The Carps Interview

“I don’t want some wood grain for Christmas,” Jahmal Tonge belts out on the Carps’ drum-induced song “All The Thugz I Know” on their EP, “The Young and Passionate Days of Carpedia Vol 2.1.” I was originally introduced to the Carps by a friend of mine, and I can recall the first song I heard by them literally catching my attention in the most vibrantly and rhythmically authentic of ways.
Coming from the frigid tundra (better known as Toronto, Canada), Jahmal Tonge (drums and vocals) and Neil White (guitar) are making a solid impact there and beyond their local music scene. Imagine this: a progressive rock duo with elements of punk rock, soca, hip-hop, and soul blended together and you have the Carps. Jahmal and Neil are the complete mix of rock, soul, funk, and R&B to quench even the most eclectic music aficionado’s acquired taste.

First and foremost, who are the Carps (collectively and individually)? How did you guys meet?

Neil and Jahmal:
[Our names are] Neil White and Jahmal Tonge. [We] met playing music at a youth group in Flemingdon Park, Toronto, ON. Neil [was]on bass and Jahmal [was]on guitar.

The first time I heard of you guys was on your EP entitled “The Young and Passionate Days of Carpedia Vol 2.1.” Why did you guys pick the band name the Carps anyway? Is their any significance behind the name?

Neil and Jahmal:
The band is named after the saying “Carpe diem” a motto from a poem by Horace meaning, “Seize the Day.”

On the song “Compton to Scarboro” was there any significance behind the premise of the song? Was the song actually made for an individual that you guys know, or was it made to show a dynamic of people that choose to walk their lives down the wrong path?

Jahmal:
It’s a bit of both. I [Jahmal] grew up [as a] black boy in a middle-class neighborhood, and right on the other side of the freeway was government housing. I knew a lot of cats who thought Toronto was Compton. It was made for all those guys. The ones I knew, but more so for the ones that are coming up.

I had heard a remix that the Bay Area producer, Trackademicks did of your song, “The Tumultuous Adventures of JJ Iscariot & the Insatiable Booty Fanatic” and I thought it was hella good! Are you guys acquainted with Trackademicks, and how do you feel about the work he has done on other remixes for other artists? Did you guys enjoy your remix that he did for one of your songs?

Jahmal:
We LOVED it! Track is a great dude, and the Bay recognizes him for sure, but the world is sleeping on him. His beats are out of this world. [And] more than anything else, he’s just a great dude. Bayyyyyyyyyy!!!

Jahmal, you have a vocal style that reminds me of Lenny Kravitz. You have a very strong singing voice. What are some of your musical influences that helped mold your cadence?

Jahmal;
Definitely not Lenny. I would credit M.J. and Otis Redding. After that, I really don’t know.[I am] just trying to do my own thing and [I] hope I don’t sound too much like Omarion.

Is either one of you in any other side projects other than the Carps? Are there any other projects coming out soon that your fans can be watching out for?

Neil:
I produce on the side. Nothing [has] slated for release at the moment, but there will be some cool remixes come ’08.

You guys put together a collective sound that is definitely hard to put in a genre. How would you guys define your musical sound?

Neil and Jahmal:
We don’t, and we wouldn’t!

Neil, you have a great talent on your guitar. Who are some of your influences (musically) that made you want to pick up a guitar in the first place?

Neil:
Definitely would have to be Les Claypool from Primus; he’s a tremendously inspiring performer. When I started playing bass, I was really into punk rock music, and artists like Fat Mike (of NOFX) and Matt Freeman (of Rancid) usually supplied my favorite bass lines.

I have never seen you guys live, but I hear that you guys have one hell of a great live set! What can people expect to see when they come see the Carps perform?

Neil:
Well, [before] Youtube, answering that would be difficult. But, it’s all on there for everybody to see.

If you guys could do a collaboration with any musical artist or artists (dead or alive), who would it be with?

Neil:
Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder, Cody ChesnuTT, Jackson and his computer band.
Jahmal:
Shawn Hewitt-.The actually talented version of myself.

What can Carps fans expect from the Carps in the future? Are there any future albums coming out in the near future and when?

Neil and Jahmal:
We’ll definitely have something out in the U.S. in ’08, and tours and tours and tours.

You guys being from Toronto, how do you feel about the music scene there? Are there any local Toronto artists that you guys enjoy listening to?

Neil:
[There is an] incredibly vibrant music scene in Toronto. We have a great collection of venues and a number of excellent festivals: Canadian Music Week and North by North East. From Scarborough, (just north of Toronto) I really enjoy Shawn Hewitt (www.myspace.com/shawnhewitt). There is also an excellent prog-rock group called dd/mm/yyyy. Others I enjoy include MSTRKRFT, Death From Above 1979, Crystal Castles, and Let’s Go to War
Jahmal:
Shawn Hewitt. Thunderheist.

"Compton to Scarboro"
The Carps are a bright set of individuals with an even brighter future. If you haven’t already, go cop “The Young and Passionate Days of Carpedia Vol. 2.1.” I would like to thank Jahmal and Neil for taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate in this interview.

-Kevin Robinson, Jr.

Squeamish Sun.

I sit here at this desk; I sit here watching the Sun die in the clouds. The Sun being suffocated by the clouds succumbing to the darkness. The Sun almost a dead light drawing the parallels of one single firefly in the darkness of Autumn on the Eastern Shore to which I lived for a few years. The Sun no longer blazing in the sky of blue that it creates; the Sun set from a blazing yellowish-orange to a dull dirty-snow white through the thickness of the clouds. Nothing being porous through these clouds; hell, not even a star as powerful and bright as the Sun can burn off the mundane gristle of the clouds. Only once will the Sun gasp to darkness to be born again tomorrow...perhaps.

Independent Musically Minded...I Am Meant For This.

I've been a little busy lately trying to figure out what it is entirely I am going to do in the next year, and I have come to the conclusion that I am meant to do something with music. Not even on the musically side of the spectrum, but more or less, on the management, marketing, or public relations side of the business. I am learning that from meeting different artists, DJ's, and producers in the music business from interning with the underground hip-hop group, Zion I that I have the potential to do fairly well in this business. I don't think that I would be able to work in any other industry other than music because this is what drives me to do certain things throughout my daily routines of my life. Only at the age of twenty-three, I am learning that I have a much more different mind state than my peers that share the same age group as I do (ages-19-25) whose highlight of the week for the most part is wallowing in local dive bars at the financial expenses of their parent's credit cards. You know, that age when you are pretty much out of college, and are trying to figure out what the hell it is that you exactly want to do in your life. That indifferent part of one's life when they choose whether to grow through (what I like to call) "grown child syndrome" or to take the big chance in actually doing what is inevitable, growing up. School seems to be the major element that I need to finish in the next few months. But, I have realized that through the many blessings that have been given to me by God that I am meant to be a force within this industry of music.

God, please just grant me the strength and vision to progress in the industry; I will need it.