Photo Credit: S7 Studios
By: Johnny Price, Lead Senior Journalist
Old school rock and roll is alive and well, no matter what the music industry spoon feeds the people. Social 66 is proof of that and they’re kicking ass and taking names in their quest to shake up the cookie-cutter crap that is brainwashing way too many people these days. The band may be based out of three different states, but that distance was bridged by the use of technology and a hunger to make some bad-ass rock and roll music. The result is their self-titled album that was recently released that’s full of killer hooks and even more killer guitar licks. I got the chance to talk with bassist Eric Seevers and guitarist Se7eN recently and here’s what went down.
Hey guys! Let’s get right down to business because I know you have a show to play soon. Let’s talk about the new album. The initial response for the new album has been very favorable from both fans and critics alike.
Se7eN: We did a month or so of pre-orders and the label kept getting back to us with feedback; letting us know how they thought it was going and that it was pretty awesome. They actually had to order more product, so that’s always a good thing. All of the digital markets have it available for physical copies and/or download. Some of the mom and pop/independent record stores are stocking it as well. If you, as a fan, want it and demand it at places like FYE and Best Buy, then they will stock it – so let them know!
You came out of the gate swinging with a very strong first single in “Sorry.” Was that a tough decision to make? I mean, in listening to the album the first time, I thought “There are several very strong, single worthy songs here.” Most notably, “Crash N Burn” is the second single that is garnering some major attention now. How did you choose which to release first?
Se7eN: Initially, that was the one that we wanted, as a band, to be the first single. We gave our input to the label and they agreed with us. I’m in agreement with you; I think there’s four or five good singles on the record, but “Sorry” stood out the most.
Eric: Right from the very start, when we were recording it, we knew we had something special with that song.
Social 66 – “SORRY”
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You finished up a great little tour a while back with Soil and Tantric. Can you give us a little insight as to how that tour went?
Eric: That tour was nothing short of awesome! The crowd response was great and all of the venues were great as well.
Se7eN: Yeah, it was really fantastic because everybody from the bands to the crew were so cool to everybody involved. It’s been a big Pavement family party.
Are there any good road stories from this tour that you can share with us? We can change the names to protect the guilty.
Se7eN: Oh, there are definitely some stories, but we’re not at liberty to say because they will get me in trouble. I can’t even tell you the names because we’ve already changed them ourselves (laughs).
Let’s talk some more about this new kick-ass album?
Se7eN: Of course we can; we brought in Cole Martinez to produce it for us. Jason had used him before on some earlier demos.
Eric: He’s an amazing guy and actually like the fifth member of the band. The recording process for this album was so smooth and it was the little things that he did that made that possible. All of the pre-production that he did was so amazing for us and it helped so much; that enabled us to just go in and bang it out.
Se7eN: All of the production aspects, all of the little intros are his doing. Obviously, he runs it by us first, but it’s all out of his head and we trust his judgment on that; he’s an amazing musician himself.
I thought that the songwriting process that you used was pretty interesting. You guys really use the internet and technology to your benefit with that aspect of creating music.
Photo Credit: Chris A Photography
Se7eN: True, we all live in different areas, so we’re not in the same room when we’re putting these songs together. Jason comes up with a riff and sends it to Cole who then pre-produces it and puts some drums over it. Then, we all get to fine-tune our parts. It’s when we finally get together and jam when it really all comes together.
Eric: That’s part of the pre-production that I mentioned. We get these ideas and send them to Cole and he comes up with a shell of a song. Then, we all put our own thing over the top of it and Cole turns it into this monster of a song.
See, there are other useful purposes for the internet other than just porn.
Se7eN: (laughs) That’s true, but that’s a totally different interview.
Do you guys remember when you were bitten by the rock and roll bug and knew you wanted to do this?
Se7eN: For me it was in 1986 when I saw KISS, Motley Crue, Poison and all those guys. All of that stuff was so awesome and if those guys could make a career out of it and become big rock stars, then why couldn’t I? I had my parents buy me a guitar and I sat in my room for hours on end practicing and learning. I don’t think I had it two months before I was on the phone looking for a band to be in. I’ve learned something from all of the bands that I’ve been a part of and it’s lead me to where I am now.
Eric: For me, I’d have to go back as far as being a little boy and going over to my grandma’s. She sang in a gospel group with my aunt and we would all play the piano and sing songs all day long. A major turning point for me was in 1989 on the Damaged Justice tour with Metallica and The Cult. I saw Metallica melt everyone’s faces and I knew right then…that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What do you guys have on your plate as far as upcoming plans go?
Se7eN: I want the fans to know that we’re going to do everything we can to promote this new album all year 
long. We’re going to come to every market that we possibly can and show them what we’re all about live..
Eric: We have fans and friends all over this nation waiting for us to come play for them and that we can’t wait to see. We get messages every day asking when we’re going to go play their town and we’re working on it. Our goal is to get out there to all of those markets, but it all comes down to logistics.
Well, that wraps it up guys! Do you have any closing words for all of your fans out there?
Se7eN: Fans can keep up with all the latest news about Social 66 on our Facebook page and ReverbNation page. We’re really looking forward to coming to everyone’s town and rocking your faces off, so check back often for added dates!
Eric: I want to thank the fans for all of their amazing support. It’s been warped-speed-ahead ever since I met this guy right here and the people have been welcoming us with open arms. We’re just real people and we just go in and do what we’re supposed to do. We’ve been doing this for years and it’s nothing new to us to be playing rock and roll, but to be in this atmosphere with such great people pulling for us and on our team, that’s pretty awesome.
Social 66 is: Jason O’Daniel (Vocals/guitar), Se7eN (Guitar/vocals), Eric Seevers (Bass/vocals), Kalen Chase (Drums)
Connect With Social 66:
REVERBNATION | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | ITUNES
Special thanks to Chris A Photography for letting us use his kickass live pics of Social 66! View the whole gallery from the Newport, Kentucky show with Trantric and SOIL – click here!
