With a name inspired by a candy, Jame Lathren of Candy Coffins explains that “Years ago my brother and I were playing some music together and for whatever reason our conversation went back to candy we had liked when we were kids. He said, “Do you remember those plastic coffins that had candy bones in them? What were those candy coffins called?” I said, “I don’t know, but you just named my next band.” Of course, he was referring to the discontinued 1970’s candy “Mr. Bones” by Fleer.”
The Post Punk New Romantic group Candy Coffins comprises of singer songwriter Jame Lathren and Tom Alewine, formerly from Bachelors Of Art on lead guitar. Long time friends and band mates Alex Mabrey is on bass and backup singing while Justin Purdue plays keys. Former touring drummer for Iron and Wine, Jonathan Bradley plays drums and his addition to the band has contributed to what Jame describes as “bringing forward textures that work really well with the songs.”
For Jame, growing up in small Southeastern towns and loving music by bands like Duran Duran, Fixx, Adam and the Ants and Gary Newman, he was granted what he says is “an admiration for artists who were not on popular radio. It also gave me the rich experience of being the outcast, someone who had vastly different tastes than those of my peers, where I found myself completely outnumbered among kids who did not take well to things that were different and who were comfortable letting me know, sometimes violently. The critical thing that this upbringing did for me was to imbue in me a resilience as well as a hyper-awareness for my feelings that would later permeate my music.”
Getting older and going through college Jame travelled more within the US as well as internationally which added to his arsenal of sound. Jame was able to experience everything “from Hardcore Punk Rock, Post-Punk, Traditional World Music, Electronic music and Indie rock, with each of these contributing to my expansive musical archives, resulting in me creating several bands along the way. The common thread of these musical ventures that attracted me was the drive to get right at the heart of the emotions that surround the human condition”.
With the dissolution of his band Crown the Cake, Jame decided to take his music in a different direction. “I wanted to write songs that were solely for my enjoyment. The idea of no rules or expectations with my artistic output appealed to me. I worked into my songs what was innate to me, and these elements came from my historical musical library.” With this philosophy Jame believes that listeners can now hear “touches of hardcore punk, post- punk, new wave, goth, indie rock, as well as today’s darkwave, and other genres”. Jame explains that when listeners pay close attention to Candy Coffins‘ music, they will be able to tell that they are first generation listeners to those genres “we are leveraging those sounds because they are baked into us. I am driven to craft songs that tastefully pay reverence to the greats of these genres and create fresh and exciting work at the same time.” Influenced by wide and varied musicians Jame admits to being inspired by Post Punk and some Goth while astute listeners of Candy Coffins most likely will be able to hear hints of 1990’s Indie Rock and Neo-Psychedelia.
When it comes to songwriting Jame says “I want the atmosphere of the song to emulate an emotion in a way that it draws the listener into that emotion, if only for the length of the song. I work to make my lyrics pleasing to the ear, but also clever. I love the art of weaving words and lines together to make them into something new and cohesive.” Personal experiences and emotions also drive Jame to write songs. He confesses “I can be in a terrible mood, sit down and write a song, and come away feeling totally different. Also, at times I am attempting to capture emotions I see in others.”
Serving as a vehicle for his artistic output as a songwriter and a lyricist Jame also admits that through Candy Coffins he also works to “drive a complementary, cohesive aesthetic that is applied to all we do - our promotions, videos, album artwork, even our stage presence. I cannot underscore enough how much the band contributes to the magnitude of the impact our sound has. Each being an expert musician, they are intrinsic to a finished Candy Coffins song: suggesting approaches, adjustments, arrangements and of course their personal flavors of sonic delivery.”
“With regards to playing live, I have always held that the performance should be just that - a performance.” With this ethos Candy Coffins treat live performances as an event that they devote time to and provide entertainment through to viewers and listeners. Jame believes “This is intrinsic in our music videos, which I hope is apparent. We have gone to great lengths to attempt things that are obviously well-planned, premeditated pieces. For instance, look no further than our full live set that we documented on video during the pandemic via “Live From A Distance.””
Jame finds inspiration by being immersed in any kind of art and this in turn helps with his desire to create. He finds this kind of stimulus can be what he calls “as obvious as delving into a new musician’s work and exploring it, or as seemingly unrelated like watching skateboard videos. I find watching skateboard compilations that skate companies put out very stimulating to my creativity. I also feel uneasy not creating.”
Striving to achieve the highest standards as a lyricist Jame describes himself as his “own most discerning editor”. He challenges himself as a song writer by hearing or remembering elements of a song that may seem to have a structure that seems obtuse or with a new time signature. During the pandemic he adamantly decided not to write a dark song feeling that “would be too easy given the times.” Taking three months he instead wrote “Seaside Girls” which he describes as “an upbeat sun-drenched rocker on the album.”
Loving live performances, Jame believes “I often say that there are two types of musicians - those who enjoy recording and being in the studio, and those who enjoy playing live. I definitely fall into the latter category” .
Jame describes himself as being “so obsessive about what I do that studio time can lead to insanity because I have this overbearing awareness that we are creating an artifact that will stand as-is and represent me forever in some way. Therefore, it can typically never be perfect enough. That’s a horrible feeling.” Due to this Jame finds playing live appealing. He cites three reasons for his love of live performances. Jame explains “The first is that you play the songs and what’s done is done. Unless someone is recording the performance, it dissolves into the air. Another element that makes me love performing live is the artistic ability to affect an attendee’s emotions right there on the spot - to cause them a sense of solace or melancholy or elation. That is powerful. The final reason playing live is so appealing is that it is a giant emotive catharsis for me. I’m a part of all of these songs, and I get a chance to convey them as viscerally or as transparently as they were intended.”
Jame works hard to establish a connection with his fans, and he says “I emote, posture, make eye contact and instill passion in the entire performance. I want attendees to feel, through me, what I intended the song to elicit in listening to it. I want the attendee to believe I am experiencing what I am singing about at that moment.“ He is open, inviting and appreciative of fans and after watching musician in the music scene for a long period of time he has noted that he thinks interaction “makes people feel good or bad about an artist, to like or dislike about an artist, and clearly treating everyone with respect and having immense appreciation that they are investing their time, energy and money in us should be highly respected. There is no value in being negative, especially with those who are what fuels your fire.”
Whatever endeavour Jame takes on he takes it as far as he can and Candy Coffins is no exception. He reveals that he wants “to get our songs into as many people’s ears as possible and then bring the music to them via live performances. I would really like to explore touring in the UK. I think our music would be well-received there.”
For new listeners to Candy Coffins, Jame states “I put absolutely everything I can into every aspect of Candy Coffins. I truly believe that we have something new to offer that seems vaguely familiar, but is vital, new and refreshing at the same time. I craft music and its surrounding artwork so that it can be enjoyed on many levels. The more time you spend with it, the more you find subtle secrets that likely were not noticed on first pass. We are consummate professionals in what we do - we take it very seriously. This is not just thrown together. I would also like to believe we can capably evoke various emotions in listeners. To me, that is the essence of art. We strive to always achieve that.”
Links:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/candycoffins
Webpage : https://candycoffins.com/
Bandcamp : https://candycoffins.bandcamp.com/music
Twitter : https://twitter.com/CandyCoffins
