{"id":29198,"date":"2016-03-07T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-06T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=29198"},"modified":"2016-03-05T13:06:42","modified_gmt":"2016-03-05T02:06:42","slug":"lajon-witherspoon-of-sevendust-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2016\/03\/lajon-witherspoon-of-sevendust-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sevendust\"<\/a>
\n\u201c\u2026the first time we were together there was a certain type of magic that was there that I felt just something that I couldn\u2019t put my finger on at the time but I knew that we had something special and we still have that when we get together on stage. I don\u2019t know, we just get up there and throw it down, it comes naturally to us. *laughs*\u201d<\/p>\n

From release: SEVENDUST\u00a0kicked off their illustrious career with an untouchable string of three gold albums, beginning with their self-titled 1997 debut and continuing with\u00a0Home<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in 1999 and\u00a0Animosit<\/em>y\u00a0<\/em>in 2001. Along the way, they\u2019ve sold out shows everywhere and given unforgettable performances at the likes of\u00a0Rock On The <\/em>Range<\/em>,\u00a0Woodstock<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0OZZfest<\/em>. However, the new chapter starts now. The blistering new album\u00a0\u201cKill The Flaw\u201d\u00a0has received some of the best reviews of the band\u2019s careers, displaying a re-invigouration of creativity and signaling a rejuvenated take-no-prisoners stance akin to that initial 3 album burst of mayhem.<\/p>\n

We gave LJ a call to talk about the upcoming tour of Australia, the band\u2019s newest album \u2018Kill The Flaw\u2019, the magic of the band on stage and much, much more\u2026 Look at the view\u2026<\/p>\n

You’re FINALLY heading back to Australia! Also for a headline tour which is amazing, as it’s been a while between tours can tell us what we can expect?<\/strong>
\nMan you know, us to really get down there and put on a great show and to just share the energy, the emotion that we have and I think it\u2019s even more important for us to make sure it\u2019s the best because we\u2019ve been waiting so long to get back to you guys, man, so we\u2019re very excited to put on a great show with a lot of great music.<\/p>\n

As a live band Sevendust pretty much blow everyone else out of the water, what is it about you five guys on stage that makes this magic happen?<\/strong>
\nMan you know what I think it\u2019s because we\u2019ve been together for so long but I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m saying this right because the first time we were together there was a certain type of magic that was there that I felt just something that I couldn\u2019t put my finger on at the time but I knew that we had something special and we still have that when we get together on stage. I don\u2019t know, we just get up there and throw it down, it comes naturally to us. *laughs*<\/p>\n

Being here a number of times though, do you have a stand out memory from one of your previous trips here?<\/strong>
\nYou know what? Anytime that we\u2019re there is just beautiful, to me it\u2019s a different world, everyone\u2019s so nice and friendly I don\u2019t think there\u2019s not a pretty place in Australia that I\u2019ve seem *laughs* so I look forward to being there with the energy, the weather\u2019s always beautiful and like I said, to me Australia is a magic place and I can\u2019t wait to be there.<\/p>\n

I remember when we spoke last you were telling me there was a guy that had his little \u201cAustralia, look at the view\u2026\u201d<\/strong>
\nOh my god, we still say that, we still say it to this day, brother *laughs* Australia! Look at the view *laughs*<\/p>\n

Of course you’re back with a new album, and with a catalogue of ten albums now how do you go about putting a set list together for your shows these days?<\/strong>
\nOh my god it\u2019s the worst *laughs* but this time around on this Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin tour we bought on a few old songs like \u2018Shine\u2019, we put \u2018Angel\u2019s Son\u2019 back in the set, let\u2019s see\u2026 we put \u2019Driven\u2019 in the set and it\u2019s fun to have that many different songs, but you know after a while sometimes it gets hard because some people want to play these songs and when you have over a hundred songs to choose from it gets weird with timing but we try to pick the ones that we think people will enjoy the most.<\/p>\n

