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Carbon Leaf: Band on the run - Carbon Leaf: Band On The Run |
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Written by Glenn BurnSilver, For NEXTnc
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Thursday, 28 September 2006 |
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Page 1 of 3
 What do R.E.M., U2, AC/DC, Counting Crows, Miles Davis and Morphine have in common?
These are just some of the diverse influences that gel in the slightly country, slightly pop rock Carbon Leaf. But don’t listen too hard for those bands. They’re in there — the occasional fuzzy guitar or jazzy bass run — but no one influence stands out.
“Oh, I suppose you can say ‘Learn To Fly’ has an R.E.M. influence because of the jangly guitar,” Carbon Leaf lead singer and principal songwriter Barry Privett said.
“But I think the thing that we struggle with and the thing that ultimately saves us is that we all have very different musical tastes. By having five guys that have different influences you go through the ringer of everyone having something to say, but you always get something a little different… something that’s fresh.”
 Carbon Leaf is banking on its new album, “Love Loss Hope Repeat,” being a fresh force in radio. The band packs a AAA radio wallop with Privett’s smooth lyrics, slightly gritty, yet accessible, edge and lyrics that penetrate rather than slip past like teflon-coated words.
Privett contends the album’s strength is on a hurry-up recording attitude that didn’t allow the band to overanalyze every aspect of every song. Rolling into a Nashville recording studio only a few weeks after completing a lengthy tour, Privett didn’t have a finished song.
“We made a little more of an urgent record,” Privett said. “We needed to be focused … and not get carried away with string sections and things like that. I’m a sucker for a string section, but things were urgent. Try one song, then move on to the next thing — keep the energy going. If you allowed us we’d take six months to make the record. This was all very last minute. It’s not ideal to do it that way, but it’s very exciting. It makes you very honest in your writing.”
Lyrical honesty drives Privett, who said he is unable to escape what life throws at him, and instead fires back with words. The title of the new album refers to, somewhat sardonically, the whirlwind the band has been on in recent years — playing at the American Music Awards, winning the Pontiac Vibe Sound Off and having its winning song, “The Boxer,” used in MTV and VH1 commercials. The band even appeared on the Dr. Phil show — as a musical guests, not for collective treatment. This also led to the band signing with Vanguard records after self-producing and releasing five albums.
“(The album) has a wide landscape feel to it … just an overall sense of getting overwhelmed with life — being a band on the road 300 days a year and trying to find a life in between those times,” he explained. “I’m trying to create balance when you know everything is so unbalanced.”
Back on the road again, however, Privett realizes this is where he should be.
“(We’re) trying to surrender to whatever balance we can find,” he said. “But we’re excited to have the new album out and move on, too.”
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
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I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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