RISING TO THE OCCASION – A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN COOPER OF SKILLET AT MUSIKFEST 2013

In the shadow of the Bethlehem Steel stacks, Musicfest 2013 was in full-swing on Sunday, August 4, and a huge rock show was rolling into the Steel City. Christian hard rock icons Skillet were set to headline, and while We As Human, Decyfer Down, and Thousand Foot Krutch kicked off the evening’s festivities, I got a chance to sit down with Skillet frontman John Cooper backstage to talk about their impending performance, the band’s latest album, and much more.

Back on June 25, Skillet released their much-anticipated new album, Rise. The disc delighted fans and critics alike, debuting at #4 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 on Christian Albums, #1 on Top Rock Albums, and #1 on Top Hard Rock Albums. “You can’t but look at numbers,” John said. “You want to know how you’re doing.” Clearly, Skillet have been doing well. In addition to their commercial success on the charts, the band recently headlined Creation Festival back in June. “I think we’ve played creation twelve times,” said Cooper. “[Creation] was one of the first festivals we ever played at in our whole career, so going back to headline, it was a little dreamy. Check it off the list.” The band’s latest album is a much more ambitions one, both musically and lyrically. “Our sound has been very complex in the past,” John stated. “It’s been a little more musical; a little more dynamic, and I think this record is a little more dynamic than ‘Awake’.”

Skillet formed in Memphis, TN in 1996. After releasing five studio LPs, the band hit the mainstream with their 2003 album Collide, which cracked the Billboard Top 200 at #179 and garnered the band their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album. In 2006, the band released Comatose. The album went gold, and earned Skillet their second Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock/Rap Gospel Album. The band followed up with an even bigger success in 2009 with Awake, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, and eventually went platinum. The album won the band the Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Album in 2011. Famous for their extensive touring, Skillet have shared stages with artists like Stone Sour, Creed, Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, Seether, Theory of a Deadman, Halestorm, and many more. Throughout their career that spans over a decade, the band has been nominated for 2 Grammy Awards, 3 Billboard Music Awards, and 18 GMA Dove Awards (winning in 2008 for Rock Song of The Year – “Comatose”). Skillet are currently trekking across the country with Shinedown, Papa Roach, In This Moment, and We As Human on the 2013 Carnival of Madness Tour. On September 20, the band will be headlining Uprise Festival in Shippensburg, PA. For Skillet and their fans, the time to Rise is now. – by Matt Bishop