“If it helped our career, I’d eat just about anything on stage,” states Mark Carbon, enigmatic front man of rockers Carbon.
Discussing fans, music and eating flying rodents, Carbon assures us that despite their inability to be categorized, you can be guaranteed that the band will exceed your expectations.
Based in Waterloo, the band has only been together for approximately one year, but they aren’t wasting any time getting the ball rolling. The Carbon press kit reads like a Hard Rock Hall of Fame.
The members have each been in the business for many years. States Carbon, “I’ve been at rock ‘n roll for seven 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.”
Radio-friendly in sound, Carbon’s tunes have been described as having your face lapped by loud noise—a strange, albeit nice sensation.
States Carbon, “Songwriting 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.”
However, it’s not just the music that’s making a name for the band. Their stage presence during live shows is becoming quite popular. “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…
“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.”
Although the live atmosphere is important to a Carbon show, at the end of the day, Carbon insists that the band is all about the music, not the image.
“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.”
