Godcore - Where are you guys from?


Cool Hand Luke - I (Mark) am from Nashville, TN and the other guys live in Murfreesboro, TN.



Godcore - How did Cool Hand Luke get started?


Cool Hand Luke - We met through a mutual friend at a Ruby Tuesday in Murfreesboro where we all went to college. Brandon and Jason asked if I played drums and I did, so we got together to play. We've been playing ever since.




Godcore - What would be an accurate description of your mission as a group?


Cool Hand Luke - We want to glorify the name of Christ and through that encourage Christians and be a witness to the unsaved.




Godcore - What has influenced Cool Hand Luke musically and non-musically?


Cool Hand Luke - Musically our influences are different for each person. Jesus is our main influence in every aspect of our lives. I have a lot of musical influences, but I don't think Jason would claim most of them. We've all been influenced to some degree by a band called Aireline that we play with frequently. I'd say we've all been somewhat influenced by Coldplay as well. I'm influenced a lot by film scores. As far as non-musical things go, we've been influenced by the Passion ministry and One Day. I've been influenced by John Piper and by the ministry approach of Waterdeep. My pastor, Kevin Minchey, is a big influence on me. Our families are big influences and we are actually big influences on one another.


Godcore - How has CHL evolved from a young punk band to a mature rock group?


Cool Hand Luke - I think the change in our music has been an indication of our growing relationships with Christ. God's hand has been on us since day one, and He is constantly teaching us and refining us. The same goes with our music. We try to draw from our spiritual lives for our music. We aren't so young anymore. We're not angst-ridden or anything of that sort. My vision for a simple life of glorifying God and being foolish in the eyes of the world has changed my approach to song writing and lyric writing. We're not trying to fit in so much anymore and we're just trying to be led by the Spirit.




Godcore - How is Floodgate Records (and Tim Taber)?


Cool Hand Luke - Floodgate is a blessing. Tim is a godly man who understands what it's like to be in a band and to struggle to get by. He has supported us in everything we have done and he hasn't tried to change who we are. Floodgate is the answer to many, many prayers and we are very happy with everything they are doing for us.




Godcore - What would be your dream tour?


Cool Hand Luke - That's a tough question. There are so many different aspects to a good tour. There are standpoints of large crowds and good venues, standpoints of being in front of your target audience, standpoints of liking the band you're on tour with, and standpoints of ministry. We've been on tour with Switchfoot, which was a dream of ours. We've toured with Aireline several times, and they are one of our favorite bands. I'd say for me personally, a dream tour would probably be opening for Sigur Ros or Cold Play. Or on a smaller scale, The Gloria Record.




Godcore - What are you listening to right now?


Cool Hand Luke - The David Crowder Band, Sigur Ros, Mineral, the Glory score, the new Radiohead, Kent, Phantom Planet, and the One Day Live record.




Godcore - What do you think about the current Christian music scene?


Cool Hand Luke - I think that God is using it, but it is all mixed up. I think that since we have the creator inside of us, we should give Him control of our creativity so that we can have integrity and be leaders in the arts instead of trying to cop what the world is doing. There is nothing that sets the Christian music scene apart except that the quality of the music is much lower. I think Christian artists need to be honest in every aspect. We need to write the music and the lyrics that are in our hearts and not what we think will sell or what will be able to cross over. I'm not saying that Cool Hand Luke has already achieved this, I am just saying that I think this could really bring glory to God's name. So many of our generation are wasting their lives because they just want to be liked. I think the same is true for music. That said, I know that God uses Christian music, and I think that we are on the brink of something new.




Godcore - Any closing statements?


Cool Hand Luke - I Corinthians 1:18

                                                                                                                               ~Godcore