After 20 Years, Sevendust Finally Gets Some Respect…Sort Of
I was hoping to wake up this morning and write a little story about how Sevendust won a well deserved Grammy. But, that just isn't the case. They lost last night to Ghost. But, I guess a loss was to be expected. For over 2 decades now, no band has worked harder or been more under appreciated than Sevendust. We know and love Sevendust, but generally speaking, their Grammy nomination was the first time, to my knowledge, that they actually received any national praise or recognition.
A few days ago, Sevendust guitarist John Connolly posted this on Facebook:
As a lifelong music fan, it's always been a dream to go to something as special as the Grammy's. Does it define us? No. Will it change us? Absolutely not, but it's nice to finally be acknowledged by an industry that has mostly tried to ignore us for 20 years. This is for those who always believed. ...
No way we would have ever gotten here without our "family" (aka. Our diehard dustheads) so as we are nominated for "Thank You" I offer you the original "Thank You" for all the love and support........the ride has been amazing and regardless of the outcome, you guys have gotten us here and I'm eternally appreciative for you never losing faith. Thank you.
And I think that pretty much sums up the band and their attitude. It's the thing that makes them great. They are probably the best group of dudes on the road. Over the years: they've bar tended for us, played shows on back porches, hosted private parties...all kinds of stuff that a band of that caliber generally decline.
Last time 7D was in town, Lajon was on stage talking about the fans and the band. Tears actually came to his eyes and he said, 'You guys aren't fans, you're family. And we love our family'.
They may have not won the Grammy, but, dammit, I'm proud of the guys. Not only are they still cranking out fantastic music, which they are FINALLY starting to get mainstream recognition for, but they've done it their way, on their own. It could have been easy for them to sell out, but instead they broke away from traditional record label system, started their own and never act like they are too big of a band to play any venue or do anything.
So, from me personally and from the 99X family-past and present, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you and congratulations. Lajon, Clint, Morgan, John and Vinnie are some of the most genuine and real guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. They still answer my texts and calls (most of the time). When they come to town, they always hang out and take care of us and our listeners. From Crawlspace till now, they haven't changed a bit. They're just guys who love what they do and appreciate every moment of the ride.
We couldn't ask for better friends or better people to work with. Who knows how long we'll have left together, but we hope its another 20 years at least.
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