Sevendust members fighting to be heard

Kirk Baird

Friday, June 14, 2002 | 8:35 a.m.

What: KXTE 107.5-FM's "Our Big Concert 5" with System of a Down, P.O.D., Rob Zombie, Cypress Hill, Sevendust, Jerry Cantrell, Xecuctioners, Gravity Kills, Unwritten Law, Third Strike, Finch and Pulse Ultra.

When: 2 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium.

Admission: $35.

Information: 895-3900.

The five members of "nu-metal" act Sevendust have every right to be frustrated -- even fed up -- at the moment.

The band recently changed management, dropping former Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French as manager in the process because of financial issues.

Once the problems were resolved, Sevendust turned to its music, releasing a third CD, "Animosity." The album is the group's strongest to date, filled with gorgeous ballads -- "Angel's Son," "Dead Set" -- and catchy rockers -- "Praise" and "Trust."

It's also got the requisite crunching guitars, wailing vocals and feel-it-in-your-chest bass rhythms necessary to compete in today's nu-metal world.

The results, however, are the same: gold but no platinum albums.

Once again the disc is popular among the band's followers, but there has been little spill-over to other metal and mainstream rock fans.

At this point Lajon Witherspoon, frontman for Sevendust, which performs Sunday as part of KXTE 107.5-FM's "Our Big Concert 5," doesn't know why the record isn't selling more, although he has an idea.

In a recent call, while driving through Kennesaw, Ga., a small town northwest of Atlanta, Witherspoon pointed to his record label's lack of total support for the album's less-than-stellar sales.

"We need TVT (Records) to put more records in the stores, first off," he said. "At least, sometimes that's what you hear. Maybe it's the band, maybe not -- I don't know. I know we put our hearts into 'Animosity' and I think it's one of our best works."

Even with the lack of sales success, though, Witherspoon resists being overly negative.

"It depends on what your goals are," he said. "I feel 'Animosity' is successful no matter what because I still have a record deal and there are still a lot of people who enjoy our music. We have a gold album -- that's 500,000 people who like our band, (and) we can continue to tour.

"I'm not frustrated, but am I wanting to see what we can do to make ('Animosity') bigger? Yeah, but definitely not frustrated."

The obvious question: What can Sevendust do to increase album sales?

Witherspoon suggests a tour, which the band is beginning Saturday, gaining more exposure on the road while, hopefully, accruing more fans in the process. And then hoping that MTV takes note and adds a Sevendust video to its rotation, giving the single and the band the mass exposure to make album sales increase.

Then again, Witherspoon counters, the band is in a prickly situation. If Sevendust enjoys heavy rotation on MTV, there is the chance the network will ignore future videos from the band, setting up a one-and-done prospect for the hard-rock group.

"I like the way the band has done it," the 29-year-old Witherspoon said. "We've been together since '96 -- we're not a one-hit wonder. We have a loyal following, we have people that know our music. We're not a band that you see on MTV one week and then all of a sudden they're gone and no one knows where the hell they are at."

Although, previously, it has been difficult to miss Sevendust. The quintet has toured with several groups, from extreme-metal act Slipknot to mainstream rockers Creed.

This touring method has led some critics to wonder if being associated with such divergent bands and their fans has created an identity crisis for Sevendust: Is the band metal or pop-rock?

Witherspoon said his band is both genres, and everything in between.

"At one point in time, we thought we were going to be pigeonholed as a heavy-metal band and that's ridiculous," he said. "We have soul, we have melody, we have ballads. We have everything to offer and we're always going to do that.

"We've grown up a lot. It doesn't always have to be barking, yelling and screaming to get your point across."