Severmind

All songs recorded at VALCOUR SOUND---copyrighted © by Severmind 2007--- James Jones and Derek Sanders were friends from childhood. Jones began playing guitar in the early '80s, and Sanders began playing drums a few years later. The pair teamed up for the first musical project together in 1986, and it was quickly apparent that the chemistry between the two was unmatched. After high-school, Jones moved away to check out the Los Angeles music scene, and then re-located to the East coast a few years later to check out the circuit in and around Boston, Massachusets. In 1990, While Jones was living out of state, Sanders began playing in a band in the Tulsa area known as Caustic Descent. The front man for Caustic Descent, Heath Wiedmeier, had an extremely strong voice and belted out raw, guttural vocals with every show while playing incredibly strong rhythm guitar that showcased his years of playing and singing. Sanders and Wiedmeier played together through 1995 and enjoyed good success and recognition for their contributions to the project. Jones returned to Tulsa in the late '90s, and was reunited with Sanders for a new musical project known as Gutwrench. That project disbanded in 2003 when Sanders re-located to Denver, CO. Sanders returned to Tulsa in late 2004, and Jones and Sanders decided to work together on another collaboration that proved to be the best yet. After running into Wiedmeier at a Corrosion of Conformity show, Jones and Sanders asked him if he would like to come onboard to be the frontman and rhythm guitarist of the latest project. Jones and Sanders explained that they were looking for a versatile singer with the ability to sing in a melodic yet heavy style, and Wiedmeier graciously accepted, and the threesome began to write tune after tune in a style that is 3 parts crunch to 1 part groove. After searching through all of the local bass players they knew, the threesome put a personal ad on a local musicians website in Tulsa, and were blessed with being contacted by bass player, Chris Eagan. Eagan, with 20+ years experience, an attention to detail and a good head on his shoulders, was exactly what the band needed to complete the chemistry. Severmind was born, and hopes to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.