SEV, An Interview With Danny -By Nikki Neil
“First you
say whoa, then you say yeah, get your hands up, throw your hands in the air...”
If you watch TV at all then you’ve probably heard this catchy phrase a hundred
times and you probably said, “Who is that band?” Well, that band is SEV and
there’s much more to the Virginia based unit than a meaty hook and infectious
chorus.
Contrary to what it may seem, success didn’t happen overnight for SEV. Having formed in 1996, the band—comprised of Danny Schools (vocals), Phil Clayman (vocals), Max Alley (guitar), Chris Mullen (bass), and Dennis Fay (drums)—developed a loyal following in around their home state long before they landed a spot on the now defunct cable show Farmclub. That appearance led to the inclusion of a track on Live & Unreleased (Farmclub.com), which led to a record deal with Geffen, which led to the Pepsi Blue commercial, which led to….
In the rock ‘n’ world a lot can happen in a short amount of time and for SEV that is especially true. But, the best is yet to come.
We’re up for a few tours, and that is pretty much what we hope to be doing for many, many years to come. We want to be able to go out and play.
And throw a few albums in there as well.
Yeah, or a few million.
Our first show was in October of 1996, and it was at this little tiny bar called Jacks here in Springfield, Virginia. About four months after we had formed we made our own record and started selling them and that is pretty much how it all started. We played a lot of shows up and down the East Coast and in some semi Mid-West areas, but we mostly played on the East Coast. We had played a show in New York and our old A&R rep (Marcy Jacobson) happened to be there and she came up to us with a card and told us about Farmclub. She said, “You guys should upload your songs on our website because fans surf [the site] and if you get enough votes we’ll fly you out to California and you will get to play on Farmclub.” We thought that was pretty cool. We hadn’t heard of Farmclub, but we were excited about the opportunity to go to L.A. We knew we had enough fans in our area and up and down the East Coast that would vote for us. So, to make a long story short we got enough votes and we won the Farmclub thing. They flew us to California and we played with N.W.A. because they had just got back together for their eleven-year reunion.
Now that is pretty cool.
Yeah, it was cool. We got to meet Snoop, Dre, Ice Cube…these guys are people, especially Dre and Ice Cube, that we grew up listening to. They are one of the reasons why we are doing this. It was really cool to be able to actually hang out in the same room with them. Anyway, we played the show and after that Jimmy Iovine signed us to Farmclub and when Farmclub decided to just go strictly Internet we switched over to Geffen records, which is part of the Interscope family. It was a great transition. Everything went smoothly, and we’re happy where we are right now.
Do you think that the initial concept of Farmclub was a good idea?
I think it was a great idea. The internet is the way of music now. It’s all over the place. You can’t go on your computer and check your e-mail or visit a couple of sites without having some type of music pop up in your face. It wasn’t always like that. I think it’s a really good thing people have the opportunity to hear music that they otherwise would not have heard.
Speaking of opportunities to hear music that one may not have ever been exposed to, how did SEV get picked for the Pepsi commercial?
The record label pretty much sent out all their band’s singles—Geffen, Interscope, A&M—and Pepsi chose us from about three hundred bands. Pepsi called our label and said, “We want this band. We like this band.”
That’s quite a compliment.
Yeah, we were really fortunate. It was really cool to have a song that got so many people involved, especially Pepsi. They could care less about us, and the fact that they were interested in our song made our day.
I can honestly tell you that from a promotional aspect the commercial really worked because after I saw it I had to find out who the band was. In your opinion, how did SEV benefit from doing the Pepsi Blue commercial?
Truthfully, exposure, which is the best thing that we could have possibly gained. We didn’t really care about what [the commercial] was for. We just knew that we were getting our music out there. And that is what it’s all about – getting more people to hear our music. We felt that it was a good way to get more people to hear our music. We had a great time, and we got to spend a week in Rome.
Has your show attendance increased since the commercial came out?
Yeah. We haven’t had a lot of shows since then. We’ve been trying to book some tours, and our record label has been doing certain things. We’ve been doing a lot of radio stuff. We get an average of about forty to fifty e-mails a day from people who found out about us through the commercial.
