SCOOTER WARD: 'Once A COLD Fan Gets Hooked On One Song, It Stays With Them For A Long Time'

Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio recently conducted an interview with COLD frontman Scooter Ward. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Audio Ink: Why do you think it is COLD has succeeded over the years, while other bands of the '90s alternative metal explosion have fallen away?

Ward: I think it's the respect and connection we have with the fans. The songs that have helped us through life have helped them, too. It seems that once a COLD fan gets hooked on one song, it stays with them for a long time and becomes a part of them and they feel obligated to remain with us. It's a really cool, special situation.

Audio Ink: How was the writing process for "Superfiction" different than with other COLD albums?

Ward: I wanted to create a record that was more fictional, because the last two COLD records were very personal, and our lives have changed. I think with any band that has longevity, you're going to go through changes. I didn't want to create a personal record that wasn't true, so I decided to create a fictional record that would give the characters depth, and I wanted to make the stories tragic to where they still related to our audience. The goal was to make the characters come to life and to make our COLD Army kids still feel emotion. I think we accomplished that. I know we've accomplished that now, based of all the kids that are talking to us at the shows. They're starting to think these characters are real. What "superfiction" means is the spark that comes to life when something jumps off the page, so that's what we wanted to do.

Audio Ink: Tell us about getting back together with drummer Sam McCandless and bass player Jeremy Marshall in 2005 and how your side project, THE KILLER AND THE STAR, was a catalyst.

Ward: Well, I created THE KILLER AND THE STAR when we took time off from COLD. We had been touring for 11 years and wanted to spend time with our families. With THE KILLER AND THE STAR, I created my own label on Universal to put it out on, and I was trying to find a band to tour with [but] it was impossible, because all the bands were heavier, and I couldn't find anybody. So Sam, our drummer, called and said, "Hey, congrats. I saw you got a label and a record. What are you doing?" I said, "I'm trying to find a band to tour with," and he said, "Hey, why don't we put COLD back together for 30 days."

Audio Ink: Did you know it would be a permanent reunion at that point?

Ward: There were no preconceived notions of us getting back together. We were really just going out to tour and have fun. It was kind of scary, because it had been four years and no press, no radio and we thought nobody was going to come to these shows. When we set the tour up, even the booking agents were like, "Well, we'll try it." But to our surprise, all the shows sold out all over the country. So that inspired us to create a new COLD record and with me having my label Sonic Star on Universal, it made it a little easier to do that.

Read the entire interview at Audio Ink Radio.

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