Idol Conversations

By-Jezabel Magazine 

There is no denying that Atlanta's music scene is a medley of talent from every musical genre. JEZ's cover models for the 2001 April Music Issue illustrate the diversity of our music scene, while simultaneously exemplifying the familial fortitude of our local musicians. Marvelous 3 frontman Butch Walker, Sister Hazel bassist Jeff Beres, musical artist and So So Def Recordings CEO Jermaine Dupri, and Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland sat down with JEZEBEL Magazine to give us the lowdown from inside Atlanta's music scene. These artists represent a music scene as eclectic as the thriving metropolis in which they live, but by supporting each other, they maintain that small-town appeal so indicative of the South.

JEZEBEL(JEZ) From what you've experienced as a young band starting out, tell us about the importance of imaging, that is, how you are portrayed.

BUTCH (BW): Any thoughts?

JEFF (JB): Well, I actually prefer cellophane shorts and naked Twister on stage.

BW: Why settle for just coming off the stage and being lumped into the same category? It's not a righteous factor. It's an individuality statement. The same reason you have tattoos. It's because it's individuality and I think image in that respect is everything. But, as we were just talking about, music is more important than anything because without a song, our image doesn't mean shit. So, I'd say it's a good percent of it, for me anyway.

JB: I agree with that. I think it's a balance. You can't let it overtake you, your music, what you write, and what comes from your heart. But you also have to stand out. From the beginning, we realized that we had to get a little funky on stage. You know, you got to look a little different than the people out in the crowd.

JEZ: To be an accomplished musician, you need a balance, no doubt. Okay, now on to the important stuff: Gold Club or the Cheetah?

JD:To be just a human being, you need the Gold Club in your life.

JB: I thought they got shut down.

JD:No, I paid money to keep it open.

JB: So where could I find like a really nice girl to date for a while (laughing)?

JD:Try the Cheetah Club.

JB: The Cheetah?

DEAN (DR): The Cheetah.

JEZ: Who do you think makes more money?

JD:Gold Club. Their dances cost twenty dollars a dance.

JEZ: What do they get at the Cheetah?

DR: Ten dollars.

JEZ: Don't they have special rooms there, like VIP?

JD:$200 an hour. Obviously I go there a lot, huh?

BW: I'm all about the working class, blue collar, you know, a working man's strip bar.

DR: Pink Pony, Gold Rush.

JD:Pink Pony, yeah.

JEZ: Why do you guys live in Atlanta as opposed to anywhere else?

DR: I was raised here.

JD:I was born and raised here. I couldn't leave.

JB: Mine is a little different story than these guys because I'm from Florida. I could have gone a lot of places and I came here. Basically it's because they got the Cheetah and the Gold Club and good Calamari. No, seriously, I lived in Gainesville, Florida for about eight years; that is where Sister Hazel is from. A couple of us ended up moving up here because it's got all the trappings of a big city, but it's still got the feel of the South, and we dig that. It's got the best of both worlds for me.

JEZ: Do you feel that you can find ultimate success in Atlanta or will you have to go elsewhere?

BW: I lived in L.A. for three years. I graduated high school and moved out there to pursue my dreams and you don't realize how unrealistic life is living there. It's very plastic and there's a very evil dark energy out there that I loveÉbut only for three days. I don't want to live there.

JD:I know what you mean. I love it for about a month.

BW: Yeah, it's all right. I was just there for two weeks. Every time I come back here, I definitely get my ground on.

JB: I think the SouthÐand you guys can back me up on thisÐhas a kind of camaraderie in the music scene that I haven't experienced anywhere else. And I know of other bands that we've come across, that we're friends with, that we travel with or whatever, and it's just not the same. I think all of us here are the kind of people that get up and jump on stage with each other and would go in and record together.

JEZ: Do you feel like there's a separatist movement here?

BW: We don't have a competitive thing going on here with all the different genres. It's more embraced. You know, that's another great thing about living here. When I lived in L.A., it was too cut throat and too competitive and no one had security. Everyone is very insecure. The thing about Atlanta is you can have hip hop, you can have country, you can have rock, you can have it all.

JEZ: Do you feel like there is that crossover? When you go out at night, do you think everybody is congregating in that place because it's all about breaking the barriers?

BW: No, it's natural. In places like New York, I think it's forced. I think it's all for the press there. It's gratuitous. It's like, well, oh, let's put a hip hop guy with a rock guy, and let's say it's new. That's not new. I think it should be based the on the fact that you like each other. If you get along with each other or if you like each other's bands or whatever, you should be open to that. There's bad music and good music in every genre. So the one good thing about Atlanta is the fact that we have a lot of good in every genre. So if it just so happens that we're fans of each other's work and we don't do the same music, then so be it.

JB: I think that's a good point, that it's okay to be fans of each other's work. It's not such a competitive thing. It's cool to go up to another musician and say, ÒHey, man, I really love what you're doing.Ó You go other places and people are not that complimentary of each other's work. The only place I really hear that or feel itÐand it's really an unsaid thingÐis here.

See The Remainder Of The Interview In This Months JEZEBEL.(April 01)