CANDLEBOX Announces New Single 'I Remember Everything', First New Music With Guitarist PETER KLETT Since 2012

Multi-platinum rock band CANDLEBOX has announced a new single, "I Remember Everything" — the first CANDLEBOX music to feature guitarist Peter Klett since the band's 2012 album "Love Stories & Other Musings", and the first since his return from a ten-year hiatus to reunite his guitar work with Kevin Martin's songwriting, a milestone that eluded even 2023's "The Long Goodbye" and 2024's "The Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)". The track arrives Friday, September 25.

The independent release was produced by Kemble Walters at Good Noise Studio and mastered by Jeremy Costa at Backward Clock Sound Studio.

Martin shares: "Super stoked to be releasing new CANDLEBOX music and having my buddy Pete back in the saddle next to me is an absolute treat!"

Klett adds: "It feels so good to be writing new CANDLEBOX music. I'm really excited for what comes next."

The new single will land just a week into CANDLEBOX's "Can't Quit You" tour, a 32-date North American run that kicks off tonight (September 17) at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri and continues through October 30 in Sayreville, New Jersey, with support across the run from THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, SPONGE, THE VERVE PIPE, SWEET WATER and AMERICAN BLONDE.

With Klett back on guitar both onstage and in the studio, "I Remember Everything" gives fans catching the tour a first taste of what the reunited lineup is creating together.

This past July, Martin told Remzi "Jam Man" Yates of Rocking With Jam Man about what the new CANDLEBOX music sounds like as of now: "It's interesting. We've kind of started reimagining who we were as young men. We've talked a lot about how we made that first record. We talked a lot about how we wrote those songs. Because as we've grown, we've learned to become better musicians. We've learned to become better friends. We've learned to become better artists and better creatives. And the thing that happens with it, 'cause CANDLEBOX was... I didn't know Pete when the band was formed. I didn't know [bassist] Bardi [Martin]. [Drummer] Scott [Mercado] and I were the only guys in the band that knew one another, and we didn't even know one another well. So, really, CANDLEBOX is the happiest accident that's ever happened to the four of us. And in that process, we've kind of lost who we were as young men. And so we're kind of hoping that we can recapture kind of that innocence of when we were 22, 23 years old. And we've got three songs that are very, very cool and very reminiscent of that debut album. They don't sound like 'You', 'Far Behind', 'Cover Me', 'Change', 'Mothers Dream', any of that, but they have that kind of young energy, which is interesting, because I didn't think it was possible to kind of maybe reintroduce yourself to yourself, 30 years later. But we've been able to do it."

Asked what he wants CANDLEBOX fans to say when they hear the band's new music, that it "sounds like the old band" or it "sounds like a band that's still alive", Kevin said: "I want them to say it sounds like a band that's still alive, still kicking, still making great music. We appreciate our audience, of course, we appreciate our fans, but we've always made records we wanted to make. We've always done what we wanted to do. We've never tried to follow a trend. We've never chased trying to rewrite 'Far Behind'. We've never been that band. We've always pushed ourselves and the envelope of the music that we create forward. And it's interesting that we're looking back at who we were, trying to create new music. It's very interesting. It's an interesting way to approach songwriting. And I want people to say, 'Oh, they're still kicking. They're still alive, and this is a great rock and roll track.'"

As for how CANDLEBOX plans to release the new music, Martin said: "We thought about maybe releasing an album, but I kind of kiboshed that because I just feel like I've released three records that maybe 5,000 people have heard, and I don't wanna make... Spending 40, 50 thousand dollars to make an album is just a waste of money. There's no reason to do that. Release a song. See what happens. If people like it, they'll stream it. If the streaming kicks in, we'll play the song live. It's really kind of about that."

