The Midwestern fan base

“I think our Midwestern fan base is the most unique. They’re the most loyal. They have the most invested in our music. I’ve always really wanted to be in a band that was representative of a group of people, you know? They really show us by filling up this place that we represent them.”

Inspiration for Death Won’t Send a Letter

“It’s sort of song by song. … I think I wanted to make a really young record. … A lot of these songs were the second and third time I’d ever even played them and we recorded them. So it felt more like being 17. It felt more like being in the old punk rock bands.”

Touring

“Well they don’t pay me to play music. They pay me to drive around a van for hours and haul gear in. … That’s where you get burned out. Very seldom, unless you’re playing with the wrong group of people, would you get burned out playing shows.”

Home

“I like where we’re from because it’s diverse in a very special way, different economic backgrounds, it’s not just poor, it’s not just rich, it’s not just white, it’s not just religious, it’s not just unreligious, it’s a real cross-section of people. There’s a real unique attitude people from this part of the world have who choose to endure the struggling of living in a place where it’s negative 12 most of the year. I think that there’s a pride in that.”

Gospel and blues

“The early formation of music was gospel and blues music. That probably has a lot to do with why I sing the way I do. I was emulating. I probably ruined my voice at a young age. It sounds like this husky old man screaming along to those blues records.”

Musical influences

“I have an uncle who’s a blues musician. … He’s probably the guy I stole the idea of being a musician from. He would always play at our family reunions and you just see how people respond to somebody who is able to get up in front of everybody and entertain. That was something very early on I admired a lot.”

The song writing process

“I write with Adriel quite often. Even if it’s not her interjecting parts, it’s usually bouncing off her. Do you like this? Is it moving you? I consider that collaboration, too. Because if she’s not feeling it, then the song goes in the garbage can. … It’s rare to find people you want to write with because there’s only so many people you’ll let touch your art, you know?”

Parental influence

“I was the kind of kid, where it was, like, if you resisted me, it was going to make it like 20 times worse. When I got old enough to really want to piss my parents off, I got really into like punk rock music and the Clash and the Sex Pistols and all that kind of stuff.”

To go back to “The Gospel According to Cory,” click here.