Seether Biography

Summary

"Seether" is a South African-American post-grunge band, formed in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa in 1999. The band is currently signed to Wind-up Records. Originally named "Saron Gas" and signed to Musketeer Records in South Africa, they changed their name in 2002, coinciding with the release of their second album and major label debut, "Disclaimer". To date they have sold 5 million albums worldwide.

History

Early days, "Fragile", "Disclaimer"

Saron Gas had their origins in Pretoria, and the earliest days of the group saw their public appearances at parties, nightclubs, small-scale concerts and University venues, such as the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch, where they played for the lunch-time crowds in the "Neelsie" centre on the latter campus as late as the summer of 2001.

As Saron Gas, the band released its first album, "Fragile" on Musketeer Records, in 2000 in South Africa. Upon achieving success on the South African music charts, Wind-up Records took an interest in Saron Gas' melodic-yet-heavy sound and signed them to the label. The band was asked to change their name, however, due to Saron Gas being a homophone of sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent used by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Success and "Disclaimer II"

After "Disclaimer" was released, the band went on a non-stop touring route in hopes of boosting sales and name recognition. Upon completing the tour, the band had planned to go into the studio and record their second release. However, they were instead tapped to support Evanescence on a worldwide tour that postponed their recording plans by almost a year. On this tour, the band reworked the acoustic ballad 'Broken' into an electric ballad and had Amy Lee of Evanescence share vocal duties with Morgan during live performances. Inspired by the positive reaction the duet got on the road and perhaps fueled by a budding romance between Lee and Morgan, the band headed into the studio and quickly recorded an alternate version of 'Broken' with Amy Lee on vocals. The song, along with a new song titled 'Sold Me', was featured on the soundtrack for the 2004 film "The Punisher" and was massively successful, bringing the band fame in the US, the UK and Australia in particular. Morgan has stated that the hit song relates an incident where the band was subjected to what the record company wanted rather than what the band wanted. "Disclaimer II", an alternate version of the original album with many of the songs remixed or re-recorded as well as eight extra tracks, was released in late 2004.

"Karma and Effect", "One Cold Night"

In 2005, the band released their follow-up album "Karma and Effect". The original title for the album was "Catering to Cowards," but the band's record label instructed them to change the name. 'Karma and Effect' debuted at number 8 of the US Billboard 200 album charts and was certified gold in the US and Canada. The album spawned three singles, 'Remedy', 'Truth Gift'. 'Remedy' reached number 1 of the US Mainstream Rock Charts, becoming the band's first number 1 single.

Shinedown, Seether released an acoustic CD/DVD set titled "One Cold Night", recorded on 22 February 2006 at Grape Street in Philadelphia. Morgan, who had been suffering from a stomach ailment, decided to do an acoustic performance of their set-list rather than cancel the show. Shaun has stated that the label chose to make the album without obscenties, which is the reason why 'Needles' and 'Burrito' are not on the album.

Guitarist departure, rehab

On June 16, 2006, it was announced via Seether's official site that lead guitarist Pat Callahan had chosen to leave the band. The exact reason for Callahan's departure is unknown, but regarding his feelings over the situation, Shaun Morgan commented:

Morgan went into rehab for alcoholism in August 2006, forcing the band to cancel their tour with Staind and Three Days Grace.

"Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces"

Morgan had claimed prior to the new album's debut that it would be more diverse than previous efforts. Its release was delayed due to the sudden suicide of Morgan's brother, Eugene Welgemoed. Produced by Howard Benson, the album finally hit shelves on October 23, 2007.

'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces' debuted at number 9 in the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 57,000 copies in the first week. The artwork for the album was illustrated by David Ho.

The first single, 'Fake It,' reached the top position in the US Mainstream Rock Charts and Modern Rock Charts, remaining on top for at least 9 weeks on both charts. Since the success of 'Fake It,' a second single, 'Rise Above This,' has been released and has reached the #1 spot on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and the top 2 with its mainstream counterpart. As of February 15, 2008, Troy McLawhorn of Dark New Day joined the band as a touring guitarist, and has since been made an official member. McLawhorn previously did a stint as Evanescence's replacement guitarist during the last leg of The Open Door tour.

