In our latest interview, we chat to Dale Stewart of Seether about the band’s latest music and inspirations.
S] Who or what is your biggest musical influence?
D] “I think everything. Everything you come into contact with every day, either inspires you or affects you in some way. Paintings, music, relationships and life itself. I think making music is a good way to forget about things or get something off your chest. Music, for us is kind of therapeutic.”
S] Are there any tracks on your new record besides ‘Words As Weapons’ that you’re particularly proud of?
D] “Yeah definitely. There’s a song called ‘Suffer It All’. It’s really heavy but then it breaks into this great melody when it reaches the chorus. We love our heavy music, but we’ve always wanted to retain a sense of melody and like to mash them together. And I think we’ve achieved that on this new album.”
S] Can you think of any stand out moments from when you were recording in the studio?
D] “There was one moment that stands out to me, which is funny but at the time it sucked. We were in Oklahoma City, writing stuff for the new album and we were having a drink at a hotel bar. I stepped out for a cigarette, it was cold and snowing and as I was heading to the toilet afterwards I slipped and cut my head open. I woke up in the hospital where I’d been tied to the bed because I wouldn’t stop trying to get up and carry on.”
S] How do you look back on ‘Disclaimer’ and tracks like ‘Broken’ now at this point in your career?
D] “It was a very important record for us. ‘Broken’ in particular encouraged people to listen to us who may not have before, and we have Amy Lee to thank for part of that. We are very proud of the album and it’s weird to look back and listen to the songs, because I can hear this ‘naïveness’ to the music. We were pretty much kids when we made it. I remember who I was as a person at the time and I’ve changed so much, we all have and I think the music shows that. The album brings back a lot of memories and it’s nice to have that out there.”
S] How do you think you have changed as a person and a musician?
D] “I think we are always pushing ourselves to make something creative and interesting. We want to make music that people like and for ourselves- what we want to listen to. I think a natural evolution is inevitable; we’re all changing all of the time. If one thing happens in your life, you might be a completely different person today. We’ve gotten good at what we do, we’ve been in the studio a lot and at this stage we feel really comfortable with it. We don’t put ourselves under too much pressure and just make the music that we want to make and hope that the fans like it.”
S] You communicate to so many people, but when you first set out what was your mission? Do you think that has changed as you’ve progressed?
D] “I don’t think we ever set out with a specific goal in mind. We were just a couple of guys who enjoyed jamming in the garage. We felt better off for playing and everything just kept snowballing and it still is. It’s crazy to think we’re still doing it and it’s awesome. If people enjoy the music; come one, come all. I think there’s a lot of good music out there in any genre, and I think it would be a real shame to deprive yourself of that because you think you’re not supposed to like it.”
S] Would you consider bringing the Rise Above Festival over to the UK?
D] “We hadn’t discussed it but last year was such a great success and we raised so much money and suicide awareness for kids. It is such an epidemic worldwide and it would be great to expand the show.”
http://youtu.be/xbW_b8SEV0A
