 Mark Carbon, the enigmatic front man of
CARBON, talks about the fans, music and eating
flying rodents... "If it helped our career, I'd eat just about anything on
stage."
Some call them indie, some call
them a rock band - whatever you want to label them, you can guarantee that
CARBON will exceed your expectations. If you
simply combine the years of musical achievements and experience of the four
band members together you're likely to create a Frankenstein's monster of a
rock n' roll legend. Nevertheless, the band, based in Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada, has only been about for roughly one year. But they aren't wasting any
time and they ain't messing around.
Their resumés read like a Hard Rock hall of fame. Taking a
brief look at the band (alphabetically): Peter Boshart, who contributes guitars
and background vocals, has been in the business for 20 years. Just to look at
him, you know that he must have started out at a young age. He was drafted into
CARBON after the original guitarist went AWOL.
Next, Mark Carbon - lead vocals,
guitars, keyboards - originally from scenic Pembroke, Ont. "I've been at rock'n
roll for 7 years, but have been writing songs for over a decade. I've been
trying to achieve the rock dream by finding like-minded individuals to take the
music scene by storm. CARBON is my second kick at
the can, with a much stronger line-up, stage performance, and song base than
either the first band, or earlier versions of this band." Then, Chris Macdonald
who plays drums and sings background vocals; he has been at rock'n roll for 20
years also, touring the country back when he was only 18. His roots lie in
metal and he achieved much success, almost getting signed with an earlier band
called 'Zero Option,' in which Peter also played. Chris ended up joining the
band permanently after stepping in for a night.
Last but by no means least, Jay Snider, the bass guitarist and
background vocalist. He is one of the original members of the new line-up. "Jay
has been doing rock'n roll for about 15 years," Mark told me. "Becoming a
legend on the local scene, he gigged tirelessly over his career, but grew tired
of doing cover songs. Jay and I met when he was looking to throw himself into
something original and something he could call his own."
Many reviewers and interviewers who
watch a CARBON show or talk to the band try and
pigeon hole their music. But, are they an 'indie' band?
"We are, but I don't think that defines our sound" Mark
said. "I think our brand of music goes back to an earlier time in rock'n roll,
when songs were about things that people could relate to, and the performers
were people you could talk to. The sound is all over the board, from ballads to
heavy hitters." Although, if you're a shelf-stacker at HMV, desperately seeking
for a section for CARBON's CDs, Mark recommends
"Alternative or Pop Rock." Nevertheless, the substance of their material is
unique in today's market, if not only for the fact that their songs are
"vocally driven - we're a band about singing, not about screaming or smashing
you in the face with loud noise."
Indeed, CARBON's tunes are more akin to
lapping you in the face with loud noise - an altogether nicer sensation. This
lapping has led to a type of melody which they have self-proclaimed as
"radio-friendly."
"Asking me how I
achieved a radio-friendly sound is like asking an author how he writes his
books. Song-writing has always come naturally to me, and I never know exactly
what's going to happen when I sit down at the piano or with my guitar. I don't
write by formula - I write whatever comes into my head. It's a happy
coincidence that the songs CARBON performs happen
to be accessible to lots of people, and also happen to cross many stylistic
lines."
What are the band's
influences? "My own include U2, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Live, Radiohead, and
Pink Floyd. To name the influences of the rest of the band would take pages and
pages!"
I had to wonder if, as Mark is
the songwriter, he is fiercely protective of 'his' music? "You know what," Mark
said with a sly glint in his eye. "I'll tear Jay a second asshole if he f***s
up a riff!! Seriously, though, I've always wanted the guys in
CARBON to view the songs I've written as their
own, since, for all intents and purposes, each of us adds our little bit to it
when performing it. I've never been overly protective of my material. The
flipside, of course, is that they respect me as the writer, and honour my
wishes if I feel strongly about not changing something. We're all musicians,
and we all make mistakes sometimes, so it would be pompous of me to hammer on
them, when I make just as many mistakes."
It's not just CARBON's music that is
making a name for the band but their entertaining stage presence during live
shows. "People want something to watch, as well, and I've taken more lessons
from Bono in that category than anyone else. Connect with the people, share
your experiences, your jokes, your sorrows, and they will respect you, feel
your music more honestly, and keep coming out to see you." However, Would you
ever eat a live bat on stage, á la Ozzy Osbourne, if it aided your
band's success?
"If it helped our
career," Mark confessed, "I'd eat just about anything on stage. The only
important thing is getting to that next level, getting your music out there for
the world to hear - everything else becomes tolerable or secondary."
Yummy. Eating bats aside, their loyal fan base
of supporters has made things much easier for the group. "Rock'n roll is a
two-way street - we, the musicians, are on one side, and the audience, the
fans, are on the other. It doesn't work without the fans. Having such great
local fans makes everything much easier on stage - I appreciate them spending
their time with us, spending their money on us, and I'll do my best every night
on stage to keep them entertained and coming back for more!"
At the end of the day, CARBON are all about their music and not image; which
separates them from most of the competition. "I'm proud of the music we make.
And while I like to give the fans something to watch, I would prefer them to go
home singing our songs for days to come rather than talking about how I dressed
that night."
Their current album is
entitled StrangExit, e-mail markcarbon@hotmail.com for copies, which leads me
to finish up with this question: Mark, what's the Strangest Exit you've ever
experienced?
"Well, in 1997, I left my
girlfriend, my band, and shaved my head all in the same day. July 2nd it was.
It was the Strangest Exit I can recall, and was a transition from one thing to
another. And like all strange exits, you can never be sure once you've gone
through where you're going to end up."
See CARBON live in Ontario, Canada 2002
- February 8th at the Old Hesspler in Cambridge, February 9th at the Golden
Hammer in New Hamburg, February 11th at Club 360 in Toronto, and March 5th at
the Reverb in Toronto.
www.markcarbon.com Toby Osborne |
|
