COHEED AND CAMBRIA drummer Chris Pennie was interviewed by ILikeMusic when the band were touring in the UK with Deftones a few weeks ago, and he was seemingly relishing being on the tour.

“Deftones for all of us have been a very inspiring band that we really loved growing up and still do to this day.” he commented, “For me as a drummer, I’ve always loved Abe’s playing. Being able to sit and chat with him or watch him from a real close distance – those are the moments that I enjoy the most, the things I really live for.”

Speaking about when he first realized what he wanted to do with his life, he said, “I think I was about 13 or 14. I met a couple of kids from school and some from another. We kind of fused all these people together that later became the early incarnations of The Dillinger Escape Plan. I think right then and there, when we all got together, I knew it was what I wanted to do. We played a lot of Slayer and a lot of metal covers early on. It’s pretty interesting that it’s led this far. There’s still so much that I want to accomplish and be a part of. It seems like it’s pretty never-ending; there’s always a set of goals that I want to achieve and that I feel the band want to achieve as well. There’s a lot to work towards, it’s always an ongoing process.”

He continued, “My personal opinion is that it’s really tough, and even harder nowadays to be able to do it on a consistent basis. I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I am but you kind of have to surrender yourself to the process of it. There are certain sacrifices that you’re going to have to make. It depends on what you feel is important. To me, being able to make music all the time is pretty much the ultimate thing I want to do. That means surrendering time with friends, having a girlfriend… It’s very hard because no matter how many people say they understand, it’s a very few percentage of people that really, totally get what you do and the physical and mental sacrifice that goes with it. It takes a lot of time and everyone is constantly thinking about the process. People don’t take well to that; it’s not like a 9 to 5 job, it’s a 24 hour job. My point is that if you want to do it and make it a career, you’ve got to keep your head clear, always be thinking about the process in spite of all the temptation and bullshit, take everything in moderation and work hard at it. Then you’ll have a good chance of surviving.”

You can read the full interview with Chris at this location.

Coheed’s current album Year Of The Black Rainbow is in stores now. Pick it up online at Play.com or iTunes.