Mike Todd of Coheed and Cambria
by Daniel Robert Epstein for SuicideGirls (http://suicidegirls.com/)

Coheed and Cambria’s latest album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness, continues the story that they have been creating with their concept albums. I got a chance to talk with bassist Mike Todd.

Check out the official site for Coheed and Cambria

Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?

Mike Todd: We’ve got a show. Yesterday was a day off and I’m laying in my hotel bed trying to peel myself out.

DRE: What’d you do on your day off?

MT: We’re in Norfolk, Virginia. I hung out with my homie Josh, had a couple cocktails down at the bar and looked at the water. I just took it easy.

DRE: Was there any talk of not doing a concept album again?

MT: I think at this point that’s what we do. We got quite a bit of the story all mapped out. We’ve got another album or two before we finish up the story completely and then we’re going to see what we’re going to do after that.

DRE: Do you guys all work on the story together?

MT: No, Claudio is the writer of the story. We work on the rock and roll together.

DRE: Does he explain the story to you?

MT: He doesn’t really. That doesn’t come into play during the writing of the songs or anything so it’s not really necessary. But sometimes when we’re sitting around working on shit, we’ll talk about it sometimes. I’m not really caught up on everything that’s going on.

DRE: Do you not want to know?

MT: Well I know where it’s going but a lot of the details are still being hammered out. I get it for the most part but there’s a lot of it still being done.

DRE: How does the comic book help you out?

MT: It doesn’t really have an affect, it’s just for my personal gratification.

DRE: I read that you guys were having like a frustrating time in the studio last year in 2005 so you all went to see Star Wars.

MT: I don’t remember that. [laughs] We did have a little bit of a frustrating time in the studio but I don’t remember us all going to see Star Wars. Those crazy little facts about us just aren’t true. I don’t even think I saw the last Star Wars anyway.

DRE: What was the frustration about?

MT: It was over was close quarters and we are pretty secluded where we choose to record and that can drive some cats nuts. I like the solitude of being in the woods and stuff but some of the other cats are more city grown fellows. It can be kind of maddening.

DRE: Where do you guys record?

MT: We recorded the last two albums and mixed all three at Applehead, it’s a farm near Woodstock.

DRE: That’s cool.

MT: Tell me about it, I love it.

DRE: What is does being so secluded do for you?

MT: Touring as much as we do and being in the big city all the time makes me want to be here in the quiet with birds and stuff like that, it makes me organic again.

DRE: What inspires you musically?

MT: Whatever gives me that rush. With the live shows I love that feeling I get walking out on stage and playing good music, playing with the cats that I love playing music with. It was the same thing that made me want to be in a rock band when I was a kid. The same shit that made me want to dance around my room pretending I was in a band.

DRE: What kind of groupies does Coheed get?

MT: We’re really not too much of a recording band so we don’t really have top tens or anything like that. But there’ll be some groupies here and there. They’re pretty fucking odd for the most part. We’ve got to revamp our groupie repertoire.

DRE: [laughs] I spoke to Josh Eppard last year. Do you have anything like what he does with Weerd Science?

MT: A little bit. It’s not as serious as what he’s got though I write music but I just haven’t done anything with it yet.

DRE: Is it radically different from Coheed?

MT: I don’t know if mine is that different. It is definitely more folky than anything.

DRE: Do you ever plan on doing anything with it?

MT: Oh I’m sure I will but it’s just a matter of buckling down when we’re off tour and doing the work.

DRE: What’s been the best part of the tour so far?

MT: Everybody on the tour is awesome and that helps a lot. I’ve enjoyed watching the other bands’ sets every night and that always helps. I’m loving it, so I’m pretty comfortable.

DRE: How has this tour been different from previous tours?

MT: For us we got quite an elaborate stage setup with a moving drum riser and shit like that. Also we have a huge theater screen behind us that projects images. Then we have these little evil looking stage props, one is like 16 feet tall and grows wings and shit. It’s some pretty wild shit to look at and we have a good mix of songs, some that we haven’t played in a long time.

DRE: Would you guys love for Coheed to be a huge popular band?

MT: I always want it to get bigger but in the right way but I also like the people that get what we’re doing. I wouldn’t want the band growing huge for the wrong reasons but I definitely wouldn’t mind growing as a band for the right reasons like we are.

DRE: Have you met any SuicideGirls on the tour yet?

MT: No, I haven’t met any SuicideGirls on tour yet. What’s up with that?

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Mike+Todd+of+Coheed+and+Cambria/