Seether rocks Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Story by Cpl. Reece Lodder

Date: 12.21.2010
Posted: 12.21.2010 16:09
News ID: 62430
Seether rocks Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Jarring screams, face-melting guitar riffs and bowel-shaking bass highlighted platinum hard rock band Seether’s United Service Organizations-sponsored free concert on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 17, 2010.

The quartet — Shaun Morgan, Dale Stewart, Troy McLawhorn and John Humphrey — took their high-energy antics on the road to perform for service members and their families, pose for photos and participate in meet and greets.

“There’s nothing like a bunch of fired-up Marines,” said Morgan, Seether’s front man. “What you guys do is a selfless service, so the least we can do is come out here and honor you.”

He said Seether enjoys playing for Marines since they always bring “a lot of intensity” to the band’s shows, but that the greatest reward was seeing their response to the music. Several Marines have told him the band’s music has gotten them through their deployments, Morgan said.

In 2009, the group participated in their first USO tour, visiting more than 5,000 service members and their families stationed in Japan.

During their 2010 tour, they played concerts at military bases on Guam and Oahu, including Schofield Barracks, entertaining audiences with past hits and songs from their newest album, “Holding on to Strings Better Left to Fray.” The album is scheduled for release in 2011.

“The concert was epic,” said Pvt. Tim Hamblin, an administrative clerk with the Installation Personnel Administration Center, Headquarters Battalion. “Coming out to the base and putting on an awesome concert shows they care about the troops. There couldn’t possibly be better support than this.”

The La Grange, Texas, native said Seether has been his favorite band since hearing their music 12 years ago, so he was ecstatic to meet the band and get their autographs.

“We get to come and play music, but you go overseas and deploy so I can sleep at night with an eased conscience,” Morgan said. “I don’t think I could do what you guys do. It blows my mind what you go through, and I have so much respect for you.”

At the end of the free concert, sponsored by the United Service Organizations, Morgan gave a “shout-out” to Marines and sailors from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who recently returned from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

“Welcome back, guys,” he said.