"It sucks," says Lajon Witherspoon, before breaking into a guffaw and following up with, "Just kidding." Sevendust's vocalist is speaking of the band's supposedly sober state during the making of its most recent album, Seasons. The heavy metal group's previous effort was a critical disappointment, and some of the blame was put on the less-than-straight-edge lifestyle they were pursuing. "I think that with anything you do you know your boundaries," Witherspoon says. "No one went into the studio completely wasted."
If anything, Witherspoon says the new album's return to form was simply an issue of focus. "We were just sure," he says. "We went into the studio with 30 songs. We weren't in there like, 'Yeah, man, play that. What's that sound like? We're going to write this song tonight.' It was just all together. The planets were aligned right for this."
So, Sevendust did the obvious, returning to the stripped-down approach that earned them acclaim. "We didn't want to be as abstract as we were on other albums," Witherspoon states. "We just wanted to get it back to the real, basic rock. We're a rock band, and we can play our instruments and sing, and we don't need loops and all that shit."
For now, the Atlanta-based Sevendust is touring across the country, and relishing encounters with fans. "Last night, I was talking to a soldier that just got back from Iraq on a two-week leave," Witherspoon recalls. "And he said, 'Man, this is the best thing that's happened to me in a year and a half.' That made me feel special, that a soldier appreciated our music.'" The vocalist swells with pride. "He says that it got him through difficult nights while over there. That's beautiful."
Over the years, Las Vegas has established itself as a hard-rock haven and Sevendust is excited to return. "We love Vegas," Witherspoon gushes. "I'm a big eater and I eat every buffet that I can. I'm not a gambler, so I might put my quarters in a slot machine but I never win. I just love the energy there."
According to Witherspoon, Sin City is never far from his mind. "I have a piece of Vegas with me every day in my little 4/20 box," he says. He's referring to a gold-plated container inscribed with the band's name which a local promoter gave him a few years ago that Witherspoon keeps, um, his inspiration in. "He doesn't even know that I still have it," he says, clearly grateful. "It's always with me, and is sitting beside me right now."