www.facebook.com/carboninemusic
From: Los Angeles, CA
Sounds like: Rock
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Carbonine” and is there any meaning behind it?
Alex: I started music when I was 4 and put into piano lessons by my parents. I was hooked from the start. I learned how to play guitar, bass, piano, and drums (drums obviously became my favorite instantly). I’ve played in many bands with friends. I’ve played in the school bands. I did the music for school musicals. I played talent shows, battle of the bands, and countless shows with Carbonine. I think our sound was developed by all of our different influences and key things we wanted to bring to the table. We all have a prominent love for rock, however there are many other genres we truly enjoy. Just a mixture of all our taste has led to our sound I believe. The name Carbonine was actually decided right before I joined the band so Mikey or Ian could better explain that one.
Ian: My parents listened to classic rock, metal, grunge, pop, disco, and pretty much everything you can think of. I remember my they had a VHS tape of ‘Headbangers Ball’ music videos and I just loved to watch that tape over and over again My Dad played got me started playing ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ and some Bad Company, while my brother showed me how to play simple songs from bands like Weezer and Staind. Later on, my God father got me into people like Rob Halford, Dokken, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Once I started getting into playing, my parents would buy me albums randomly and got me into bands such as Deep Purple, Cream, UFO, Black Sabbath, and Kiss. We really developed our sound by just listening to different types of music besides rock. We all share new music or new tracks we’ve never heard before. It’s really important for bands to grow by listening to new material and drawing from different genres. Mikey was the one who came up with the name with Carbonine. If I remember correctly, we picked it out of a hat! We wanted to find a name no one else had and did some serious research.
Mikey: We all each started pursuing music at different moments of our lives, safe to say that we all acquire a sharp ear for music much like everyone else, but at the same time we dedicated ourselves in promoting, crafting, and developing our sound which brings us to the next question... the development of our sound is simply a collaboration of different styles of the rock genre that span multiple eras/decades, and our name Carbonine, in actuality, is a meaningless term (according to English dictionary) ... I thought of the name. It was drawn out of a hat lol.
2. What do you want listeners to take away from your music?
Alex: I would like listeners just to feel good after they listen to our music. To make them feel pumped to do whatever they want to do and feel motivated. As a kid I always liked listening to energetic music because it always makes me feel unstoppable and excited to do things and I would hope to create music to give the listeners that same feeling and energy.
Ian: I want people to feel excited listening to our music. Maybe a little bit of head banging would be great too!?
Mikey: Passion.
3. What can people expect from your live show?
Alex: I think people can expect to feel the energy at our shows. We always play with a lot of energy and charisma that we try to pass to our fans. They can expect strong vocals, ripping guitar solos, and heavy drums. We always, no matter what, give 100% at our shows and surrender our self to the music and I think it is very noticeable and easy to pick up from watching us.
4. What's your favorite track to play live?
Alex: My favorite track to play live is ‘Broken.’ It starts and ends heavy and is a very powerful song. Especially at the end of the song there is a double bass part, which, from a drummer’s point of view, is always fun to exaggerate the hits and make them very “big” during a heavy part like that. Also the guitar solo and melody line, I always find myself singing them after the show.
Ian: I really like ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ because I change up the guitar solo every night and also ‘Broken’ just because of the sheer power in the song.
Mikey: It’s a tie actually between ‘Take It All the Way’ and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Alex: 3 bands I would love to tour with…. Well my favorite band is Motley Crue and I would love to tour with them, although that would be hard to do since they are in the middle of their final tour, but they are definitely #1 on my list. I would also love to tour with Rise Against because I love their music and the energy they give off. And finally, I would have to say The Red Hot Chili Peppers because they are another one of my all time favorite bands and I would love to meet and share a stage with those guys.
Ian: Deep Purple since they are my favorite band, Royal Blood because they are a new great band, and I think touring with Rush would be great since I would love to pick their brain and because they were first favorite band.
Mikey: Personally... Three Days Grace, Stone Sour, and Foo Fighters.
6. Any crazy show stories?
Alex: Uhhh crazy stories……. We’ve had some crazy stories after shows, but I’m not sure if they can be published! I guess one I could say but its not really crazy is we have been kicked out of a place for being too loud. Which I don’t understand why you would have a rock band play and then complain that they are too loud, and we have also been kicked out for some other reasons I don’t think I could say.
