Skillet is coming to The Rust Belt in East Moline for a sold-out show with Theory of a Deadman and Saint Asonia.

Before lead singer John Cooper and Skillet comes to the Quad Cities, and as the band releases their new Deluxe Edition album, John and I hooked up on a video call that talked about the tour, album, and much, much more.

The Rock Resurrection Tour

Rock Ressurection Tour
Rock Ressurection Tour
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The Rock Reseruction tour starts today (2/17/23) with Theory of a Deadman and Saint Asonia.  The tour will be making a stop in East Moline, but if you don't have tickets, you'll need to phone a friend.  Cause the show is sold out.

I-Rock 93.5 also talked with Tyler Connoley Theory of a Deadman about the tour and both he and John said similar things.  They have toured with Theory before, have toured with Adam before, and are excited for the three bands to be out together.  It's going to be big.  And there will be surprises.

New Skillet Delux Album - Dominion:  Day of Destiny

Atom Splitter
Atom Splitter
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Not only will Skillet be hitting the road to start off the year of touring.  But on the same day, they have a new album dropping.

Well, not a full new album, but their album "Dominion", now in deluxe form.  This means five new songs including the recent single "Psycho In My Head" and a song featuring Saint Asonia's Adam Gontier.

Jon said the new extra songs are positive songs that Skillet fans have come to expect.

Exclusive chat with John Cooper on I-Rock 93.5.

John and I jumped on a Zoom call to mostly talk about the tour and album.  But like any conversation I have, it took all sorts of twists and turns.  You can watch the full thing below.

One of the things that always interests me when bands go on tour is how they choose their setlist.  John said they know there are certain songs they have to play.  "We make the fans happy.  If we don't play Monster people are going to be pissed.  If we don't play Invincible they'll throttle you." said John.  But then he added that he hears from fans that tell him what certain songs resonate with them.  So they use that to choose their set list as well.

 

Family On The Road

John and his wife Korey have been touring together for 27 years and married for 26 years.  So his kids have grown up on the road.  When I asked him how he handles that, he said "We are very blessed.  The bands we tour with have always treated our children like family."  He told the story of watching his 8-year-old daughter play Barbie with Maria Brink from In This Moment.

Another tour with Stone Sour and Halestorm turned into the tour of the most hyper-competitive games of foursquare.  John said "Some people would think we are the most boring non-rock rock stars.  But if I want to do this for 30 years I need to be a disciplined person and take care of my body.  That is why I work out every day and  watch what I eat."  But when asked about any cheat days on the road, he said his go-to would be Cookies and Dr. Pepper.

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Near the end of the conversation, I talked with John about the writing process for Skillet. Mostly the mix of him and Jen singing.  He said that he doesn't normally write songs with the idea of having her in it, but that as the song starts to come together when it makes sense they bring in that element.

With a sold show in the Quad Cities, and other places on the tour, and with the band being 17x platinum, a lot of people know Skillet.  But I wanted to ask him If John were to pick one song to introduce somebody to Skillet what would it be?

"Probably say Monster 'cause it's our biggest song."  "Check out The Resistance.  It's uniquely a Skillet song and has a lot of our different influences.  It has the ultra positivity.  A call to action to love people that are not like you.  This is the greatest country in the world and we have to live in this country with people that don't agree with you."  "It's a call to resist hate."

It was a great conversation with John which you can watch below.

Keep Looking At What "The Quad Cities Needs"

We asked and you answered. This is what you say the Quad Cities need to make it a better place to live.

Sevendust and Nonpoint at The Rust Belt

This was the perfect way to end 2022. Sevendust, Nonpoint, ill Nino, and Another Day Dawns rocked the Rust Belt in East Moline on December 29. It was great to see so many of you and look forward to many more in 2023.

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