Candlebox Shows Denver Some Love
By Sal Christ
Photo credit: Derrick Hornyan of D-ROCK IMAGING
A wedding anniversary, a familiar grind of guitars, and the heady rush of nostalgia rushing through the veins make for an epic rock show that only Seattle’s Candlebox could have delivered on Sunday, Sept. 25 at the Bluebird Theater. Three years had passed since the band had last toured through Denver, but the conversation between the crowd and lead singer, Kevin Martin, certainly felt like catching up with an old friend. Kicking things off with “Bitches Brewin’,” a track off their last album, 2008’s Into the Sun, the band played tunes traversing the length of their entire songbook including “You,” “Understanding,” and a couple of cuts from their new record, which is due in February of next year.
In a pre-show interview, lead guitarist Peter Klett talked about his love for Denver, the latest album, and how the music industry has changed as a result of the internet.
CMB: So, I’m really glad that you guys are coming through Denver—it’s been a long time.
PK: I love Denver.
CMB: Yeah? How many times have you been to Denver?
PK: A lot. I couldn’t even tell you the amount, but just Colorado—in general—I’m a big fan of.
CMB: Just from personal travel or?
PK: Personal travels. Obviously with the band, but I love the scenery. I love the weather. People are cool. I just like it.
CMB: Wonderful. Well, speaking of travels, you guys started your tour like ten days ago—or longer?
PK: Well, this part of it, yes. Yeah, it’s been a few months.
CMB: Where did you guys start off in? How long ago did you guys start off on it?
PK: Oh, boy…August? July 29th or something we started and we’ve been doing legs. Then we went to California to do the record and then after that we started this leg, so you know it gets broken up by a few days of being home.
CMB: So what’s been your favorite part of the tour so far?
PK: Going to Florida’s always good because the fans there are ravenous. We probably do the best business there as far as fan base, you know. As far as travel and being away from home, doing the record was a fantastic time. Very cool, I loved that.
CMB: Nice. When is the new record coming out?
PK: February’s the word, but you never know. February, March, maybe April.
CMB: Hopefully sometime next year, though?
PK: Yeah, early next year. First quarter probably.
CMB: Good, good. I know that it’s been in the works. I saw an interview with you guys last year and you were hoping to have it out this year.
PK: Yeah, it just didn’t work, but now that we’ve done it I’m glad that we waited. It probably wouldn’t be as good. We were rushing. We already rushed it as it is. Oh, geez, we did it in 12 days, 20 days—something like that.
CMB: Wow. That’s pretty fast for a record.
PK: Yeah, very fast.
CMB: And how is it going to be different than the last one?
PK: Kevin singing about different things—he had a different view on how he wanted to approach the songs that he wrote. We also have Adam and Sean doing a little more writing on this one. I think this time there’s Candlebox rock, but there’s also…everybody wanted to do more up to date, contemporary—for lack of a better word…just kind of grow. You know?
CMB: In terms of radio and music, how has all of that changed for you guys over the last 20 years? Especially with everything being on the internet now?
PK: Well, you know, before it was promote the record, get a single on the radio, and get people to go to the store. Now, it’s just like, throw it out there and everybody can have it it seems like. You don’t really sell records—you sell tickets to concerts. Nobody really has to release a physical CD anymore. I buy all my stuff on iTunes.
CMB: How has that been for you as a musician and as a band? I know you have MySpace and Twitter and all the rest. How has that been with interacting with the fans?
PK: Well, again, instead of a radio interview or a magazine article or a concert, you can have direct contact with anybody anywhere in the world, so it’s huge for all musicians—especially for the people that are trying to get known. You know, they could sell a hundred thousand copies online without a record label, so it’s beautiful. It’s just hard to get it out there.
CMB: Well, awesome. Is there anything else you want to put out there?
PK: I just want to thank the fans. They’re always really nice to us and I’ve had a really good like because of them.
CMB: Well, you guys have made our life a little bit better.
PK: Now that’s what I like to hear!
After playing a medley of covers featuring pieces bits and pieces of songs by Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Nirvana, Candlebox gave a shout-out to local band, Take to the Oars and then came back for an encore. Not to end the night early, members of the group congregated across the street at Mezcal with some fans and Denver friends for drinks and happy hour tacos. As for the wedding anniversary? Klett and his wife celebrated their second anniversary the day of the show.
www.CandleboxRocks.com
Category: The Rock
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