Almost like a best of set?<\/strong>
\nYeah exactly, kinda like that, absolutely. *laughs*<\/p>\n

Talking about the set, can I just ask a favour and make sure these three songs will make it in?<\/strong>
\nPraise:<\/strong> We\u2019ll definitely play \u2018Praise\u2019
\nEnemy:<\/strong> We could do that now that you say it\u2026
\nKarma:<\/strong> Oh my God, that\u2019s one of my favourites, we could do that too\u2026 I tell you what\u2026 how about we do this, you guys put together a set list that you would like to hear? We should do that, all those songs you said are definitely songs that we can play *laughs*.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so jealous of the Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin package, that\u2019s just a dream line up for me\u2026<\/strong>
\nMan, we were trying to get over with Breaking Benjamin but unfortunately not on this run but maybe in the future because we love touring with Ben and those guys are great, it\u2019s been a great tour.<\/p>\n

Yeah when I spoke to Ben, obviously he doesn\u2019t fly so they\u2019ve never been here, he said they\u2019d come by boat\u2026<\/strong>
\nYep, we were talking about that, trying to ride on the boat together\u2026 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d like the boat\u2026 maybe if you let me ride the boat for five days then helicopter me out *laughs*\u2026 that\u2019s awesome\u2026<\/p>\n

The last time we spoke was when ‘Cold Day Memory’ was released, so let’s catch up. How have the last five years been for the band?<\/strong>
\nCrazy! Man, going to getting away from old management to new management which has changed our lives completely to the new people that have come into our lives and completely kicked butt and changed things. We\u2019ve been working here in the States, trying to get there unfortunately we weren\u2019t able to and we kind of got bashed by that but I think with this new promoter that\u2019s bringing us over we cannot wait to build a relationship that we feel like we\u2019ve been missing on building but it wasn\u2019t due to us not wanting to be there at all, I just think that we have a lot of work to do and I can\u2019t wait to start it and get there. This time we are definitely coming *laughs* we can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n

On the new album, it’s an absolute monster, I feel like it\u2019s your best in years\u2026<\/strong>
\nThank you we\u2019re very excited and happy about it, brother. It was so incredible to go in and unplug because we did a whole unplugged acoustic thing, the last album we did was unplugged and played that round on an acoustic tour, so when we went back in finally after a year of doing that, man, it was really time for us to throw on those electric instruments and stay away from the acoustic guitars and went in and be the band that we were when we started\u2026 we didn\u2019t have any material we just went in and worked from twelve noon to twelve midnight every day except for Saturday\u2019s and we would go right back in on Sunday\u2019s and it was like a bee-hive of music. We had two stages that we would set everything up on and everything was miced so it was an exciting process and we had a great time doing it.<\/p>\n

But seriously, the album sounds like it’s lit a fire under you guys, what was it like for you hearing the finished product from start to finish?<\/strong>
\nWow\u2026 very exciting because I think we kind of stepped outside the box in a really crazy way, so we didn\u2019t really know what it was going to sound like at the end of it after working so hard in so short of a time that we held ourselves to have, so it was very exciting, I was so excited for everyone else to hear what we\u2019ve done and like I said I just can\u2019t wait to be out there and just share these songs and perform them and feel the energy and get the feedback because it\u2019s been great so far.<\/p>\n

So we have ‘Thank You’ on this album, we’ve had ‘Praise’ way back when, knowing how much you love Australia what are the chances you could write an Aussie thank you song, you could call it ‘Good Onya’, thoughts? <\/strong>
\nOh man, you know what? Thank you for saying that, now that I have the permission to do that, guess what, it\u2019s done *laughs* you got it for sure!<\/p>\n

