An Interview With Carter Brady
One of the new singles released from Carter Brady dubbed "A Snowball's Chance In Hell" is a catchy pop oriented indie-rock tune that gives a little Weezer vibe and hooks you in quickly as it builds to its massive chorus.
The anthemic feeling single is colorful and vibrant as it rocks on with true radio style.
There is always something new with each verse added on to keep its momentum going although the song is already bursting with energy.
Layered guitars surround you and you get an almost beach style rock at times along with its fuzztone garage aesthetic.
You can tell this was a fun song to create and the riff is addicting and when the chorus comes in it goes to a bright half time style and the melody is really memorable to say the least.
The track is paving the way for another upcoming single called "Chasing Vampires" and the artist already has quite a catalog available to stream everywhere.
With such a killer single we wanted to sit down with Brady to talk about where the song came from and what's next for him.
Here's what happened.
TSWS: Okay so let's start with "A Snowball's Chance In Hell". This track is a very
catchy pop rock tune with garage undertones and even pop-punk and
grunge feeling at times. Where did this track come from?
Carter: I started working on this one last December, and like most songs I write they tend to
come out of nowhere. I usually start a song with a guitar riff, and this one was no
exception. I had been experimenting with different guitar tones and patterns and found
this really cool octave rhythm progression that almost reminded me of a Smashing
Pumpkins Siamese Dream sound. From there I started building it and working out the
different instrumental parts and sections in my head, and by the time that was done I
started to work on a melody and the lyrics. I wanted lyrics people could follow along to
and actually listen to. I didn’t want them to mean nothing. I am someone who loves a big
sound, particularly in the guitars, so that’s what I did. I’ve come to appreciate a more
clean tone and style as well, and you can definitely hear that in the very beginning and
in the breakdown section with just the main guitar riff. I overdubbed about 10 guitar
parts in various sections of the song to really get that punchy and powerful rock sound,
so that’s where the more grungy sound comes from I guess.
TSWS: Who are your biggest musical influences really? Who inspired you to do
this?
Carter: I have always been and still am a huge Beatles fan. I grew up going to the Beatles Fest
every year with my Dad in some random hotel in Jersey, and would play their music in
the car constantly. My second biggest influence would have to be Foo Fighters,
because Dave Grohl is probably my biggest idol and one of my favorite musicians. I
definitely spent my fair share listening to all of the classic rock stuff like Zeppelin,
ACDC, the Stones, etc. but over time I kind of grew out of that early obsession and
moved into more 80’s and 90’s alternative and also the modern rock stuff like Green
day, Cage the Elephant and many others. Despite my big rock influences, besides
country and mumble rap I am someone who likes a wide variety of genres and styles,
including jazz, traditional blues, and even lofi.
TSWS: How did this all start for you?
Carter: I started playing guitar when I was 7, so like the end of first grade. My parents thought it
would be a great hobby to try out, and asked my elementary school teacher, Eric Katz, if
he could teach me guitar. He is someone that really inspired and fueled my love of
music and to keep going with it, and he also discovered that I have perfect pitch, the
ability to identify notes without any sort of reference pitch or tonal context. By 4th grade
I switched teachers to Mark Sidgwick, who’s a very accomplished studio musician from
England who played on the Ramones’ later album Brain Drain and in some other classic
alternative bands. He was the one that taught me the pentatonic scales, how to
improvise over a rock song, and got me in front of a live audience to perform my first
official gig with his adult band. From there, I played in many bands and groups
throughout my time in Pelham and played in over 30 different local shows and
fundraisers across town that he organized. The summer after eighth grade I started
taking lessons with classical guitar virtuoso Peter Press and learned memory pieces of
gypsy jazz, blues, etc. He really began my love and interest for jazz, and is one of the
reasons why I stuck with music in general.
TSWS: Your upcoming release "Chasing Vampires" is dropping soon as well right?
Carter: Yes! That’s coming out this Friday, December 18th so I would love you to download,
stream it and follow my Spotify artist page which is just called Carter Brady. If you don’t
have Spotify then It will be available on all other major streaming platforms like Apple
Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, YouTube, etc. I think you’ll really dig this one though.
