Saosin

Just as was the case for last month’s cover interview with The Used’s Quinn Allman and Jeph Howard, I met with Saosin front man Cove Reber backstage at the Montreal edition of the this year’s Taste of Chaos.  I had just finished my conversation with Senses Fail’s Mike Glita when a slender young man with long dark hair came sauntering over, a bright smile on his face, putting me instantly at ease.  “Now it’s my turn” he said playfully as he sat in the seat Mike had just occupied and leaned backwards against the chair casually.  Apparently, he had been patiently waiting for his turn in a lounging area behind the little table that we had turned into our CONFRONT Magazine headquarters for the day and had been quite content just taking in all the surrounding action.

Despite the 21-year-old’s casual demeanor, his eyes showed avidity and interest, something that surprised me given the setting.  There is a quiet air of boredom that permeates the backstage atmosphere at these events.  It’s an odd easygoing sense that artists are just waiting for the afternoon to be over so that their day’s work can begin, which juxtaposes itself against the hustle and bustle of techs running around to “set up.”    It’s as though the interminable waiting becomes tangible. This doesn’t seem to affect Cove however.

As he is sitting there with a grin on his face, it’s easy to understand why the Saosin fans I encountered on various message boards while doing some research are so enamored with him and his four counter parts, Beau Burchell – Guitarist, Justin Shekoski – Guitarist, Chris Sorenson – Bass Guitar and Alex Rodriguez – Drums.

“..our fans are really, really into our band.  It’s really weird.  Like especially if you go to message boards those kids on the internet have been there since day one and since the beginning, we’ve kind of prided ourselves for having one of the coolest message boards,” He said when I mentioned my online experience. And he would know.

Cove holds the rare distinction of being able to truly say he knows exactly what Saosin fans are thinking and experiencing, as he too was a fan of the band back in the Anthony Green days.  “Like, before I was in the band, ’cause I’m technically the newer singer cause Anthony sang for the band for about a year of tour and about a year and half of being in the band and I’ve been in the band for three years, like way longer than he was ever in the band, but some people still consider him to be the singer because of the legacy he left with Saosin.  Even I was a fan on the message board before. (…) So it’s really awesome to be a part of something I was a fan of.  And we pride ourselves on being one of those bands.  We’re a new generation of bands and we feel really stoked that those kids online still talk about us.”

If you aren’t familiar with that part of Saosin’s history, here is a quick crash course to get you up to date.

Saosin was created in 2003 by founding members Justin Shekoski and Beau Burchell. Their search for a vocalist following the recording of some instrumental tracks led them to find Anthony Green, who was referred to them by Keith Goodwin from the band Days Away.   ”Translating the Name,” one of the songs the band had recorded, was an instant success; especially through online sources.  The band was even approached by numerous record companies before playing their first show due to the soaring popularity of the EP.

However, following the release of their first EP, Anthony left the band and later went on to form the band Circa Survive.