Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

Christian rock group Skillet to wake up Tri-Cities Nov. 3

By Bethany Woo, Herald staff writer

Skillet frontman John Cooper is looking forward to bringing his band's AWAKE and ALIVE tour to the Tri-Cities.

The contemporary Christian rock group is coming to the Toyota Center in Kennewick on Nov. 3 along with bands Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and The Letter Black.

"A lot of times our fans are on the outskirts of town," he said. "Those shows are really great. When we go to small towns, it always feels like people are really coming out."

Skillet released their last album, AWAKE, in August and their first single Monster has been featured on MTV's Bully Beatdown. Their second single, Hero, can be heard in promos for NBC's Sunday Night Football.

"I grew up as a big fan of wrestling when I was younger," Cooper said. "I thought this song would be perfect for football or UFC or something like that and when we got the call from WWE, I was so excited."

The band worked with Howard Benson, a music producer who has collaborated with groups such as Seether, P.O.D. and My Chemical Romance.

For more than a decade, the modern rock band has consistently delivered hard-hitting tunes but doesn't plan on dropping its Christian undertones anytime soon.

"We've never changed who we are or what we sing about or our mission," Cooper said. "We've never stopped trying to reach our current fan base. We are still trying to reach a new audience, which would be the mainstream rock crowd, but we're not trying to reach that crowd by changing our lyrics or music or what we're about. There's a lot of people out there who've never had the chance to say yes or no to Skillet."

Cooper admits being on the road with his bandmate and wife, Korey Cooper, makes it difficult to find their own personal time.

"When you're married and in the band and on the road, you can't differentiate," he said. "But I think it's great, because we're together all the time and I don't have to leave her at home. I wouldn't want it any other way."

While his family and music take top priority, the fans that make it all possible aren't far behind.

"We've never sold out who we are, and that means a lot to our fans," Cooper said. "They know that we're genuine and doing what we want to do and we're being honest with ourselves and honest with our fans."

The concert is at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $24 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, go to www.skillet.com.