Kevin Martin of Candlebox: You Need To Be 100% In The Game
And advice they received from Rush
Cris Cohen: Talking about vocal gymnastics that you sometimes have to do, the first time I ever encountered you guys was opening for Rush in I think '93.
Kevin Martin of Candlebox: '94.
Cris Cohen: '94. I had not heard of you guys at all at the time I showed up in Los Angeles at the Forum. And I was really impressed. Because I just didn't know what to expect. But one thing I clearly remember was you physically throwing your entire body into this massive arc every time you hit a chorus. And I was just amazed at someone that physically committed to a performance. How much of that is conscious, and how much of that is just the moment overtakes you?
Kevin Martin: I've always said that if you're not losing yourself in a song -- whether you're a singer, drummer, bass player, guitar player -- you're not feeling it. Like I said, KISS was one of my favorite bands, but really, I grew up on punk rock music. And one of my first concerts was Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and the Butthole Surfers in San Antonio, Texas. And I remember vividly not only Henry Rollins (of Black Flag), but Jello Biafra (of the Dead Kennedys) and their conviction to what they were singing about. And how much those songs meant not only to me, but obviously to everybody else who was in the room, all the other kids that were there watching these brilliant performers. I mean, Gibby Haynes (of the Butthole Surfers) was just tripping on acid, so it didn't really matter. But these two artists taught me so much about delivery and respect of the song and the craft.
And when I sang those songs… I didn't write the songs for anybody but me. Those are my stories. And to this day they are still my stories. “Far Behind” is still about Andy Wood (of Mother Love Bone). It will always be about Andy. And “You” is always going to be about my getting away from drugs and shit when I was growing up. Those are what throw me into that performance, those songs, what they mean to me. And, of course, you're opening for Rush, the audience hates you anyways. So, you might as well enjoy that show and say, "Which one of you guys is up here opening for Rush?
We always take young bands out on the road. That's what Rush did for us. I think we're the last band that ever opened for them. And they really spent a lot of time talking to us about our responsibilities to not only the music, but to our fans. And to young bands that we have a responsibility to teach people about, if we got to the level of success that they felt we would. And, of course, they were right. We sold 4 million records and it was brilliant.
Don't try and sound like any other band. Be who your band is supposed to be and be it 100%.
But I always tell (young bands), if you're half-assing this, what's the point? You need to be 100% in the game. And you need to know what it is that you're talking about, singing about, what parts you're playing, why you're playing, why you choose it. Don't try and sound like any other band. Be who your band is supposed to be and be it 100%.
That's probably why Candlebox is still around, to be honest with you. It's because we always were that. We never tried to be Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Mother Love Bone, or any of those bands from Seattle. We were always ourselves. And it hurt us, because we could have very easily gone in the direction of Pearl Jam and made an album like “Ten,” because we're capable of that. We could've made the Temple of the Dog record, because we're capable of that as musicians. We can play those parts. But it wasn't us. It would never work because we weren't those characters.
We were four guys that really had nothing musically in common. It's the happiest accident the four of us ever had. I've often said that Simon Cowell probably could have put Candlebox together like a boy band because we didn't really know one another. We got thrown into this arena musically. And we were able to make great songs and write great records that went a long, long way. I attribute that to the four of us being so different musically but giving every ounce of ourselves to that debut album. It is why people still, I guess, gravitate towards the debut record, because it's 100% us on every single song.
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