Headling the Sno-Core Tour Show at the Palladium
By Sean Corbett

With three gold albums, 300+ shows in 2005, a great deal of MTV recognition, a recent tour with Audioslave, and an upcoming headlining gig for Winterfresh’s national SnoCore Tour, Seether seem to have a very solid grasp on a promising future.
 
Their first album, Disclaimer, was put together almost completely by the band’s founders, Shaun Morgan (vocals) and Dale Stewart (drums) and was so popular that it was the first debut album ever to go gold…twice.
 
The second release of the album, Disclaimer II, included a revised version of “Broken,” featuring a duet between Seether front man Morgan and Amy Lee of Evanescence for the Marvel Comics film The Punisher. Since the duet, Seether has expanded into a complete quartet with the addition of drummer John Humphrey and guitarist Pat Callahan. The four have toured together for 3 1/2 years and are all equally responsible for the writing of their latest album, Karma and Effect.
 
After releasing Karma and Effect last May, Seether has been getting a great deal of positive recognition in the rock crowd for their solid and decisive sound. With aggression pouring out of most of their songs, the emotion behind the words comes across as more merciless and powerful than some might expect given the tone of their MTV hit “Broken,” though.
 
Despite the teamwork that went into the band’s studio experience early last year, Callahan reveals the band’s true passion. “Playing live is where it’s at. You know, everything else just leads up…whatever you’re pissed off at, whatever you want to vent, you can do it on stage. That’s why we got into it, because we love playing.”
 Because of this never-ending desire to play for their fans, the band has come to be known for their almost never-ending tours. “Some of the towns we’re doing, we’ve been there 6 or 7 times,” Callahan said.
 
Guitarist Callahan, who was a fan long before he joined the group, puts it simply. “This band’s cool.” Known for their larger-than-life and better-than-expected stage presence, the tight four-man crew has put on thunderous and aggressive shows for towns all across the world, not to mention three in Worcester.
 
Growing up, the members of Seether were inspired by the grunge scene of the early 90s, as were most young men. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden hugely influenced the band’s songwriting techniques. Similarly, bands like Metallica, Pantera and Rage Against the Machine influenced the band’s ability to back up the words with aggressive rock ‘n roll intensity.

So when they were given the chance to tour with Audioslave, a supergroup that combined two major influences, Soundgarden and Rage, Seether was blown away. “Definitely a high point was touring with our idols,” said Callahan. But at first, the experience was very intimidating. Callahan remembers, “It took about two weeks for us to not hide in the hallways when they walked by us.”

Though with all their touring the band doesn’t get much chance to hear themselves on the radio, Callahan did on their December break. “I freaked out, it was totally, totally cool. It reminds you of what you’re doing and it’s very, very cool to know that we’re still relevant.”
 
Touring has, however, allowed Seether to grow musically. While on the road, they are constantly gathering ideas for new songs and their return engagements in many cities have afforded them the chance to watch themselves develop. “We see the crowds getting slowly bigger and bigger as we return. Right now we’re just trying to establish ourselves,” said Callahan, “and it’s awesome to see that it’s paying off.”