Murder Bar

Album: Black Out the Sun (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The "Murder Bar" is a place called Roar Of The Crowd, which is located in Haskell, New Jersey, across the street from the hotel where Sevendust was staying when they made the album. The folks at Architekt Music Studios, where the band recorded in nearby Butler, New Jersey, tell us that it's actually a great place - popular with locals - and that nobody has been killed there, nor do murderers frequent the joint.

    The place does look a little shady from the outside, however, and Sevendust started calling it the "Murder Bar" after hearing an offhand comment along the lines of, "you might get murdered if you go in there."

    Intrigued, the band stopped in and found it very inviting. In our interview with lead singer Lajon Witherspoon, he explained that meeting the locals helped energize the band creatively, as they picked up different themes and ideas along the way. One barfly who stood out was Carl, the janitor of the local high school for the past 40 years. "I looked forward to talking to him and hearing his story, telling me about these kids that he remembers that are here behind him drinking at the bar that are 40 years old now," Said Witherspoon. "It was like from out of a movie."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Victoria Williams

Victoria WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!