We are Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert-Sanchez, Lead Singer of Coheed & Cambria & Founder of Evil Ink Comics! Ask Us Anything!

Hey guys! I'm curious, if Coheed picks the concept back up for the next album, will there be an addition to Sirius' storyline? Or maaaaaaybe a backstory on Wilhelm Ryan?

Also, anything coming from PFI in the future? :)

Thanks!

Happy Cake Day, Cyndifferous!

For the next Coheed record, I plan on picking up the concept. Getting back into the Amory Wars but I'm not sure if it's going to be a continuation of Sirius' story.

I want to continue after the events of No World For Tomorrow, but that's tentative.

Right now the idea is to release My Brother's Blood Machine but there are no plans at the moment to release any new material under The Prize Fighter.

Thanks everyone! That's it for now!

We're at booth 1732 come by and say hello!

Signings at 4pm. Bring tequila for Katy.

Do you plan on guiding Atlas into the paths of writing comics or making music? (BTW, you guys are my favorite family ever ! :P)

Chondra: It's hard with kids because you know the things you love to do and your interests and your hobbies and you don't think about it before they arrive in the world. Then they do and you're like, "oh my god I don't know this person"

We're focusing on finding those interests and hobbies and strengths organically and supporting whatever they are. We want him to be a scientist and not a musician or in any of the worlds we are in [laughs] but we will see, he really seems to love music.

So I "met" you guys at Comic Con in NYC a few years back (the only real reason I even attended) and Claudio signed one of my custom made Co&Ca converses. I thought you were going to decline my odd request, but you just smiled and even showed it to some guy behind your table and said something like, "We have to do something like this!" One of the greatest moments of my life and I haven’t worn the shoes since! Sad, I know. SO my question to both of you is this: What is the weirdest thing a fan has asked you to sign? Also, if you and your family like Thai food you should check out Joya on Court St in Brooklyn. I was there last week with my boyfriend and for some reason my mind went to… “I should tell Claudio and Chondra about this place, I bet they’d like it.” Because, ya know, we’re such close friends and all... Hey, we’re all children of the fence after all! ….try the Spicy Noodle! See ya at Starland!

Claudio: Alright! The weirdest thing I've been asked to sign is a baby. So that was weird.

Chondra: With a sharpie.

And did you sign the baby!? Not sure if i want the answer to be yes or no....... i mean, hey, if the parents are okay with it..

Claudio: I don't think I did.

Chondra: You may have signed the onesy...

Hey Claudio and Chondra, I know you're at SDCC now and my question is: what is your favorite fan interaction ever be it at a meet and greet or convention?

Claudio: I think for me, and I've said this before in the past, is when I was asked to sign a tattoo which was of me naked riding a dragon fly - and that tattoo happened to be on this young lady's neck.

Chondra: I like when people come pregnant one year and then come back the next and you get to meet the baby.

What's your favorite color?

Claudio: Yellow.

Chondra: Pink. Naturally. No...Gold actually!

1. How far along is the Good Apollo comic? Have a time frame? WHY NO NEVERENDER?!!

2. Is there ever going to be some kind of adaption of My Brother's Blood Machine? (I hope to hear Chondra on the next Prize Fighter album!)

1. We're pretty far along, we answered that earlier in the AMA. We don't have a time frame at the moment just because we want to get enough books under our belt before we officially announce it. Neverender? Question mark. It's very possible - a realistic dream

2. Possibly. At the moment, we're actually thinking of rereleasing The Blood Machine on vinyl but that's as far as we're going on that (Chondra and I are actually working on a project at the moment called Chonny & Clyde)

What bands are you currently listening to?

Chondra: Atlas loves Steve Perry. We're kind of held hostage by his musical loves at the moment. Which happen to be whoever is guesting on Yo Gabba Gabba, Steve Perry, a little band called Coheed & Cambria which he listens to on the daily.

Claudio: I find I do like this this band, I went to see Jane's Addiction with Dinosaur Jr on Coney Island and Nothing was opening up for them and unfortunately I missed them, but I did listen to the record before we went to the show and I actually really liked it. I was disappointed I missed them.

And Black Mountain. I went and saw them play at Bowery Ballroom.

Hi there guys, thanks for doing this. I have 2 questions for claudio. What bands does coheed take inspiration from? What Coheed album was your favorite to create, and which song is your favorite on said album?

We all have so many different influences. There's not one in particular. We're all so open minded for what we consume that everything is inspiring.

