Aaron Gillespie is a man obsessed. Whether he’s out in front of The Almost, his celebrated rock-based band, or behind the drum kit for Underoath, the Clearwater, Florida-bred songwriter/musician can’t help but throw himself into everything he does.

Southern Weather, which marks the first time Tooth & Nail has partnered with a major label (Virgin Records), lets Gillespie put a different, more melodic side of himself on display. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his idol Dave Grohl, who stepped out from behind his drum kit to capture the rock world’s hearts as one of the genre’s most visible frontmen, Gillespie has begun a metamorphosis.

If he’s quick to downplay any similarities to the Foo Fighters in their infancy, The Almost’s debut affirms they’re clearly worthy. Consider that Southern Weather rocketed onto The Billboard 200 at #39 in April 2007. It has sold nearly a quarter of a million copies since release and has earned the band the distinction of being an MTV/MTV2/mtvU Discover & Download artist. It also landed Aaron on the cover of Alternative Press and an outside stage performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

For Southern Weather, Gillespie aligned with acclaimed, Seattle-based producer Aaron Sprinkle. And while the two had never met, Gillespie was a big fan of Sprinkle’s work with Pedro the Lion and they hit it off instantly.

“Aaron is an incredibly talented producer,” says Gillespie. “And it turns out we have a lot in common. He wears a lot of hats and plays every instrument. He’s able to open up your eyes and make you think about things you can do on an album that maybe you didn’t think about.”

Case in point is “Amazing Because It Is,” which started as a very basic song but built into a horn-touched, choir-augmented album pinnacle. “It’s way different from anything else on the record, but I think I might like it the best,” Gillespie says of the spiritual opus. “It started with one take on the vocals and we kind of kept it stripped down. And then I went to a church-to like a youth group-and they invited all of their affiliated youth groups and I played a few songs for them. And I am so pleased with how it ended up.”

Nearly as magical is the disc’s tender, countrified moment, “Dirty And Left Out,” which took shape after the Aarons spent an evening absorbing Ocean Beach by Red House Painters. If the latter – which counts a guest vocal collaboration with former Sunny Day Real Estate singer Jeremy Enigk – is a noticeable shift from the bone-crunching attack fans have come to expect from Aaron through his work with Underoath, Gillespie says it’s completely natural. “As much as I love what I do in that band, there are songs in me and music that I enjoy just as much that comes from melody,” The Almost principal explains.

Looking at the credits for Southern Weather, one could surmise that The Almost is a solo project for Gillespie – for he plays nearly every instrument on the disc. But as the album was coming together, the band was coming together as well. Gillespie had already recruited wunderkind drummer Kenny Bozich, who was only 16 at the time. Then he met Jay Vilardi, who’d been recommended to him by Underoath’s drum tech.

“Aaron played ‘Say It Sooner’ for me first,” says Vilardi, “and I remember thinking ‘wow, this song is pretty sweet, it’s definitely something different.’” Gillespie followed with “Southern Weather” and Vilardi was sold. “Right away, I thought about how cool it would be to play live, because it’s a little heavier,” he says. The two jammed and by the end of the night, Vilardi had signed on as guitar player – a job description that got a whole lot bigger the following day.

“I’ve got to travel with Underoath,” Gillespie told him. “But we need to hire some guys, teach them the songs, put together a rehearsal schedule – could you do that?”

And that’s what Vilardi proceeded to do, first adding bass player Alex Aponte and eventually relocating the band to Salt Lake City, where Gillespie’s family had moved. With the three holed up in the basement of Gillespie’s new house (dubbing themselves “team homeless,” Vilardi recalls), they continued fine tuning the songs, bringing on guitarist Nick D’Amico (who subsequently left the band and has been replaced by Dusty Redmon, formerly of Dead Poetic and Beloved).

Gillespie returned from tour and, after a three-hour rehearsal (their first as a full band), The Almost drove to Los Angeles for their first gig – a sold-out show at Anaheim’s Chain Reaction.

Southern Weather debuted to rave reviews, scoring a three-and-a-half star review from Spin, an “On the Verge” feature in USA Today and a cover story in Alternative Press.

The disc’s commanding opening track and first single, "Say This Sooner" introduces the album with an attention grabbing, percussion-driven anthem. “I grew up in the Deep South,” he says of the urgent, hook-fostered opener, which peaked at #7 on the Alternative radio chart. “Like anyone, I’ve had struggles along the way. But I am very much informed by Southern values and I think the songs speak to that.”

Gillespie’s origins also clearly inform the title track, the album’s second single and video. Ruminating on a relationship that’s at the breaking point, he urges: “Blame it on the Southern weather….you can blame me for everything.” The powerful video, directed by Shane Drake (who also lensed the video for “Say This Sooner”), juxtaposes the band’s swamp’s edge performance with a striking montage of footage evoking the land and its people. (All of the band members grew up in the South – Gillespie, Bozich and Aponte in Florida and Redmon in North Carolina – with the exception of Vilardi, who was born and raised in Southern California.)

Between his own duties out in front of The Almost and Underoath’s schedule, Gillespie has his hands full. (As does Vilardi, who now doubles as Underoath’s guitar tech.) After The Almost’s spring outings with Paramore, Say Anything, Classic Case and Forgive Durden, the band played the 2007 Vans Warped tour – as did Gillespie’s other band.

He’s been touring alternately with each ever since and has found time to record as well. Underoath’s latest album, Lost in the Sound of Separation, debuted at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 in September 2008. The Almost’s No Gift To Bring, a five-song EP produced by Underoath’s lead guitarist, Tim McTague, follows in November 2008. The collection is an eclectic one, offering up a brand new song (the achingly introspective “Awful Direction”), a cover song, radically new versions of two tracks from Southern Weather (“Dirty And Left Out” and “Amazing Because It Is”) and Gillespie’s take on a classic Christmas song, “Little Drummer Boy.”

For now, he’s a firm believer in his ability to balance both bands. “Underoath is extremely special to me,” he says of the group, which he co-founded in 1998.

“Whereas with The Almost, we’ve got a much broader scope,” continues Gillespie, who will be going into the studio with The Almost in spring 2009 to record the group’s sophomore album. “From a 12-year-old listening to her iPod on the school bus to a 38-year-old guy commuting on a train, I’m excited by the fact that this music can find an audience with a lot of different people.”