SEVENDUST Drummer: Current Tour Is 'Better Than Any We Have Ever Had'

Dan Cappello of The Temple News recently conducted an interview with SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On completing their latest album, "Next", after going through some rough times both financially and musically:

"I'm pretty amazed we actually pulled it off. I mean, since we had no label, no funding and had been ripped off so bad for so long … we had to go to the bank and literally put our houses on the line with children at home and make that gamble.

"I remember signing my name on the first form for $100,000 and saying 'Man I am responsible for a chunk of this money, and I don't have it, so I hope someone likes this record.'"

On the departure of longtime guitarist Clint Lowery:

"Clint is a great songwriter and he added an element to our band without a doubt, but we were a band before he was in it. We knew that we could easily put a record together, so that wasn't the issue. The issue was how much material we would be able to write and how much would we have to choose from."

"[Lowery] tended to be kind of a stickler and would over analyze a lot and now we were able to let the songs breathe a little bit."

On Lowery's replacement, Sonny Mayo:

"He's the easiest guy in the world to deal with, so that makes it real simple. We have known him since our first record, so we were able to build camaraderie."

On their current opening band, WICKED WISDOM, a band headed by Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith:

"She's a great girl and takes her stuff real serious. I'm pretty impressed with the fact that she is able to have a family, have an acting career, and be able to put a band together, and write songs and tour. She has a chip on her shoulder with some of these lyrics, so it's not like some innocent little thing; she really has something to say."

On the band's current tour:

"[This tour is] better than any we have ever had. I don't understand why people keep coming out like this. … I mean, the loyalty is just outrageous. We are not getting any MTV at all, and these kids keep coming out.

"We're actually playing stuff off the first record and stuff that went off the other records that we haven't played in years. It's a pretty cool stage setup and it's something we have never done. The rest is going to have to be a surprise."