As far as my favorite Coheed record that we've done, it always changes. At the moment, I'd have to say it's the new one because it's so personal. For my favorite song off of it, I'll say "Island" because Atlas requests it so much every day.

You guys have been a big influence on me as far as writing guys just through your lyrics and collabs you've done together What are some of your favorite books to read?

Chondra: I go through phases where for a month, I'll just be into prose novels and then the next month I'm just reading graphic novels. Fiction? Jeff Lemire, I love. Patience by Daniel Clowes.

Claudio: The question is how often to we actually get to read? Last times I was on a plane and it was WIRED Magazine it's whatever Atlas will allow.

Chondra: It's hard to write something when you're not reading. There was something in that WIRED issue about picking up the characteristics of the lead character in a book that you're reading. I think that's really inspiring for me. Seeing what other writers are doing and seeing the way they're uncovering characters.

The things you both create are magical so my question is

If there were a magic super power you could use in your art making, what would it be?

I would want the ability to time travel so I could make sure that period pieces and things were spot on.

Claudio: Chondra ripped that off. I've gone on record saying that time travel would be my super power. I've said I would selfishly go to the past to see all the people I've lost.

Chondra: I would go to the future to steal all your answers.

I've been wanting to do a formal interview for a while for the Tumblr pages I do. When I broke my foot at the Stone Pony last year I wanted to ask y'all stuff but Atlas was zonked out. So I will just throw a few here that I have asked on live feeds before.

1. Is there any relation between "Mother Superior" and Trainspotting?

2. Any relation between Hero/Villain from Translucid & "Island"?

3. Did y'all ever get to drink the growlers of IPAs I had Manuel take upstairs at Echostage? The little one was for your birthday and the big one was for everyone else.

I've had more questions but always forget to write em down. Till next time.

Cheers C&C! ❤

1. No not the movie but maybe some of the content. It's about chemical abuse so I guess it's related in that way.

2. No, surprisingly!

3. We probably did! Delicious.

Thank you and happy cake day!

What is one way you that really helps you deal with writing's block in the realms of music, lyrics, and story writing?

Claudio: We're fortunate because I know if I can't produce something musically, I know I can turn to the stories and maybe that will jostle something loose in the other's world. For the most part, if I am experiencing writers block I just try to barrel through and hope that just through time it will show me it's identity and I will fall in love with it.

Chondra: We're fortunate to live in NYC where we can just pop out of the house and take a walk and see something in the neighborhood or in the city that inspires you.

Claudio: I can't quote it but there's an interesting book called "Songwriters On Songwriting" with some words from Leonard Cohen that really inspired me.

Claudio: We're fortunate because I know if I can't produce something musically, I know I can turn to the stories and maybe that will jostle something loose in the other's world. For the most part, if I am experiencing writers block I just try to barrel through and hope that just through time it will show me it's identity and I will fall in love with it.

Chondra: We're fortunate to live in NYC where we can just pop out of the house and take a walk and see something in the neighborhood or in the city that inspires you.

Claudio: I can't quote it but there's an interesting book called "Songwriters On Songwriting" with some words from Leonard Cohen that really inspired me.

Is it difficult for you to put your creative work "out there" where people can judge it? How do you deal?

The most difficult part of the creative process for me is pouring a lot of myself into something just for people to tear it down and tell me it's crap. You guys are a source of great inspiration and you have some very unique ideas so I'm curious how you deal with public reception of stuff that's not mainstream.

Claudio: That was always sort of a thing. That's why I created the Amory Wars concept because I had a hard time confessing myself in the songs and I needed a mask to essentially hide behind and I felt that those things we're going to get torn apart.

I guess that's how I dealt with it.

Now at 38 years old and having as many records as we do under our belt, I guess I have enough confidence in myself I don't worry about it.

Chondra: I have a hard time with criticism. If it's constructive, it certainly goes down a little easier. Sometimes I feel there's a culture where things are torn apart because people have a pre-conceived notion about something or it's not their style

Claudio: We live in the time of the critic.

Chondra: Instead of finding things that they like, people are almost seeking out things to hate. n that same breath, we're very fortunate that the audience that Coheed has brought into the comic, that is very receptive and open to trying new things and is trying to see where we were coming from when something was written.

There's this TED Talk with Elizabeth Gilbert with the idea of genius and how we protect ourselves with this muse that can either take the credit to keep our ego from getting too big or it can take the criticism.

Do you seek out the bands that you sign or do they come to you?

Some of the bands are brought to my attention. So in a way, they're sort of sought out through the family at Evil Ink.