It started out as a joke.
South African rockers Seether were wanting to give their fans a special Valentine’s Day present. Something out of the ordinary. So the band recorded a rock version of Wham!’s 1984 hit Careless Whisper and post it to the band’s website (www.seether.com). Picture it — Seether’s fuzz guitars flowing over Wham!’s lovesick lyrics. How could it have been anything but a joke?
The four members of the band had a day off from their busy touring schedule (Seether performs with Nickelback tonight at the Air Canada Centre). So they booked themselves into New York’s fabled Electric Ladyland Studios, home to Jimi Hendrix’s greatest guitar pyrotechnics.
It only took an afternoon and the deed was done. Shaun Morgan’s howling vocals and that ever-present fuzz guitar squeezing every ounce of rock out of George Michael’s schmaltzy words.
‘I’m never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm’
But a funny thing happened when the band listened to the tapes. It sounded good.
“Somehow it worked out that it translated really well into a rock song,” explains Seether bassist Dale Stewart in a phone interview. “It’s kind of funny.
“It’s actually a good song,” he continues, almost as if he’s trying to convince himself. “It’s got a good melody. We beefed it up a little bit and wrote a kind of a different riff for it in the bridge section.”
“We’ve been playing it live. It’s a fun song to play and actually it’s been going down quite well at the shows.”
So what’s next for Seether? A metal rendition of Take Me Out Before You Go Go? Maybe a Boy George cover? Or perhaps an ABBA track? Dancing Queen, anyone? “I wouldn’t put anything past us,” Stewart laughs. “We decided a little while ago that if we’re going to do a cover, especially if we’re going to record it, we wanted to do songs that people wouldn’t expect us to do … This is one that actually turned out well.”
In concert
South African act Seether opens for Nickelback tonight in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre.
