Former Marathon frontman Chuck Carrier's solo debut. A layered, lyrical alt-rock record that demands headphone listening.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Album Rock, ROCK: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock



Details:
Chuck Carrier decided to put some risk back into his life. Playing with his former band Marathon had run its course - it was time for a change. So he sat down at his kitchen table and began writing what would become his first solo album, âSongs For 27.â

As he did so, Carrier concluded that his âperpetual adolescence,â as he puts it, was counter-productive. âThis record is about coming to terms with being an adult,â he says. But the journey to this cathartic stage of maturity fleshes out the story of the album.

Carrier was raised as the proverbial military kid with the kind of upbringing that can supply a wealth of experience. Born in Guam and growing up in such diverse cities as Boston, Abilene, and Washington D.C., he was exposed to a wide variety of environments and culture. This exposure certainly manifests itself today in Chuckâs image-rich, descriptive songwriting. Aside from the traveling around, Carrierâs home-life was also very influential. His father was a musician who left guitars lying all over the house. Chuck, naturally, started picking them up. His older brother Tom brought home albums by English Beat, Police and U2, among many others, making sure that his young sibling had the right sort of perspective to fashion his taste.

However, Chuckâs college stint in Gainesville, FL really began molding him as a musician. The fact that he played bars and frat houses incessantly during those heady times (when he could have just been enjoying the fruits of other peopleâs labors) says a lot about his sheer dogged determination to be noticed and appreciated. Carrier remembers learning âhow to read a room, and how to control its energyâ - a skill which is not easily mastered, but imperative for any successful touring musician. During this period, he even managed to record a rudimentary album which he financed himself with the proceeds from his many gigs.

Following graduation, Chuck moved to Atlanta where he formed the band Marathon. In its two-year existence, Marathon succeeded in attracting quite a bit of attention. The band released one album titled âThe Year of Youâ, a collection of powerful songs all written by Carrier. Touring constantly (with some very established acts), Marathon sold over 4000 CDâs independently and was voted Atlantaâs Best Alterna-Pop band at the Atlanta Local Music Awards (ALMAs) in the spring of 2002. However, the constraints of being in a band started to limit Carrierâs growth as a musician and a songwriter. With the desire to carve his own path becoming irresistible, Chuck began the whirlwind path of writing and recording âSongs For 27â.

âSongs For 27,â was written in a month and recorded in a mere 12 days with producer Grey Garner at Nashvilleâs Velvet Studios. âThis is not a collection of random songs,â he says. This is very personal, introspective music, unlike Marathonâs âabstract little stories,â as he describes them. âOver-thinking a record can suck the life out of it,â he adds, referring to the straightforward and spontaneous nature of his new music. âThis is the most recklessly creative thing Iâve ever done.â