The Gauntlet: How is everything?
CHRIS PENNIE: Good man. We are up in Poughkeepsie right now doing a little bit of pre-production for the shows that are a week away.
The Gauntlet: Whose idea was it for the Neverender Tour?
CHRIS PENNIE: I think it has been something that has been discussed in the band for a few years. It has been running around for years. Now the time is right to do it.
The Gauntlet: How was it determined which cities got the tour?
CHRIS PENNIE: The whole vibe was to not make it a tour, but to make it a select thing or a special event. These are the most major of the major markets, New York, Chicago, LA and London. They are the biggest places for media as well so it seemed like they were the most logical to chose. I think they are all sold out, I am not sure if they are advertising the Chicago one as Sold Out, but I am pretty sure they all are.
The Gauntlet: Will you be playing a lot of songs that haven’t been played live before?
CHRIS PENNIE: Yeah, there are some songs that during the history of the band have never been played live. It is going to be interesting for sure.
The Gauntlet: Anything for a DVD release?
CHRIS PENNIE: The New York show will be filmed for a DVD on all four days. I don’t think the others will be though.
The Gauntlet: Is there a release date?
CHRIS PENNIE: There is no release date yet. We just want to get through the shows first and see how it comes out.
The Gauntlet: Are you looking forward to the NY shows the most?
CHRIS PENNIE: I don’t know. I think I am looking the most forward to the Chicago shows. They will be taping the New York shows and that is a lot of stress, there can be technical difficulties and that is the first test run of going at it.
The Gauntlet: Isn’t it odd that you guys are filming these shows for DVD? Not like you can reshoot the songs from the following night if something goes wrong.
CHRIS PENNIE: Yeah, one shot. We have been rehearsing a lot so I think we should be ready and prepared. There are still variables no matter how prepared we are. It is rock n’ roll and something can happen.
The Gauntlet: The next album is going to examine the origins of the characters Coheed and Cambria, is it a prequel?
CHRIS PENNIE: Yeah, that is pretty much what the storyline will be. The saga is complete, just fill in the details. I don’t have a hand in the writing, but as far as this record goes, it will be revisiting the origins of Coheed and Cambria. Whether other records will come out, I don’t know. There are other small stories that Claudio can delve into.
The Gauntlet: What are the bands plans once the Neverender Tour concludes?
CHRIS PENNIE: There are a couple tours that might pop up at the end of the year or next year. They are still in the works. We are also planning on getting to the writing in between all that and carry that into the new year. We are kind of trying to keep focused on these shows and play them as best as possible and once we are done with that we will shift to the next thing.
The Gauntlet: Does it look like a 2009 release?
CHRIS PENNIE: I am not really sure, I am not going to say it will be. I am thinking early 2010 but it isn’t for me to say and that really depends on when and how soon we complete and make sure the songs are ready to be recorded. That can be anywhere from the end of this year to the end of next year.
The Gauntlet: You’ll be on drums this time?
CHRIS PENNIE: I will be, yes.
The Gauntlet: Do you see Coheed putting out albums that don’t follow the storyline?
CHRIS PENNIE: I think that Claudio [Sanchez] will be writing more for other areas of the story that he can tackle or maybe start a new story. That is his baby so wherever he decides to go with it, that is where we go with it. We are not looking that far in the future though.
The Gauntlet: You don’t hear Claudio ranting on the bus about being bored with this storyline and just wanting to write about relationships or battles with alcoholism?
CHRIS PENNIE: [laughs] I have never heard him say that. He is pretty intent on developing this story and all aspects of it.
The Gauntlet: What do you think of Richard Christy [Howard Stern Show segment producer] pissing himself at one of your shows because he didn’t want to miss any songs?
CHRIS PENNIE: He is a good friend of mine. [laughs] That is a fucking diehard fan man. Coheed has some fans like that, I don’t know how many piss themselves though. It is really cool. When you have someone that is into something like that and passionate about it, it is really really awesome. Whether playing drums or playing guitar, if you are passionate, I like that. It is cool to me, it says something. It is interesting to me that it is Richard, it is interesting that we are a part of that. It is flattering and cool. He is somebody I looked up to as a drummer. One of the bands he was in was Death. He played on this record called “The Sound of Perseverance.” Drumming and musically, he was a big influence to me growing up. To have it flip around to the other side is quite flattering. In a way it is like one of your hero’s is into what you do.
The Gauntlet: He is not just into you guys, he is a rabid fan.
CHRIS PENNIE: He is passionate, it is flattering.
The Gauntlet: Will you have diapers for him?
CHRIS PENNIE: We were hoping he’d bring the one we gave him, we gave him Depends. That way he will be covered and not have accidents.