Live Interview with Troy Mc Lawhorn from the band Seether conducted by Shane Wilson (Aka Reiper). I would personally like to take the opportunity to thank Troy for sitting down with me and taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions. It was truly a pleasure to speak with him.
Shane: So far how has the tour been treating you?
Troy: It's been good, it's been a good year. I started with the band in Feb. and started right off with Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, done some headlining shows after that. Then the Stained, Papa Roach, and Red tour has been great for us too. It's been a good way to end the year.
Shane: It's a great line up. All right, do you do anything special to prepare for a show?
Troy: I guess we kind of, about an hour before the show we all come into the dressing room. We put on some music and we just kind of hang out and have a beer or two before we go on. Nothing big, no big kind of ritual before we go on. I usually try to go out and watch one of the band before we go on, you know it's kind of invigorating to see the band before you pumping up the crowd, it makes you wanna work harder.
Shane: What type of music do you listen too?
Troy: I have very eclectic taste in music, I think we all do. Right now, I'm listening to the new Metallica, and the new Ashes Divide album. As far my IPod goes I have everything in there from Judas Priest to Shaday.
Shane: Sounds like mine
Troy: I like the Beatles a lot, they were big I don't know if I would say influence, but they definitely made me love music a lot as a kid, my mom listened to the Beatles a lot. I think that is where I got my start with music, I started listening to a lot of their stuff, think how cool it was that they could make music like that.
Shane: That leads to my next question, what made you want to start playing guitar?
Troy: Music was a little bit in my family, my grandfather, my dad played guitar, and I kind of fooled around with it as a kid, even when I was young, my dad and grandfather would teach me cords. I really wanted to be a drummer, and it probably wasn't until I was 13 or 14 that I really started to gravitate towards guitar because a friend of mine that lived down the street my best friend through all my school years. He was a drummer and he had been play drums seriously since he was about 5 years old, and his dad was a musician too. So with that being said we didn't need two drummers for the band and he was better than I was so I started playing guitar.
Shane: Hmm, some bands have two.
Troy: Yeah… some bands, but on our scale, we didn't have a big enough living room for two drummers.
Shane: it takes up some room.
Shane: I notice on your MySpace page that you visited the Para rescue school, out of all the guns you shot which one was your favorite.
Troy: the Para rescue school was really cool, I have become good friends with the guy that's out there he took us shooting. We met a lot of the guys that were out there in training, and they took us all out to the shooting range, I think favorite gun was the S.A.W. 249. Just because it's the meanest gun we shot that day, you feel like Rambo.
Shane: You should try the Mark 19 if you ever get a chance.
Troy: Yeah I would love too, well he promises to take me shooting again, he's going to be stationed in North Carolina soon. Hopefully we will get to stop there and do it again.
Shane: Well it's not too far from Atlanta.
Shane: How is touring with Seether different from Evanescence?
Troy: It's not much different really, it's kinda like touring with every band as long as you're having fun it's pretty much the same. I had a lot of fun with Evanescence that was a fun camp to be in. I think the biggest difference; the lead singer is not a girl. But really when I was on tour with Evanescence that was never a big deal she's a rocker and a cool person to hang out with she likes to party. It was a lot of fun with her and it's a lot of fun with these guys. I think maybe there is a little bit more Hi-jinks on the Seether tour. These guys like to play jokes on people and each and I like it too.
Shane: How did it feel receiving your first gold CD with Seether?
Troy: That was pretty cool, the only part that was weird for me is that I didn't play on the album, I'm the new guy and they had already recorded the album before I came in. But, you know I kinda feel like I'm lending a hand in the sales of those albums, were out here doing live shows to promote the sales of that album. So it was awesome I can't wait to get home to see it in my house.
Shane: Oh you haven't see it yet?
Troy: We were presented with them in New York at a party so we got to hold them for a minute and gave them back and the mailed them to our houses. You know I'm even thinking about giving it to my mom and dad because they deserve it just as much as anybody.
Shane: That would be cool. I know Seether has been involved with a few Charities such as the comfort doll charity, are there any other charities that Seether participates in?
Troy: I am not aware of any other ones that Seether is involved with. I have on December 13 a charity event with some musicians in Atlanta and Nashville, were going to do a show in Nashville and we are playing for free. Where gonna try to get as many people out there from other bands. I am trying to talk Shawn in to coming, to raise money for cancer research. We try to pick a different charity each time.
Shane: I might have to keep my eyes open for that event. When can fans expect a new CD?
Troy: A new Seether CD, I'm not sure we are still riding the wave of success of this album. Until the wave starts to sputter, we will continue to ride it, and stay out on tour. "Break Down" has just came out and it's the third single on this album, and were expecting good things from that, and we might even do a fourth single. It will probably be at the earliest the middle of next year for another album.
Shane: Have you guys been using MySpace to help keep in touch with your fans?
Troy: I haven't been on Seether's MySpace that much I don't know the code to get on it, they've told me and I forgot. I have a MySpace too it's pretty hard to keep up with, a lot of emails, answering fan letters, and stuff. I go and check out the Seether MySpace once and a while, I think those guys are more in touch with the MySpace then I and I need to get in touch with it more.
Shane: You have plenty of time you're the new guy.
Troy: I'm new in the ranks, I'm still I don't even think I have joined the Seether website, I don't think I have my own screen name.
Shane: What's your view on illegally downloading music?
Troy: I think if everybody illegally download music, musicians wouldn't be able to make music. You have to make a living. I got a wife and a kid I have support the, and order to that I have to make money of the music I make and the tours that we do. So I don't necessarily agree with it, I know people that download music and some people will just do it to check out what they are buying and I think that is cool. But you can listen to the radio and do that too. I'm not a big fan of downloading I think anyone that makes their living playing music, deserves to make money from it because you can't survive their own in today's economic crises, with the price of fuel and all the things going on the world today. It's hard to stay on tour it gets expensive. So every penny we can make counts, and only improves the show too, bands that have pyro that stuff cost a lot of money and the more money a bands makes the more they can put into the show.
