The Tiger

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: TimeOut

Media Credit: KRISTA METTLER [Click to enlarge]

Sister Hazel, the five-man rock band named after a minister running rescue missions in Gainesville, Fla., is giving a lawn concert at Clemson's own Littlejohn Coliseum. If you think you already like Sister Hazel, you will definitely love them after their show Thursday, April 26. "We are a touring band," said bassist Jett Beres. "We enjoy writing music, but not as much as we love touring. People come to our shows and say, 'Now I get it.'" Sister Hazel began in the college town of Gainesville, Fla., when lead vocalists Ken Block and Drew Copeland were looking for a bassist for their new band. Beres was the first to answer the ad, and lead guitarist Ryan Newell and drummer Mark Trojanowski joined up a little later. "And the rest is history," said Beres. Beres said he began playing bass guitar in the seventh grade. "No one else wanted to play the bass and I wanted to play with the cool kids who were in the band," he said. Beres said from there he learned to love instruments in general and soon picked up piano as well, where he began writing songs. Beres went on to play in several bands before the inception of Sister Hazel. "Back when [Sister Hazel] started, there were tons of bands," said Beres. "Live music was in Gainesville. People were in more than one band-I was in three."
The band is named after Sister Hazel Williams, a minister in Gainesville who ran rescue shelters for homeless within the area. Band members thought it appropriate to have a name that embodied the unconditional concern that Sister Hazel showed to the community. "[She] would literally take in anybody regardless of religion race or age and give them a safe warm place to dust off, regroup and get back on their feet," said Block.

Sister Hazel loves to play college towns because it feels like that is where they belong, according to Beres. Beres said that though the band members are all beyond college age, "playing to that crowd feels like the right place for us." "[College] is where I think a connection is made in what people truly like and feel," said Beres. "It's not like high school when the Top 40 and all that crap are just thrown at you. In college is where you really figure out what you like: a combination of the poets and the partiers. We kind of bring both." One of the best performances Beres recalls was "coming back to our hometown after breaking through on the national level and playing in front of 70,000 people at the Gator Growl pep rally." The band is really looking forward to their Clemson performance, because it feels like they are going back to their roots, said Beres. The band is currently touring to promote their latest album, "Absolutely," which hit stores last October. Sister hazel wanted to take a different route this time around and incorporate their past in the recording process. Members returned home to Gainesville and found inspiration in places like the first club they played in. Pre-production took place in a warehouse just down the road from the club. "In the most non-egotistical way possible, I feel this is the best record we've ever made," said Copeland. With all five members of the band writing music, Beres said it is often difficult to pick which songs they want to put on each album. "We usually end up producing way more music than we have room for on the album," said Beres. For the last album, Beres said they had around 70 songs from which to choose. The actual recording process took place in Darkhorse Studios in Franklin, Tennessee, a world away from the typical urban setting. The idea was to minimize distractions and to allow for a creative environment. The band decided to produce a B-sides album also, which they will release in June, called "BAM! Volume 1." "One day we just said, 'Let's build a home for [these songs],'" said Trojanowski. "That's part of the beauty of being an independent artist. When you get fired up about the music, you can just skip the red tape and pull the trigger." All of the band members listen to and are influenced by a very eclectic range of other artists, but each member has his own original style. "What's cool about being in a band for 13 years is that as you make records you start defining your songs and your sound and start becoming comfortable with that sound you have," said Beres. The biggest compliment we get is when people say, 'That band sounds like Sister Hazel.'" Aside from making CDs and touring the country, Beres says Sister Hazel likes to "give back a little" by spending time helping their namesake and various other charities. Each year, the band sponsors "Lyrics for Life" to help raise money for children with cancer. "[We get] artists from all over the country to write lyrics on anything they can think of and we auction them off," said Beres.
Sister Hazel will be rolling into Clemson on April 26th to ring in the summer and the end of classes with Clemson students. The concert, produced by Tiger Paw Productions and Clemson University Student Government, will take place on the lawn in front of Littlejohn Coliseum. While Sister Hazel is headlining the event, two Clemson bands, one being B'yr lady, will also perform live. Tickets to the event are $10 in advance. The money raised will go to benefit philanthropic projects for a multitude of Clemson student organizations.

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