Interview with Clint Lowery of Sevendust

Clint Lowery of Sevendust takes time out prior to their upcoming tour to discuss life with the band and his plans for the future.

Sevendust are truly one of the greatest rock bands of all time. If the archive of this group had a tier, it would in fact be legendary. These guys have been around over two decades and are still killing it. Having just released an album last year titled All I See Is War, these guys are about to embark on a North American tour with Tremonti and Cane Hill. Clint Lowery discusses his future, staying distinct, but evolving, and the incredible love he has for his fans.

LH: You guys are about to hit the road on a headlining tour from Tremonti and a few other guests. That’s got to be really awesome! I know that you guys and Tremonti have always been close. So, it’s got to be pretty cool to get out there and play with them. How are you feeling about that?
Clint: We are excited, man! Like you said, we’ve been friends with those guys for a long time. It will be cool to get on stage and tour with them and Cane Hill. I’m excited about the others and Cane Hill especially. It will be cool, man. I think it’s a strong build and I’ve been a huge fan of Mark’s for a long time and hopefully, we will get a lot of jamming in and some hang time. It’s always cool to tour with guys we are friends with, so it always helps.

LH: One thing I want to ask about is you guys recently did a three-night escapade at The Masquerade in Atlanta, which is Sevendust’s hometown. How was that experience?
Clint: It was cool man. Those hometown shows are always special. Each night was a different set and then the New Year’s Eve one was the Home record in its entirety and then we played some songs after. It was actually a little hard because we had to learn some songs that we haven’t played in a long time or haven’t played at all. A lot of people were hearing songs that they haven’t heard in a long time. We had a guest appearance on Licking Crème, which was Madam Mayhem. It was really cool, man. It was a good run.

LH: What do you think the biggest key change that you as a musician has gone through in-between 1997 and 2019 and how has that contributed to the evolution of Sevendust?
Clint: I think you just learn a lot along the way. I’m a much different person that I was when I started. Back then, I was all about getting on the road and acting as crazy as you possibly could. None of us had kids or anything tying us a home. So, we used to do long runs that were nearly two years straight. Since then, I have been sober for 11 years, I got kids, and we all have children. It’s a dynamic change that can happen naturally. I’m not saying that this isn’t as fun as it used to be. I enjoy different things about it now that I have a clear mind I can appreciate the nights when they are good and understand why the bad nights aren’t that great. Before, I was just in a fog. So, now we’ve just all matured and we all get older. We are all thankful for what we have and to still be doing it after all these years. It’s very cool.

LH: How do you guys manage to evolve musically while at the same time keeping that distinct sound to where everyone knows that it’s Sevendust?
Clint: That’s the biggest challenge of it all, just trying to evolve and keep some of the elements that make you who you are, while at the same time trying new things to expand your horizons. That’s really the challenge for any band at all that’s been around 20+ years. We have a lot of different writers and we all change, but we never stray away from what we are. Like, what I write outside of Sevendust is a lot different than what I write in Sevendust. I think anytime we do outside work, we take those elements and pull those in. We’ve got a lot of writers in the band so we all lean on different people, different records, but at the end of the day it’s all about trying to be sincere and listen to songs and honestly ask ourselves “is this a good Sevendust song?” I don’t want to put out a dud record to where fans are like “eh, it’s not the best, I think they are losing it”. That’s my biggest fear.

LH: What is your favorite song from All I See is War and what is your favorite song to play live?
Clint: We’ve only played like 3 or 4 songs. I like “Unforgiven,” it’s my favorite to play live. I like “Not Original” a lot, I think that’s a cool song. They are all cool, man. I think we are going to play “Risen” on this record so that will be cool. They all have something about them that has something that’s cool. To me, the more you listen to the record, the more your favorite changes (laughs). I really like playing “Unforgiven” live, I think it’s really cool. That’s a basic Sevendust song.

LH: Are there any nerves left when playing live? Even when you have played in multiple bands or is it all easy?
Clint: There might be some on the first night of the tour or the second night of the tour. If it’s a big festival show there might be small nerves, but for the most part, it’s more that you get confident in what you do. I just hope that everything works, I hope the crowds has fun, is safe, and get home. I don’t really get nervous anymore. Sometimes I miss that nervousness, but I’ll have it for a show and that’s about it.

LH: Playing in multiple bands, do you have anything going on in the future that you would like to talk about?
Clint: Yeah! I actually am planning to release a solo record in my name that will come out. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get it out this year or possibly early 2020. I’m writing for it now. It will come out on the same label that Sevendust is on, Rise BMG. It will actually be cool to have a label behind it and to push it out there. I think I’m going to record it in June sometime and I’ll probably release it when Sevendust is taking off and the cycle is slowing down. Obviously, I don’t want to compete with my own band, but I’m really excited. It’s been a long time coming and I think this is going to be a pretty fun experience and I’m just enjoying writing for it.

LH: Oh! That’s exciting; I can’t wait to hear it. Why do you feel like now was the right time to do it?
Clint: I just felt like it was finally time. I’ve been writing stuff in the Sevendust world, but I felt like I owed it to myself before my career end to finally put a record out with my name on it. I want to sing, play, and show everyone what I’m interested in musically on the side, you know? I feel like if I don’t do it, it’s going to cause problems. I felt like it was time to do this for myself.

LH: My final question would have to be, after 20 + years what would you want to say to future and aspiring musicians that love you?
Clint: Thank you for coming and thank you for supporting us. The fans are the blood of this band, and I know a lot of bands say that, but I really tried hard to understand and come in contact with the fans that love our band. I really try hard to be the way that I would want one of the artists that I love to treat and speak to me. Those artists are important to me, so I try to flip that around in any interaction I have with any of them. So, I just want to really thank them for coming out. It really means a lot to me and to us that these people would spend their hard earned money to go in these weird parking areas and weather it out to watch a rock show. I pay attention to what they do. I see them in line and I see them spending money on merchandise. I watch people that don’t even have a lot of money doing that. I don’t take it for granted and I just thank them.