Biography[]
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.
Their first major release came in 2002 with their second album Disclaimer. The album spawned three singles, "Fine Again", "Driven Under" and "Gasoline," but only "Fine Again" charted with any success. The remaining singles got semi-frequent radio play on modern rock stations, but were not major chart hits. The biggest hit off the album, "Broken", was not even released as a single. Shaun Morgan has cited Nirvana (and specifically the album Nevermind) as 'the reason he picked up a guitar,' and also quotes Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Deftones. [1]
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. [1] 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. [2] "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" and "The Gift". "Remedy" reached number 1 of the US Mainstream Rock Charts, becoming the band's first number 1 single.
While on tour for the album with 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. Shaun Morgan said, "Um… relieved a little… actually a lot, He was the guy in the band that was always our naysayer, and he was the negative energy as far as writing. I personally have no love lost, which is weird for some reason ‘cus he was my friend for four years. But when he walked out – it kinda walked out with him."[1]
Shaun Morgan went into rehab for alcohol and cocaine addictions in August 2006, forcing the band to cancel their tour with Staind and Three Days Grace. Morgan is now out of rehab.
Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces[]
Before the release of the new album, Morgan had claimed that it would be more diverse than previous records. The album was released on October 23, 2007, but leading up to the release, the date was changed frequently due to the death of Morgan's brother, Eugene Welgemoed. The album was produced by Howard Benson.
"Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces" debuted at number 9 in the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 57,000 copies in the first week. The cover was illustrated by David Ho.
The first single "Fake It" reached the top position in both 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 number 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 has joined the band as second guitarist. McLawhorn previously did a stint as Evanescence's replacement guitarist during the last leg of The Open Door tour.
Seether is currently[when?] into their 2nd part of the US tour concluding in early October of 2008. This past June Seether played at UK's Download Festival on Fridays Main Stage with various other artists.While they played the song "Broken" Morgan could be seen crying. Shaun also announced that 2009 marks Seether's tenth anniversary. An album with be released in 2009 coinciding with the anniversery. It will include old unreleased tracks and demos, including Saron Gas demos.
Seether claimed their first South African Music Award in the category "Best Rock: English" for Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces.
On August 5, 2008 Seether released an Itunes Originals Album.
Band members[]
Current[]
- Shaun Morgan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (co-founder, 1999–present)
- Dale Stewart – bass guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (2000–present)
- John Humphrey - drums (2004–present)
- Troy McLawhorn – lead guitar, backing vocals (2008–2011)
Former[]
- Tyronne Morris – bass guitar (co-founder, 1999 – 2000)
- David Cohoe – drums, backing vocals (co-founder, 1999 - 2002)
- Nick Oshiro – drums (2002)
- Nick Annis – lead guitar (2002)
- Kevin Soffera – drums (2003 - 2004)
- Pat Callahan – lead guitar (2002 - 2006)
Discography[]
- 2000: Fragile (as Saron Gas)
- 2002: Disclaimer
- 2004: Disclaimer II
- 2005: Karma and Effect
- 2006: One Cold Night
- 2007: Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
- 2011: Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray