5 Questions With Living Colour’s Corey Glover: New Album ‘Shade,’ Touring + Love of Sevendust
Thirty-plus years into a legendary career, Living Colour are still going strong, and this year is jam-packed for them. They are gearing up to release their brand new album, Shade, and also have dates scheduled with Jane’s Addiction this summer. We had a chance to chat with singer Corey Glover right before the band’s hometown acoustic performance at The City Winery in New York City. He spoke about creating the new album Shade and the obstacles that came with it, as well as what the rest of the year has in store for the band. The iconic vocalist also spoke about his friendship with Jane’s Addiction and wanting to make Sevendust future tourmates. Check out our interview with Corey Glover of Living Colour below:
You have an acoustic set tonight. How does playing a song acoustically change it from the original, aside from the obvious musical differences?
We just did ‘Middle Man’ during sound check and it’s completely different acoustic than how we usually play it. You can listen to the groove better now, it’s not as frenetic and it’s not as angry. Vernon [Reid] and I first wrote this song – the lyrics were a poem to a suicide note I had written years before. It was angry, I was like, “F--- all of you, I’m tired of everybody, I’m tired of being in the middle of your s---. I’m done” -- that’s what that song was about and that’s the way it was written and recorded. This way it’s like, “It’s okay. I’m alright, I am in the middle of it” and it grooves a lot better.
What’s the progression on the album Shade?
Mixes are almost done, it will be out this fall, hopefully September. We’re going out this summer with Jane’s Addiction, we’re doing Afropunk [festival] this summer, sort of – it’s like us and Bad Brains and Fishbone. I don’t know how that’s going to work itself out. Then we’re going to Europe with Glenn Hughes in the fall so that will be fun.
What was the overall creative and recording process for you with Shade?
Long, it took us almost four years to make this record. We went through problems with managers, with record companies and schedules -- it just took forever and finally we got it done. I can’t wait to get that process over with so I can go back and start working on new stuff again, personally and just start writing new things. Part of the process was that we weren’t going to compromise on a lot of stuff. There were some sonic things that we weren’t going to compromise on, we needed to get it right. It took long enough so hopefully it’s right. I mean we’ll still have to fix things – “Right” to us is that you don’t go, “Uh, if only I had done this.” At the same time there’s something about discovering something as you play it that changes it and that makes the difference between the recorded version and the live version. “Cult of Personality” live doesn’t sound the way it was recorded because we’ve been playing it for almost 30 years and it changes based on the environment, the gear and the temperament and all that. I think we’re satisfied with Shade for what it is as a recording.
You mentioned the shows with Jane’s Addiction. What’s your relationship like with those guys?
We’ve known them for a very long time, we were on the first Lollapalooza with them and we’ve played with Dinosaur Jr. before so it’s going to be old home week for the most part, for the time that we’re there and hanging out a trading war stories. It’s not partying like it used to be because we’re too old now so it’s different. As long as I wake up I’m fine.
After all of the years of touring, are there any bands or artists that you would still like to tour with or even newer bands you’d like to take out on tour?
Sevendust, I’ve been trying to get a Sevendust tour going for years -- I’d love for that to happen. They had the acoustic tour, we’re doing these two acoustic shows but who knows what it might turn into and what could come of this. I would love to do something with them. If we could work that out, It would be fire!
Sevendust and Living Colour on tour together -- now that’s one trek we’d love to see! For now, check out Living Colour's upcoming 2016 tour dates here.
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