Candlebox’s Kevin Martin On The New “Wolves” Album, Seattle, KISS, Future Career Plans & More

Hard rock quintet Candlebox formed back in 1991, and soon thereafter incited a record label bidding war in Los Angeles. Its original lineup went quadruple-platinum with Candlebox’s self-titled debut, a 1993 release via Madonna’s Maverick Records, and released 2 more acclaimed albums (1995’s Lucy and 1998’s Happy Pills). The singles “Far Behind,” “You” and “Cover Me” became ubiquitous fan and radio favorites. But after nearly a decade of hard road work, the band went on hiatus in 2000. Candlebox then regrouped with a 2006 tour, later putting out the Into The Sun album in 2008, as followed by 2012’s Love Stories & Other Musings and 2016’s Disappearing In Airports.

Earlier this month, Candlebox released its seventh studio album, Wolves. Released worldwide on September 17, 2021 via Pavement Entertainment, it was produced by Dean Dichoso at Los Angeles’ legendary Henson Studios. Candlebox first teased the then-upcoming LP in August 2020, initially releasing “Let Me Down Easy,” as co-written with old Seattle pal Peter Cornell, Chris Cornell’s older brother who is also the founder of Cornell Brothers Coffee. Later came “My Weakness,” one of the poppier songs you will ever hear from Candlebox. Also released before the album’s global street date was “All Down Hill From Here,” as co-written with Christopher Thorne of Blind Melon, another old and long-time friend of frontman Kevin Martin. The digital U.S. version of the album has 11 tracks in total.

On September 22, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Candlebox vocalist Kevin Martin via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond Wolves, we spoke about his musical influences, his decision to cover “Turn Me Loose” by Loverboy, whether the early 1990s Seattle music scene was good to Candlebox, why he moved to Los Angeles, future career plans, financial independence, and plenty more. Additional information on Martin, Candlebox and Wolves can be found here, here and here.

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Tags: Candlebox, Kevin Martin, KISS, Los Angeles, Loverboy, Madonna, Seattle

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."