Frontman, guitarist and principal songwriter Shaun Morgan admits “Fake It” almost didn’t make the record. “We wanted to create songs that are a little different,” he explains.

Rounded out by drummer John Humphrey and bassist Dale Stewart, what the South African-bred, Los Angeles-based trio has created is a CD full of chart contenders, thanks in part to production whiz Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Daughtry).

Headbangers like “FMLYHM,” “Breakdown” and “6 Gun Quota” feel right at home alongside more pop-sounding numbers like “Rise Above This,” an ironically upbeat song inspired by the suicide of Morgan’s brother.

Formed in 1999 as Saron Gas and signed to Johannesburg-based Musketeer Records, they changed their name in 2002 with the release of their U.S. debut, Disclaimer. Radio smashes “Fine Again” and “Gasoline” earned the album gold certification and placed the band on the alternative metal map.

Then came “Broken,” a decidedly un-Seether-like ballad reworked as a duet with labelmate (and now ex-girlfriend) Amy Lee of Evanescence. Included on Disclaimer II — released as an alternate version of Disclaimer — the song was featured in the 2004 film The Punisher and became an instant Top 20 hit.

Their success continued with 2005’s Karma and Effect, a considerably darker effort that steered the band away from “Broken” and produced the singles “Truth,” “The Gift” and the eight-consecutive-week Billboard chart-topper “Remedy.”

Now, with Finding Beauty, Seether hopes fans will embrace the more experimental sound of the new disc.

“We wanted to write and explore the more melodic and musical side of everything,” Morgan says. “We can be heavy and rock out, but we can also write songs that can compete with any other song out there. That was a really big motivation.”

WE BELONG TOGETHER
Darnell Bristol
Mariah Carey
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Sid "Uncle Jamz" Johnson
Patrick L. Moten
Sandra Sully
Bobby Womack
ABKCO Music, Inc.
Ballads By Design Publishing
Hip Chic Music
Mister Johnson's Jams Music
Rye Songs
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Mariah Carey
Island Records

YOU AND ME
Jude Cole
Jason Wade
Dimensional Songs of the Knoll
G-Chills Music
Jude Cole Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lifehouse
Geffen Records

Glass Intrepid has shared the stage with many national acts such as Papa Roach, 3 Doors Down, Sum 41, Breaking Benjamin, The Used, Snow Patrol, My American heart, The Vanished, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Exies, Drowning Pool, Unwritten Law, Alter Bridge, Mudvayne, Trust Company, Lit and Seether. Glass Intrepid was awarded by Unsigned as the Best Unsigned Rock Band in Texas allowing them to appear at KTBZ’s Buzz Fest XV in Houston, Texas. Glass Intrepid also won a spot on the 2005 Vans Warped tour leading them to recently win first place in the 9th Annual Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition out of 10,000 bands nationally. This led to an opportunity to showcase at the Key Club in Hollywood.

Glass Intrepid is legally represented by Nick Ferrara of Serling, Rooks & Ferrara, New York, and managed by In De Goot Entertainment based out of New York, manager for 3 Doors Down, Blackstone Cherry, Chevelle, Deepfield, Dekko, Earshot, Exit the King, Halestorm, Instruction, Life of Agony, No Address, Puddle of Mudd, Saliva, Secretary Bird, Shinedown, Silvertide, Tantric and Theory of a Deadman. In De Goot Entertainment is currently shopping GI to major record labels in hopes of landing a recording contract and begin work on their debut album.

Glass Intrepid has started a buzz in the music industry that is growing by the day. Their love for playing music is evident on stage as they put all their energy into an intense live show. Music is their passion and their very existence, as well as their desire to spread something great to the world.

“Glass Intrepid is quite possibly the best band that Houston has to offer!”

- Zakk United (94.5 KTBZ)

“They have the look, the songs, the energy… Absolutely terrific!”

- Joanne Grand (Senior Director, Rock Formats, Jive Records)

“Glass Intrepid is the best up and coming rock band!”

- Paul Bassman (Manager of Drowning Pool, Dallas, Texas)

“The music on this album is very personal to me,” says Ed Sloan, the band’s lead singer. “I can listen and feel the strong emotions that were the catalysts for a lot of the songs. I hope that listeners will be able to hear our music and make it their own, much in the same way that I connected with bands like Metallica, and other artists who really put a lot of actual feelings and meaning into their music and lyrics.”

While Crossfade’s writing process often begins with Sloan fleshing out the basic structure on guitar, kicking around lyrics and melody lines, he says, “When we all get together and start to forge the song as a band, through, that’s when it really takes off. Mitch (James) is a phenomenal bass player, and manages to breathe energy into everything he touches. Tony (Byroads) will just start throwing out vocal ideas and great samples he creates on the pads, and they never fail to add a dimension and depth that wasn’t there before.” The band added drummer James Branham in 2004 when their previous drummer left to pursue other interests.

Since the album was released in April of 2004 the band has sold over a million copies, posted over 350,000 digital downloads and hit the road with acts such as Seether, Alter Bridge, Shinedown, Chevelle and more. Their singles “Cold,” “So Far Away” and “Colors” have all had huge success on the Active Rock, Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts including an incredible, record-breaking 65 straight week run on Active Rock for “Cold.”

For more info visit their website at crossfadeonline.com and be sure to check out their self-titled, debut album out now on Columbia Records.

“I had a .38 special in one hand and a guitar in the other,” he told Rolling Stone about a particularly bad patch in his life at the age of 17. However, “I picked up the guitar and started playing. If you kill yourself, you’re a coward.”

With Dale Stewart (bass/vocals) and Nick Oshiro (drums), Seether was formed in 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa — not an area well known for its rock scene. Still, the group’s South African release, Fragile, became one of the nation’s best-selling titles, with first single, “Fine Again,” helping one young girl who had overdosed to start over.

As Seether left to seek its fortune in the U.S., “They were actually crying,” Morgan says of the girl’s family. “That was the most surreal experience. They’re all standing around and saying, ‘We don’t know if we should be happy for you or angry at you,’ and that’s pretty cool. It’s good to know we’ve had such a positive influence on someone.”

Morgan’s motivation stems from the lack of acceptance he felt growing up in Johannesburg. Not only did his parents divorce when he was still young, but his Afrikaans mother’s devoutly Christian family held some disdain for him due to his father’s English heritage. His paternal family, meanwhile, looked down on his being so into rock music. The situation ultimately led to the gun-or-guitar incident.

The current album, Disclaimer, delves deeply into Morgan’s issues, with roiling self-analytical titles like “Pig” and “Gasoline” providing equally weighty emotional power. “I’m not trying to be a spokesman,” Morgan explains, “because I wouldn’t want to have a spokesman myself. This is a way for me to say how I feel now and get it out.

“Other people will paint something or draw something or dance it out or whatever,” he continues. “This, I suppose, is the only way I can purge, but it is therapeutic.”

The therapy continues on the road, where Seether is perhaps most at home. Having completed a stint on this past summer’s Ozzfest, the group recently (on November 9) wrapped its own headlining tour of the U.S.

Morgan has great hopes that Seether’s music will continue to inspire listeners. “I don’t care if no one knows what I look like,” he says. “That’s not the point. The point is to know I’ve touched people.”]]> 2002-11-13T17:00:00-05:00