Longevity in the mainstream music business is to do with this song, I think the production is Sometimes it’s like, “We need intros and we
rare and even more so for a band as overtly wrong, I think the direction is wrong, can you needed them yesterday, so give us an intro that
Christian as Skillet. Yet, Skillet is currently fix it?” then I’m just jumping in and overhauling grants the emotion of setting the stage for the
dominating the Billboard charts with their latest the entire song and the way that its produced. first time and we want the anticipation!”, so I’ll
release Victorious which debuted at the #1
say okay, how long do you want them to be?
slot on both the Rock Album Sales and Top For this record, it was the first time that we Thirty seconds, two minutes, five minutes? Just
Christian Albums charts! This story is twenty took on production full force for a majority tell me what you want and I’ll jump in there and
years in the making, and one that would and of the record. I had never done or been in get it done.
could not be the same without Korey Cooper… charge of guitars and tones and that kind of stuff. So, this time it was kind of like John [WM] As a producer, can you share some of
[WM] Bands are a bit like a country, where writes parts and knows what he wants to get, your insights about making a great record that
each state plays a part in the union by doing its but not necessarily on the technical side and will also translate into a great live show?
own thing. With Victorious, you stepped into a sometimes he’ll get overwhelmed by some of major role in the production process, so what the engineering technical stuff. So, I’ll be like, [Korey] For Skillet there is so much strategy
all are you responsible for now? lets go to the studio, let’s run through what our that goes into making an album. We need x
songs are going to be, and my ear is good, amount of songs, x amount of radio formats,
[Korey Cooper] The best way I can describe so I know that we can get there. Sometimes the label always wants to know what the first
what I do, is that it’s like being a wife, which its as simple as, “I know we can do it, don’t single is. So, the first single can maybe only be
ironically, I am (laughs). A wife can kind of step feel overwhelmed”, sometimes it’s a little more a three-and-a-half-minute song. But for live,
into things, and whatever needs doing, you technical, like, “Okay you need to put like thirty you want the experience, sometimes we add
do. So that’s kind of my Skillet role. Whatever tracks of keyboard on this song.” Or, “How are sections. The Skillet show is so high energy and
needs filling, whatever needs enhancing, we going to fit the guitars into your keyboard emotion, its like a journey of highs and lows, so
whatever that might be. Even if its as simple wall?” So, you figure it out, tweaking tones for live sometimes we might change the key or
as encouraging someone else to run with their according to what we want to shine on a song. we might change the tempo like for our song
vision. If my John says, ”I don’t know what
“Legendary” that’s on the current record, we
photo by Daniel Parlante
September 2019
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