajon: No, we've always done a piece of that song in the past during the song "Too Close To Hate". We've always done just the "RE-SPECT" part. A couple of years ago when we were in Dallas, Dave came on stage and did it with us. What a better place to do it again than on this tour! It's fun for us and it's fun for the kids to see Dave come out again and play with us. It's like little brief jam session right in the middle of the set. We get something out of it and those kids that love Pantera go nuts! I drink some whiskey and let Dave sing for a minute. It's all fun.

Shoutweb: It comes off really well. I love it! When I first heard of Sevendust, everyone was telling me "you have got to see this band live". You played a show in NYC at The Roxy.

Lajon: Yes, with Skunk Anansie, Staind, and Powerman 5000.