At first they did. A lot of the e-mails said, “I didn’t know you guys were a real band. I saw the commercial and I surfed for you guys and found out who you were. You guys are a real band. I think that’s great. I can’t wait for you to be in (whatever city, whatever State).”
That’s great.
Yeah, it has helped us out. People definitely like the music and a lot of people are going out and buying the record, so we’re really excited. This is a good time for us right now.
Labels really need to start looking at different ways to promote their bands, and the commercial was a great idea.
I agree.
Yes it was.
The wine, the food, the hotel we stayed at…it was crazy. The whole time we were there, from when we woke until we went to bed, we were followed around by these huge cameras with lights and stuff so we really didn’t have a lot of time to ourselves. But it was really funny seeing these crowds gather around us and they didn’t even know who we were. We just had a really good time and it was fun.
Did you have any trouble adjusting to the culture? I know that everything shuts down around 2:00 p.m.
We were there during the time when they shut everything down for a whole month.
You must have been there during the time when everyone takes a month off.
Yeah. Everything was opened during the first two or three days that we were there and then everything was shut down. Nothing was opened, which was really weird.
I’m planning to go to Italy next year, what do you recommend?
The Coliseum is really cool. The floor isn’t there any more and you can walk across the Coliseum, where the floor was, over this bridge and see where they kept the lions and the gladiators. It was really cool. The scene is a really cool out there because late at night you can go to the courtyards and just sit outside at a bar and drink and talk. It is really cool. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Were the natives more laid back?
Oh yeah. Really laid back.
What is the local music scene like in Virginia?
It’s cool. There is a lot of good talent here, as in probably a lot of other cities and states. We’re really hoping that, like with the whole Seattle scene, a lot of the bands in this area get notice because there are some really good bands here that could definitely be played on the radio and attract a lot of fans and stuff. I think it’s good. There are a couple of colleges around here and a lot of kids are coming to shows around here and having a really good time. For a while things were a little scary because that sniper guy was running around.
That’s right. You live in that area.
My house is about fifteen minutes away from where everything was taking place.
Were you at home when all that was going on?
Oh yeah.
Did the city turn into a ghost town?
Yeah. People were really scared.
That was just an awful thing to have to experience.
It was.
Are there a lot of clubs out there for bands to play at?
A lot of the clubs have been transformed into dance clubs, but there are still a couple of clubs that have been around for a long time that have rock music and will always have it. They’ve been around for almost twenty years, and those are the clubs that we pretty much stick to. Like the 930 club. It has a reputation of being one of the best live places a band can play in the country. It’s a really good place.
You mentioned that the local talent was really good. Are there any specific bands that you think our readers should look out for?
There are so many of them that I would hate to do that.
You don’t want to single out a few and leave out others.
If you really wanted me to give you names you would have to make this a whole separate page. There are literally that many bands here.
So people just need to go to Virginia and check out the music scene.
Exactly.
I heard that SEV has been pretty adamant in regards to playing all ages shows. Did you every have problems with trying to get a club to bend their policy?
When we first started playing at this club down in D.C. they pretty much only had 21 and over shows and we said, “Why don’t you let us do an all ages show,” because we had acquired a lot of underage fans from playing street festivals and certain things like that. One of the club owners told us about this place called The Bayou, which was another club that everybody knew about, so we ended up doing an all ages show there during the day and we packed the place and then we played a twenty-one and over show there at night. We ended up doing that at a couple of places. So, on a Saturday we would play an all ages show during the day and then at night we’d play for our fans who were twenty-one and over.
That is actually a very good idea.
It was great. The kids are where it’s at.
So what is the relationship like between the band and its fans?
Half of them are our friends. A lot of them have been listening to us for six-years. It’s hard not to become friends with people who have known you for that long, especially in the area that we play. We’ve never been the type of band that doesn’t like to go out and hang with our fans and talk to them. We’re not the type of band that likes to sit in out dressing room the whole time and come out and play and then go back into the dressing room. We want to go hang out with our fans and find out what they think of the music. One thing I like about playing the all ages shows is that the kids will tell us what they really think. They’ll tell you that you suck if you do. We just like making their day. When I was younger I didn’t really get to go to too many shows because I didn’t really live close to any place where they had all ages shows and my parents never really took me to shows. So for me to see fifteen to eighteen year-old kids at our shows is rewarding in its own way because I am kind of living through them. Their parents let them see our show, and their parents even come to see our show. It is really, really cool.
