Reggie Edwards of The Front Row Report recently conducted an interview with Skillet singer John Cooper. You can now listen to the chat below.
Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for Skillet‘s upcoming album, Cooper said: “We are recording this year. In fact, I am writing and demoing today, and I took a break to do some interviews. And then, after I talk with you, I go back and finish singing one of my songs and put it in. We’re about halfway done with the writing process now, and we’re looking to record this summer and release, kind of, as soon as possible, really.”
Asked if Skillet‘s next album will once again be a concept record, Cooper said: “I don’t think that [it] will [be], but even with ‘Rise’, I didn’t know that we were doing a concept record until we were actually recording; it just kind of hit me. So, never say never, but that is not the plan at the moment.”
The band’s upcoming album comes on the heels of 2013’s “Rise”, which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart and ended up going platinum.
Cooper, who says he’s really inspired lately, told Billboard that he has been working closely on music with keyboardist Korey Cooper, his wife and bandmate.
He said, “I haven’t been this excited about writing a record in, like, seven years or eight years, and it’s just been kind of a joyous time, actually. I’ve been signing autographs on the tour and meeting tons of people, and when I meet people like that it inspires me to write and I’m feeling inspired and just excited to still be making music and hopefully write songs that people can relate to and can make them feel better about themselves or help them through hard times.”
Skillet is currently on its Winter Jam tour 2015 and has dates lined up throughout the year. Remaining dates are listed below.
Upcoming Shows
Mar 08 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Fort Worth, TX
Mar 12 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Roanoke, VA
Mar 13 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Raleigh, NC
Mar 14 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Columbia, SC
Mar 15 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Chattanooga, TN
Mar 19 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN
Mar 20 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Indianapolis, IN
Mar 21 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Birmingham, AL
Mar 22 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Memphis, TN
Mar 27 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Little Rock, AR
Mar 28 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Lexington, KY
Mar 29 Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular Peoria, IL
Apr 25 Freedom Fest Pretoria, South Africa
Apr 27 Freedom Fest Cape Town, South Africa
Jun 13 Rock The Park Charlotte, NC
Jun 19 Alive Festival Canal Fulton, OH
Jun 20 Wonder Jam Vaughan, Canada
Jun 25 Creation Northeast Shirleysburg, PA
Jun 26 Spirit Song Mason, OH
Jun 27 Kingsfest Doswell, VA
Jul 11 Lifest Oshkosh, WI
Jul 16 Sonshine Festival Somerset, WI
Aug 07 HeavenFest Morrison, CO
Aug 08 Wild Adventures theme Park Valdosta, GA
Aug 22 Franklin Graham Festival Oklahoma City, OK
Aug 28 Alaska State Fair Palmer, AK
2016
Jan 25 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Jan 26 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Jan 27 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Jan 28 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Jan 29 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Jan 30 KLOVE Cruise Miami, FL
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Related Articles:
Skillet – Rise [Album Review]
‘Skillet’ Mainman ‘John Cooper’ Interviewed at ‘Fortarock’ (Video) [June 2014]
‘Skillet’ will Return to Europe this November, New Video Interview Available [June 2014]
‘Skillet’ Announce New European Tour This Fall (October/November) [July 2014]
‘Skillet’ to Headline ‘Winter Jam’ 2015 [Oct. 2014]
‘Skillet’ to Enter Studio this Summer, New Album Due Early 2016 [Feb. 2015]