Music

Seasoned Skillet saves best Christian rock for last tour stop

Skillet performs Friday at the Metroplex in Little Rock.
Skillet performs Friday at the Metroplex in Little Rock.

Little Rock is the end of the line for the band Skillet.

No, the Christian rockers aren't breaking up. But their Friday show at the Metroplex is the final stop on the band's Unleashed Tour. Sick Puppies and Devour the Day will open.

Skillet

Opening acts: Sick Puppies, Devour the Day

8 p.m. Friday, the Metroplex, 10800 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock

Admission: $25

(501) 681-7552

metroplexlive.com

"We're ending with you guys," says lead singer/bassist John Cooper from Spokane, Wash. "It's gonna be very high energy, a lot of energy and passion onstage."

Besides Cooper, the band includes his wife, Korey, who plays guitar, keyboards and adds backing vocals; drummer Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison.

"Being on the road with anybody is hard work," Cooper says of touring not only with the band but also his spouse. "Being married is also really hard work, and when you combine the two it can be a recipe for disaster. But you learn early on to be patient and she is quite a bit better at that than I am."

The Coopers have two children, ages 14 and 11, who also tour with them.

"We just make it happen. They've been on the road since they were born," Cooper says. "We're both passionate about the music and what we do, but we're also committed to being better spouses and parents, so being a rock star comes third," he says.

Cooper, 41, grew up in Memphis under the watchful eye of his strict, church-going parents.

"I heard Michael Jackson when I was 5 years old. That was the first nonchurch music I'd ever heard," he says. "I told my mom about it and I got the beating of my life for listening to Michael Jackson."

It was a household where rock and pop music were deemed as pure evil, so Cooper, whose mother taught piano, was raised on classical music and learned trombone along with piano.

But it wasn't long before he branched out: "When I was in junior high, I started hearing rock music. All my friends were listening to Metallica and Iron Maiden. Anything metal. It's still my favorite music in the world."

He broke the ice with his parents by convincing them to let him listen to Christian rock bands like Petra, White Cross and Stryper, and by the time he hit 18, he'd discovered the progressive rock of bands like Yes and Kansas.

Despite his strict upbringing, he didn't rebel against religion. "My take was, I'm committed to being a follower of Jesus." And because there was no biblical denouncement of rock 'n' roll, he could be committed to kicking out the jams, too.

But not with his parents' blessings.

"I had to make my own decisions when I got older, even though my parents weren't supportive" he says. "And maybe I was told a few times I was doing the devil's work."

Cooper formed Skillet in 1996 in Memphis with guitarist Ken Steorts. A grungy, self-titled debut was released that year on ForeFront Records. A more industrial sound was adopted for the follow-up, Hey You, I Love Your Soul and Steorts left the group before the recording of a third album, Invincible.

The group has 10 studio albums to its name, including last year's bombastic Unleashed, which spotlights Skillet's penchant for arena-size, driving, singalongs. Along the way there have been Grammy nominations for Best Rock Gospel Album (2003's Collide and 2006's Comatose) and the band has won several Dove Awards.

With this latest cycle of touring for Unleashed, Cooper says it has been easy to remain creative while on the road, working on new songs for the next Skillet project.

"I have a good time writing on the road. It probably doesn't hurt that Unleashed has done so well," he says. "We're getting new fans, radio loves it, sales are good. It's inspiring. You go, 'OK, we're really on to something,' and you want to keep it going."

Weekend on 03/23/2017

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