Photo by Thomas Wood
The Nashville-based boy band, COIN, is gearing up for next year’s tour with the premiere of their latest single, ‘Cemetery.’ With Chase Lawrence on vocals/ keys, Joe Memmel on vocals/ guitar, and Ryan Winnen on drums, the trio is carving their own path within the alternative category through irresistibly catchy tunes. The group formed a few years back while attending the liberal arts university, Belmont, and have since opened for The 1975, Young The Giant, Passion Pit, and even made debut appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Firefly Festival, and Life is Beautiful. COIN’s alternative pop/rock sound is turning heads in the music industry, acclaiming over 100 million streams on Spotify. We caught up with the effervescent triad to discuss all things Cemetery, Nashville, and alt/pop.
**_You all met as students of Belmont University. How have you grown as a group since?_**
**Chase:** An honest answer is that we haven't. It's so odd to look back on those original sessions from college and think about each of us is in those recordings. Literally, of course and yet our creative voices can be so distinctly heard. We've learned how to better communicate with each other, and articulate how we want to feel and sound. However, we are the same boys, with the same instincts and naive dreams.
**_How has Nashville best served your band’s home base?_**
**Ryan:** Experiencing Nashville now is very different than the way we experienced it starting out as a band. There was music around every corner for the first time in our lives. It was exhilarating and inspiring. But we quickly noticed that it was confusing for a lot of artists, giving them a bit of uncertainty about what type of music to make (even more-so, if being commercially successful was their goal). We were 19-years-old and had absolutely no idea what we were doing. That, somehow, was an advantage. I guess it’s safe to say that Nashville, not only allowed us to exist in that melting pot, but eventually accepted us over time. And for some reason, they've stuck with us along the way? Thankful for this city, truly.
**_Tell us about ‘Cemetery,’ and your inspiration for the single._**
**Chase:** We had just come off of our first headlining tour. I spent two months staring at a life-size tombstone (a set prop from our album cover). I had never been away from my family for such a long period of time. Walking through my front door was surreal. My nephew was born, my friends were newlyweds, and my favorite restaurant closed. Soon, I realized I had to identify what mattered most. I was so focused on the future that I lost sight of what was right in front of me.
**_When creating new music, what role do you each play? How do you work both cohesively and individually?_**
**Chase:** In the past, I've had both hands on the steering wheel, Joseph has been my co-pilot, and Ryan has been the beautiful chiming-in sense of reason. Specifically in this album process, that hierarchy has been completely deconstructed. I still go off on obsessive, indecisive benders, but Joe and Ryan have been there every step of the way. This is a real team effort.
**_How would you describe your Alt-pop sound?_**
**Ryan:** The new music, to me, is a clear amalgamation of what each of us make (or listen to) naturally. I’m learning that it’s a bit of found ingredients that aren't so concerned about what genre they belong to. COIN songwriting can feel intrinsically pop, but the songs and those tendencies are best represented by performing live as a rock band. We can explore as we wish when are creating, but the performance of the songs we write is what always seems to stubbornly tie this music together. It give us an “identity” in the over-populated “alt” “rock” “sort of pop” space. You don’t want to sit there trying to achieve the qualifying attributes for a specific genre.
**_What has been the highlight of your careers thus far?_**
**Ryan:** The highlight is not as much of a single event as it is certainly an energy that has come to be. It is almost “worn” by the people that we've met at our shows. They often become friends and show up together the next time.
None of us, in any career path, can explain the moment in life when you feel you have become an essential part of something. Some may never feel this, and we realize the importance of this gift. That’s the highlight for us... The symbiotic relationship. Existing alongside the people listening, not separately, or above them. The people who listen to our music can probably explain this better.
**_What can we look forward to in the near future?_**
**Chase:** An album of songs that we've never been prouder of.
To see more by [COIN](https://www.instagram.com/coin/) click [here](http://www.thisiscoin.com/).
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