Before the members of Carbon Leaf left Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, they all knew they wanted to play music full time after performing a few gigs at their school. Once they graduated, they began to tour as a rock band and eventually took the next step by recording music.

Lead singer and guitarist Barry Privett recently spoke to me while on tour in Florida about the music industry and how the group has stayed together for more than 15 years.

Carbon Leaf

Jeff Boyce: So were you all trying to be the next big band or like a specific band in particular or did you just want to go out with your own style?
Barry Privett: Well, we didn’t have any aspirations one way or the other and as far as that went, we were just trying to write what we heard and it really didn’t dawn on us as far as coming up with our own sound and that took some time to kind of develop, so we just started playing covers that we knew and then we gradually started playing and then wrote some songs, and a lot of them were horrible and it just took us several years to find our footing.

So how does it feel to be in the same band for more than 15 years?
(laughs) As long as there’s progress and growth and you’re working towards something that continues to evolve and move forward, it’s a satisfying process. When things get stagnant is when you really start getting frustrated and kind of analyze what needs to be changed. It definitely has been an art and always a struggle to get the music out there, and 99% of the bands don’t make it. And it’s not like we had wild success or are some rich rock band that doesn’t have to work every day. To make it work, you got to commit and everything that you are to it. Otherwise it will fall.

Yes. Speaking of success, everyone has their own beliefs of success, what does that mean to you?
For us to stay together and be friends, and be able to work from that foundation, is first and foremost, and for us to have a fan base that we can rely on to come see us for live shows. And that’s really how a band’s going to survive in the future, especially with the recording industry changing the way it is, and to get out of the road and have a fan base that supports you is really the key. So that’s what we’re focusing on, and if we can have that and build that, then that’s what we consider a success, and certainly continue to write music that we believe in and wanting to play night after night is definitely on the creative side that is a priority, so if we can do those two things in tandem, be able to write and be able to have people able to support it, then that’s success for us.

Overall, you all believe that you have been successful with your career, correct?
We’ve been successful in the fact that we stayed together and we’ve made it work beyond that first wave or two of discouragement that most bands get when they realize that it’s not going to be an overnight rich and famous thing. And we certainly went through those feelings that this going to take a steady growth approach and you can’t bank on anything or anyone else to do it for you, and we’ve been through several managers, and now we’re self-managed until someone can come along and really provide us something that’s worth making a $100-150,000 in commissions, is not worth it. We can do the work, that’s how we’ve started and that’s how we can end. And as long as have the autonomy, then that alone is successful. Now, there’s certainly several levels of success that we work towards and certainly we’re trying to work towards the next level which is getting more exposure and a bigger fan base, and everything else will take care of itself really.

If you all could start all over again as a band, would you rather be recognized in small venues or on national events such as the American Music Awards and American Idol and why?
Well, we’ve done some of that stuff. I mean, we won an American Music Award as an independent band back in 2002, and got to perform at the AMAs and we were unsigned, so it was kind of a big deal then, and it’s kind of at the start where it was right before reality TV and it was right before the American Idol stuff. So we kind of got a taste of that before we really knew it was going to be a successful structure for a lot of people, and once reality TV hit, then it became an also ran, but the thing about that stuff is, it is kind of fleeting, and some of the artists have had big success with that, but many have not and, again, you can’t guarantee that. I don’t think I would want that kind of format because we’re not that kind of band to just kind of be set up like a machine and market it to people and have it consumed and there’s really nothing in between. So, I really feel like for the long haul, doing things that might take longer will build a more solid relationship with your fan base, much more durable than cashing in, but it’s a tough thing.

