Writing and recording a new album is hard enough without having the perfect studio environment. But Virginia grunge-rockers Seven Mary Three had no doubt where they would record their third full-length, "RockCrown": New Orleans.
Following the advice of some friends and tourmates (most notably, Joe Henry and the Black Crowes), the young four-piece headed to Kingsway Studio in Louisiana to make the follow-up to their platinum-selling 1995 major-label debut, "American Standard.""You just need a place that makes you feel euphoric, out of your mind," guitarist and vocalist Jason Ross said during an interview. "New Orleans was that place for us."
"Ever had a tooth pulled - you know, the sensation right when the laughing gas or Demerol or whatever numbs your face and then bum-rushes your entire body?" Ross explained. "Try making a record on that threshold sometime. The drugs are really unnecessary."
Seven Mary Three returns to Salt Lake City for a Wednesday, July 23, show at Club DV8, 115 S. West Temple.
As for where the album's 15 songs were written, Ross said one location proved ideal - a particular franchise of motel.
"All of the songs except for the first ("Lucky") and last ("Oven") were written in one of the many Days Inns that grace our benevolent United States highway system," he said.
Harder for Ross to explain is the particular theme of the new record.
"I wish I could make some key or cheat sheet for you all, but `RockCrown' is not a test, and it was written to stand alone . . . even from ourselves," he said.
"(It's) about our young lives in the last two years. It's about four guys who have been together for about five years playing rock 'n' roll music and having a ball doing it," Ross said. "It's about a long, long road trip. It's about paying attention. Most of all, it's about holding it together with the only two things we care about - love and luck."
Texas funk/hard-rockers Vallejo will open the show, which will start at 8:30 p.m.
Advance tickets are $10 from Crandall Audio in Orem, Xmart in Salt Lake City and the club itself during nightly business hours.