So when you released this album was it sort of like giving a gift to your fans?
Oh yeah. The title, All These Dreams, is actually the title track of the album and that song was written about our fans and all the fans that have been with us from the beginning, as well as the next generation of our new fans. If you sit down and listen to that song and read the lyrics you will see that it is all about our fans and we named the album after them.
That is a great way to show your appreciation for your fans.
Yes, and all the fans that know of us and know us know that we appreciate them. They knew that we were going to name [the album] that because ¾ of our music is for the fans – to get them involved. You know the song, “(Wave) your hands in the air.” That song is all about getting them involved. We have so many songs that are like that. It’s just a really cool feeling when we have energy just pushed at us through our fans, who are singing our songs and jumping when we’re jumping. It’s just a surreal feeling.
I read the liner notes on the album and it really seems like you guys are very grateful for this opportunity. Is there one specific person that you really want to thank for the person that you are today?
Oh my gosh. That’s almost along the same lines of listing the good bands that are here. If I did that I would hate for other people to feel left out. I can’t even put a number amount on the people that made me who I am today. There are so many of them. All of our fans, everyone in my band, our manager, our attorney…when things weren’t going so good at certain times they all kicked it into high gear and made things happen. Then there is our record label. Everybody has been really cool to us, and we’re getting our chance on just that. We have so much appreciation for all of these people that have gotten us to where we are. We know that we couldn’t have done it ourselves. No band gets big without a fanbase and stays big. It’s just like a child growing up. You are not going to go anywhere if you’re not taken care of and you don’t have a decent family. There are just so many people that have helped us out and all of them are our fans, including our mothers and our fathers. They’ve all been behind us 100%, and we are really grateful.
Did the band have a hard time finding a producer for the album?
We actually knew who we wanted to produce it when we first met him. His name is Machine, and he ended up producing the album. Our record label wanted us to try different producers, which was perfectly fine, so we did. One of them was Scott Humphries who has worked with White Zombie and Powerman 5000, in addition to countless amounts of huge bands. They also wanted us to work with a Bloodshy and Avant, who do the poppier type of stuff, and Machine. We had chosen Machine from the beginning, so we went with him. He is a great producer. He’s an up-and-coming guy and that is why we chose him. He’s worked with (hed) p.e., Step Kings, and Pitchshifter and when we heard his work we said, “This is the guy we should get.” He’s young and hungry just like we are. We’re not so young any more, but we’re still hungry. So we got him and we we’re so happy. We went out to L.A. and recorded the music and then we went to his studio in New York and recorded the vocals. He’s the man.
When it comes to the vocals, how do you and Phil benefit from each other?
We get the music from the guys and we either call them back and say “Hey, make the chorus four measures longer or whatever,” and once we do that Phil and I usually just sit down in a room together. Phil and I pretty much stay together in hotels and stuff like that because we’re constantly writing together. It’s just a team effort. Whether he writes the song or I write the song it’s still a team effort and it’s still 50% right down the middle between him and I. We have a really good time. A lot of people have said that we’re on completely opposite ends of the board when it comes to styles and capabilities. Phil is more the hard, screaming, rapping type, and my style is more along the singing, rapping vein. We’ve known each other for so long that everything we write about just happens to mold into itself. We could be in two different parts of the country at the same time and we’ll probably write about the same thing. That is just how we are.
After all these years of friendship and collaboration the two of you are starting to think alike.
Yeah.
Does the album capture the band’s live energy?
It does in certain ways.
I have a feeling that the band is a lot more energetic in a live setting, but this album does exhibit a lot of energy.
It’s almost impossible to capture a band’s live energy on an album. There haven’t been many bands that have done that. I think that it is the same case with us. We did the best we could on our first album, but I think that in albums to come, especially with the new music that we are writing, we’ll get another chance to try to perfect it. I think that live is where it is all at.
Tell me about the deal with Bionicles? (Bionicles is a hot new action figure line from Leggo.)
