Punk rock duo Carbon County recently unveiled a new music video, “Panic,” a track lifted from their latest self-titled debut album.
Featured in the coming-of-age film, Millennium Bugs, directed by Alejandro Montoya Marin, who also helmed the music video, starring Tommy Chong, “Panic” conveys the struggle of the movie’s protagonists’ attempts to find their place in today’s bedlam-like world.
Performing in gas masks and hazmat suits, one stygian black and one bone white, the pair are left in charge of a laundromat in the middle of an electrical storm. Despite the power outage, Carbon County manages to produce their own voltage as neon-laced colors materialize in the air and the milieu crackles with surging energy.
V13 spoke with Carbon County to discover more about the song’s inspiration, and how they got started in music.
What inspired your latest single/music video, “Panic?”
The director of the new film ‘Millennium Bugs’ approached us looking for a high-energy song for a hilarious scene in the film. Two lost friends drinking, driving, and snorting coke with a bad plan to bust up an ex’s vehicle. Of course, we had a track that was perfect for it. The ‘Panic’ part fit well because the film all takes place around Y2K and the misguided notion that the world would fall apart on New Year’s Eve 1999.
Who directed the video and where was it shot?
Alejandro Montoya Marin directed it. It was shot at Desi’s Coin Laundry in Hollywood California
Who is in Carbon County and which instrument do they play?
The band is:
Carbonite – Lead Lungs, Guitars, and Bass.
Torque – Keyboards, Squelch, and Chime.
Tommy Soho – Drums.
How did you get started in music?
We met at nursing school in the ‘90s – we just liked wearing the tight skirts and funny hats.
After they kicked us out, we needed a job, so we became the house band for Punk Rock Karaoke at Muldoon’s Bar in Maspeth Queens. We lost that gig after the owner was killed by the Russian mafia.
Then we decided to write some songs and make an album with the money Torque inherited when his aunt died. We still carry around her ashes to every gig!!
Did your sound evolve naturally, or did you deliberately push it in a certain direction?
Naturally. We studied the ‘do whatever the fuck you want and feels good’ method of music.
Let’s talk gear for a moment. Which guitars, amps, and pedals are you currently using and why?
OLD SHIT ONLY PLEASE
1964 Gibson SG.
1977 Moog synthesizer.
1963 Ludwig drum kit.
Are there any special recording techniques you use in the studio?
Paper towels’ tubes over the drum mics. Lead vocals record better when you’re naked. We mixed the album while eating Cheetos.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, or other media?
Our motto is ‘Try not to be fucking boring.’ And, ‘Would Joey Ramone like this?’
What can you share about your writing process?
Pretty evenly split between all the members: we all write music and lyrics.
Which artists in your opinion are killing it right now?
Live Skull, Avenged Sevenfold, Miley Cyrus, Queen Omega.
What can your fans look forward to over the next six months? Music videos? Live gigs?
We will do some gigs in LA and New York, maybe. Mostly we’re just plotting to make more videos in laundromats with insane people at the helm.