UnCovered: Remain Discusses Their Inspiring “No Day to Die” Album Artwork

As the frontman of Remain, Caleb Coonrod is a very driven individual. The rock n’ roll dream is really what’s at the essence of every great band, and it’s a big part of what gets Coonrod out of bed in a day. He’s even worked two jobs to keep the dream alive: by day as a senior coordinator at the University of North Texas Toulouse Graduate School in his hometown of Denton and by night at a local grocery store. It’s hard work, but to Coonrod, it’s all worth it as it enables him to indulge and engage in his art.

Remain has been together now for over a decade and began releasing music in 2016. Coonrod arrived in Denton in his early 20s with the dream of being a musician. He started hitting open mic nights, where he began to get his name out. This led to him meeting Remain co-founder and drummer Perry Hill, who decided to go all in with Coonrod. The band has worked hard, and it has paid off. They released their Millenial Nation album in 2021 and started to make a name for themselves locally. One of their career highlights has been their performance at SXSW in 2023. Earlier this month, Remain released their latest single, “No Day to Die,” a song featuring some sharp riffs and some Southern charm.

One of the most striking features of “No Day to Die” is its artwork. Today, Coonrod joins us for a new edition of UnCovered, in which we discuss the song’s artwork, its fascinating story, its connection to the song, and more.

What’s the story behind the “No Day to Die” artwork? Is there a particular theme or narrative being displayed on which you can elaborate?

Caleb Coonrod: “This is a picture of my grandfather-in-law Jimmy Don Ward (pictured right) and his best friend (unnamed – pictured left) in the Vietnam War in 1969. They were Marines and were both drafted in 1968 at the height of combat intensity and political unrest in America.

“The two met in Vietnam and became such good friends that they made plans to reunite after the war was over and do the unthinkable—be friends in the United States. From what I’ve been told, it started as a joke on how racial differences would allow them to be friends at war, but not at home. As things progressed, the joke became a promise, and the two friends resolved to not only meet up after the war but to go to each other’s houses and meet each other’s families, and sit at each other’s dinner tables.

“Of the two friends, only Jimmy Don made it home.

“Jimmy Don told me this story when I was 17, and it’s one of my all-time favourites. It’s a sad story, but it’s a powerful story of two friends united by struggle, fighting together for a country that had always told them they should fight each other. Even in today’s world, there are households that would shudder at the thought of bringing someone of a different race or identity to the dinner table. But this was 56 years ago. It was only five years after the Civil Rights Act had been passed and amid one of the most controversial decades in our country’s history.

“It’s amazing to me that their friendship elevated them above the divisiveness of 1960s America and made them want to challenge it. It’s tragic that they didn’t get to.”

Remain “No Day to Die” original picture

What’s your favourite thing about this single cover?

“My favourite thing about this album cover is the fact that I know the story and the bond of the two pictured. I love how it says more than what it was intended to say. It’s not just two friends posing for a picture; it’s two allied brothers in a strange land transcending the racial barriers of the time.

“I love the fact that they are not fully smiling but not fully serious. I love that they are standing in the ‘at ease’ military position and that they are standing in the middle of a road and how the road behind them converges to a type of accidental, artistic, one-point perspective in which they are almost perfectly placed in the forefront of. And I love how you can see the barracks on either side, hills in the background, and someone crossing the road behind them. I love the fact that the road is a dirt road that looks dusty, and I’m afraid of where it leads.

“And I wonder how far from the opposition they are. I wonder which military base they are at and if this was before or after they had experienced combat. I wonder why they took the picture and why they were dressed formally, and what the occasion was. And I wonder if it was their idea to take the picture and if maybe they suspected that one or both of them might not make it home.

“For that reason, I also detest the picture. I hate their circumstances, and I hate that they had to be there at all. I hate that there were racial barriers. And I hate that war was a reality for them. I hate that they were so young and their friendship short-lived and that one of them didn’t make it.”

Remain “No Day to Die” original picture cropped

Remain “No Day to Die” alternate art consideration

When people look at the single cover art, what do you want them to see/think?

“I want them to see the love and unity of two unlikely friends fighting alongside each other with the odds stacked against them.”

If you could picture your album in the hands of someone you would be amazed to see holding it, who do you picture?

“I saw Jimmy Don hold this picture a few times. I watched him look at his younger self and his friend, and I didn’t ask him any questions.”

Remain “No Day to Die” album artwork

Was the art influenced directly by any of the themes explored in “No Day to Die?”

“Yes. ‘No Day to Die’ is a song about unity, love, requited friendship, and resolve. It’s a song that summons an ally to fight alongside even when things are unfavourable.”

Please help us understand what you are trying to convey with the cover’s imagery. Give us details on the concept.

“I hesitated to use this because I didn’t want to reduce these soldiers’ sacrifice to a song, and I didn’t want the image to be misunderstood as an image that glorifies violence and war. ‘No Day to Die’ is a song about fighting with someone, not against someone. There’s also a truth displayed in this picture of how sharing a common struggle eliminates our differences. In dire situations, social constructs and false political barriers do not matter. I would imagine that, in battle, all that mattered for these two was that they relied on each other. I’m sure what ‘group’ or race they belonged to was an afterthought.

“I use this image as a sign of respect and a reminder that standing alongside someone and staying committed to life regardless of circumstance is powerful.”

How did the artwork’s image and/or concept come to you?

“The song had been written and recorded for a while, and we were beginning to plan the release. Putting visuals to music is a struggle for me because I fear that it might prevent the listener from forming their own meaning as it applies to their life. That said, we were nearing the release date, and I did not have artwork yet.

“The title ‘No Day to Die’ was bothering me a bit as well. It’s not James Bond, and I’m not trying to be a cheesy hype man or a pretentious tough guy. I was having trouble finding/creating an image that positively reinforced the song and might make people want to listen. This was also not long after Jimmy Don passed away.

“Kailey and I went to help prepare for the funeral and we were looking through old things. We opened a box of Jimmy Don’s Vietnam stuff: old letters, discharge papers, keepsakes, merit pins, a heavy piece of shrapnel that he kept after it hit him in the helmet, and a tattered photo album. We came across this picture, and I remembered the story of friendship he had told me years before. It took me a few weeks to realize it, but it was the perfect image for the music.

“The song is not about the,m but their friendship represents what the song is about.”