That is another thing that kind of came out of the blue just like Pepsi. Bionicles just called our record label and said, “We’ve heard this band. We’ve been hearing about this band. We want the band,” and the label was like, “Okay.” I don’t know when the album is coming out, but a CD is supposed to be included with the toys. We had some of the toys sent to us and our song was on the CD, as well as songs from Cold and White Zombie.
Yet another great promotional tool.
Yeah. A lot of people have said that we seem really poppy because they heard “Same Old Song” on the Pepsi commercial. When we first started getting courted by record labels a couple of them asked us, “What direction are you guys going,” because they heard two different styles - the lighter side and the harder side. And we just basically told them, “We want to do everything. We want to do it all.” We don’t want all our music to sound alike. We don’t want track 1 – 15 to sound exactly the same. Everyone in the band has their own influences and when we bring those together this is what we get. Interscope and Geffen didn’t really care. Their attitude was, “Alright, let’s rock. Let’s do this,” and that is why we were so happy with them.
I definitely noticed that each song has it’s own style. All These Dreams is not a boring album because each song has something unique and interesting to offer.
I feel the same way because once we start thinking that the music sounds the same then it’s only way down hill from there because our fans are going to see it in our performance. They’re going to here it. They’re going to know. Once we start falling off like that we might as well quit. But I don’t see us doing that any time soon. We just like making music, and making different kinds of music is what we have always been about.
I think you guys have some more creativity left in you.
Oh yeah. The new music that we are working on now is just incredibly good.
So is it true that you used to work in a pawn shop?
Yeah.
What was the craziest thing that was brought into the store?
People would bring in fake Rolexes all the time.
And they would try to tell you they were real.
Oh yeah. People would try to pawn all kinds of stuff, like fake diamonds. People would steal stuff and bring it to the pawnshop to try to pawn it off. Everyday we would have to call police and send them a scan of everything that we bought and was purchased. The police would frequent the place quite often because we’d get a lot of stuff that was stolen, but they usually caught the thieves. A guy came in once with about $20,000 worth of musical equipment. He was in some ‘80’s band that didn’t make it, and he wanted to get married. He was like, “I’m done with this whole music thing,” and I was in the band at the time so it was like, “Wow!” He was said, “I’m done with it. I’m sick of it. All I want to do is get a ring for my girlfriend so I can ask her to marry me.” So I traded him a $2,000 ring for $20,000 worth of musical equipment. That was a good deal for me.
Oh yeah it was. Do you guys have any big plans for New Years Eve?
Not yet, but I’m sure that our record label and our management already have something brewing for us, if I know them. I’m sure they’ll have us playing somewhere. Where are you at?
I’m in Los Angeles.
Oh God I wish I were there.
Do you want to know how hot it is today and it’s November. [Bitch! You're so mean...-ed]
I don’t want to know. I’ve had an ongoing headache for three years now since my allergies kicked in. I do not like this place. I like it, but it’s cold and rainy and it’s just - eeck.
Well, sell a few more albums and move out to L.A.
This is the album right here that is taking us there. We’re moving out there. I think we’re going to move to San Diego.
San Diego is very nice. It’s more laid back than L.A. and there are some cool places to hang and lots of fun things to do.
That is where we’d like to go.
What would you say has been the most rewarding experience so far?
Obviously, having the opportunity to go to places like Rome and Tahiti and places like that to play. Our record label has sent us there. The most rewarding thing is just knowing that this is what our job is. There is a percentage of people, and it is probably about five percent of the people in the world, who get to do what they love everyday and get paid for doing it and that is the most rewarding thing. We’re part of that five percent. We get to do the funnest thing in the world to us and we get paid for it and we can pay our bills and buy nice things. I just think it’s amazing. Just like with basketball players, or any professional athlete, their favorite thing to do is play sports, even when they were growing up, and now they are getting paid to do it just because they have some talent. That is rewarding and it is also rewarding to have fans, whether it’s one fan or one million fans. If you have a fan that will follow you around or will drive four hours or get in a plane to come see you when you have a big show somewhere that is really rewarding – knowing that people really get into what you do is very rewarding.
I agree.
We are just really fortunate when it comes to that type of stuff.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Not really. This has been a great interview. You got the CD right?
Yeah.
What did you think?
I really like it. It’s got a great vibe, good energy, every song is enjoyable, and each song is different. There is something to like about every single song.
That is awesome. I could describe a couple of them to you.
