Candlebox’s Kevin Martin Shares Why He Needed To Retire

Kevin Martin, the lead singer of Candlebox, recently revealed the reasons behind his decision to retire from the band. During a chat with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Martin talked about the band’s final album and tour and what caused his decision. He said:

“During COVID, I had a great awakening being home with my wife and my son and realizing that maybe I had put far too much emphasis. My music career had become so encompassing of my time and my emotions and energy and all that stuff. I realized that I had not giving what my family actually needed from me. Being home and being a dad, a teacher, and a husband, and realizing that I’ve missed a lot of things in my life that I enjoy.”

It seems that the frontman has experienced a few more changes besides figuring things out about his family. He continued:

“I said, ‘I need to figure out when I can wrap this up.’ I love music. It is a part of my life. I love playing live. I love performing. I love the fans. That is something that I never take for granted. But I knew that I didn’t love it like the way I did when I started.”

Martin then disclosed how much time it took for him to realize that he wanted to end his career with the band. He added:

“I told my wife, ‘I think I want to make one last record, and I want to do it in 2023, on the 30th anniversary of the debut. And I want to put a nice bow on this thing and wrap it up at the end of this year. How do you feel about that?’ And she said, ‘I would love that. But only if you are ready.’ And it took me from 2020 to 2022 to realize that I was.”

The frontman announced his retirement plans last year in an interview with 94.3 The Shark. He claimed that his bandmates and management tried to stop him, but he reiterated his decision. In the interview, Martin said:

“I have got to put myself first emotionally in everything I do. And that’s kind of where I’m at. I don’t want to stop singing a song like ‘Sometimes’ that means the world to me, or ‘It’s Alright’ or ‘Far Behind’ or ‘You,’ because I love them, but I just know that it’s the decision I have to make.”

The band’s final album, ‘The Long Goodbye,’ drops on August 25, coinciding with their farewell tour with 3 Doors Down, ending on October 21. The first track, ‘Punks,’ has already been released.