Featured Interview

Coheed & Cambria

Fantasy for Coheed and Cambria bassist Michael Todd has always meant being a rock star. While fans of the band's high-concept prog-rock albums might expect all the members of the group to share frontman Claudio Sanchez's love of comic books and expounding on the sci-fi storyline of the band's two namesake characters through song, Todd has remained a rocker. As Co&Ca rose through the Warped Tour ranks to major label stardom with 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 and 2005's Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness, Sanchez's passion for performing only found an equal in his partying. His late-night excursions played a part in why he parted ways with the band, temporarily, in late 2006. After a stay in rehab in early 2007, he rejoined Sanchez and guitarist Travis Stever in the studio to record last year's No World For Tomorrow, the final installment in the four-part Co&Ca saga as told in the Sanchez-penned comic book series, The Amory Wars. In a surprisingly personal move, the album also touched on both Todd's time away and the exit of drummer Josh Eppard. On the last day of Co&Ca's European tour earlier this spring, Recoil talked with Todd via phone about why the band will cross the Atlantic again for another string of shows there next month, what it was like working with two different drummers on the new album and how he had to get his life back together before he could make his fantasy his reality.

Sevendust

Sevendust has been reborn. Before speculations swirl about the Atlanta metal band officially calling themselves a Christian act, get the story straight. Sevendust just released their seventh album, Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow, and shortly before starting their current tour, Clint Lowery, the band's founding lead guitarist, rejoined the group, bringing back together their original lineup for the first time in more than four years. Lowery left Sevendust after 2003's Seasons, and was replaced by former Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo, who joined lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon, guitarist John Connolly, bassist Vince Hornsby and drummer/vocalist Morgan Rose. During a recent phone call Witherspoon told Recoil that some have said that Lowery is the "Prodigal Son" of their new single of the same name, and his return plays heavily into the sort of religious references they have used in their songs since starting in 1994. Completely hopeful for the future, Witherspoon spoke about how everything the band has done comes back to family, why they decided to start their own label, 7 Bros. Records, (on which Hope and Sorrow is the first release) and why their fans shouldn't think they've lost any of their heaviness just because a former American Idol contestant sings a song with him on the new album.

Murder By Death

The best mystery novels have shadowy figures who appear and disappear without warning, leaving clues and revealing information in their wake. Thanks to a poor cell phone signal and a touring schedule through the middle of nowhere, Recoil's recent conversation with Murder by Death's Adam Turla had a similarly strange storyline. The deep-voiced guitarist and songwriter discussed how his literary interests have influenced each of Murder By Death's four albums, including Red of Tooth and Claw, released earlier this spring. Turla's insights ranged from how he now draws more musical influence from books and movies than he does from other bands, how much more intertwined independent bands and independent film have become over the past few years, and how some of the more frequent comparisons critics have made of his band's dark, cello-rock songs to certain legendary artists have actually introduced him to their music for the very first time.

Josh Muther

The term "singer-songwriter" has evolved from evoking images of train-traveling troubadours and the folk-y peaceniks of the '60s to the soul-bearing hopeless romantics of today. While John Muther's "one man and an acoustic guitar" performances have characteristics rooted inherently deep in the singer-songwriter stereotype, the 23-year-old Milwaukee musician still has a hard time identifying with the phrase. Recoil recently chatted with Muther in anticipation of his 30-date spring tour through the Midwest and upper west coast. The beer capital's youngest male knitting enthusiast is playing a free show on May 14 at Grand Rapids' Sazerac Lounge.

Dooley Noted

The old saying goes: too many cooks in the kitchen ruin the broth. Well, for local musician, former pantry chef and self-confessed foodie Megan Dooley, this adage couldn't be further from the truth, at least when it comes to her new album, Edible Audibles.

Having worked as a cook for her day job most of her adult life, Dooley looks back on her first album, last December's Velvet Vicegrip, like a dinner that she could have made better. So she took that recipe and added some new ingredients, namely her new band members – bassist Stacy Koviak and lead guitarist Grant West – who join her returning drummer Tommy Ufkis. She then stirred it all up in a different stock pot, this time recording at Kalamazoo's Broadside Studios instead of her own living room, and when it came out it was the same dish, but this time it was delicious.

Mobia Post

They gather around the guitarist's back porch one afternoon after putting in eight or nine hours at separate straight jobs. Jim Mason buys the beer – tonight it's Red Stripe – because it's payday for him and soon they've worked themselves out of any potential swivet and have lost themselves in the smoke of a freshly lit cigar, the warmth of the first warm spring afternoon, and the early swirls of a beer buzz.

This is the pace of life for Mobia Post right now. Guitarists Mason and Michael Ian, drummer Kevin Bowe and bassist Melissa Hebert aren't worried about littering a club parking lot that night with flyers promoting their next show. No one is sitting in front of a computer fighting off blindness as he tries to edit an album on Pro Tools for the first time. They could be practicing, but right now a cold Red Stripe just seems like a better idea.