Skillet recently performed at Antone's in downtown Beaumont with the highly popular Texas based outfit, Flyleaf. Prior to the show, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit with bassist and vocalist John Cooper.

For those of you who missed the concert, Skillet stole the show despite a solid performance from Flyleaf. Hopefully we will get another opportunity to see this quartet in action very soon.

Skillet is a four piece rock outfit from the mid-west United States. Despite the band's sudden rise in popularity, the group has been around for the better part of a decade and "Comatose" is their seventh release.

The tour just started really, and tonight (Beaumont) is only the third show of the tour," Cooper said. "Houston was great last night, and Flyleaf has treated us well so far."

Skillet and Flyleaf are slated to hit cities of all sizes across the U.S. including stops Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois over the next six weeks.

The group consists of Cooper, his wife, Korey, on guitar, Ben Kasica on guitar and Lori Peters on drums. This group is definitely a family, as the Cooper's have their two children out on the road with them, as the baby stroller and television playing an episode of "Dora the Explorer" can attest.

"It's really cool having the kids out with the band," Cooper said. "It creates a real family atmosphere. Sometimes it can be a little rough, but everyone handles it really well."

Although "Comatose" was released in October 2006 and is the band's seventh, Cooper credits the 2004 release "Collide" with breaking new ground for Skillet.

The group's sound rocks, while being able to maintain a radio friendly sound, and, at times, has a retro '80s quality that doesn't sound dated.

"The first single really gave us a good boost on radio, but 'The Older I Get' is the single we really wanted to release," Cooper said. "It's really just started working radio, so we hope it does well. We've put out singles before that we thought were really decent, but you've got to have all cylinders firing at once, you know? Everything has to be just right."

Cooper said one idea behind the sound and feel which makes "Comatose" such a powerful sounding album is the band wanted to give the fans something they felt a part of.

"We joked about making our own 'Hysteria,' where every song could be a single," Cooper said. "I'm not saying we did, but that was our goal. There are some real power ballad sounding songs on there, like "Say Goodbye" and "Yours to Hold."

Once the Flyleaf tour ends, Skillet is looking at making a two week run along the West Coast and are "putting out some feelers for other tours."

"We're looking at making the most of the opportunities we're given," Cooper said. "Hopefully, from there, the rest will take care of itself."

Hopefully, Skillet will get the big break the so apparently deserve and seem capable of achieving. Check out the band the next time they come around. You'll be glad you did!