Over
one million records later and Sister Hazel are still five
down-to-earth guys from Gainesville, Florida. When their
heartfelt debut ...Somewhere More Familiar was first self-released
in 1996, it sold over 10,000 copies in less than three
months. When Universal Records re-released the album in
the winter of 1997, the catchy love-struck first single
"All For You" became one of the most played
songs on radio that year. With "All For You"
and the success of the group's second single "Happy",
the band set out on an endless tour as sales figures climbed.
Late in 1998, after clocking in 300 shows a year, Sister
Hazel retreated back to their homes for some much deserved
R&R. "We really needed to take some time off
to regroup, recharge our battery, and write some more
songs," declares lead singer/acoustic guitarist Ken
Block. "Whenever you come through an experience as
intense as we have, you can't come out of that unfazed."
Rhythm guitarist Andrew Copeland is just as honest about
the sometimes-overwhelming success
of the past few years. "I think you're caught up
so deep in it, that you don't know what you've done. I
didn't really get to sit back and appreciate all the experiences
we'd had until we came off the road.
Family
and friends were big priorities after the tour, but eventually
the rock 'n' roll bug came back. Block and Copeland along
with bassist Jeff Beres, lead guitarist Ryan Newell, and
drummer Mark Trojanowski eagerly reconvened in the spring
of 1999 at Rumbo Studios in LA with producer Mike Clink
(Guns 'n' Roses). Even though 60 songs had been created,
the sessions seemed to be missing a vital element, so
Richie Zito (Cheap Trick, Joe Cocker) was commandeered
for co-production duties. Things still didn't seem to
be clicking to everyone's satisfaction, so the band decided
to take a couple of months off to write a few more tunes
and get their heads together. "I think when we came
out, our writing reflected what we had been going through
being in that little bubble that is the rock 'n' roll
business when you have success," Block admits. "We
were writing a certain kind of song that reflected all
of that and what we didn't want was to have a one-dimensional
record."
One
of those songs was the epic title cut, "Fortress,"
that finishes out the collection. The emotive six-minute
saga tackles the strain of fame and its less publicized
darker side. "'Fortress' came at a time when I was
really reeling and was just over-stimulated by it all,"
admits Block. "I needed to regroup and put up my
own fortress and my own boundaries and get back to a safe
place as a writer and remember what it's like to be human
again. It was a really easy song to write and came really
quickly at a time when I was very introspective. And it
was quite therapeutic."
As
it would turn out, Sister Hazel had a lot to say. During
the break, half the songs that would make up Fortress
were conceived. "There was just a magic that happened
during the break," says Andrew. One of these efforts
would be the first single, "Change Your Mind."
"Sometimes the strangest place I've ever been, and
the hardest place I've ever been is in my own mind,"
philosophizes Block. "I recognize and believe very
strongly that our perspective on things and our perception
creates our reality. Depending on how we look at something,
we can change the way we think about it or how we feel
about it. And that's my biggest challenge."
With
their minds in the right frame, the band switched coasts
and began recording again at Nickel and Dime Studios in
Atlanta. Zito stayed behind the board and longtime friend
Paul Ebersold (Stevie Ray Vaughan, 3 Doors Down), who
produced ...Somewhere More Familiar, came back into the
fold. "We put a lot of pressure on ourselves,"
Copeland remarks frankly. "We were really pushing
to please everyone else, but once we took that break and
came back, I think we wrote songs that were true to ourselves
again, and I think that brought the magic back."
