Lajon Witherspoon is regarded as one of the world’s greatest metal vocalists. Not only our words, but the words of US magazine Hit Parader, who in 2008 placed the Tennessean at No.35 in their Top 100 list, above the likes of Chino Moreno (51), Tom Araya (58), Amy Lee (69), and Corey Taylor (86).
His appearance in that veritable who’s who of rock singers is warranted. He’s been the soulful frontman for Sevendust ever since they formed in 1994 and, over the last three decades, the band have released 15 albums and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 2016 along the way.
Lajon was born in Nashville on October 3, 1972, and music was always in his blood. His dad Reginald fronted a disco band and his cousin Charles played bass for soul legend James Brown, so it was inevitable that Lajon was also destined to become a musician.
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As the band prepare to tour in support of their latest album, One, we find the singer in his home bar, surrounded by mementos from his three decades on the road. There’s a framed doodle of a Campbell’s soup can by Andy Warhol, a painting of his late friend Lemmy, three gold discs and commemorative coins from their USO tours entertaining US military personnel overseas. Professional organiser Marie Kondo might say it’s cluttered, but in truth, it’s a well-curated den documenting a life very well spent.
“I call myself a ‘mantiquer’,” he smiles during our Zoom call. “It’s a made-up word, but I collect a lot of stuff. I’ve got a wall in my garage that has passes from the R.O.A.R tour in 1997 to Woodstock ’99 and more. I want my kids to be able to look at it and have it all one day.”
When you were a child, your family moved from Nashville to Atlanta. What were your memories of that time?
“When I lived in Nashville, I was a kid, so couldn’t really go anywhere. I was too young to cross the bridge and go downtown where you have all the country bars and stuff. Going back as a grown man, it’s interesting to see it all. But when I moved to Atlanta, I thought it was cool and it had a good music scene. I was in seventh grade, so I guess I was 13 years old. Me and [Sevendust bassist] Vinnie Hornsby crossed paths years before we were even in a band, and we never knew it until years later. So I think it’s kind of a magical story that we all ended up together.”
Your dad was a singer, too. They do say the apple never falls far from the tree.
“He sang for a disco band. When I was little, I went to their rehearsals and everything was so loud. I was drawn to it. I remember walking in, going down four steps to these tables which were all red. There were candles too, which
had thumb prints in them. When I first told him about it, he was like, ‘You were like six years old. How do you remember that?’ But you know what? It’s in my DNA.”
And your cousin was Sweet Charles Sherrell, who played in The J.B.’s – James Brown’s massively cool backing band. What was he like?
“I got to meet my cousin Charles at one of my uncles’ funerals. Him and his crew pulled up in a Lincoln that was like a limousine, dressed in great outfits and wearing sunglasses. One guy with him had a captain’s hat on and
had a long Jheri curl. They were just cool. My grandad Frank – we called him Big Daddy – he was a singer as well. He said he dated Aretha Franklin back in the day. There’s a lot of crazy stories in the family!”
When did you realise you could sing?
“I went to church every Sunday. Sometimes I wouldn’t want to go, but once I got in the choir, I enjoyed singing – it was also about getting to put a red robe on one weekend, then
a gold robe the next. I felt like when you put that gear on,
you turned into a superhero onstage.”
How important is your faith to you now?
“I don’t believe in being a preacher or anything like that, but I feel you have to believe in something. I pray every day and thank Him for everything he’s given me. It’s something I grew up with and it’s comforting. It helps me go through life. It’s not like you gotta go to church every day – it’s nothing like that. We don’t even have a church we belong to here [in Kansas]. The last time I went to church here, I found out they check your credit score! It’s like, ‘We know you’ve got the money to put in the collection plate today.’ That’s weird.”
How did your parents feel when you started to listen to rock and metal?
“When I got into rock’n’roll, they didn’t really understand what was going on, especially my mom. Once I got in a band as a young man, she was really freaked out. We were called Body & Soul, and more of a funk band. We played in Georgia and it was a learning experience. We had a great time.”
What was the first heavy song to catch your attention?
“I listened to music constantly, but it was Black Sabbath or something like that. Back in the day, Thin Lizzy really moved me as a young man. And Jimi Hendrix, of course. He was a big influence on me. Then fast-forward, you had someone like Prince show up; his creativity and ability to write timeless music was mind-blowing to me. I can’t believe I missed the opportunity to go to his mansion.”
What? Please tell us you had a really good excuse.
“We were playing a show in Minneapolis, and his guitar tech Takumi Suetsugu said he wasn’t there but we could go hang out and ride the motorcycle in the garage. I never took the opportunity and I hate it. Takumi’s still a dear friend of mine.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as a musician?
“I got to talk to Little Richard one time on the phone. He said how proud he was of me and what I’m doing in the music industry. We were going to meet, but he sadly passed away before it could happen. The piece of advice he gave me was this: ‘You’ve always got to look good. Look your best wherever you go!’ I remember it like it was yesterday.”
He was a musician who faced much racism, especially during his early career. Have you experienced racial intolerance while on tour with Sevendust?
“At the beginning, maybe, there was one time back in the day when we were on tour with Slipknot. There were skinheads throwing up the hands and I remember the head of security going out there, breaking up the pit and taking a few people out. That was so many years ago. We just kind of put that stuff aside, even though it’s out there in the world. If you don’t
like us, don’t come to the show. You know what I’m saying?
I ain’t showing up at the Klan rally, that’s for damn sure.”
We spotted a painting of Lemmy in your bar. How did that friendship come about?
