Eels Coheed and CAMBRIA

ISSUE #24 MMUSICMAG.COM SPOTLIGHT Chris Crisman L indsey Byrnes COHEED AND CAMBRIA The eclectic rockers release the second half of an ambitious set Travis Stever, Josh Eppard, Claudio Sanchez, Zach Cooper CLAUDIO SANCHEZ IS CHILLING back to 2002. As with those records, home. “I wanted to be able to go back home in the Florida sunshine. The frontman Sanchez began the writing process for and work on stuff.” for progressive rock band Coheed and The Afterman: Descension by gathering his With Sanchez, there are always irons in Cambria is decompressing after spending tools. “I always have some sort of device to the fire. He’s been creating comic books and the last two years writing and recording record on,” he says. “Usually it’s a laptop. graphic novels since 2000, and he co-wrote the group’s epic double-volume albums I’ll start with instrumentation. I create a the 2010 novel Year of the Black Rainbow The Afterman: Ascension (October 2012) melody against it, and that will form the with Peter David. Entourage producer and the sequel released four months later, words—and from there I’ll find what that song Mark Wahlberg is developing Sanchez’s The Afterman: Descension. Like the band’s is about. Once that skeleton is complete, comic book series The Amory Wars previous projects, Afterman is a conceptual I’ll show it to the band, and they’ll arrange into a full-length live-action film. On top record—but loosely so. “I wanted to write the sections around it.” of that, Sanchez just launched his own a record that didn’t really have walls or The lineup that fleshed out the songs label—Everything Evil Records—making the boundaries,” says Sanchez. “I wrote the on Descension included newcomer bassist twin Afterman albums his first releases. songs about what I was experiencing Zach Cooper, along with Sanchez and “It felt really good, but it was a lot of in the two years it took to make those guitarist Travis Stever. The album also work,” he sighs. “It was a real sense of records. I wanted a record inspired by features the return of original drummer accomplishment. We went for the vibe and the time I was having.” Josh Eppard, as well as producers Michael what felt right. It’s honest, and all those And what a time it has been. The Puerto Birnbaum and Chris Bittner, who had worked little mistakes and happy accidents are Rican musician with the leonine mane of on the group’s first four albums. “There’s a there. I think the album totally captured hair has helmed Coheed and Cambria over comfort zone there,” admits Sanchez, who everything I wanted it to.” the course of five earlier albums, dating liked the fact that their studio was near his –Steve Rosen EELS No plan is no problem for E and his band of indie rockers HEADING INTO THE STUDIO WITHOUT A SINGLE SONG written could easily lead to chaos, but on the latest Eels album, Wonderful, Glorious, the casual approach was key to bringing the band together. “Normally I have a concept or musical idea of what I want a ISSUE record#24 to M sound MUSIC like, but &I went MUSICIANS in with none of that,” MAGAZINE says frontman Mark Everett (better known as “E”). Instead, E took an “anything goes” approach to the album—which he produced—and opened himself to ideas from the band that he might not have always been receptive to. “Part of how I produce is to make sure everybody in 16 MARCH/APRIL 2011 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE M mag 24_cs6.indd 16 1/14/13 12:01 AM.

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