Skillet

Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996 and based in the United States. The band currently consists of husband and wife John (lead vocals, bass) and Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), along with Jen Ledger (drums, vocals) and Seth Morrison (lead guitar). The band has released several albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose. Awake has been certified Double Platinum and debuted on No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with Comatose certified Gold by RIAA. Skillet went through several line-up changes early in their career, leaving founder John Cooper as the only original member remaining in the band. They have sold over 2 million albums in the U.S. alone[not verified in body] and are known for a relentless touring schedule, which garnered them a top five ranking in the Hardest Working Bands of 2011 by Songkick.com. Skillet formed in 1996 with two members: John Cooper, former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry. The two bands met through touring together, but those bands disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band as a side-project. Coming from different styles of rock music, they decided to name the experiment Skillet. After Trey McClurkin joined the band as a temporary drummer. Skillet was only together for a month when they received interest from major Christian record label ForeFront Records. In 1996 they released a self-titled debut Skillet. It was well-received, and the trio continued to write new material as they toured the United States. One topic that comes up often among fans and the band itself, is the name 'Skillet'. John Cooper, the lead vocalist, explains that it was a joke at first. Each starting band member was already in a separate band, and all decided to start a side project. Since each other band had a different sound and style to it, the side project was said to be like putting all of those styles in a big skillet to come up with something unique, hence the band name 'Skillet'. The band name is still somewhat of a joke between the band members, especially Cooper, who claims to still not like the title.