7. What’s your take on the current state of rock?
Alex: I’m not sure if I like the current state of rock. I do like some of the bands that are new and coming out now but not all of them. I personally think the category of rock is getting blurred to a point I’m not to fond of, but that is my personal opinion. I’m hoping with Carbonine we can bring back good, energetic rock n roll. I think music is about to have a big change and it’s going to be interesting to see what that is.
Ian: I think the local scene is trying to get back on its feet, but for the most part, it’s a dying breed. New bands are also not helping the situation by doing what’s already been done instead of trying to create a new sound. We hope we can be one of the new bands that help bring the rock scene back together.
Mikey: .....Um, there’s a current state of rock? Where!? Tell me and I’ll be there when it happens. The current state of rock is hoping for a revamp and who knows when that'll take place.
8. What’s the current music scene like there in California both locally and state wide?
Alex: From my personal experience, I see the scene out in California for the local bands at least are mostly hardcore/ metal bands. Out of all the shows I have played with Carbonine, that is the most prominent style that I see. Especially living in LA everybody and their brother are in a band and most of those bands are metal. Although not all, there are some other bands we will come across every once in a while that are a rock n’ roll band. From going on tour through California I have noticed the same thing pretty much. Most of the local and up and coming bands are metal.
Ian: There are way too many bands in LA. Everyone is still coming out here because of Hollywood, but the venues are closing down over here and are not helping themselves because of the all the pre sale shows that go on every night on the Sunset Strip. It also doesn’t help that people are not going to shows like they used to and are not supporting the local music scene. Outside of LA isn’t so bad. We have toured up in Northern California and really enjoyed playing Santa Barbara and San Jose. It all really depends on where you’re playing at and the band you’re hooking up with.
Mikey: There’s a lot of support with in the big regions locally between bands teaming up locally, state wide between us and other bands is a tad limited.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
Alex: My take on illegal downloading is I honestly don’t really mind it. I mean yes it is making it a lot more difficult for artists to make money and making actual CD albums a thing of the past, it does have its advantages. For instance if a fan wants to listen to our music, but can’t afford our album they can just download it off the internet and get it instantly. It can give the opportunity for much more immediate exposure. We live in an age now where almost everything is online and there is absolutely no changing that. So in a sense illegally downloading music for free was inevitable. It would be very nice for everybody to pay the $1 download fee, but let’s face it…. That is not going to happen. So since it is something that is not changing, I think it’s a wise decision to find the positives in it, instead of dwelling on what is out of our hands. It also can give the artist a better look as to what cities and counties listen to them most and base tour off of that to make them more successful.
Ian: I’m not a fan of illegal downloading, but understand that’s been the new business model of music. Until someone does something about it, it’s always going to be there. People do have to remember though that if you’re not buying music, bands and artists are going to charge more for ticket sales. So buy albums!
Mikey: Downloading legally I find is okay, as long as your getting back to the artist, downloading illegally is bullshit, I mean the least you can do is listen to the material first maybe on iTunes or a whole song on YouTube first, then go out and buy it on the internet or at the store like a normal human fan of music.
10. What’s next for Carbonine?
Alex: We are going to be going into the studio in about a month to start recording some new music that we can release. We are playing shows still around LA, and we have another tour coming up around the new-year along with some other bigger plans in the works!
11. Any shoutouts?
Alex: I would like to give a shout out to our manager Jason Lottmann. You’ve made a lot of things possible that we dreamed of having as an up and coming band and made the experience very fun itself. I would also like to give a shout out to Amer Malas, our investor/ executive producer. You gave us the financial backing that we needed to get to where we are now. Honestly, without you we wouldn’t be at this level. I want to thank you too for all the advice you have given us as a band allowing us to make the best decisions. You are the man!
Ian: Shout out to my parents, Regina, Eric, our manager Jason, Amer for helping us out and making things happen, and all those still supporting the scene. Keep it alive!
Mikey: Shout out to Three Days Grace, Stone Sour, and Foo Fighters ... you guys need openers?