I see. Opening for musicians such as the Dave Matthews Band and Jason Mraz must have been interesting. Are there any other artists you all wish to open up for in the future?
I don’t know, people always ask that, and we never have a good answer. Man, we’ve gotten in front of some good band’s audience before, and it’s fine and it’s certainly has helped build the base and it’s a good part of you’re success matrix and to get in front of new people. You can’t go around being an opening band all your life, and when we realized that wasn’t the keyness to getting there, so to speak, then that’s when you really start striking out on your own and getting to cities on your own and building things that way. I don’t really have a list of bands I’m vying to open for, there’s certainly tons of great artists out there. A lot of that stuff gets so frustrating and political in really how labels trading favors and management companies trading favors. A lot of it really comes down to just meeting other bands and really kind of band-to-band creating this relationship and that kind of stuff takes some time.

Your album Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat is a wonderful effort. Do you all feel satisfied with this album and why?
I’m half-satisfied with it, frankly, I think it’s a good first draft, and any musician will tell you that about their albums, that it’s never quite done, but we were so under the gun to get in and record it that I would’ve liked a few more weeks. I think we needed a few more weeks to step back and make things a little bit more like we had originally envisioned and it got to be pretty intense just as far as the schedule and we kind of vowed that we weren’t’ going to just go in and just call it done even if we were out of time. We made the record that we had to make in the time that we did, but I think having a little bit more time and going in a little bit more prepared is where it needs to be, and it was a good exercise for us in kind of learning our limitations and almost kind of like a successful failure in some respects. And we kind of learned what we like to do and what we do to it and how we wanted to approach things. I like it O.K., but I wish we had more time to dial in a few things.

Clearly, some of the songs like “Learn To Fly,” “Block of Wood,” and “Under the Fire” are highlights. If you could pick just one track that best describes the album, what would that track be?
One track to describe the album? Well, on the lighthearted side, I’d say “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat,” and on the heavier side, I’d say “The War was in Color” because they both deal with themes of renewal and really the process of going through this cycle almost in a humorous way how life kind of puts you through this ringer, and you can either avoid life in order to keep from pain or you can kind of embrace the chaos and go through those things that create pain, but in the process that they give you, they give you kind of life-building wisdom. So, I’d say there are just songs on kind of either side of the spectrum that kind of encapsulate what the whole album is about, the cycle that you’re supposed to grow from.

Yes. What one advice can you give collectively to other aspiring musicians out there?
What other advice?

Yes.
To become a doctor (laughs). Other than that, I’d say, learn to play your instrument, learn to study what other people have done, but work every day kind of finding your own voice and, to work with a group, you have to realize that this is a group, and you can’t just ignore the fact that it’s a collaboration and that everyone’s got to be heard and really, just learn how to do things on your own, and as a business, don’t ignore the business side of the band. There are a lot of bands that are sold because all they really want to care about is the music side, but they don’t really know how to govern themselves as a business, and it gets to be a business and, you’re either going to fall apart or you’re going to rely on other people to try make things happen for you. If you don’t really know what you’re doing, then it’s going to be a waste of time.

Photo Credit: J Tolson

Good advice. So what are your plans for the coming year? Are you all working on a new record?
Yeah, we’re working right now, and hopefully go into the studio in late winter here and hope we have something within the year. But again we’re just going to write and not really schedule studio time until we’re satisfied because a lot of times when you’re setting up a record, there’s a lot more involvement then just kind of going in recording and then when it’s done you say, “OK, well let’s release it. Your own label they want to have at least six months by the time the record’s done to set this thing up in stores and with the press and it’s a very kind of scheduled thing. So if we were to go in the studio now and record through March, they would plan for a September or October release. So if we were ready to record today, you’re looking at an October release so there’s a lot of time and a lot of things that need to go into it, so we’re just going to make sure that we don’t schedule things before we’re ready to record.

So hopefully, you’d want to be fully satisfied with your next album, right?
Oh sure, well you never are (laughs). No band is ever really satisfied, but that’s just because we’re overly picky about things, but you certainly want to go in knowing what you want out of it as opposed to seeing what you come come up with. There’s kind of a difference.

I should have said, “More satisfied.”
(laughs) Sure.

O.K., so would you like to add anything else about your music for your fans?
Just check out our stuff on the web and come out to our show, man.