In a new interview with Turned Out A Punk, CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin reflected on the experience of opening for RUSH back in 1994 on the Canadian rock legends’ “Counterparts” tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “They were really kind to us. I remember, we started in Pensacola, the first show, and we met Alex [Lifeson, RUSH guitarist] and Geddy [Lee, RUSH bassist/vocalist]. And then we had maybe Mississippi and Louisiana. And then we got to Austin, Texas, and after our show, Neil Peart [RUSH drummer] came into our dressing room. We were sitting and [there was] a knock on the door. ‘Guys, you mind if I come in?’ [This was] after we played. And we’re, like, sitting there? ‘No, no.’ And he’s, like, ‘Hey, so I’ve been watching you guys past three nights and I think I’ve got a really good setlist for you.’ And we’re, like, ‘What? Okay.’ And he’s, like, ‘I want you to start with this song.’ “Cause he was such a mathematician and a genius when it came to putting songs and lyrics and stuff together, ’cause I think he was really the foundation of most of what RUSH was creating when he joined the band, from that moment on. And we stuck to that setlist for the entire three months. And he was right. It was the perfect opener, it was the perfect middle, a perfect end.”
Martin continued: “They were genuinely the kindest musicians that we’ve ever, ever toured with. And we’ve toured with some really brilliant ones and a bunch of fucking assholes. But those guys were, and still are… I mean, we were able to go down and see Geddy and Alex shortly after Neil‘s wife had passed and his daughter. And so we didn’t get to say hi to him, but we went down to see them [in Southern California] — it was an outdoor amphitheater — we went down to hang out with them, and we chatted for almost two hours before they went on stage and just caught up. And the fact that they still remembered us from so many years prior and we were able to just kind of catch up, it’s something I’ll never forget. And they were spectacular every single night. At the end of the tour, we gave them gifts. That’s something that used to happen back in the ’90s. It doesn’t happen so much anymore. But you give the headliner gifts and thank yous for letting us play with you and tour with the guys. And Neil, we got him a right-handed catcher’s mitt, because he would throw his drumsticks every night. Sometimes he would catch ’em, sometimes he wouldn’t. But he was so good at grabbing one outta the stick bag that it looked like he caught it. And so we got him a right-handed catcher’s mitt. He knew exactly what that was, and he laughed his ass off. And the fact that we were able to kind of build that kind of a friendship was pretty special to me.”
Last October, original CANDLEBOX members Kevin Martin (vocals),Peter Klett (guitar),Bardi Martin (bass) and Scott Mercado (drums) performed during the San Francisco 49ers-versus-Seattle Seahawks halftime show at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. The band’s set included abbreviated versions of the songs “You”, “Cover Me” and “Far Behind” from CANDLEBOX‘s multi-platinum self-titled debut album, which came out in 1993.
CANDLEBOX supported BUSH on the 2024 “Loaded: The Greatest Hits Tour” with special guest Jerry Cantrell.
In 2024, CANDLEBOX released “A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)”, the digital deluxe version of the album “The Long Goodbye”, via Round Hill Records. The digital release features the 12 tracks on the original record plus two bonus live songs, “Elegante” and “Cellphone Jesus” (recorded at Club Amanda in Santiago, Chile on October 27, 2023),as well as the official launch of the single “Washed Up”.
CANDLEBOX had been performing songs from “A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)” as well as the hits that defined their career, including “Far Behind”, “You” and “Cover Me”, which propelled their self-titled debut album to sell more than four million copies worldwide.
“A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)” followed CANDLEBOX‘s eighth studio album, which was quite a swan song for the veteran band. “The Long Goodbye” was praised by critics for its hard-hitting, groove-infested beats and mature, soul-searching themes of love, loss, redemption, and the journey in between.
CANDLEBOX has been on an extended farewell tour since May 2023. The tour coincided with the 30th anniversary of the band’s self-titled debut album.
Regarding the decision to call it quits, Martin told SPIN: “I’ve always been kind of the reluctant lead singer of this band. All of the time I’ve spent with CANDLEBOX has been obviously rewarding and enjoyable and the experience has been amazing, but when COVID hit, being home with my son and my wife was just eye-opening. It was everything I had realized I really wanted and had missed so much of.”
Image credit: DFW Rocks Live
