Seven Year Witch is the Real Deal in Rock

Zach Taylor

Sep 12, 2026

It’s just really good music.

What can I say? I’m a busybody. We are in the middle of moving right now, and, let me tell you, there have been several days when I don’t want to move myself, much less boxes. I don’t have time for any of my hobbies, and I have a lot of them, from classic arcade games to fishing to sports cars.

But on the days when I get motivated, I can’t slow down.

When I interviewed Blacktop Mojo a couple of months back, I realized another story might be lurking; I went looking for it. I found that bonus story in the artists' lounge at Rocket City Honkytonk. Seven Year Witch opened for Blacktop Mojo that night. Before their set, Bud Gambrell told me he’d seen them before and thought they were pretty good. As usual, I reserved my judgment. I am learning to trust Bud. I am also learning to appreciate all music. That has been one of the best things about writing for this magazine.

So, what does Seven Year Witch sound like? When I first listened to their music, I did so with fresh, unbiased ears. To me, it sounds like nothing I have ever heard. They are rock, but the vocals are so raw, crisp, and full of emotion, and with their latest song, “Complicated”, man, they have really hit it out of the park. “Complicated” starts out as pure rock, but toward the end you can hear the keyboards prominently, and especially with that breakdown at the end, the soft piano is soothing and really highlights the vocals. The rest of their music is just full of energy, full of groove, and man, those vocals. Did I mention how good the vocals are? It’s just really good music.

After I saw them perform with Bud, I asked Seven Year Witch for a quick interview. They graciously agreed. What followed ranged from hairstyles and opinions on Tombstone versus Wyatt Earp to something considerably more interesting: what happens when a band that has spent more than a decade building an identity suddenly has to change one of its most recognizable parts, and whether, somewhere in that change, they might discover something new.

Photo provided by band - Seven Year Witch — Photo provided by band

*Interview edited for clarity and length.

MaM: Let’s start with this lineup, because you said this is the first interview you’ve done with this version of the band. Tell me about Seven Year Witch and how you got here.

Seth Burden: I’m Seth Burden, drummer for Seven Year Witch. If you want the technical history, we started in 2013. We had a different band name then, but it was me, Spencer, and our original singer, Aaron Langford. Aaron was with us for 13 years, and the music and the band remained the same, but we changed the name in 2018 to Seven Year Witch. Our former name was Doc Holiday, and if you do the slightest bit of research, which we didn’t do, you’ll see that every town, every city, and every state has ten bands called Doc Holiday. So, we decided to rebrand and take it more seriously. Over the years, we’ve had a few different guitar players who have all contributed in their own way.

Aaron, our original singer, left the band last year. He had vocal paralysis and was having some extreme issues with his vocal cords. He fought through it for, I would say, at least two years straight before he finally decided to step down. So, we started looking around and asking ourselves, “Who do we know who could kill this? Who do we trust?” That was probably bigger than anything else. We actually went to school with John Strickland. John had moved to Nashville to pursue his own musical endeavors. We knew he was great, but we were thinking, “He’s not going to want to make that drive. He’s not going to want to do this.” Luckily enough, we asked. “Do you want to come try out? Do you want to come hang out?” And here we are.

Seth Burden of Seven Year Witch by Bud Gambrell for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

MaM: One of the first things that struck me watching you guys was the rhythm section. A lot of bands aren’t really defined by the rhythm section. You guys are. How did that happen?

Spencer Burden: I’m Spencer Burden, the bassist. Seth is my brother, and we both grew up playing drums. Our dad was a drummer. He played in his high school marching band. He had his own original band and cover band, and he even played in the Army band. Watching our dad play, we both immediately got interested. So, growing up, we were both drummers. Eventually, we both started our own bands. Then one day we decided we wanted to make music together. Typically, you don’t have two drummers in a band. So, I switched to bass. I basically picked up the bass guitar strictly so the two of us could play music together. When we started this band, it was really the first time I had played bass guitar. That’s essentially how the band started. Two drummers wanted to start a band together, and one of us had to play something else.

MaM: Which probably explains why the rhythm section feels the way it does. Victoria, let’s bring you into this. Tell me your name first.

Victoria Mayes: Victoria Mayes. I’m the keyboardist.

Victoria Mayes of Seven Year Witch by Bud Gambrell for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

MaM: Your parts aren’t just sitting behind the band. In several songs, the keyboards come right to the front. What do you think you add to Seven Year Witch?

Victoria: I feel like I’ve stayed more in that kind of ’70s guitar role, where I’m filling in the sound and adding more body, especially when there’s only one guitar. I’m still relatively new to the band. It started with just a couple of shows, bigger shows here and there, and then they kept asking me to come along on road trips and do more.

In August, it’ll be two years. I think what I've added is more uniqueness, especially with the new songs. There are a handful where I’m taking more of a lead. We’ve been experimenting more with synth sounds and things that maybe weren’t necessarily part of Seven Year Witch’s sound previously. I can add sounds that might not have existed on some of the older songs. I’ve been able to fill some gaps.

