Scott Stevens Reflects on the Exies’ History at the Machine Shop

On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Exies will play their second reunion show of the year at one of the most beloved music venues in the country, the Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan.

Ahead of that show, frontman Scott Stevens joined Loudwire Nights (Nov. 5) to reflect on the band’s history and what lies ahead.

“It was our home away from home,” Stevens told host Chuck Armstrong about the Exies’ connection to the Machine Shop.

“I don’t know how many times we played that place, maybe 15. There’s this hallway and it has all these pictures of all the bands that played there and it extends out of that hallway and goes and starts to cover the walls, but we were the very first band to ever take a photograph in that hallway. We were the first ones.”

Over the years, bands taking photos in that hallway has become somewhat iconic; even if someone has never been inside the Machine Shop, there’s no doubt they’ve likely seen the legendary hallway.

“We started it and I didn’t know that we started it either until [owner] Kevin Zink told me … I had no idea.”

The Exies’ Return to the Stage and the Studio in 2024

Earlier this year, the Exies reunited for their first live concert in nearly 15 years at an equally legendary venue, the Viper Room in Los Angeles. In addition to these two major reunion shows, the Exies celebrated their first release of new music, the Closure EP, since 2007’s A Modern Way of Living With the Truth.

“Had COVID not happened, I don’t know that I would have ever released any music,” Stevens admitted.

“Producing and writing for others at that time that shut down the world, I just started to try to fill the time — how do I cope with my existence now, and that’s how those songs were born.”

READ MORE: Dorothy Says Her New Album Fits Into ‘Heavy Metal Cowgirl’ Genre

As Stevens has described those songs before, he refers to them as “diary songs” that described his day-to-day, year-to-year existence as he tried to figure out how to get back to reality.

“I think I got comfortable enough to say, ‘Do you feel like I do? Please let me know that you do so that I’m not insane.’ And you know what? I think we all need that. We can stand on our own and have our own footing on things, but when people relate or when we relate to something, that really makes connection happen.”

What Else Did the Exies’ Scott Stevens Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How he ended up becoming a prolific and sought-after co-writer and producer following the Exies’ hiatus in 2009 and how working with Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee helped with that: “I always had something inside of me that liked being in the studio and creating from the ground up.”
• What it was like working with Dorothy on her new song, “Mud“: “It was just one of those wild card songs … I was a little bit nervous that she might not like it because it kind of had this slight country flair in the way the melody worked.”
• How the Exies ended up joining Creed‘s Summer of ’99 cruise lineup for 2025: “[Scott Stapp] called me and goes, ‘Do you really want to do it?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he goes, ‘Okay, you’re in.'”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Scott Stevens joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Nov. 5; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.