“We were playing in a tiny club in London called the Barfly, and someone said there was a friend of theirs there to see me. Lemmy came in and sat down and our friendship lasted forever after that. He said, ‘I really like your band. Don’t fuck this up.’ He told me stories about working for Hendrix. He even introduced me to Alice Cooper later on. He was just awesome to me until he passed. My family were in LA and we went to the Rainbow and, sure enough, he was sitting down at the casino machine. He wasn’t doing too well, but well enough to give everyone in my family a hug and talk for a minute. That was really special to me. He was an incredible friend.”
Early on, Sevendust shared bills with the likes of Limp Bizkit, Coal Chamber, Stuck Mojo and Machine Head.
Did you feel like you were part of that big nu metal wave?
“I didn’t necessarily think we were nu metal. We were just these guys from Georgia that popped up on TVT Records, and all these other cats were hanging out in California.
They had a certain chemistry with each other, and we were kinda like the odd man out and had to prove we could whip ass. So that’s what we did and stayed in our lane. There wasn’t that kind of camaraderie at the beginning, but over the years, we became friends with everyone.”
Skunk Anansie’s vocalist, Skin, appears on Licking Cream, a song on your 1999 album, Home. How did that collaboration come about?
“The first song I heard by them was on the Hollow Man movie [Charlie Big Potato]. I thought her voice was amazing, and we ended up touring together in the States. They opened for us and no one knew who they were, but they were incredible.
We played with them overseas and let me tell you what, we did not know what we were expecting. There were people in line for days for their shows. We recorded Licking Cream at Long View Farm Studios in North Brookfield, Massachusetts. I think she flew in straight from Japan and her energy was
on fire, like she always is. We wrote the song in, like, five minutes, and she sang her parts and had to leave to go back on tour. She just came in, like sprinkled her magic on everything and left.”
Sevendust played Woodstock 1999 in New York. The festival’s original peace-and-love ethos was replaced by total chaos. What was it like for you?
“When we got there, I remember walking the grounds that morning with John [Connolly, guitarist] and it was not cool. There was mud everywhere and people were not happy. Bottles of water cost something like $10. It was something ridiculous. You could feel the tension. When we started Black, the crowd started running over the hill to the stage to see us. That was a beautiful experience. I also hung out with Willie Nelson. Our bus driver, Cowboy, rest his soul, used to drive for him and introduced us. I smoked a joint with him. His bus was like a Western saloon! It was beautiful.”
Were you caught in the chaos as people were evacuated from the festival?
“We were invited to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers on side stage, which was incredible. All of a sudden, there was a fire in the crowd and then a boom! It looked like a scene from Lord Of The Flies or something. Security yelled for everyone to get on their tour bus, duck down and get out of there. People were beating on the side of the bus as we were leaving. That part was scary but crazy and cool at the same time. It was like a scene from Almost Famous.”
Sevendust have earned three gold records and earned
a Grammy nomination for Thank You in 2016, but lost to Ghost in the end. How does it feel for Sevendust to be recognised in that way?
“It’s a pleasure and an honour. I never wanted us to be
a one-hit wonder. I wanted us to write music that was considered timeless. It’s incredible, because now I can look into the crowd and see someone who’s my age, but not only them, but their kid and their kids. It’s a beautiful thing. I still pinch myself sometimes. I’m not a rock star or anything at all. We still have the same issues as anyone else: family, bills, problems, taking out the trash, fence falling down, dog throwing up. But we have this beautiful canvas to be able to create this painting of life we all go through and people get to listen to it.”
Speaking of problems, the band faced bankruptcy in 2006 after your label at the time collapsed. Tell us about that.
“It was down to bad management. We had people riding around in limousines without us in them. Going to the grocery store or Arby’s in a limo. We found out about it, and luckily we’re now very blessed to have Tim Tournier of Janus Music Management. Working with this man has changed
our lives and it’s a true family.”
How did you keep going despite being in a ton of debt?
“You know, it’s music, music, music. What else would I do? This is what I do. This is what my passion is. Even in the dark times and lowest lows, it’s what keeps me going. It can be a rollercoaster ride of emotions and I think that’s what life is all about.”
Your brother Reginald was shot and killed in East Nashville in 2002, and the subsequent album, Seasons, was dedicated to him. How does that kind of loss affect you years later?
“Well, I do as much as I can now to keep his energy alive. I think of him every day. I haven’t even told anyone this story, but when we recently played the O2 Arena in London, there was a man who came through the double doors near our dressing room. You could tell he worked for the arena, he had the jacket on and all that. I asked him how he was doing and what his name was, and he told me his name was Reginald. I said that was my father’s name and my brother’s name. He said he was Reginald Jr. I didn’t tell him that my brother passed away or anything, but I immediately called my parents. I really wish he could be here in the flesh to experience all the things that his big brother has done now. It’s really hard on me still, and I can only imagine if it’s hard on me still, it’s definitely three times as hard on my parents.”
In 2022, drummer Morgan Rose said that Sevendust planned to break up after making your new album, One. What made the band decide to carry on?
“I think that was just a couple of people, but not everyone was onboard with that. It was never going to happen. We’ve just played the UK and that was one of the best tours we’ve ever done in our entire career. It was the most amazing time.”
How would you like to be remembered?
“I would want people to know that I was a good brother and I love everyone. I just want people to be happy and be treated equally. I would also want to be remembered as someone who wrote music that people will consider as timeless. If I’ve helped someone get through something, that’s an incredible place to be. I feel like music is a medicine. Sometimes, I feel like I’m a doctor and I’m just here to give them the medicine.”
Sevendust’s new album, One, is out now via Napalm Records.
