In 2000, Creed was the biggest rock band on the planet and the emo uprising was about to begin. Somehow in the middle of all that, a progressive rock band setting music to a Star Wars-esque saga managed to get a foothold, and that band is Coheed & Cambria.
Coheed & Cambria are the new rockstars. Basement dwelling music geeks to the hippest of mainstream consumers all seem to be rallying behind this band, each finding something different to hold on to. Some are in it for the high concept sci-fi story the band has built upon from album to album and the accompanying comic books. Some are in it for the fist pumping rock and face melting riffs. Others aren’t sure why they’re into it at all, they just love singing along. I think a fair argument could be made for them being the greatest band in modern music and in a time when music desperately needs real rock stars, god bless them for keeping the flickering flame of that torch alive.
We caught up with Travis Stever, guitarist for the band, to get their perspective on reaching their current level of success. According to Stever, it wasn’t exactly easy, but it couldn’t really be described as difficult. As it turns out, when you have a group of great musicians with an actual leader who has vision, things happen quite naturally. However, finding your voice is one thing, finding your audience is quite another.
“Seven years ago we were playing in basements for about 5 people at a time. But we were playing almost every night, and that’s what we wanted. An audience won’t seek you out, you have to look for them. Every night we were out there looking for those people who would really get us,” explains Stever. “If people are looking for something to connect to, and you’re it, they have to know you exist whether its through word of mouth or randomly catching you at a bar. You have to find each other. It takes effort on everyone’s part. Once we started playing bigger shows, we were always sharing bills with post hardcore and emo bands. We just didn’t fit in. At all. We were the black sheep everywhere we went, and who can’t relate to that?”
Their latest mouthful of an album, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow debuted at #6, selling 62,000 copies their first week, and the single “The Running Free” has been steadily gaining in popularity both on the air and online since they premiered it over the summer at Warped Tour. An art collective such as Coheed & Cambria forming at the height of Napster popularity is…ironic. But the band seems to be taking advantage of the opportunities online.
“We leaked the album more than a week before its release. I don’t know if that helped or hurt our sales, we just wanted people to hear it. It’s good to know that people are still buying music. Most kids don’t even know they should be paying for it. When Napster first happened, I thought it was like a treasure chest. I downloaded as much as anyone. Now I have more respect for the effort that goes into pulling off a great album and the work all of the artists put into it, so my personal interest in downloading has dwindled. Album art is a big thing for me. It helps tell the story. I remember staring at covers for hours trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I feel bad that kids are missing out on that. The only real money is in live shows anymore. That’s fine with us. But, we do put a lot of work into our CDs and have artists we work with on everything. It’s available if people want it.”
Although the band embraces the downloading phenomena and the ability to connect to fans in a way only the internet provides, they are fully aware of the threat it poses to artists.
Stever says “It destroys rock’s mystique. 20 years ago, the most appealing thing about your favorite rock band was the stuff you made up in your head. ‘I wonder if they live in a castle…or an underwater cave.’ But now you can see the guy taking a shit on the internet.” Coheed have managed to avoid this pitfall, resisting the demand for transparency that now comes with fame. “It’s not really a conscious effort. I think the storyline helps. Our songs aren’t like a diary. I think in order to avoid it, you have to realize how whoring yourself out too much can effect you. I think Spin or something has this thing where you call in for 7 days on tour. It’s cool because it gives fans a small glimpse into what life is like on the road, but it’s up to the musician how much they put in there. Musicians know how hungry people are for information, it can be easy to give them too much.”
A solid structure requires a solid foundation and Coheed has their priorities straight. Music first, fans second, business third. It takes a massive amount of creativity to come up with their story lines, talent to turn those story lines into something with mass appeal, nerve to be willing to stick out like a sore thumb in a scene of sameness, and it takes a massive amount of self-respect and self-awareness to control their careers and know where their personal privacy lines lie. To work on a massive scale, you must have all of these things in abundance. Coheed & Cambria have found their balance and hit their stride. With only one album remaining in the saga, the future is unknown. But for this group of extremely original musicians, challenges are absolutely necessary to their evolution and the unknown has become a second home.



More...