Spotlight on Skillet

VALDOSTA, GA – Christian rock band Skillet is set to perform at Wild Adventures Theme park in Valdosta, GA on Saturday, August 13 at 8 p.m.

Skillet originated in Memphis, TN in 1996 and since then has released eight albums, received two Grammy nominations for Collide and Comatose.

The band started with two members, John Cooper, formal vocalist for the Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry.

The bands toured together and after the bands were dissolved Cooper and Steorts decided to get together and form an experimental band called Skillet.

Trey McClurkin joined the band as a temporary drummer and was together only a month before gaining interest from Christian record label ForeFront Records, landing their first self-titled debut as Skillet.

Cooper explained that the band name, Skillet, started off as a joke between band members.

Since each band member was from a different band, with a different sound and a different style, the style was said “to be like putting all of those styles in a big skillet to come up with something unique.” Thus the band name “Skillet” was born. Cooper claims to still not like the band’s name.

The next album was released in 1997 called Hey You, I Love Your Soul and Cooper’s wife, Korey, joined soon after to play the keyboard.

Soon after they released Invincible, Ardent Worship and Alien Youth from 2000 to 2002.

Steorts left shortly before the band began recording Invincible to be with his family and that’s when Kevin Haaland joined as their new guitarist.

Trey McClurkin eventually parted ways with Skillet and Lori Peters filled the drummer’s position shortly before the release of Invincible, which ended up being their number one selling album to date.

Before Cooper took on production duties on the album Alien Youth, Haaland had left the band was Ben Kasica took over on guitar.

Skillet’s album Comatose, released in 2006, featured singles “Rebirthing,” “Whispers in the Dark,” “Comatose,” “The Older I Get,” “These Nights,” and “The Last Night.”

In 2008 Skillet announced that Peters was retiring from the band and during the Christmas season of 2007 they took on Jen Ledger as their new drummer.

Comatose was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA in 2009 and Skillet announced that they went into the studio in 2010 to finalize their new record, Awake, with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson, adding two songs, “Hero” and “Monster.”

Skillet was nominated for six Dove Awards for the 41 Annual GMA Dove Awards and Awake was certified gold by sales in July 2010.

In November of 2010 Skillet released an iTunes sessions EP with songs from Comatose and Awake and the next day “Monster” become certified gold by sales.

In February 2011 Skillet officially announced that Kasica was leaving the band and was recognized for contributing to albums Alien Youth, Collide, Comatose, Awake and live album Comatose Come Alive.

Collide went on to become their best-selling project to date, with over 200,000 units sold, while the band played some 200 dates a year, which included tours with the bands such as Saliva, Shinedown and Finger Eleven, Three Days Grace.

“We’re proud of where we’ve been in the past, but I feel like this is our strongest record,” said Cooper about their record Collide. “There are so many different influences that it won’t just be about rock audiences or metal audiences; I think there’s something here for everybody.”

Cooper explained that the band is always trying to raise the bar as far as quality of music they play an example being “Rebirthing” being “a complex but accessible amalgamation of piercing strings and humongous power chords sure to be a concert staple.”

“I just love rock ballads and the old days of Motley Crue, Aerosmith, and Bon Jovi,” said Cooper. “They always help you remember where you were, what you were doing, and who you were dating. They represent more of the pop side of what we do, which might have been hinted at in other records, but was never fully realized or matured.”

In April 2011 Kasica was replaced by Seth Morrison as lead guitarist.

Awake won the “Top Christian Album” Award at the Billboard Music Awards 2011 and their song “Awake and Alive” was announced to be on the Transformers: Dark of the Moon soundtrack in May 2011.

Skillet is still “flexing its experimental muscles” adding “piano-based and progressive-influenced pieces.”

“It’s a new era for both Atlantic and Skillet,” said Andy Karp, Head of A&R for Atlantic Records. “It’s the first record where we’ve really been one on one with the band, and it’s the latest step in our unique journey together. I’ve been at the label seventeen years and we’re known for having so many great rock n’ roll bands: Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Yes, Bad Company. There really aren’t a lot of labels that have that kind of pedigree for rock acts, and Skillet is yet another in a long line of great bands.”

Cooper and company can certainly relate, citing several from the label’s lineage as influencers since its infancy.

“Growing up, I was a prog freak and loved bands like Yes and Dream Theater,” said Cooper. “I also grew up with my mom as a classical piano teacher and took lessons for eight years, along with playing in the marching band and symphony. It’s funny because every once in a while there was a touch of that on Collide, but until recently, I didn’t see what that background had to do with rock music. On this record, we were able to make it work structurally with the piano and strings, plus there’s enough prog to make me happy.”

Cooper explained that his songwriting has “expanded to cover a vast range of topical territories, some of which follow socially conscious ideals, while others vulnerably mirror his personal life and struggles.”

“Take, for instance, the aforementioned “The Last Night,” which talks about someone considering suicide after living life in despair and not having support from their parents,” said Cooper. “Rather than calling it quits, the track suggests life is worth living and through the help of a supportive friend, they’re eventually talked down from that ledge.”

A song even closer home for Cooper is “The Older I Get,” which picks up after his mom passed away, follows the rocky relationship he had with his dad and new stepmother. 

“My dad got remarried two months after my mom died, and my stepmother’s husband had also passed away a few months earlier,” Cooper said. “It was a really bizarre situation and they didn’t get along, which was also the point when my dad and I started fighting. From the time I was fourteen or fifteen, I don’t remember having a single conversation with him for about four years that didn’t have to do with fighting. But a lot has mended since then and we’ve been able to move on. You can only go through life so long living in regret, and while those situations certainly affected me, I don’t hold onto the anger anymore.”

Cooper said that those introspective visions “tie in with the group’s overall goals of promoting positive messages that will give fans something to digest beyond pre-conceived clichés or trite topics.”

In naming the record Comatose they said it would “further cements those expressions, hoping to rev up listeners to break beyond the mundane, get on track with their relationships, and charge forward with hope.”

“John has written the best songs he’s every written and there’s been such an evolution on all levels for the band,” says Karp. “Sonically we set out to create a combination of electronic elements, orchestration, and a melodic approach. Skillet has managed to hit all of those three exactly on target, raising its game to yet another level of excellence.”

For more information on Skillet visit their official website at www.skillet.com.

For more information on Wild Adventures visit their website at www.wildadventures.com.
General concert seating is included with a 2011 Season Pass or park admission.  Reserved concert seats are an additional cost to park admission and must be purchased separately. Reserved seats are available for purchase online, by phone (229) 219-7080, or at the park.

For more coverage of the concert visit www.chipleypaper.com under photos and video.