Tagged: skillet

Skillet Rakes In Third Consecutive Gold Single With “Awake & Alive”

It’s been 99 weeks since Skillet released Awake, the RIAA-Gold certified project that remains a best seller on the Billboard Top 200 with nearly 800,000 scans, and now the band has garnered their third consecutive RIAA Gold certified single with the No. 1 Active Rock and Christian radio hit, “Awake & Alive.” In addition, Skillet continues to pound the touring circuit. With countless major market dates under their belt, this fall they will hit secondary markets as they headline their Awake & Alive Tour with Disciple and special guests Tooth & Nail rockers Manafest and Atlantic Records’ labelmates We As Human. This tour hits following two solid years of heavy touring, including two successful AWAKE TONIGHT tours with TobyMac, numerous headline appearances at festivals, and tours with Shinedown, Papa Roach, Creed, the mainstream rock tour AVALANCHE, and more. The Skillet fan club pre-sale begins Tuesday, Aug 9th and the national on-sale starts Saturday, Aug 13th (see tour dates below).
With their latest single “It’s Not Me It’s You” just starting to impact Active Rock radio, and “Awake & Alive” currently featured on the TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon soundtrack, the band has spent much of the summer headlining top music festivals in both the Christian and mainstream markets including Rockfest, Creation East and West, Sonshine, Kingdom Bound, Carolina Rebellion, Rocklahoma, XFest and Alive. This fall they will be featured on KROQ Los Angeles’ Epicenter Rock Festival.

Skillet Lands First #1 At Mainstream Active Rock Radio With “Awake & Alive”

“Awake & Alive,” the latest single from Atlantic/Ardent/INO recording group Skillet, has bulleted its way to #1 at Mainstream Active Rock Radio outlets nationwide. Their gold certified album, Awake, now features a trio of Active Rock and Christian radio blockbusters including the current hit “Awake and Alive,” the RIAA gold certified, top 5 Active Rock and Christian Rock smash, “Monster,” and the just certified RIAA gold hit “Hero,”– with digital single sales from the album now exceeding 1.5 million. “Hero,” which has already received an array of TV placements including the NFL’s Sunday Night Football, NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, ESPN, and more was most recently featured on FOX Sports’ “The Daytona 500: The American Dream,” a one-hour documentary special delivering fresh and never-before-seen footage from self-professed Skillet fan, Trevor Bayne’s historic run to Victory Lane.

In reaction to his first #1 single at mainstream radio, lead vocalist and bassist John Cooper commented, “You know, the ride we’ve been on with this album has just been beyond incredible, and to have this song imparticular hit #1 makes it even more so since it’s about living what you believe. For it to have become such a hit, well, it’s just beyond anything I could have imagined.”

Additionally, Skillet recently announced the release of a new digital EP. The Awake & Remixed EP will feature alternative versions of songs off Awake and arrive at all DSPs on March 22nd. Named one of the top 5 20 Hardest Working Bands of 2010 on the popular concert site Songkick, Skillet will then head out on the road for the “Avalanche Tour 2011,” joining Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Art of Dying, and fellow Atlantic recording group Halestorm. The highly anticipated tour begins Thursday, March 24th at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom and then continues through early May.

Ben Kasica Leaves Skillet

Here’s the official word from both John and Ben about Ben’s departure from Skillet. We wish Ben the best!

“Panheads, fans, friends, and rockers,

What’s up everybody? We have just returned home from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, where we had an awesome tour! However, as we are taking a little time off, we have a sad message to share with you. Our long-time guitarist Ben Kasica is going to end his time with Skillet. We have had 10 years working together, and it has been an amazing ride! From the years we spent driving through the night in a van; to playing concerts all the way around the world, I’ve seen Ben transform from the kid who was nervous to play a guitar solo, to the rocker who now plays a solo…with his teeth! I always knew the time would come for Ben to leave and pursue other dreams, and now it is here. We are a family and we are going to miss him. We appreciate how hard he has worked for us and wish him the best in his life off the road. We have asked Ben if he would like to give a message to the fans, being that I’m sure all of you would like to hear from him, and of course he did:

“Hello panheads. After 10 amazing years of playing with Skillet, as John has told you, I will be leaving the band. This has been an incredible journey for me. Joining the band shortly after turning 16 and basically growing up on the road, I had no idea how long the ride would last but have enjoyed it immensely and been thankful to God for everything I’ve been a part of. We’ve traveled to loads of places, met many many wonderful people, drunk way too much coffee, made tons of memories and hopefully touched lives with eternity. I feel completely blessed and honored to have been a part of Skillet’s history. I want to thank John and Korey for the opportunity of a lifetime. They’ve been encouraging, compassionate, long-suffering with me and it’s been what’s kept me going on all these years. I’m grateful for their years of input in my spiritual, personal and business life. They’re amazing, inspiring hardworking people that i have the utmost respect for. I wish them the absolute best in their future in and outside the band.

After getting off the road, I will be focusing on building my other companies, producing and developing artists at Skies Fall Studios and designing for LifeLoveMusic Clothing. I also look forward very much to being home and catching up on churchlife, family and friends.

I want to thank you panheads for 10 years of incredible support. You’ve been encouraging over the years and made touring an amazing experience. You are the absolute best fans ever.

Thank you
Benjamin Judah Kasica”

We appreciate Ben’s work , we love him, and wish him the best in his music and various business ventures. Thanks to all of the fans for your support, and we will see you all soon on tour!

Stand and be strong,
John Cooper