Rock band One Less Reason is a good reason to listen to rock. With their international fan base, soulful lyrics and easy style, band members Kevin Scott on drums, Jeremy Jones on lead guitar, Jereme Hubble on bass and back up vocals and Chris Brown on guitar and lead vocals give the reasons why they are one of Tennessee’s rising stars.

In an exclusive interview for The Pacer, the band members give us a taste of what got them to the big time. One Less Reason has played outlaw shows with Jim Blossoms and outdoor shows with bands Trust Company, Social Bird, Tantric and Theory of a Dead Man. On a recent Florida tour, they played an acoustic show with the band Shine Down as well. Their recent remake of Prince’s “When Doves Fly” was a hit in Grand Rapids, Mich., with its recent release. They have also sold over 10,000 copies of their most recent CD titled One Less Reason and have played before audiences of 5,000 in Albany, Ga., 8,000 in Grand Rapids, Mich. and more in Tallahassee, Fla.

“The band has been together for over six years,” said drummer Kevin Scott. “The band started out with Jereme Hubble, Chris and another drummer. The other drummer left and I came on board. We were a three piece band for one to two years, then we added another band member, Jeremy Jones.”

When asked what inspired them for the band’s name One Less Reason, Scott said, “The band was called Lap Dog. When we hooked up with management in Florida, they wanted us to change the name. We were going into main stream rock at the time, so it made it easier to change the name. The other guitar player came up with the name. We were writing more melodic stuff when we changed the name. When we quit doing some of the heavier stuff, we made a lot of people mad. A lot of people thought we were selling out.”

“The name of the band was One Less Reason to be what everyone wanted us to be,” said Jones.

One Less Reason had a demo deal with Universal Records, but is independent now. “We are going back into the studio to cut our new CD on April 12,” Said Brown.

When asked about their future plans, Brown said, “We have a new manager Bill McGathy who also represents the bands Three Doors Down, Creed and is also the owner of Clear Channel. We hooked up with him through Darren, a program director for Clear Channel who put our songs into rotation. He called Bill and told him that our songs were hits and were highly requested. Bill really liked our stuff and it has really taken off from there. He’s getting us a record deal. It’s a big pie and everyone wants a piece of it.”

When asked what they like best about the music and playing to an audience, Brown said, “I look at music from an outside point of view. When you play the stuff you write and you connect with the crowd, they are getting what you put into it.” Brown said that the band writes their own songs.

When asked what they are proudest of, Brown said, “What we’ve accomplished so far. When we went to Florida, we sang in front of 5,000 people and they were all singing with us. That is an accomplishment no matter who you are.”

“We’ve been here for 7 years and our fan base is more like a family,” Brown said. “When we started, there was one person there, Christy and she still comes to shows. We went from one to 30, then to 100 and so on. In Grand Rapids, Mich., we played before 8,000 people and we sold 10,000 copies of our latest album One Less Reason. Now people contact us from Australia on the Internet.”

When asked what message the band would like to convey to their audience, Brown said, “All of our songs have some underlying message of hope. All of our songs are about love and friendship. Everybody needs help along the way, no matter who you are and sometimes that help is a kick in the a--.”

One Less Reason is planning more tours after the release of their new album that remains untitled. Last year they played between 150 and 200 shows. This year they are planning to play even more. They will be appearing in Jackson, Tenn., at the Cinco De Mayo and will tour Tallahassee, Fla. in May.

“Some day I hope the music will make me rich,” said Hubble, then added laughing. “What message would I like to give fans? Send money.”