Like A Snowball’s Chance in Hell, this one was based off of a similar guitar riff that I did
that cool octave thing with. It’s a bit more unique I think and has a lot of cool musical
elements that are quite different but manage to connect together. I think it’s the kind of
song that’s built off of arrangements, meaning the verse is very different from the bridge
and the bridge is different from the chorus and so on. I really do think that this is by far
the best song that I’ve ever written, recorded, and produced, and as someone who
listens to a lot of the new indie rock like Soccer Mommy and Snail Mail I think that it
really holds its own with those kinds of songs that get the 10 million streams on Spotify
or significant radio play.
TSWS: What's that one about?
Carter: You probably will laugh and not take me seriously, but believe it or not this song, mostly
the lyrics, came about after I had watched a Star Wars Rebels episode. I am a huge
Star Wars fan, and it takes a story from Star Wars based on two lovers who can't be
together because of the way things are, but someone helps them settle their past
differences and mends their relationship. The “I” is sort of misleading, since it sounds
like they are the person who is speaking to their lover, but also the one mediating the
relationship. But I guess I made it that way so it was more general and to show the
lyrics were more of an aesthetic than a reality.
TSWS: You've got a lot of great releases under your belt. What kind of advice
would you give to other artists trying to get head out there?
Carter: As someone who has released over 5 albums and several singles and EPs from
different bands and my own solo work, I always encourage people to try recording and
see where it goes. In this day in age, releasing imperfect material is not frowned upon
like it used to be. Not that I can relate since I’m only 22 and wasn’t around during that
time. But I consider myself someone who is very knowledgeable about the music
industry and the landscape of different decades of music. Therefore, my advice would
just be to stop thinking about what you’re going to produce, write or whatever and just
do it. Since I am mostly doing this as a serious hobby, I care less about it all and just
make and release music that I enjoy and am proud to share with people. While I have
learned my lesson, from now on I have told myself I am going to try to focus on making
myself known more as an indie rock artist that likes catchy melodies, intimate vocals,
and punchy and powerful guitars and drum sounds.
TSWS: What's next for you as an artist?
Carter: Like I said, music for me has always been a serious hobby, so even though it would be
cool to become indie famous and get to tour and be under a label, I probably will go to
graduate school and/or find a steadier job in digital media or something. However,
because we are in trying times and I have been working a couple remote contract video
and music jobs, I have had more time to spend making music. Because of this, I have
been and will continue to invest in promoting and marketing my single and upcoming
album for this next year and see where it goes. I have recently been hustling and trying
to get the word out about my single Chasing Vampires as much as possible, since I
know it has great potential and want it to get the maximum amount of exposure and see
it do well on the indie scale. Even though I’m not going to take it professional, it would
still be cool to get some recognition for all the years I have put the work in and also a
potential sync licensing deal with an agency or supervisor that could reel in some
royalties for years to come.
TSWS: What does someone like you do when you're NOT working on music?
Carter: Since high school, I have been an avid basketball dunker, and love to make videos of
my friends and I dunking. That’s what inspired my love for video editing, and since then
I created my own video production business making highlight tapes for high school and
college athletes and some of the biggest names in sports. I also have three siblings so I
have spent a lot of time with them especially during the pandemic. Because music is not
my full time job, I mentioned I have been working locally for a music management
company, and also make highlight videos for the Furman Men’s Basketball Team
remotely. I also worked a few games this past fall for the Yankees Entertainment and
Sports (YES) Network, which I have been doing periodically since the end of my
freshman year of college.
TSWS: Before we go, what do you want to say to fans?
Carter: To the fans that have supported me since the very beginning and over the years, I just
want to say thank you for sticking with me and for caring about my music and wanting
me to succeed. It is never too late to start listening, and while I firmly believe that there
is always going to be someone better than you at something and there are so many
great musicians and artists out there, I do think that I have many unique and stylistic
traits that separate me from a lot of artists. I encourage you to tell your family and
friends to check out my artist page called Carter Brady on Spotify, Apple Music,
YouTube, and other sites where my music is on. Once again, my new single Chasing
Vampires is out this Friday, December 18th so please download, stream, and share it
with family and friends, work colleagues, and anyone else who you think might enjoy
checking it out. If you are someone who likes the indie rock genre, it looks like you are
about to have a new artist to listen to!