On Sunday, May 4th 2008 at the close of the last performance of a three day New England swing in Long Island, NY, I sat down with Seemless [MySpace] frontman Jesse Leach [MySpace] to discuss the future of the outfit, the future of the music business and other musical adventures.

Having sold out Boston, MA the night before, the classic rocking sludgy blues band rocked the Nutty Irishman [link] in Bayshore, NY to a crowd no bigger than a classroom. Class was in session and the crowd learned all about how a soulful performance is given. It made for such an intimate setting you could feel the bands’ connection with each individual in the room. They had fun, they had soul and they had no hard feelings about it being their last time on stage together for a while. Always the consummate performers, giving it their all as if playing to an arena of thousands.

They were there to enjoy themselves simply doing what they love and talking to their fans about it. Friendships were made, MySpace’s were exchanged, laughs were had and someone went home with the drummers belt.

[Jon Sevastra] I’m sitting here with Jesse Leach of Seemless after their show at the Nutty Irishman in Bayshore, NY.

[Jesse Leach] A packed show!

[JS] I was packed in like a sardine. Thank you for coming out. I know it’s just a handful of shows. What were these about? Just getting out for a last hurrah?

[JL] It was just fun. It was all fun. Seemless has now become a very part-time project. So these three shows are the only shows in the next 8 months we have actually booked. All of us are doing our separate things. It was just to come out, have some fun and play some tunes man.

[JS] I know you work on a lot of little side projects and have different interests. What are the plans for staying productive on this little hiatus?

[JL] Well all of us are definitely very busy. Derek (Kerswill, drums) [link] is touring the world with Unearth [link] and Kingdom of Sorrow [link]. Jeff [Fultz, bass] and Pete [Cortese, guitar] have their own band with the singer and drummer of Killgore. I’m staying busy with various projects. One of which will actually be playing shows soon. We don’t have a name but it’s going to be more metal kind of stuff. So we’re all keeping very busy.

[JS] In your own words, to describe to someone who’s never heard Seemless’ music before, and without pigeonholing the sound, how do you sell yourself and convince someone to come to a show?

[JL] I’d say it’s a mixture of rock and roll, soul, blues and a little bit of metal here and there. We’ve been called the Allman Brothers of metal. Which is kinda cool. But it’s a lot more than that. I think if I were to generalize, I would say it’s really honest rock and roll music with a streak of metal in it. You gotta come and see it. I mean it is what it is. It’s a mut band, it’s not just one thing.

[JS] This is the first time I’ve seen you guys live and it’s a whole different vibe than listening to it on a CD. You have a way of drawing a crowd in even if it’s just 15 kids.

[JL] Well, we recorded that album and never really toured full time as a band. After What Have We Become was recorded, we toured for a year and a half and that’s where we found out who we are as a band. So when we play those songs, there’s more stuff going on. There’s more jamming, there’s more soul because we found out who we were. So with the new stuff we were recording, we’re going in a more classic rock direction and a more blues direction because we realize that’s who we really are. We’re the kind of band that play a seven minute song and keep you interested and that’s kinda what we’re shooting for.

[JS] The music writing process, what comes first? The music? The lyrics? Do you have an idea lyrically and try to match it with music the guys are writing?

[JL] Basically, Jeff, Derek and Pete get together and jam and then send me MP3’s. I put them on my iPod and then listen to them when I drive around or am at work and write the lyrics and the melodies. Then I record them in my own studio, send them back, they give me feedback, we make changes and then we play it live.

[JS] I’ve seen on your Myspace page that you… [appropriately interrupted by Jesse’s wife offering to get him a Guiness.] I guess you gotta make up for the spilled one during the set.

[JL] Well, I’m hungry and I’m thirsty so that works.

[JS] Guiness and a fork, that’s all you need. So, I know you have such a wide span of influence behind your music and all the interests you love including your more personal tastes like reggae-dub. Any plans to go forward with it more, maybe recording or releasing albums?

[JL] I’ve been doing some dub stuff but I keep getting approached with metal and rock and more metal and rock and some of it is actually paying gigs so it’s like what’s expected. But if all goes well I will put out some reggae-dub, hip hop, trip hop stuff in the next 5 years (laughs). I’ve been trying to work on it for 10 years but every time I try to go forward to do stuff I get sideswiped by other stuff. My favorite music in the world is reggae-dub music.

[JS] It’s almost to a degree unfortunate that you get pigeonholed because of Killswitch Engage [link] and Seemless. They hear Jesse Leach and they think of Killswitch and the metal sound.

[JL] But that’s kind of how music fans are. They don’t understand that when I wrote Alive or Just Breathing (Killswitch Engage’s first album), I was listening to zero metal. Nothing. No metal. Bob Marley, Jacob Miller, Inner Circle, Steel Pulse, Eek-a-mouse, great reggae music. That’s what inspired the lyrics. Well, the Bible and reggae music is what wrote Alive or Just Breathing. I think it’s important to know that because you look at bands like Bad Brains or Cro-Mags, they’re hardcore bands that are inspired by spirituality. I think that it’s important to know that someone like myself doesn’t listen to a lot of heavy music but I love to perform it because it’s such a release. It’s such a cathartic form of music. It’s a way of stopping people and saying ‘listen to what I have to say’. So moving forward, I’m putting more of my influence on it. Like, the dub stuff I’ve been working on is more like The Clash or The Police. It’s got rock guitar but it’s got that dub/reggae influence. In the next 5 years I’m sure it will come out.

[JS] A big thing going on the music industry these days is the issue of illegal music downloading. You’re views on that?

[JL] I think that music is free. It’s unfortunate that musicians can’t make a good living off of just recording music. But we’re at a point in time where we can’t control that. So what’s the next step? I think musicians and artists need to stay one step ahead of the game. You’re not gonna make money on your CD sales. Some people will like Nickleback or those pop bands, but you gotta think outside the box. But, you can’t stop it, it’s a revolution. It’s a musical revolution that will not stop. It’s gonna happen and you can’t control it. It is what it is and I’m not gonna lie, I have some burned CD’s. Who doesn’t have a burned CD?

[JS] A good mentality going around is that if you want to rip a track to check out a band and you think they’re cool, great. You like them? Go to the store and buy the album.

[JL] In a perfect world, yes. People have no idea. They have this mindset where bands of a certain caliber are rich and it’s a lie. A lot of the bands you think are successful are not successful. They base their lives upon their merch sales and their CD sales. So if you are a real lover of music and you really love a band, you’ll buy the CD. But that’s not the case so you gotta step it up. You gotta have better merch, better shows, I don’t know. Keep pushing forward but it’s tough. It’s really tough for musicians right now. I’m a shining example of that.

[JS] Where’s you’re favorite place to play?

[JL] The Lucky Dog in Worchester, MA. No matter where we go, where we play, no matter how many people are there, that place is home. Prior to that, about 5 or 6 years ago, it was Club Baby Head in Providence, RI. But that place is no more. It’s one of those places that I’m sure touring musicians can relate to when you walk into a place and see familiar faces and people you’ve known for years and years. It’s a real comfort thing.

[JS] Any particular performance that stands out in your mind vividly as either best performance or worst performance?

[JL] With Seemless, and I’m sure the guys would agree, we played New Orleans along with Fu Manchu. We were pulling into New Orleans and we saw all of the destruction from the hurricane. Pulled in and loaded into the club. I made a little speech about New Orleans and the people there and the amount of influence that New Orleans has had on rock music and blues music. We played that show and I would say there were about 250 people there and the response was so overwhelming that at one point during the set all of us were so totally moved by it. I think that as far as our touring goes, there are so many great memories but playing in New Orleans for the first time with Seemless was monumental. I will never forget seeing the looks in all the peoples faces and just absorbing New Orleans after that disaster. That was probably the most amazing thing I could take with me.

[JS] Who are you listening to right now? What’s in your player? Anyone you want to plug?

[JL] I don’t know if anyone who listens to what I do will like it but I don’t assume to know peoples minds. There’s a group out of New York called The Pierces [link]. It’s two female vocalists who play like a psychedelic/folk kinda thing. I’ve seen them 3 times and they’re absolutely amazing and soulful musicians on their way up. Other things I’m listening to, Radiodread, the band takes OK Computer from Radiohead and dub it out and make it reggae. Amazing! The same group does Dub Side of the Moon. It’s a reggae version of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. They’re a group based out of Boston called The Easy Star All-Stars [link]. I’d recommend any fan of rock music to get either Radiodread or Dub Side of the Moon. It’s phenomenal. Other than that, I’ve been listening to a lot of Al Greene, Marvin Gaye and a lot of the old Soul music. Alicia Keys new album is totally amazing. Mary J Blige’s new album is totally amazing. I’m showing kind of where I’m going with this. New R&B music is a huge influence on me. The sound of the voice, the soul in the voice is like no other. It beats aggressive music because people who are not screaming… I mean, to me, screaming like in heavy music has become so bland because everyone’s doing the same thing so I look to R&B music to find that stuff that makes my hair stand up. It’s because it’s so emotional. With the new Seemless stuff, I’m trying to bring more R&B and soul into it because it’s sort of the new hardcore. The new reality, the new emotion. It’s not cheesy, it’s not emo, it’s not boring.

[JS] It’s like a more dynamic way to get your emotions and your message across?

[JL] Yeah. My whole thing is if I could have a band that’s heavier than all heavy and then be able to sing soulfully over it, that’s my perfect blend of music. To push heavy music in a new direction, it’s got to be something new because the music to me is very boring these days. With Alive or Just Breathing we brought something new when I was in Killswitch. Now I’m looking to that album saying, ‘what did I think and what did I do with that album?’ The next step I’m doing now, I’m trying to push the envelope again. What can we do that’s new? That’s exciting.

[JS] With this hiatus going on, are there any plans for a full length release from Seemless?

[JL] We’re taking it track by track. We’ve got one that we played tonight. More blues, more soul and tuned back up to E. It’s not about the sludginess anymore. It’s got more of a classic rock feel to it. We’ve got about 4 new songs. The plan is to record a track, put it online as an mp3. Maybe shoot a video for it. Make a little documentary of making the songs and just go by that. Charge 99 cents for a download. We’re trying to roll with the times. The full length is not dead and gone, but we need enough buzz created where people will actually purchase the full length. We’re just trying to take it track by track. We’re releasing mp3’s and footage here and there. My wife shot some footage of this weekend and took some pictures. The plan is to get an mp3 and while you’re listening to it, see pictures and get downloads. We’re trying to create a virtual album track by track.

[JS] So little things here and there to try and keep Seemless’ name out there during the hiatus to keep people from thinking you’ve dropped off the map.

[JL] Right. We’re not going to be a main touring act but we’re not done. You know I would like nothing more than to be 60 years old and still doing it for the love of it and if people keep showing up and give a damn, we’re gonna keep doing it regardless.

[JS] That’s what caught my eye with you tonight was the love of what you do. There’s no pretensions about the music business and making it big.

[JL] Too many people give a damn about that stuff and they’re trying to be fashionable and trying to be this or that. Don’t try, just be, and we are. last night we played in Boston. Sold out show. It was amazing. The first five or six rows of people singing along. Tonight, 30 people and we still put on the same performance.

[JS] I did a review of the first Seemless album over a year ago [link] and it seemed a little heavy in comparison to the indie stuff we usually cover. There was hope there that some people might convert from more of a indie/hippie vibe to something a little edgier.

[JL] All I’ve got to say is listen to the groove and read the lyrics. We’re no different than many bands I’ve heard who claim to be hippie. And when I say hippie I mean health conscious. Derek and I are strict vegetarians. We’re extremely into the environmental movement. It comes out in our lyrics and has been that way for years. As far as any music goes, we’re definitely indie. I think people tend to pigeonhole stuff that’s not art-rock. I know the indie culture very well because I come from Providence, RI where plenty of these noise-core bands and alt-rock bands who are super pretentious and will accept nothing less than something that will blow your mind. Whereas we’re just being who we are. Take it or leave it. The pop culture has shrugged us off. The indie culture has semi accepted us. We’re standing there kind of defiant of all of it by being who we are. it doesn’t matter if you accept us, we’re gonna keep going just to spite you.

[JS] We’re trying to push the concept that indie is not so much a sound as it is a concept of do-it-yourselfers.

[JL] We’re a case in point. We’ve been courted by major labels. We’ve had opportunities to sign big contracts and didn’t do it. Specifically because we have integrity. We want to do what we want to do regardless of what some suit tells us to. So in essence we are indie, we are punk rock. Those suits might hear it and say that sounds so sloppy. Well, that’s the way we wrote because that’s the way we like it. We’ve had suit come up to us and ask us to sign a contract, as long as they can change the song format and the lyrics and we were like ‘get out of here!’ We’ll play in front of 20 people, we’ll play in front of a sold out crowd and just keep going. It’s outside of industry, it’s outside of money. Seemless transcends all of it.

[JS] Was that a great thing about you landing with Equal Vision Records [link]?

[JL] They’re awesome. Basically, their whole concept is if you guys do well, we’ll put money behind you, if you don’t do so well, we’ll just let it go. We got to a point where we weren’t doing so well and just let us go. No hard feelings.

[at this point in the interview is when a slightly inebriated Derek wandered over to us and began grooming Jesse’s beard in a way that would make a silverback gorilla proud. Laughs were had by all and when the “jackassery” ceased, the convo seemed concluded.]

[JS] Jesse, thank you so much for the time. It’s been fantastic seeing you guys and good luck with all of your ventures and I can’t wait to see what comes up next.

[JL] You’ll be hearing from all of us individually and as a whole.

[JS] Sounds great.

[JL] Thanks.

Epilogue: After the interview I went to the merch table as I had planned all night. I am a huge supporter of bands on the road and buy merch whenever available. One, to support the band and two, as a souvenir of a great night. I still remember the shows I got most of my band shirts at. When I got to the table, who do I find peddling his wares? Jesse Leach. I had already decided which shirt I wanted earlier in the night and asked him for the gray one. He smirked and dug one up for me. As I pulled out my wallet he waved me off and told me to take it. I looked at him puzzled and all I could say was, “didn’t we JUST have a conversation about this?” to which he replied by pushing the shirt on me, smiling and telling me to take it. Thank you Jesse. I still feel guilty. Next time the first round is on me. But I wore it with pride and showed it off to my friends.

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