Carson - Gordon, Matt, Callum and Chris

LOCHABER ROCK BAND CARSON are currently flying the flag for the Highland’s strong indie rock scene.

In January 2003 they competed in the Daily Record’s search for the best Scottish guitar band and marked a year of hard work and commitment by winning the accolade in the final heat at the Garage in Glasgow. Their success in this competition demonstrated just how far the young band have come in their short existence.
 

CARSON are Gordon Skene (vocals and bass), Chris Pashley (guitar), Matthew Casey (guitar) and Callum Morrison (drums). The band formed eighteen months ago whilst studying at Fort William high school. Having been together for a number of months the boys were approached by a local management company who were intent on developing the potential of the band.

 This meant a rigorous rehearsal schedule and playing a massive number of gigs, starting out playing within the Lochaber area. The band made rapid progress in terms of gigging and within months they were driving themselves around the country playing over 100 gigs throughout the UK last year alone.
 In terms of motivation, Carson’s work ethic is comparable with the majority of signed acts touring the country today. They recorded their first ep “empty scream” at Core Studios in Glasgow last year and used this recording to their best advantage – the ep provided them with a calling card with which they could use to build a more stable fan-base around the country.

 In addition to the recording a T-shirt was designed so the band now had a reasonable merchandise presence resulting in the Carson “brand” becoming that little bit more prominent. On the past two occasions that I have been to gigs in Inverness I have seen the Carson T-shirt being sported by a member of the audience!!

 When you consider that the boys have been travelling around the country in a transit van for a year and their awareness of the business side of this industry, it is remarkable to think that they are only eighteen years of age. The amount of experience which has been gained already means that they posses a far more realistic attitude to the music industry.

 That’s not to say they lack in ambition. Since winning the Daily Record competition they have secured a management deal with one of the county’s leading firms. They are at present working with this new team to make “a plan of attack” for the coming period, in addition to a re-discovered need to rehearse. They see working on their sound and song writing as key in the next stage of their development.

So there you have it, just one of the Highland’s many successful indie rock acts. On a broader scale, the current indie scene in the Highlands is as strong as it has ever been. With a number of acts receiving national airplay, drawing London’s A&R into the area to check them out, and an increasingly healthy live music scene growing all the time, there seems to be a real belief and buzz around the region’s bands.
 

Carson Discography:
“Empty Scream”, CD ep (2002)
“A Late Attack of Conscience”, CD ep (2003)
 
© Lewis Gale, 2003