Candlebox: Serving up Rock & Roll since 1993

March 13th

I had the chance to shoot for Candlebox at Plaza Live in Orlando and one of the best shows i’ve seen in a while. My inner 10 year old self immediately came out as soon as the lights went out. For me, every time hear the bands name it takes me right back the very first time I had ever heard their music. Driving with my dad down 95 heading for Baltimore to catch a baseball game, he tells me to open that CD he just bought. So I tear open the case and I ask “Who’s Candlebox?” and he replies “Put it in and find out.” So I load it into the Sony DiscMan that’s sitting on the middle console, connected with essential cassette tape adapter, and it was then that I really became a fan of music. Side note, the other CD that was fresh in the plastic was Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, he set the bar high for me.

The band is touring for the 25th Anniversary of their self titled debut album which originally dropped on Maverick Records on July 20th 1993. From the start of the show it was instant nostalgia. The shows starts off with the audio of someone changing the radio station and hearing Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and any other influential grunge band of the early 90’s, then break right into “Change” then “Blossom”, “No Sense” and “Don’t You” all off their first album. Kevin Martins voice sounds just as good as it did 25 years ago and his movement on stage was just as impressive.

Through out the show, it at times felt like being in a time machine going from the show back to 1993, 1995, 1998 and to 2016 and all along the way Kevin sharing memories of recording certain songs or the influences behind them. But of course the highlights of the show were the last two songs of the night, “Far Behind” and as you might expect, the crowd gave everything they had for the fan favorite “FUCK YOU!” line from the song “You”. At one point Kevin makes it know to the crowd that the band is independently funding it”s tour and any and all ventures moving forward, including hints at a possible new album sometime next year. So go to https://www.candleboxrocks.com/campaign/ to help fund the bands 2019 tour and help get their new album off the ground!