Carter Brady
Carter Brady is a NY-based musician and singer-songwriter whose love of performing is relentless. There is just something about his musicianship & ability to take any kind of music & naturally be able to do something unique with it.
Having been fortunate enough to have recorded with & performed in over 10 different bands & ensembles over the past decade, he has managed to find success in the indie music world. His new indie rock single "Chasing Vampires" released December 18th has the potential to be a big hit and is the foreshadowing of an upcoming indie rock album he will be releasing this summer. One of Carter's high school alt-rock groups released a self-titled EP, The Waves EP, in Spring 2016, which received great feedback, including numerous “Top New Music” accolades from the blogosphere. He has since formed, recorded, & performed live in various bands in college like rock group Duck Pond & acoustic rock project The Two Guys Neighborhood. He has been widely known for his versatility in a wide variety of instruments & styles, ranging from all forms of rock, blues, jazz, & recently LoFi with his new side project North Village.
Carter has received positive feedback from artists like William Goldsmith of Foo Fighters & Sunny Day Real Estate, Joey Pecoraro & Quinn Sullivan, & has worked with some of the best musicians & artists in music, ranging from a long list of names such as Mark White of Spin Doctors, Antonio Ciacca, Steve Watson, Peter Press, Mark Saunders, Mark Sidgwick, Richie Scarlet, & many others.
For fans who have never heard your music, can you pick three words to describe it?! If three words just aren't enough then tell us more!!
Riffy, Loud, and Smooth. Most of my songs are based around guitar riffs I write and come up with, and people tend to really like the guitar sounds I put together. I often record multiple lead and rhythm guitar parts for a song, so there is often a lot going on that helps to give the songs variety, texture, and a bigger sound. I chose loud because while I try to keep myself thinking about the recent modern indie rock and alternative music that’s being released, I always will love that vintage/retro 90’s rock sound that can at times have guitars and drums that sound super massive. Lastly, I chose smooth because even though I like rock music with gritty and high register male and female vocals, I was born with a more mellow and gentle sounding voice. I’ve definitely worked on widening my range from bass to tenor and nailing the pitch when I record and perform, but I’ve also come to learn how to write songs that best fit my vocal range. I sometimes sing with a softer dynamic, and other times like in a chorus or at the end I’ll go up an octave and wail it.
What is your favorite part about being an artist? Is it songwriting, performing, recording, something else?) Tell us why.
I would say my favorite part has always been performing, since there’s just something about getting up on stage or playing at a venue and sharing what you love to play with other people. I started performing when I was 11, so besides school town meeting in 4th grade and guitar lessons it was one of the first things I ever did musically. I’ll always appreciate that aspect of playing, and my guitar teacher at the time got me to perform an instrumental cover of “Something” by The Beatles with his adult band, which for me was very exciting and a great experience right off the bat. I got into songwriting and recording when I was 16, which became a new obsession and passion I still to this day am exploring and experimenting with. While I’d rank this part of being an artist higher, this process is mostly done by myself (unless I’m recording with a band) so it’s less social and interactive and I’ve always been more fond of getting to work with other people. There’s definitely something to be said, however, about perfecting your own solo stuff when you know what you want something to sound like, which is sort of the case with the stuff I’ve been working on lately.
Can you tell us what being in the recording studio is like for you?
Being in the studio is always a different experience for me. I am fortunate enough to have my own basement music room in my family’s house to record and practice in. For my solo material, I typically lay down the guitars, bass, and vocals in my music room since I have all the equipment I need, not to mention I save a good bit of money from having to pay for studio time elsewhere. I almost always record drums, however, in an outside studio, which I always enjoy doing because it’s how musicians used to always do it when people didn’t have access to the new recording technology we now have on our laptops with programs like Logic Pro and ProTools. It’s always fun to go to different studios because each is a different experience and environment. It’s also fun to hear from producers the people that have recorded in the spaces that you are about to record in. Being from right outside New York City, I’ve done a lot of my recording at places like the late ACME Recording Studios in Mamaroneck, NY, as well as The Loft Recording Studios in Bronxville, NY and Sit N Spin Studios in Greenville, SC. All great studios and have many fond memories from each.
Okay, this a fun question. When you are not doing music, what else do you enjoy doing?
I am an avid basketball dunker, which might surprise some people if they don’t know me. Starting in high school, I began to train myself how to dunk a basketball, and would do leg workouts to increase my vertical. By junior year, I was able to throw it down in the local gym. One of my friends had the idea to start filming ourselves on our phones dunking and make videos out of it to post onto YouTube. This sparked my love for video editing, which to this day I am pursuing in addition to my music stuff. I always love spending time with family and friends, playing pickup basketball, and am a huge vinyl and lego collector (the lego collecting is much less recent).
Who do you admire most in the music scene today and why?
As far as recently, I definitely admire Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy and what they have been able to accomplish in the lofi indie rock/neo-grunge genre, and I think they deserve even more popularity than they have gotten already. Both Lindsey Jordan and Sophie Allison are awesome singers with amazing ability for melody and writing familiar but unique chord progressions. They created a name (an alias really) for themselves and were able to make their music stand out, which I really respect in today’s age where less people are expecting new and unique rock music and listen to more mainstream pop stuff.
Can you tell us what song you've written that is the most emotional and describe the meaning behind it?
I hate to not answer the question but I’d probably say whichever song that I’m getting into at that moment in time, since a lot of times it changes and one song won’t feel as emotional as it did before. I would say, however, that my songs sound more emotional than they really are, since I don’t always write lyrics with direct meanings behind them. There is definitely a feeling and vibe that matches the instrumentals, and I usually try to write melodies and lyrics that sound good with the music rather than write for meaning and significance. If it happens though it’s a cool experience and I will try to come up with some sort of meaning to tell people. If I am stumped on what to write about I’ll usually just make up a fake love story or vague account of something or phrases that sounds good next to each other and piece it all together.
Are you working on any new material right now or what's in the works for the upcoming year?
As a matter of fact, yes! I am in the process of finishing up an album of 12 songs that I am aiming to have released by mid to late July, and if not for sure later this summer. I will be moving to Nashville in early August for grad school and will be looking to perform at some local venues and get tapped into the music scene there. Hoping to be able to promote the new album and find a band to play with and perform with when I have time outside of school.
Tell us where fans can access your music.
People can listen to my music via a number of streaming platforms, but the two that most people use are Spotify and Apple Music, which I’ve provided links to below: