Sean Sellers - Authority Zero (12/02/2014)
Authority Zero are no strangers to the game. Although having been around for nearly fifteen years, the band has recently been refreshed with a new lineup, save for lead vocalist, Jason DeVore and dropped their stellar punk album,The Tipping Point, last year to great praise. One stop on this album cycle is the famous Australian Soundwave Festival. As The 59th Sound spoke with drummer Sean Sellers, he made it pretty evident he was excited for this tour.
"I fucking love Australia. I've been there three times with previous bands and I absolutely love it. The weather is always beautiful, even when it rains! It feels like a home-show in some way. I was actually over there less than a year ago so to be able to come back so soon is a blessing!"
"And the lineup too! It's absolutely fantastic, I can't wait to see bands like Green Day and Clutch- oh, I can't wait to see Clutch! And it's so diverse too! I think it's so great that it's like that. I mean, I love that extreme diversity on normal shows. If there is three other punk bands playing before us then by the time we get in everyone's all burned out and 'But we just saw this for three hours!' People love music and music is diverse. The fact that you can see a band like Korn then maybe head over and see The Story So Far, depending on timetable of course, is awesome!" Sellers says with much excitement.
Soundwave is known for it's huge crowds that it strings along on the day yet you won't see Sellers or the rest of the band stressing about that.
"You know we've played all those big European festivals and they're massive. They'll go for days! And we've all done [American] Warped Tour far more times then we have fingers to count on so we won't bust our balls at a big crowd." Sellers speaks with confidence before humbling himself down. "I have a feeling it will be really good [turnout] and if we do, we're fine, if we don't we'll just have fun!"
His one fear though is not getting enough time on the set to really do what they want.
"It's about planning it I guess." He says. "If we have forty minutes we'll compress it down. Maybe play less old songs, more new songs or the other way around. I just wanna give them a good show, you know! I want everyone to be able to say, 'They played XX, I love that one!' That's very hard to do but you have goals...and sometimes they don't go ahead. But we're a bit outa the loop at this stage on times so we will have to bide it and see." Sellers reassures us that fans will still get a kick out of the show even if they're not playing they're favourite songs.
"I think people will enjoy it because mainly everyone, seems to be digging the new stuff [The Tipping Point] a lot. We shot a video a few weeks ago now and it was for a new song and the fans were screaming at the shoot where we played itI was like, 'They LOVE it? Sweet!' It let's you know you're doing something right!"
Although the band have only shot up over the years, Sellers still looks forward to the future of Authority Zero in the brightest of lights.
"I think- well more-so-hope that we'll be selling out venues and bigger ones then now at that. I think we have that potential and if we keep making the good music like we've been told we are, then I don't see that NOT happening," the drummer laughs.
As we spoke, Sellers told us of his history in music and told us possibly the best punk rock story ever told by a single human.
"I played drums for Rise Against at a show."
Of course, we dug for more!
"About 2005 I get a call from Bill Stevens, the drummer for The Descendants on a Wednesday. He says, 'Sean, do you want to play drums for Rise Against at a gig?' So I naturally tell him, 'Of course! When is it?' So he tells me Saturday. 'Bill, you are aware it's Wednesday right?' Apparently they asked him and he said and I quote, 'but I don't play the fast shit you do!'" Sellers laughs loudly reflecting.
"So I learn the setlist, get it all down pat, and Sunday comes. Now, we have not practiced the songs together at all but at this festival thing, we get to do a half-hour session with no vocals. Okay. Great."
"That's goes great and as we gear up to go on stage, they tell me, 'Oh, there's this intro thing we do, it's like the album version but for four bars more and a little slower.' Now that makes sense, only they do some shit with their guitars that's not like the album at all. Same for me on drums though apparently. They then say, 'Scrap it, well just go into it.' They do the fucking intro again so I kick off four bars too early. That I know that wasn't my fault!" Sellers chuckles at his wryness.
"The rest of the set goes fantastically. Well, except for one part where Tim, [McIlrath vocals] forgot some lyrics. He turns around during a bridge and mouths, 'I don't know the fucking words'. I mouth back the first few as I know them as I love Rise Against and he thanks me. He then belts them out and no one knew it!"
Sellers agrees it was however the best time he's ever had on stage despite the minute errors.
As the closing time of the call drew near, we spoke on some more serious topics. We asked him where he sees Authority Zero in the big wide world of contemporary punk and he gave us an apt and interesting answer.
"It's funny as I don't see us as a punk band as such. I think we're a rock band. A rock band is rock then just takes influences and makes it there own and for us that's the Spanish and the Latin and the Ska. We work with it and we create our sound. But I still think we're punk because of what we believe. To me, punk is a state of mind. It's what you are. To me, Willy Nelson is punk. The dude sings country but he is punk for what he believes in and stands up for. So I guess I see us as a rock band and we'll do our thing and let others do theirs I guess."
Matt Sievers
"I fucking love Australia. I've been there three times with previous bands and I absolutely love it. The weather is always beautiful, even when it rains! It feels like a home-show in some way. I was actually over there less than a year ago so to be able to come back so soon is a blessing!"
"And the lineup too! It's absolutely fantastic, I can't wait to see bands like Green Day and Clutch- oh, I can't wait to see Clutch! And it's so diverse too! I think it's so great that it's like that. I mean, I love that extreme diversity on normal shows. If there is three other punk bands playing before us then by the time we get in everyone's all burned out and 'But we just saw this for three hours!' People love music and music is diverse. The fact that you can see a band like Korn then maybe head over and see The Story So Far, depending on timetable of course, is awesome!" Sellers says with much excitement.
Soundwave is known for it's huge crowds that it strings along on the day yet you won't see Sellers or the rest of the band stressing about that.
"You know we've played all those big European festivals and they're massive. They'll go for days! And we've all done [American] Warped Tour far more times then we have fingers to count on so we won't bust our balls at a big crowd." Sellers speaks with confidence before humbling himself down. "I have a feeling it will be really good [turnout] and if we do, we're fine, if we don't we'll just have fun!"
His one fear though is not getting enough time on the set to really do what they want.
"It's about planning it I guess." He says. "If we have forty minutes we'll compress it down. Maybe play less old songs, more new songs or the other way around. I just wanna give them a good show, you know! I want everyone to be able to say, 'They played XX, I love that one!' That's very hard to do but you have goals...and sometimes they don't go ahead. But we're a bit outa the loop at this stage on times so we will have to bide it and see." Sellers reassures us that fans will still get a kick out of the show even if they're not playing they're favourite songs.
"I think people will enjoy it because mainly everyone, seems to be digging the new stuff [The Tipping Point] a lot. We shot a video a few weeks ago now and it was for a new song and the fans were screaming at the shoot where we played itI was like, 'They LOVE it? Sweet!' It let's you know you're doing something right!"
Although the band have only shot up over the years, Sellers still looks forward to the future of Authority Zero in the brightest of lights.
"I think- well more-so-hope that we'll be selling out venues and bigger ones then now at that. I think we have that potential and if we keep making the good music like we've been told we are, then I don't see that NOT happening," the drummer laughs.
As we spoke, Sellers told us of his history in music and told us possibly the best punk rock story ever told by a single human.
"I played drums for Rise Against at a show."
Of course, we dug for more!
"About 2005 I get a call from Bill Stevens, the drummer for The Descendants on a Wednesday. He says, 'Sean, do you want to play drums for Rise Against at a gig?' So I naturally tell him, 'Of course! When is it?' So he tells me Saturday. 'Bill, you are aware it's Wednesday right?' Apparently they asked him and he said and I quote, 'but I don't play the fast shit you do!'" Sellers laughs loudly reflecting.
"So I learn the setlist, get it all down pat, and Sunday comes. Now, we have not practiced the songs together at all but at this festival thing, we get to do a half-hour session with no vocals. Okay. Great."
"That's goes great and as we gear up to go on stage, they tell me, 'Oh, there's this intro thing we do, it's like the album version but for four bars more and a little slower.' Now that makes sense, only they do some shit with their guitars that's not like the album at all. Same for me on drums though apparently. They then say, 'Scrap it, well just go into it.' They do the fucking intro again so I kick off four bars too early. That I know that wasn't my fault!" Sellers chuckles at his wryness.
"The rest of the set goes fantastically. Well, except for one part where Tim, [McIlrath vocals] forgot some lyrics. He turns around during a bridge and mouths, 'I don't know the fucking words'. I mouth back the first few as I know them as I love Rise Against and he thanks me. He then belts them out and no one knew it!"
Sellers agrees it was however the best time he's ever had on stage despite the minute errors.
As the closing time of the call drew near, we spoke on some more serious topics. We asked him where he sees Authority Zero in the big wide world of contemporary punk and he gave us an apt and interesting answer.
"It's funny as I don't see us as a punk band as such. I think we're a rock band. A rock band is rock then just takes influences and makes it there own and for us that's the Spanish and the Latin and the Ska. We work with it and we create our sound. But I still think we're punk because of what we believe. To me, punk is a state of mind. It's what you are. To me, Willy Nelson is punk. The dude sings country but he is punk for what he believes in and stands up for. So I guess I see us as a rock band and we'll do our thing and let others do theirs I guess."
Matt Sievers