Following their 2008 album, Into The Sun, Candlebox returns with a new album and supporting tour for their latest work. Released by Audionest earlier this month, Love Stories & Other Musings showcases the band’s new material alongside new takes of classic songs like “You,” “Far Behind,” “Change,” “Cover Me,” and “Simple Lessons,” while the first single, “Believe In It,” receives regular airplay on Sirius XM’s Octane channel. Always worth checking out, the band (Kevin Martin, vocals; Peter Klett, guitar; Sean Hennesy, guitar; Adam Kury, bass; and Scott Mercado, drums) is a seasoned crowd pleaser, whether onstage or in the studio. Klett took some time to talk about the new album and tour, the band’s endurance, his solo projects and more.
As a new record, I’m not surprised that Love Stories & Other Musings is such a great album. You’ve also included new takes on classic Candlebox songs like “You,” “Far Behind,” and others. Why did you decide to record them again?
Well, ultimately we get to re-record them after so many years and this allows us to license them for the band and earn the money without the label taking any.
Did including classic songs help to set your new music apart? Do you feel the new material was approached in a new way and made for a different sound?
Oh absolutely. I wanted to kind of branch out on the last record but we kind of needed to give our core fans the Candlebox feel. This time around we have other people helping us write so it allows for a different approach to our style. I think Kevin is lyrically approaching his music more straight-ahead and hasn’t been [reading] between the lines with a lot of it.
So, is this a better time for the band as opposed to the beginning?
It’s different. I mean, it’s not new and all lit up and here’s our dream come true, but it’s steady and we all know what we want and what to expect from touring. We’re able to kind of pace ourselves better. It’s just different, but good.
I hesitate to even bring grunge up, but I never felt that Candlebox was really 100 percent a part of that genre.
Right.
Your music seems more soulful somehow. Do you think that this difference is what’s helped the band survive?
Absolutely. Absolutely agree with you and it’s a good analogy I think. Thank god that those bands did what they did and went through what they did and really kind of paved the way for us. I appreciate that. At the same time, all of us were ready for that. We’d worked hard to learn our craft and be very good at it. But we don’t sound like any of those bands. I guess the closest, sonically, would have been Pearl Jam, I guess. At the same time, it was different. We have our own sound. It is what it is but I think that the fact that we were blessed and tuned into what we do is what people love and what keeps them coming back.
Once you define yourself based on a fad, when that fad disintegrates, I don’t know where that leaves you.
You’re right. You’re absolutely right and that’s why we’ve been able to stay where we are. We didn’t conform to that. We were totally different. Unfortunately, people put us into that genre but if you listen to Pearl Jam, it’s far from grunge music.
And over time you’ve done some solo work with redlightmusic and Kevin Martin had a solo project with The Hiwatts. Are those bands together?
A lot of those bands are probably gone for good but I know Kevin now has a band called The Gracious Few and I have a band called Lotus Crush. So we have other endeavors outside of Candlebox that, once this album has been worked, we’ll probably go back to. Kevin did a record with The Gracious Few and I did one with Lotus Crush. They’re both out there and available. I think both of us have more music to put out and finish with those bands once this album is done. And you’re the first one that’s mentioned redlight. I appreciate that.
You’re welcome. Your work with redlightmusic was, in my opinion, just as good as Candlebox.
If you liked the redlight stuff, I put out another EP on iTunes.
You’re into the tour to support Love Stories & Other Musings. I saw the band during the Into The Sun tour and was pleased by the crowd’s enthusiasm. I hope you’re receiving the same welcome this time around.
Yeah. The shows are going good. We’ve only been out since the 5th [of April] so it’s still new. We’ve been in Florida, where we’re pretty spoiled. They treat us very well and the fans really love us in Florida. So far so good. People really like the music and I appreciate that.
Is the tour going to top out at around 30 shows or will you head out again?
We’ll continue to go through the rest of the year. We have an opportunity to go to Japan so we might have to actually cancel some dates in mid-to-late May. The opportunity to go overseas is just too important for us. We’re going to try and get into several places over there. We’ll head back home and make up the shows that we have to cancel, if it happens, like we always do.
Candlebox will be at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC on May 2, The Stony Pony in Asbury Park on May 5, and The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY, on May 6. For more information, go to candleboxrocks.com.
