7 Seasons Deep
An interview with Shawn Anthony Brown
by Teri Barr
March 2014
7 Seasons Deep
If the bands “Last Crack,” “Faces for Radio,” or “The Viskus Circle” sound familiar; then the recent combination of some of the groups various members ensures their new project, “7 Seasons Deep,” won’t be a stranger for long.
Four well-known, well-honed Madison-based musicians—lead singer Shawn Anthony Brown, along with Jayme Poster on lead guitar, Denny Carney playing bass, and Tim Schmitt on drums—are the heart and soul of what’s described as the straight forward, bluesy, hard rock sound of “7 Seasons Deep.”
The band played its first show in late December, 2013 at High Noon Saloon, and all reviews indicate it was a great gig. But they’ve been holed-up in the studio ever since, cranking out a 5-song EP with reveals scheduled this month; first on maxinkradio.com during the Jimmy K. show on Tuesday, March 18th at 8:30 p.m. CST, then as part of Bomblastica at The Frequency on Saturday, March 22nd. But prior to the release and the excitement surrounding it, Brown took time to share some short tidbits from the past, and how he hopes the history within his group, helps propel it into the future.
Maximum Ink: You have some interesting music-related stories. Maybe it’s where you developed your interest and talents?
Shawn Anthony Brown: My Mother comes from a very musical family. When she was younger, she sang with Freddy Fender. Her younger brother (my uncle) Joe, was signed to Warner Brothers. He plays twenty-some instruments! Anyhow, I was mimicking the radio and trying to sing before I could talk. I sang all through Junior High and High School. Won some talent shows but always wanted to sing in a band. My first experience was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and a band called Sun Machine. We were just in Junior High and talked about it for 6 months before we actually started rehearsing. I learned to play guitar a little bit, but my main focus is always on the lyrics and singing.
MI: How did you decide to move here from North Carolina?
SB: Back in the 90’s there was this cool band in Charlotte, North Carolina called God’s Water. Their management was somehow connected to the management of Last Crack (which was based in Madison). So when the singer from Crack quit, somehow Gary Taylor got my number and called me. I was flabbergasted! So I flew in, tried out, and the rest, as they say, is history. When I was in Last Crack, my guitarist now in 7 Seasons Deep, Jayme Poster, was in Rapscallion. We did some shows back in the day! His most recent band was Faces for Radio. Also back at that time, my current drummer Tim Schmitt, was in several area bands. I remember playing shows with Cruel, which was another Gary Taylor band. And my bass player now, Denny Carney, was in PulseRadio in the early days, then some other playing out at that time. Many years later, he and I would connect through The Viskus Circle, a band we were both in from 2006-2010. So, all four of us go way back 20-some years together.
MI: So, does the new band plan to continue calling Madison home?
SB: We are all best known here by our steadfast friends and fans. So why would we go anywhere else? We love it here!
MI: And the response from your friends and fans to this project is positive?
SB: Yes, the reaction to 7 Seasons Deep has been outstanding. From the crowd response at our live show, to the engineer and mastering technicians—all are proud to be a part of this exciting project. We recorded our 5-song EP with none other than Paul Schluter (Last Crack Guitarist, owner of Megatone Studios)! And our mastering is being done by Dan Cochems. It’s amazing.
MI: Are you working on any bigger plans for the group?
SB: I guess some goals for us would be to get some radio play, then hit some of the big festivals and summer shows. And just keep the music flowing!
MI: You must be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, with both your former bands, and now by pulling together this impressive group of musicians?
SB: We are so brand new, our most proud moment hasn’t happened yet! We just formed in November of ‘13, and our first show was in December. We went into the studio in February this year, and our next gig is March at Bomblastica-2014! We are gellin’ fast.
MI: And what does the gellin’ of 7 Seasons Deep sound like right now?
SB: We do a bluesy, grungy, hard rock thing. There’s inflections of punk from time to time. We hope everyone will invest in our new EP to find out for yourself.
MI: Anything stand out from your years on the road, prior to this new project?
SB: Got to play in Europe in front of 40,000 people! (Ask Rokker about that one—he was there!)
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