Candlebox was all over the radio (and MTV) in the early/mid 90’s, and I still hear their single “Far Behind” often on rock radio stations. Copies of both their debut album Candlebox and sophomore release Lucy floated between stereos in our house. I always thought their singer, Kevin Martin, was criminally underrated. One of the Seattle bands that flew under the radar compared to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Alice in Chains.
I met Kevin in 2010 while he was touring with The Gracious Few (a mix of band members from Candlebox and Live). We had an interview scheduled before a show in San Francisco, and I had driven to Sacramento to catch the previous night’s show, introduce myself, and have a drink.
Really friendly and genuine guy… he invited me to soundcheck in San Francisco, and spent some time on the phone with me after the tour was over to walk me through areas of Seattle, as I was thinking about moving up there (he had moved out of the area, but grew up there). We kept in touch periodically after that.
In 2017, I was headed to Edinburgh, Scotland with some family/friends and guess who was on tour, playing about 45 minutes away in Glasgow? Naturally, I offered my services.
The show was awesome. The shoot, not so much. It was a really dim venue, and I bring a different camera body and lens when I travel (versus what I normally use at concerts). Kevin moves a lot when he performs, so dropping my shutter speed wasn’t really an option. ISO had to come up. A lot. And that means fighting grain and clarity.
After the show, we were about to head back to Edinburgh when Kevin chased us down the sidewalk and invited us to have a drink across the street. We had no cell phone service, and the venue had no wi-fi, so I had no way of getting a hold of him. Good thing we were slow getting back to the car.
A couple of months later he asked for some of my favorite shots from Glasgow, as Candlebox was putting together a live EP to be released as a Record Store Day exclusive. Crap. I was half tempted to suggest they book another show real quick so I could do a re-shoot.
But I sent over what I liked, and made a couple of suggestions. They took one of my suggestions, added the track list exactly where I envisioned it, and I now have the back cover of a Candlebox release:
Cheers gents! Here are a few other photos from G2 in Glasgow, Scotland. All photos by Clay Lancaster.