To support the release of the hugely successful second single, 'Rise Above This,' Seether launched a tour in early 2008 that lasted for much of the year and saw them share the stage with several bands for several different legs, including Three Days Grace, Finger Eleven, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, Skillet, Red, Papa Roach, Flyleaf, Econoline Crush, and Staind.

Shaun has also announced that with 2009 marking Seether's tenth anniversary, a new release coinciding with the anniversary has been negotiated with Wind-Up Records. It has been said to include old unreleased tracks and demos, including Saron Gas demos, but exact details are yet to be confirmed.

Seether claimed their first South African Music Award in the category 'Best Rock: English' for "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces".

They also won the first MTV Africa Music Award for Best Alternative Artist.

On August 5, 2008, Seether released an iTunes Originals album that follows the pattern of previous releases in the series, featuring interviews between chosen album tracks and reworked versions of previously released songs.

The video for 'Breakdown' was released on November 12 after a delay from its original October 23 scheduled release date.

On January 2, 2009, it was announced that a new Seether song titled 'No Shelter' will be featured on the upcoming NCIS Official TV Soundtrack as well as episode 6 in the upcoming season. The band has also recently covered the song 'Careless Whisper', a surprising move on their part for it was originally recorded by 80s pop band Wham! in 1984. This song can be downloaded straight from the Seether website.

Band members

;Current

Shaun Morgan – lead vocals, rhythm & lead guitars (1999–present)

Troy McLawhorn – lead guitars, backing vocals (2008–present)

Dale Stewart – bass, acoustic guitars, backing vocals (2000–present)

John Humphrey – drums, percussion (2004–present)

;Former

David Cohoe – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–2002)

Nick Oshiro – drums, percussion (2002–2003)

Pat Callahan – lead guitars (2002–2006)

;Former (Saron Gas)

Johan Greyling – lead guitars (1999)

Tyronne Morris – bass (1999–2000)

;Touring

Nic Argyros – drums, percussion (2002)

John Johnston – drums, percussion (2002)

Erik Eldenius – drums, percussion (2002)

Nick Annis – lead guitars (2002)

;Session

Josh Freese – drums, percussion ("Disclaimer" sessions)

Kevin Soffera – drums, percussion (2003–2004)

Discography

;Studio albums

"Fragile" (as Saron Gas) (2000)

"Disclaimer" (2002)

"Karma and Effect" (2005)

"Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces" (2007)

;Live albums

"One Cold Night" (2006)

;Compilations

"Disclaimer II" ("Disclaimer" remastered with bonus tracks) (2004)

;Digital albums

"iTunes Originals - Seether" (2008)

"Rhapsody Originals - Seether" (2008)

Songs in popular culture

Television

'No Shelter' is featured exclusively on NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack.

'Out of My Way' is featured on the soundtrack for "The World's Strongest Man", an annual made-for-TV event.

'Out of My Way' was also the entrance theme for former WWE Superstar Zach Gowen.

The "One Cold Night" version of 'Needles' was featured on the "Masters Of Horror II Original Soundtrack".

'Broken' was featured on a career retrospective DVD for Eddie Guerrero as well as their video for 'Gasoline'.

'Sold Me' was featured on WWE Bad Blood 2004.

'Remedy' served as the theme song for WWE's pay-per-view SummerSlam 2005.

'Fake It' was the official theme song of the 2008 WWE No Way Out pay-per-view event.

'Six Gun Quota' and 'Gasoline' was featured on VH1's "Scream Queens".

Film

'Sold Me' and 'Broken' were featured on the soundtrack to "The Punisher".

'Hang On' was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Daredevil, and was featured in the movie.

'Out of My Way' was featured on the soundtrack of the 2003 movie "Freddy vs. Jason".

'Pig' was featured on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" soundtrack.

The One Cold Night version of 'Burrito' was featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 film "Lost Boys: The Tribe".

'Fallen,' a track off Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces, appeared on the soundtrack to 'Punisher: Warzone'.

Video games

'Fine Again' was one of the songs on the soundtrack of the video games "Madden NFL 2003" and "NHL 2002" by EA Sports, and was also featured on Nintendo's GameCube game "1080° Avalanche".

'Fake It' is included in the soundtrack to "Burnout Paradise".

'Remedy' is included in the soundtrack to "Test Drive Unlimited' and 'Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades".