"People always ask me where the best music scene is," declares Sister Hazel lead singer/acoustic guitarist Ken Block. "And we always say, 'Wherever you make it.' Scenes don't just happen; they are created by the people doing their thing…And that's just what we're still looking to do more of."

It's been 10 years and over two million records sold for Sister Hazel since the group's five distinct personalities came together in the vibrant Florida college town of Gainesville. At the time the Southeast was a place more of camaraderie than competition, a hotbed for homegrown talent, and Sister Hazel worked out of the area in concentric circles quickly establishing a reputation as one of the strongest, most consistent draws of the grassroots circuit.

While the crop of newly emerging acts has thinned since the mid- to late-'90s heyday, a scene has remained stronger than ever around Sister Hazel because the band has continued to do what it does best: play honest, heartfelt original music. The group prides itself on being accessible and down-to-earth, devoting time to events and organizations they have personally believed strongly in and developed including Lyrics For Life, which sponsors charitable events to raise money for and awareness of cancer research, and the annual Rock Boat, a fan-driven mingling featuring multiple artists that makes waves across the Caribbean yearly.

Not taking their gift of song lightly, Sister Hazel has constantly looked for means to bring the group and their Hazelnuts closer more often. So now with Chasing Daylight, the band's first self-released album since 1996, Sister Hazel has moved to further reinforce a commitment to the fans of its music by opting out of its deal with Universal Records to maintain control not only over the music but its means and rate of delivery.

"It was scary, choosing to leave Universal," admits bassist Jett Beres. "At first, all we had ever wanted was a major label record deal, and now we had all decided the best thing to do was to leave it. There was separation anxiety, like breaking up with a girlfriend. We learned a lot while with Universal, and still have a wonderful relationship with them. But sometimes you know leaving is the best thing for you even if it seems the hardest thing to do. We just realized we were producing so much music we believed in we wanted to be able to release and promote it on our own schedule."

The time leading up to Chasing Daylight proved one of the most collaborative and fertile of Sister Hazel's career; a period of "just shut up and play" for Block and Beres, as well as rhythm guitarist Andrew Copeland, lead guitarist Ryan Newell and drummer Mark Trojanowski, all of whom feel they've better learned to pick their battles and trust each other to channel their passion into recording instead of needless debating. Over 60 demos were considered for the final album, many of which began during what could best be described as food-for-thought sessions.

"We started going to lunch together," recalls Beres, "where we'd sit down and talk about everything from life, relationships, politics, sociology, language, religion, anything. We'd just talk until something exciting came up, and then we'd make that the topic of the day and run with it, go back to the house and get together with our instruments and flesh out the ideas." The result, Somewhere between Cracker Barrel and sushi: Comforting, artful yet raw.

"We went into this recording with no internal rules as to how songs could come to the table," reveals Block. "People could bring Southern rock to reggae, aggressive to acoustic ideas, skeletal or full-bodied arrangements. We looked to bridge the gap between the intimacy of a singer songwriter and the immediacy of a high-octane rock band. We captured the dynamics that take you on a ride, but never go off the tracks, because we're a band of people who not only love all kinds of ideas but also are capable of presenting them. We grew up with records that got listened to as a whole, and one of the finest complements we've received is that people say they can put on our CDs and they never have to skip around."

Just because Sister Hazel tie their records together with a dramatic thread doesn't mean Chasing Daylight maintains a singular mood, however. All of Sister Hazel's records can be said to have layers
of emotions, the collective experience of five students of life -- a mixture of fire, ice and water, passionate and level headed, fluid and steadfast, old souls and everymen -- who together offer a wide variety of material upon which to draw.

"Our stance from the beginning has always been we were going to write about true things we experience, ways we feel, which, despite some surface appearances, have not always been sunny," says Beres. The group, however, see nothing wrong with dusting their experiences with a touch of jangle and a sparkling shower of optimism, reflected in the title of Chasing Daylight, a title derived from the song "Come Around," inspired by a friend's journey from the Gulf to the Atlantic coast to experience the Sun's arc, the way it sets and reaffirming rises like Sister Hazel's song.

"Life often has you going in and out of darkness," observes Block, "but instead of looking and lurking in darkness, we try to chase daylight, chase hopeful situations around. Our music helps us do that, and we hope it can offer the same for others. Our music is like therapy for us, but a lot of what we've gone through, other people can relate to. We spend many, many hours laboring over lyrics, making sure we're understood but leaving enough ambiguity for people to plug in their own situation. We want Chasing Daylight to be something that can mean different things to people at different times. We want it to offer lyrical intimacy, introspection, but also just plain primal, organic grooves. Mindless fun, we want people to be able to close their doors, sit and think to it, but also turn it up, open their car windows and get a speeding ticket. We believe it's capable of it all." "It really shows the growth of the band musically and lyrically," adds Andrew Copeland.

It isn't just Chasing Daylight, but the band itself as well, in which Block, Beres and company express such unwavering belief and limitless ambition.

"Our goal is to make Sister Hazel more of an institution than a band that goes out and tries to live or die by music trends," concludes Beres. "By releasing recordings, touring, working with the Lyrics For Life charity, participating in the Rock Boat, we want to provide more than just music. We want to provide experiences and memories for our fans, and now we have the freedom to do so."