Calling all the way from America to chat with Room Thirteen, Travis Stever (guitarist) from Coheed & Cambria ignored the time differences and got excited about the bands forthcoming UK and European festivals. With Download being the first stop on a summer full of outdoor shows, there seemed an air of excitement about the band.
R13: With the Download festival now merely weeks away, are the band beginning to get excited about it?
TS:Very much so. Its going to be a very cool line up and we're really excited about coming over in the summer. I don't have the full line up for everything yet, so I can't evaluate who I'll see yet...but there will be some good acts.
R13: Do you personally, or the band in general, have a favourite festival memory?
TS: We did the Reading and Leeds shows and Morrisey played that year, so that was really cool to see. That was great.
R13: The band is also playing a few European festivals this summer. Is there any great difference between American or UK festivals and the mainland European ones?
TS: The reaction from the crowd depends on the place. The UK has become quite like America and the crowd is really into it, Germany has became like that too. Then we'll go somewhere else and it feels like people are really into it but it's not quite the same, there isn't as much energy as there was in the UK. Its catching up though, people are getting more into it.
R13: The Internet clearly helps with that. You guys are on myspace and keep in touch with your fans, so you must see a widening of your fan base?
TS: Yeah, the more and more we go to places, the bigger crowds we get, so it is building all the time.
R13: With regards to your stage set, there is a 14 foot fully functioning guillotine. Has there been any problems or potential Spinal Tap moments with that?
TS: No problems with that. It's the least of our problems. We've had wings not come out before but ever since that occasion, nothing at all. No Spinal Tap moments at all for us.
R13: For people unaware of the band, can you explain the meaning behind your name?
TS: Its two characters in a story that the lyrics follow. They first came about before this band came together, a project that Claudio was working on, writing music and making a story. We changed music and direction of our old band and we wanted a name to indicate this. We couldn't come up with anything and we all agreed that Coheed & Cambria was a cool name, so we adopted the name and adopted the story that goes along with it. Ever since then, the whole concept follows in the lyrics.
R13: With your albums containing strong concepts and storylines, does the band find it worthwhile to work in such a structured manner?
TS: The storyline is all Claudio's but musically we all work hard at it. We can take a step back and look into it and think it's a really cool thing. If someone is into the music then that's great but if they want to dig deep and get into the story, then that could be fun for them. People can get into us as a rock band or lyrically. The thing is, yes it's a concept thing but its all-everyday stuff feeding into it and people can take a lot from the lyrics and stories.
R13: Is there thoughts or concepts for the next record?
TS: We have been working on certain things on the road. We have a jam room where we work on songs, we have recording equipment which isn't fully set up yet but yeah, there are ideas flowing so its looking good.
R13: What would you say to encourage people to come and check out the band during the summer?
TS: Its going to be good time to see us because we have been on tour for a good while now and in the past few months, it's the tightest the band has been in a long time. We think its making for a good show and there will be other songs thrown in from the last time we played, so it'll be different for anyone who is coming again.
With the amount of different styles of music, coupled to the different levels of storytelling that they operate on, Coheed & Cambria look set to appeal to many people over the next few months. With a festival list as long as their arms, there appears to be a lot of opportunities to check this band out in the summer.