COIN looks ahead after milestone Music Midtown performance

When writing the song “Talk Too Much” with his bandmates, COIN frontman Chase Lawrence said that he could hear thousands of people singing along in his head.

Touring over the past year, including a recent performance at Music Midtown, the Belmont alum saw his vision become reality.

Big shows are nothing new for COIN. The band has previously played major gigs such as Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Lollapalooza.

However, Lawrence said that the band’s recent Midtown performance felt like a true milestone.

“Something about it was special,” he said. “I’m definitely never gonna forget it.”

Lawrence attributes a lot of COIN’s current success to the musical community at Belmont.

After transferring to Belmont, Lawrence met the band’s guitarist Joe Memmel on the first day of their music theory class. After a few weeks, he built up the courage to ask Memmel if he wanted to write a song together.

Before too long, COIN found itself performing at Belmont’s Rock Showcase, and soon after that — at local venue The End.

While COIN’s popularity may not be a surprise to longtime fans, it’s not something the band members initially anticipated. For Lawrence, this was actually an important part of their success

“The moment you start to expect anything is I think when you really start to mess yourself up,” said Lawrence.

While COIN has reached major milestones this year, Lawrence and the rest of the band are still looking to the future of the band.

On Nov. 2, the band members will return to Music City for a show at Cannery Ballroom — a venue they’ve always dreamt of headlining.

The band is also working on new music, which Lawrence said should be out sooner than fans can expect.

Lawrence said that the band is departing from its influences even more than sophomore LP “How Will You Know If You Never Tried” did. The band is also drawing influences from the minimal Hip-Hop style from artists such as Drake, Kanye West and Frank Ocean.

“It’s so important not to compare yourself to other people’s success,” he said. “There’s only one person that can do exactly what you do, so there’s no point in trying to fit into somebody else’s mold.”

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This article written by Ethan Davis. Photo Courtesy of COIN