Morgan Rose Of Sevendust

This Off Beat interview with Morgan was conducted by Ian Macdonald for the May issue of SD Magazine. Login on May 3rd and check out the remainder of the interview & tons more… 

SDM: Atlanta has produced some great bands: Stuck Mojo, Sevendust, Mastodon…  Are there any other bands you know of that may still be local to ATL that you would advise we check out?
 
Morgan: Dear Enemy is a very heavy, yet hooky band who works harder than anybody, even harder than we did when we first started.  I'm blown away by their dedication.  It's a strange time in the music business, where it's not as easy to go out and grab the American dream anymore.  As much as we sat back and said, "man… I wish we had hit a little bit earlier", I look at it now and am glad we got to see it before the fucking nuclear bomb went off, you know.
 
SDM: Yeah, it's like a race for branding and exposure these days, with more intense focus on merchandising.
 
Morgan: Exactly… Yet, we've got this group of people that follows us and we love them for it!  Everything we have is because of these people who have supported our music, so we got lucky to get through that time.
 
SDM: Yeah, your fans will always continue to buy your records and not download them.
 
Morgan: Yeah, some of these people, like us, are ancient in a sense, and still don't even know how to send an email, so that helps.  I mean, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to technology!  I still like Atari and Colecovision, Intellivision and stuff, you know.
 
SDM: Yeah, I can see it… "Hey guys, wanna come over and play fuckin' Oregon Trail on my Commodore 64?"
 
Morgan: [laughs] Absolutely man!
 
SDM: So what has been your most reliable piece of gear over the years?
 
Morgan: I'd have to say the pedals.  Surprisingly enough, the Pearl Eliminator pedals are the things that have lasted the best, I mean I was with Tama before Pearl and they had some really good stuff and are probably doing fine, but the Pearl stuff was an immediate difference.  I could see it, feel it, nothing was breaking down, and all their stuff holds up well and never gives me any problem really.
 
SDM: Yeah, they were the talk of NAMM this year with the new Demon Drives.
 
Morgan: Those motherfuckers are just stupid!  I had some prototypes a while back and wanted to bring them out on the road.  If I had my head screwed on in any correct fashion right now, I would sit in a room for hours and really work on some kick patterns, 'cause you can do all kinds of stuff with those.
 
SDM: What's your take on triggers live or in the studio?
 
Morgan: I had my whole kit triggered out for a few records.  Like during Seasons, it was pretty cool because "Viggy" (William Vignola), my old tech, who has also been a tech for Tommy Lee, John Blackwell, Stephen Perkins and a ton of others, was the first guy to introduce me to in-ears, running clicks, and pretty much locking the show down to where it's all on a grid.  I loved having the song name, then the count off in my ear piece, so the crowd had no idea, you know.  He started with that, then he started ripping sounds from all the records and he would grid them out on a Digital Performer, so when we triggered the kit, the crowd would actually hear the actual drum sounds from the records.  So I enjoyed it for a little while until the triggers started breaking down, so we got away from it.
 
SDM: So have you learned to hate them?
 
Morgan: I still use them a little bit.  Ddrum made some pretty killer shit back in the day, but they don't have anything new "brain-wise" yet.  I know the owner really well and can't wait for a new brain to hit the market, cause I'll be all over it!
 
SDM: I could almost feel the respect you displayed when talking about visiting Iraq.  How often you still think about it, and what did you really take from that experience?
 
Morgan: Every single day… On any given day, any occasion I will still break down about it.  I haven't talked to all the guys we met over there, but I did make a few friends who are now really close to me.  Any time I have a bitch, and everyone who knows me knows I like to bitch here and there, I now stop and think… and realize I have nothing to bitch about.  These boys are over there in the fuckin' dirt, with fecal matter flying about all over the place, and that's just where they are resting!  Not even talking about the motherfuckers trying to shoot them, yet.  We're going to Iraq in May and we are excited.  I love those men and women over there, it's a pretty special thing.
 
SDM: So after this tour and Iraq, what else do you have lined up for the rest of the year?
 
Morgan: After Iraq, we are going straight to Europe for a month of festivals, which is very strange, having been in this band so long and never really traveling over there to do them.  Certain people never wanted to fly over there to do them, me being one of them.  I went through a really long period where I just refused to fly, and it kind of fucked the band a little bit.  We have been asked over and over, but I would never agree to go, cause I wouldn't fly.  So now I still don't like it, but I figure when it's your time to go, it's your time to go.
 
SDM: Well, it's probably safer than driving anywhere in Atlanta!
 
Morgan: [laughs] Yeah, or walking anywhere!  So we'll be done in Europe at the end of June, and have already demoed half the record, or a bunch of songs for the record, and will be working on that, and look to go back to Europe maybe in December.  We then go to Australia in January, Japan in February, and back here to start it up again.