| "People
always ask me where the best music scene is," declares Sister Hazel lead
singer/acoustic guitarist Ken Block. "And we always say, 'Wherever you
make it.' Scenes don't just happen; they are created by the people doing
their thing…And that's just what we're still looking to do more of."
It's been 10 years and over a million
records sold for Sister Hazel since the group's five distinct
personalities came together in the vibrant Florida college town of
Gainesville. At the time the Southeast was a place more of camaraderie
than competition, a hotbed for homegrown talent, and Sister Hazel worked
out of the area in concentric circles quickly establishing a reputation
as one of the strongest, most consistent draws of the grassroots
circuit.
While the crop of newly emerging acts has
thinned since the mid- to late-'90s heyday, a scene has remained
stronger than ever around Sister Hazel because the band has continued to
do what it does best: play honest, heartfelt original music. The group
prides itself on being accessible and down-to-earth, devoting time to
events and organizations they have personally believed strongly in and
developed including Lyrics For Life, which sponsors charitable events to
raise money for and awareness of cancer research, and the annual Rock
Boat, a fan-driven mingling featuring multiple artists that makes waves
across the Caribbean yearly.
Not taking their gift of song lightly,
Sister Hazel has constantly looked for means to bring the group and
their Hazelnuts closer more often. So now with Chasing Daylight, the
band's first self-released album since 1996, Sister Hazel has moved to
further reinforce a commitment to the fans of its music by opting out of
its deal with Universal Records to maintain control not only over the
music but its means and rate of delivery.
"It was scary, choosing to leave
Universal," admits bassist Jeff Beres. "At first, all we had ever wanted
was a major label record deal, and now we had all decided the best thing
to do was to leave it. There was separation anxiety, like breaking up
with a girlfriend. We learned a lot while with Universal, and still have
a wonderful relationship with them. But sometimes you know leaving is
the best thing for you even if it seems the hardest thing to do. We just
realized we were producing so much music we believed in we wanted to be
able to release and promote it on our own schedule."
The time leading up to Chasing Daylight
proved one of the most collaborative and fertile of Sister Hazel's
career; a period of "just shut up and play" for Block and Beres, as well
as rhythm guitarist Andrew Copeland, lead guitarist Ryan Newell and
drummer Mark Trojanowski, all of whom feel they've better learned to
pick their battles and trust each other to channel their passion into
recording instead of needless debating. Over 60 demos were considered
for the final album, many of which began during what could best be
described as food-for-thought sessions.
"We started going to lunch together,"
recalls Beres, "where we'd sit down and talk about everything from life,
relationships, politics, sociology, language, religion, anything. We'd
just talk until something exciting came up, and then we'd make that the
topic of the day and run with it, go back to the house and get together
with our instruments and flesh out the ideas." The result, Somewhere
between Cracker Barrel and sushi: Comforting, artful yet raw.
"We went into this recording with no
internal rules as to how songs could come to the table," reveals Block.
"People could bring Southern rock to reggae, aggressive to acoustic
ideas, skeletal or full-bodied arrangements. We looked to bridge the gap
between the intimacy of a singer songwriter and the immediacy of a
high-octane rock band. We captured the dynamics that take you on a ride,
but never go off the tracks, because we're a band of people who not only
love all kinds of ideas but also are capable of presenting them. We grew
up with records that got listened to as a whole, and one of the finest
complements we've received is that people say they can put on our CDs
and they never have to skip around."
Just because Sister Hazel tie their
records together with a dramatic thread doesn't mean Chasing Daylight
maintains a singular mood, however. All of Sister Hazel's records can be
said to have layers of emotions, the collective experience of five
students of life -- a mixture of fire, ice and water, passionate and
level headed, fluid and steadfast, old souls and everymen -- who
together offer a wide variety of material upon which to draw.
"Our stance from the beginning has always
been we were going to write about true things we experience, ways we
feel, which, despite some surface appearances, have not always been
sunny," says Beres. The group, however, see nothing wrong with dusting
their experiences with a touch of jangle and a sparkling shower of
optimism, reflected in the title of Chasing Daylight, a title derived
from the song "Come Around," inspired by a friend's journey from the
Gulf to the Atlantic coast to experience the Sun's arc, the way it sets
and reaffirming rises like Sister Hazel's song.
"Life often has you going in and out of
darkness," observes Block, "but instead of looking and lurking in
darkness, we try to chase daylight, chase hopeful situations around. Our
music helps us do that, and we hope it can offer the same for others.
Our music is like therapy for us, but a lot of what we've gone through,
other people can relate to. We spend many, many hours laboring over
lyrics, making sure we're understood but leaving enough ambiguity for
people to plug in their own situation. We want Chasing Daylight to be
something that can mean different things to people at different times.
We want it to offer lyrical intimacy, introspection, but also just plain
primal, organic grooves. Mindless fun, we want people to be able to
close their doors, sit and think to it, but also turn it up, open their
car windows and get a speeding ticket. We believe it's capable of it
all." "It really shows the growth of the band musically and lyrically,"
adds Andrew Copeland.
It isn't just Chasing Daylight, but the
band itself as well, in which Block, Beres and company express such
unwavering belief and limitless ambition.
"Our goal is to make Sister Hazel more of
an institution than a band that goes out and tries to live or die by
radio," concludes Beres. "By releasing recordings, touring, working with
the Lyrics For Life charity, participating in the Rock Boat, we want to
provide more than just music. We want to provide experiences and
memories for our fans, and now we have the freedom to do so." |