I recently introduced my friend to you guys with ‘Kill The Flaw’, now she’s hooked. Do you find that every time you release a new album you get a whole new audience discovering your music?<\/strong>
\nYeah absolutely I think that\u2019s a beautiful thing to have new ears, you know it\u2019s great to have people that have been with us and have grown up with us, that\u2019s amazing. I\u2019m forty three years old now and to be able to look out and see a guy that\u2019s my same age and has kids like me, like we do and now his kids are at the show and not only his kids at the show but his kids are old enough to have boyfriend\u2019s and girlfriend\u2019s, they\u2019re at the show and oh my gosh they\u2019ve got a baby and now a damn grandkid *laughs* it\u2019s really cool to look out and see that and be a part of that. Then also to have these people that never heard of us, being a part of these tours, normally they would never come and see Sevendust or maybe not even listen to us on the radio, and to see their faces and to win them over and build that relationship right in front of us, I always say, you can love us, you can hate us, but you can never ignore us. So it\u2019s been really cool to be a part of that.<\/p>\n

So it’s been twenty one years you’ve been in Sevendust so far, what for you has been the most notable change in the way the band works over that time?<\/strong>
\nMan I don\u2019t know, we\u2019ve just grown up together, we\u2019re grown men now. For me it\u2019s crazy that we still love each other the way that we do and we get along and if there\u2019s a problem we bring it to the table and we fix it. We\u2019re a family, and that to me is the most incredible thing\u2026 that we\u2019re still here, we\u2019re still the original band and we\u2019re still doing it and we love it, sometimes it gets hard but we have a new fire in us and we\u2019re excited. Business is good right now and we\u2019re in a good space in our heads and in our minds and bodies so we\u2019re just ready to do it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I know of course there was the period where Clint left the band, but when he came back you could just tell it had to be you five guys to really make it work, you know what I mean?<\/strong>
\nAbsolutely, that\u2019s the holy shit, that\u2019s the C-God, that was the beginning of it, that was our seed that grew into this tree that we call Sevendust or whatever you want to call it, so that was the original, you could still water it but there was a branch missing and we got it back *laughs*.<\/p>\n

So we know what changed, but on the other side of that, what’s been the one thing that’s stayed the same?<\/strong>
\nI think us\u2026 we have really, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve really changed much, we might be bitter *laughs* but only to the fact of people that did us the wrong way in the music business, it took us a long while to become business men and I think that\u2019s something that I always say in this business, the music business be it woman or man, you need to be a business man or a business woman and stay true to your heart but also know what\u2019s going on in your career because a lot of people can have their hand in their pockets and you never know because all you want to do is live your dream and do your music, so you forget about those things. It took us a while to do that but I thank the Lord that were at that point where we\u2019re all owners of what\u2019s going on with Sevendust, we have our hands in everything so that\u2019s good, you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

Lastly, let’s look ahead to the future so I want you to finish this sentence for me. In 2016, Sevendust will…<\/strong>
\nCome to Australia and rock it all the way through, and hopefully come back again and again and again if you guys will have us because it\u2019s been a long time waiting, we love you guys and I can\u2019t wait to be over there to share and see you all again.<\/p>\n

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Sevendust Australian & NZ tour Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fri March 11th \u2013\u00a0The\u00a0Studio (Auckland)<\/strong>
\nSun March 13th \u2013\u00a0Capitol (Perth)<\/strong>
\nMon March 14th \u2013\u00a0The Gov (Adelaide)<\/strong>
\nWed March 16th \u2013\u00a0Coolangatta Hotel (Gold Coast)<\/strong>
\nThur March 17th \u2013\u00a0Eatons Hill (Brisbane)<\/strong>
\nFri March 18th –\u00a0170 Russell (Melbourne)\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSat March 19th –\u00a0Metro (Sydney)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get your tickets now HERE<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Essential Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong>\u00a0Atlanta, GA, USA<\/p>\n

Band Members:<\/strong>\u00a0Lajon Witherspoon (lead vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar, vocals), Morgan Rose (drums, vocals), John Connolly (guitar, vocals), Vince Hornsby (bass)<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/www.sevendust.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong>\u00a0Kill The Flaw (Out Now)<\/p>\n

\"iTunes<\/a><\/p>\n

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