(At this point Danny earned extra brownie points. I stopped asking bands to describe their songs because I always got the snotty response of “I don’t like describing my songs. I want people to use their imagination.” I for one, as a fan, like to hear about the story behind a song. Thank you Danny for sharing.) Please do.
“All These Dreams” was obviously written about the fans. “Same Old Song” was written a few years ago. Our guitarist actually helped out with that song. He came up with the chorus, “Whoa, yeah” because we were obviously trying to get our fans involved in order to make them feel like they are in the band as well. “Menace To Society” is kind of about living in this area. There is a line in the song, “All I need is the Sun today,” because the sun doesn’t really shine that much here and when it does my allergies are death defying so I can’t really go out. But, then we have “All Right By Me,” which is basically saying, “It’s alright. It’s cool, everything is cool.” Then things get heavier with “What You Got For Me,” which is another song for our fans because we have to get our fans riled up when we play and what is the best thing to say to them than, “Whatcha got for me?” When we get into that screaming part our fans just go ballistic. “24/7/365” is self- explanatory. Music is what we do is 24/7. “Lust” was written quite some time ago…Basically, the whole album kind of describes the fun we have and how fun it is to reach for your goal and finally get it. It really is. We wrote about how the whole time we were trying to get recognized and signed and go on to bigger, better things and that is what the whole album is about. The last song, ”Twisted,” is just a battle rap between Phil and I. I think we got mad at each other one day and said, “We’re going to write about each other and just go off on each other.” He made fun of my bald head and I made fun of him looking like certain celebrities. So that’s basically what the songs are about. And our fans are the best fans in the world. They do all kinds of stuff for us. One day $40,000 worth of equipment was stolen right in front of my house. It was in our trailer and we didn’t have insurance on it and some of our fans actually pitched in and bought us new equipment.
That is very cool.
Yeah, can you believe that?
They are very loyal fans.
You can’t beat them and they are some of the craziest people I have ever met in my life too.
Well I look forward to joining them when SEV comes out to L.A.
Right on. I’m surprised you haven’t asked me this question because a couple of other interviewers have said to me, “What do you think about people calling you sellouts because you did the Pepsi Blue commercial?”
I really don’t think you guys sold out. In this market you have to think of new angles to promote your product.
A lot of people don’t think that. A lot of people haven’t realized that like you have, obviously.
There is a fine line between selling out. No one really knew who you guys were. I saw the commercial and it was like, “Wow! I have to find out who this band is.” In some cities, especially L.A., there really aren’t any good rock stations, so I welcome every opportunity to find out about new bands. The Pepsi Blue commercial turned me on to you guys. I may not have ever found out about SEV if it wasn’t for that commercial, and I would have missed out on a good opportunity. Besides, what is the difference between doing a commercial or a doing a video for MTV?
Exactly, and other people who have interviewed me have asked me about that and I just say to them, “Have you listened to the whole record?” How can you possibly think we are a sell out band after listening to our whole record?
Once you listen to the album, even if someone thought you guys were sellouts, all those notions are squashed.
Because we do everything. There is not a song on there that is a light song and everything else is heavy. I just think that if someone offered…like you. If someone from The Washington Post came up to you and offered you $200,000 to be a writer for The Washington Post you would say, “Hell yeah!” Plus, you would get a lot of exposure and everybody would read your interviews, but trying to explain that to some people is futile.
Some people are just narrow-minded.
Extremely.
They just want to find a reason to pick.
If that is the case, just signing a record deal is selling out.
I agree.
If we weren’t sellouts then, why are you calling us sellouts now?
When you listen to the album you can tell that there is a lot of heart in the album. It comes through. There is no sellout aspect that is evident at all.
Thank you. Actually, there is a radio station that I would like to say something about. 99.1 WHFS. They are a tri-state station (D.C., Virginia, Maryland), and they have helped us out a lot too. They have this event called the HFStival, which brings about 100,000 people. In 1999 we won their battle of the bands’ contest and we got to play on the side stage as an opener for Staind and we have played it pretty much every year since then. This year we played the main stage for the second time, and we played in front of thousands of people. WHFS have really helped us out a lot.
For more on SEV visit: www.24SEV.com / www.sevfamily.com
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