Cold started 2003 on a roll. After a five-year
apprenticeship with fellow Florida nü-metalheads Limp Bizkit,
the band was turning away from the chest-beating aggressiveness of
that waning scene for a more radio-friendly (but no less
angst-filled) approach. It worked: They scored a pair of hit
singles (“Stupid Girl” and “Suffocate”) off
the disc Year of the Spider and toured with Godsmack and Marilyn Manson,
and their album went gold.
But the surge didn’t last. Despite
strong radio support, Cold was dropped by Geffen soon after Year of the Spider was
released. The band’s two guitarists and bassist left, leaving
singer Scooter Ward and drummer Sam McCandless as the only
remaining members of Cold. Ward’s drug and alcohol abuse
worsened after he learned that his younger sister had cancer.
“Our lives really went south,”
Ward says. “We woke up and everything was gone.”
Ward went into rehab (he says he’s been
sober for a year and a half) and recruited guitarists Matt Loughran
and Mike Booth and bassist Jeremy Marshall. The new lineup signed a deal with the Atlantic imprint
Lava and decamped to Ward’s parents’ house in Jacksonville
to write A Different Kind of Pain.
“We decided to write a record we’d
like,” Ward says. “We decided to make a record that
would make us feel better instead of all those songs with no
hope.”
A Different Kind of Pain is still a moody, introspective album, not much removed
from Year of the Spider or the work of other hard modern-rock acts
such as Staind and 3 Doors Down. It suffers from a monotonous,
relentlessly midtempo pace (see whether you can tell the difference
between “Happens All the Time” and “When
Heaven’s Not Far Away”) and an epic sense of
self-importance, but its tone is subtly different from anything the
band has done in the past. It’s not exactly hopeful or
cheerful, but there is a sense that real human emotions, rather
than standard-issue adolescent rage, were at work during its
production. There’s even a hint of Coldplay in the piano part
that opens “Tell Me Why.”
Between the recording of A Different Kind of Pain and
its release, Ward’s sister’s cancer went into
remission. The album made a solid debut on the Billboard charts at
No. 26, and a headlining tour is just getting under way.
“It’s all good,” Ward says. “I think
we’re going to be OK. I feel good.”
Cold and special guests Smile Empty Soul play
the Warehouse, 2548 S. First St., at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20. The
doors open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Music notes
What is a Zito Fest? Well, to
understand that you must first understand what a Zito is. To his sister
Ruth, Brian Zimmerman, also known as Zito, was an inspiration who brought a
special something to all he touched. Bob Berning (“Cowboy” to
all you Suns of Circumstance fans), called Zito his best friend, starting
with the early heady days of the Suns and continuing through years spent
working together at the Illinois Department of Transportation. When Zito
died in a boating accident this summer, friends and family decided to
continue his legacy, the annual music festival he began in 1985. Zito Fest,
featuring the music of the Suns of Circumstance, lives on at the Curve Inn
(3219 S. Sixth St. Rd., Southern View, 217-529-5806) on Sunday, Sept. 17.
The shows begins around 2 p.m. and continues until it stops. Long live
Zito!
Songwriter Bill Fowler has
spent most of his adult life working as an inland-waterways towboater (try
saying that three
times in row). Now retired from the river, he’s pursuing a life in
music. The Mississippi native performs original songs about life, love, and
working the waterways at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Great River Road Opry (Illinois River Road near
Winchester, 217-945-6865, www.greatopry.com). At this special event, Fowler
will record his country/folk compositions live with a great bunch of
Jacksonville-area musicians.
The Rock Shop presents a
Gibson Guitar Clinic with Chuck Yamek at Hoogland Center for the Arts (420
S. Sixth St.) at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15. All things Gibson will be
discussed, demonstrated, divulged, determined, and otherwise dealt with.
Budweiser is supplying libations, and you may register to win a Gibson Les
Paul Standard. Get your free ticket at the Rock Shop (1815 W. Jefferson
St., 217-546-8980).
Topping the list of cool new
bands playing Springfield is the Tiffany Christopher Band
(www.tiffanychristopher.com), appearing at Jazz Central Station (700 E.
Adams St., 217-789-1530) around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16. The music
begins with jazz-influenced folk songs written and sung by Christopher,
supported by a diverse rock band topped off with tasty violin work. The
band is hot and taking the Midwest by storm — see it up close while
you still can.
This article appears in Sep 15-21, 2005.