MaM: Let’s talk about one of those new songs. You played a new song tonight, and John, I was watching the crowd when you introduced it. I could tell the reaction mattered to you. Did you get the response you wanted?

John Strickland: Yes, but it was about a second too late. It scared me for a second. We got to the end of the song, and it was just silent. I was like, “Oh my God. They did not like this song at all.” Then everybody started cheering. I was like, “Oh, thank the Lord.” I was freaking out for a second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m65dFjDjhvA

Complicated by Seven Year Witch

MaM: I could tell from watching you that it mattered.

John: I think musicians can never properly analyze a song from the outside when they’re working on it. Your recency bias is so strong. Everything you’re working on feels like the next best thing. And nothing is really objective with music, obviously, but you still have to ask, “What are people going to resonate with?”

We’ve got four or five songs we want to record. Which one do we do? What do we put out? This is going to be the second release with me as the singer, so we want to put out the best material we can and push it as hard as we can, whether that’s marketing it, pushing it on social media, or introducing it to new people. It’s an online world for musicians now.

John Strickland of Seven Year Witch by Bud Gambrell for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

MaM: I want to go back, because I’m fascinated by bands replacing singers. Alice in Chains did it with William DuVall. Stone Temple Pilots had to figure it out. Bands throughout rock history have suddenly found themselves trying to continue without the voice people associated with them. Your situation is obviously different. Aaron didn’t die. He had serious vocal problems and eventually had to step away.

But, John, you’re still walking into an established band with an established fanbase and replacing a voice people knew. Do you think about that?

John: When I started my first band back in high school, I went to high school with Spencer, Seth, and Aaron. We were all buddies. I knew their old guitar player before it was Seven Year Witch, too. So, when I got the call, it felt like playing with my high school buddies again. They actually got me one of my first shows with my first high school band. It feels like back then again. There’s no bad blood. I love Aaron to death. The only concern I had was that vocally, we’re so different. But the response has been so positive that I just feel lucky people have accepted me.

Seven Year Witch by Bud Gambrell for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

MaM: There’s another side of this that fascinates me. Sometimes somebody gets an opportunity and pours absolutely everything they have into it. Do you feel like you’re doing that?

John: I think I’m a very obsessive person when it comes to work. I tend to put work over almost everything else. I live in Nashville right now, and I drive six hours back to practice every week. Then I drive back for my gigs there. Sometimes it’s driving through the night, playing most of the day, and then driving back again. It’s just over and over every week. Everything I do, I kind of take to the extreme. I really don't have an off gear. I don’t think about it as, “Am I pouring everything into this opportunity?” It’s either I’m doing it, or I’m not doing it. And I’m doing it.

MaM: Since you guys turned the interview around on me for a minute, let’s talk about Huntsville. You asked whether being Alabama’s largest city means Huntsville gets the same kind of rock turnout as Birmingham or Mobile. I don’t think we’re there yet. But I do think Huntsville is right on the verge of becoming something much bigger when it comes to independent music.

Seven Year Witch: We used to struggle just to find somewhere to play. Somehow, through Facebook, we found Copper Top. We did one-off shows and drove all the way to Huntsville just to play there. Maybe 15 people would hang out. Then we’d drive all the way home. But we had a show. Back then, that was enough.

MaM: Wait. You just reminded me. Your old name was Doc Holiday. So I have to ask.

Tombstone or Wyatt Earp?

[What follows is a surprisingly passionate debate over Kevin Costner, Val Kilmer, and which movie deserves supremacy. Val Kilmer has supporters in the room. I remain stubbornly loyal to Kevin Costner, aided largely by my completely unrelated love of post-apocalyptic movies like The Postman and Waterworld. No consensus is reached.]

MaM: All right. One more before we go listen to some music. I try not to ask bands the same questions they’ve answered a hundred times, so I’m going to let you pick something you actually want to talk about. Victoria, I have one. Your hair.

I’m not asking why you have wild-colored hair. I want to understand the engineering behind this thing. How do you decide purple goes here, blue goes there, and everything works together?

Victoria: I don’t think I decide. I’ve tried almost every color. I’ve done lime green. I’ve done turquoise. I’ve done pink. I’ve done purple. I’ve done different styles, and I eventually landed on this one. But it’s changing again. I’m going orange, red, and black in about three weeks.

MaM: Orange, red, and black? Okay, but how will that work? Explain this to me like I’m an engineer.

Victoria: I trust my stylist. I basically tell her, “I like these colors. You figure out the placement. I want raccoon tails.” And then she gets to do whatever she wants.

MaM: Perfect. All right, guys. Let’s go listen to some music.

Normally, I’d have an outro, but not this time. Let’s go listen to some music. Cue up Seven Year Witch.