Asked if he thinks there would have been new CANDLEBOX music if Peter had not returned to the band, Kevin said: "No. I was pretty much done. Pete filled in for Brian [Quinn] for four dates on the BUSH tour two years ago, and he sat down with me and he's, like, 'Look, man. I've missed this and I would love to come back.' And he's, like, 'I know that you've got a band that you're loving and you guys are close friends and super tight, but...' And he's, like, 'I know you said you were gonna pack it up, but I would really just like to make some music with you.' And I was, like, 'Let's do it.' And we got into a rehearsal space January of '25, and we started jamming on some stuff, and I knew that I wasn't gonna be able to put it away because the minute he starts playing guitar, I know exactly where I'm gonna go. So if he didn't come back, no, there would be no more CANDLEBOX music."

Pressed about whether he was "truly done" or if he was "just burnt out" when he said he was stepping away three years ago, Kevin said: "There was a part of me that was burned out, but in reality, I was really done. I felt uninspired. I'd been so kind of changed by COVID. Being at home with my wife and my son made me realize how much I actually had missed of that life that I have with them. And I didn't wanna do this anymore. I just feeling as though I didn't wanna be an artist that was phoning something in. I didn't wanna look back at myself and go, 'Why did you do that? That was a waste of time for everybody, and it's not good.' And we've all seen those bands that shouldn't be doing it and still are, and they're only doing it for the money. I didn't wanna be that guy. I was really done. I thought, 'This'll be the last record. We'll go out and we'll tour on it. I'll say my goodbyes.' There was a moment when I was out on tour with 3 DOORS DOWN after we made the record, and I was standing on the side of the stage getting ready to go on, and I thought to myself, 'Man, this is really the last time I'm gonna do this. And I hope I enjoy it.' And I did, but I think I was so kind of focused on the fact that this was my last hurrah that it made me really kind of embrace that moment. But putting everything away, even when I got the call to do the BUSH tour, I was reluctant. Even though I really wanted to tour with Gavin [Rossdale, BUSH frontman] and Jerry [Cantrell, ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist], and I've known Jerry for years, I was reluctant because I wasn't sure I was gonna feel it the way I did with the 3 DOORS DOWN tour. And again, in the back of my mind, 'Don't be the guy that's phoning it in. Don't be a guy that's chasing dollar.' And that's where I was. Yeah, I was done. I mean, burned out a little bit. Everybody burns out on something, but I was ready to pack it up."

He added: "I think I what I should have said is, 'I'm gonna take an indefinite break. I'm not sure when I'm gonna come back.' Because I think using the term 'retirement' is — I don't know. You think about using that term because people retire from work. Or retirement comes along at the age of 65 when you start collecting Social Security or whatever. So I think it's an easy term to throw around. But, yeah, I think bands should just say, 'Hey, it's an indefinite break. We're not sure when we're gonna come back.' I mean, very much like the FOO FIGHTERS did when Dave [Grohl] got in trouble with extramarital affairs and kid, and it's, like, 'We don't know when we're gonna come back.' It's a better term just to say, 'We're gonna take a break.'"

CANDLEBOX released "A Little Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)", the digital deluxe version of the album "The Long Goodbye", on all DSPs in July 2024 via Round Hill Records. The digital release featured the 12 tracks on the record plus two bonus live songs, "Elegante" and "Cellphone Jesus" (recorded at Club Amanda in Santiago, Chile on October 27, 2023),as well as the single "Washed Up".

Emerging from Seattle's influential rock scene, CANDLEBOX quickly became one of the city's breakout bands of the early 1990s. Led by founder, vocalist, and songwriter Kevin Martin, CANDLEBOX exploded on to the national stage in 1993 with the release of their quadruple-platinum self-titled debut album, which has sold more than four million copies worldwide. The band's rise included a main-stage performance at Woodstock '94 and tours alongside METALLICA, RUSH and AEROSMITH. Following a hiatus from 2000 to 2006, CANDLEBOX returned with a string of acclaimed albums, including "Into The Sun" (2008),"Love Stories & Other Musings" (2012),"Disappearing In Airports" (2016) and "Wolves" (2021). In 2023, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of its debut with "The Long Goodbye", followed by "The Longer Goodbye (Tour Edition)" in 2024. More than thirty years after their debut, CANDLEBOX continues to deliver the powerful songs and unforgettable live performances that have defined their legacy.

Photo credit: Libby Rafada