Fist Pump, Punk Rock with Carpet Ride and Metromix
Fist Pump, Fist Pump, Fist Pump – PUNK ROCK! No, this isn’t summertime on the Jersey Shore; this is Carpet Ride. These fist pumping, punk rockers from the Jersey Shore took the crown for October in the Metromix BreakThru Band Competition and are now due up in the finals in March. Up for grabs is a tasty $30,000 prize package including 80 hours of studio time, a merch package, a professional PR campaign, an Amp package, a live show at The Brighton Bar and a ton of other emerging band essentials.
Tri State got hold of Carpet Ride’s front man, Tommy, to chat a little about Carpet Ride, the Jersey Shore and of course Fist Pumping Punk Rock.
Not typically the type of band to play to bars, (where you would be most likely to encounter the fist pump) Carpet Ride almost passed on Metromixes’s contest. You see, Carpet Ride has that fun carefree attitude many children of the 90’s enjoyed so much while listening to Blink 182 or New Found Glory. Mainly playing rec-halls and youth centers; Carpet Ride is a band for the “13 – 14 year old with relationship issues,” as Tommy explained.
Going from a packed gymnasium of angsty pre-pubescent teens to a bar scene is obviously a big step. “We were apprehensive but decided to enter anyway.”
Reaching out to their fan base; Carpet Ride was able to drum up support and draw the crowds out for the Metromix show down. “I have to give it up for our fans. They came out in a big way to support us. Not just by voting once but by getting on the horn and letting their friends know, too.”
Now, as this group of high school buddies turned musicians finds themselves in the finals, the time has come to step it up one more notch. With 80 hrs of studio time on the line, Tommy knows the prize wont come easy: “A lot of these bands have much longer resumes than us and are probably better musicians, but we want it bad and are going to give it everything.”
With a ton of new material on the table ready be laid down, Tommy was very clear how much the prize would mean to him and the band. “We have so much stuff ready to get down but with two of us in college and one working full-time, the funds are not there to afford it. This prize would mean so much to us… we may not be the tightest or most experienced band but we are going to give it 115%.”
Carpet Ride knows who they are and exactly where they are going. Be sure to catch their set, full of fist pumps, trampolines, punk rock and angst during the finals in March at the Brighton Bar.
Read up on the contest and check out the other bands on the BreakThru Contest’s webpage.
