Interviews:

Can't Kill Heroes : New Name, Same Band
Story by: Ashley Graham
Photo by: Megan Carter

Up-and-coming with a fresh new name, the band, Can't Kill Heroes, is working on an album release. Headquartered in Pulaski, VA, Can't Kill Heroes has established itself in the area through shows at Claytor Lake State Park and acoustic gigs.

The members were all friends before the band was formed, who shared a love for music.

Jonathan Sampson (lead guitar and vocals) and Paul Riggins (drums) were in a previous band together with a high school/college friend for about six years, until the band members decided to go separate ways. Riggins, missing the action, decided to start something up again.

"I had spoken to my fiancé Sarah about how bad it was killing me and she said she had wanted to start up a band too," said Riggins. "We grabbed her brother Jacob [Edmonds] to play guitar, and I knew if I was going to be in another band, I wanted Jonathan in it. I called him and asked him if he wanted to do it and a few nights later, we had a band."

At the time the band started, they had no set name picked out. Riggins suggested The Drive Home and they went with it. The name worked fine for several months, until the band received a cease and desist email on MySpace from another band with the same name.

After some investigation, the band decided to change their name, not because of the MySpace band, but because of some other bands that also had the same name.

"As for trade marking of a band name, it's in two parts," said Riggins. "One is priority and the other is location."

"Priority is who has had the band name longer and location is well, where you are. If another band is in your area, then there is a problem if the two bands have the same name. But if one is in Florida, like the band who threatened us, and the other is in Virginia, and neither has sold anything nationally, they all are good until someone makes it big."

The band decided to find something else that no one had heard of. After searching for a while, they decided on the name, Can't Kill Heroes.

Each member of the band has their own different influences, pooling together in a wide range including Anna Nalick, The Beatles, Nirvana, Our Lady Peace, Taking Back Sunday, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. This vast array of influence has led to the band's unique sound.

"It's definitely guitar-driven. Most of it is written on an acoustic guitar, so it sounds good plugged or unplugged," says Riggins. "Having two voices to use on different songs gives us more room and variety of styles to play in."

Another thing that has led the band to success is each member's personal knowledge of music. Riggins, Sarah and Jacob were all in band in high school. Sarah is now majoring in music at East Tennessee State University.

Jonathan became interested in playing guitar during his first year of college and he studied music theory over the Internet with help from a friend.

The band started by playing shows at Claytor Lake State Park, which was looking for something to bring more visitors to the park. They played three shows there over a two-month period.

"We started out playing mostly cover songs, but we've been working on more of our own material," Riggins said. "It was cool to just get out and play. It was a great way to start out."

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