Three brothers from Houston are living the dream of writing and recording music together. They say everything is BIGGER in Texas and so Chase, Drew & Seth certainly hope to make a HUGE impact on the music scene. The name of their band is Carthy and their sound is very fresh & lively with Indie Rock Pop as the main course to go along with some light blues & folk on the side. Now smile and say cheese…OR Carthy for that matter.
J Rae: Three brothers from Houston, Texas doing what they love playing music together; does it get any better than that?
Carthy: (Drew) No, my man J Rae, it does not…
J Rae: Where did the name Carthy come from?
Carthy: (Chase) Carthy was spawned by several different factors that I’m not sure could ever be reproduced. However, we had in mind that we wanted to use a single letter out of each of the names and make a band name out of that… And it also had to end with an “EE” sound, that way it would be difficult to say without smiling. You know, if you can make someone smile, that’s what it’s all about.
J Rae: When did you decide that forming a group was the right choice and in the cards?
Carthy: (Drew) Honestly, we knew that Chase, our lead guitarist, had something special. As brothers, there was no way that we were going to let him be famous without us. In an effort to keep up with big bro, I started writing songs that would make me indispensable to the band, while Seth knew we needed a bass player, so he literally started learning bass two weeks before our first show. Was the time, “right?” Probably not. In fact, it was a terrible time to start the band. But that’s how cards work, isn’t it? Ya’ gotta’ love the game and play the hand you’re dealt.
J Rae: When it comes to writing and recording music how do you guys work that out and who does what? Do you have a studio you record & practice in or maybe more of a garage band thing?
Carthy: (Chase) Well, as far as writing and recording is concerned, that’s really a group effort. Drew or Seth might bring me a snippet of this or that and we’ll rate it on a scale of 1-10. If we all like it, it goes down as a “to record”. If not, we’ll tear it apart somewhat ruthlessly and leave it to the writer to come back with something that isn’t horrible. Which might be a little harsh, but it keeps us real and it keeps up the level of quality that we’re able to produce. Whoever writes the song, gets to sing the song, that’s how we arrange that. As far as practice goes, that happens wherever we are at any given time… That’s one thing nice about being brothers.
J Rae: Do you like performing in front of family & friends or do you prefer random strangers at indoor and outdoor venues?
Carthy: (Seth) Random strangers, what are you talking about? Everyone who comes to our concert is our best friend. Our very first show was packed with friends and family, which was nice because everybody was going crazy no matter how many mistakes we made. It was our first show so naturally we made some mistakes. So, it is nice to have the unconditional support of friends and family.
J Rae: So Chase, I read that you’re easily entertained and wondering if you could think of a specific moment in time when you were entertained beyond belief?
Carthy (Chase): One time, I stepped into the shower when my foot slipped and sounded just like a dolphin… That kept me solidly entertained for a good couple of weeks.
J Rae: Next question is to Drew who likes to drink cream soda with jelly beans. Jelly beans and cream soda is a pretty unique combo; how did that come about? Easter will never be the same again!
“Marie”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqQqnsYYe7c
Carthy (Drew): Cream Soda is physical proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy… Jelly Beans are heaven incarnate. It only makes sense that they would go together! Really, though, that combo is an exaggeration that Chase came up with in an effort to explain how weird I am… Honestly, I’m flattered.
(Chase) … It’s not an exaggeration
J Rae: And last but not least we have Seth who apparently likes to laugh at his own jokes. Don’t feel bad because I do the same thing myself sometimes and at least someone thinks it’s funny! What was the funniest joke you ever told that made you laugh so hard you nearly passed out? Ever think of doing stand-up?
Carthy (Seth): My jokes aren’t funny. If I did stand up I’d be homeless… I just laughed at that.
J Rae: So I listened to your three songs on Soundcloud and I have to say I really liked what I heard! The first track, “Jam and Bread”, is a cool, bluesy rocker that serves as a fun jam session between the three of you and then you have the song “Marie” that is lyrically rich with a nice acoustic folk sound. “Marie” also has excellent harmonies & melodies and I’d like to know how this song came about originally? And just who is this “Marie” person?
Carthy: (Drew) I wrote the guitar riff for “Jam and Bread” around midnight the day after I did poorly on my college Algebra exam. The original title of the song was, “Light Night Post Math Midterm Blues.” When Chase uploaded it he decided to shorten the title to simply, “Jam and Bread,” which rolls off the tongue a bit better, I think. When I wrote “Marie”, I felt less like a songwriter and more like a lucky man who stumped upon something wonderful. I feel like the words wrote themselves, and the guitar chose which chords it wanted to play. As to who Marie is, it is a secret. ;-)
J Rae: Your third track, “On Fire”, definitely lives up to its title because this song is burning with potential! “On Fire” is rock-driven all the way and displays an overload of excitement! This Rock number is one single that Carthy should be proud of and you guys should definitely run with it! Any heavy promotion for “On Fire” as far as radio goes? Do you feel this song could become a fan favorite and do you also think that this could be THE ONE to put you over the top? Could we see “On Fire” blazing up the charts in the very near future?
Carthy: (Chase) Well we’re proud to say that we have “On Fire” streaming on Skope Radio right now, as well as a few other online radio platforms including Spotify. Those are going well. It’s gotten quite a few plays and we’re very happy with the audience reaction on that one. As far as putting us over the top is concerned, we have no idea, we’re really just happy to have to gotten to create it. We’ll leave it to the world to decide where they want to take it, we’re just glad to have delivered it.
https://soundcloud.com/carthymusic
http://facebook.com/carthymusic
By Jimmy Rae (jrae2@att.net)
