Andy Carrell of Transmatic

The American rock band Transmatic has accomplished in two years an astonishing amount. The quartet started out on their rock and roll adventure in 1999 outside of Indianapolis, Indiana (USA).

Founding member Andy Carrell (bass), introduced his friends Joey Fingers (vocals), Zack Baldauf (guitar, backing vocals) and Kirk Frederickson (drums) to each other and they quickly began writing songs and rehearsing their music in a recording studio located in a barn on a farm owned by the Baldauf family. After Transmatic recorded a demo (tape) of the band’s music, they posted an MP3 of their song, “Blind Spot” on an Internet web site named Loudenergy.com.

One key executive for the Internet web site is John Maurer, who is also the bass player for the legendary California punk rock Social Distortion. He was so impressed by the song “Blind Spot” that he contacted the band and immediately signed them to a contact with the Loud Energy Recordings, record company. Transmatic then recorded a five song self titled EP and quickly drew the attention of the Immortal/Virgin Records company, which signed Transmatic to a multi-million dollar, six record, recording contract in January of 2001. And it all happened in two years time.

In the following interview Andy Carrell talks about the new album called “Transmatic” and the way that he and his four friends have handled becoming “rock stars” in two years.

(Q)-‘ Your name age and place of birth please? Andy Carrell- My name is Andy Carrell. I was born in Los Angeles and I am twenty-seven.

(Q)- Transmatic was formed by you?

Andy Carrell- Yes. I knew Joey (Fingers) and we been playing together since the early Nineties, so we’ve been together for a while now. Joey and I have been writing songs together just for our own amusement for quite a long time now. I was working at a music store (The music store name is IRC Music.) and then I met Zack, so I started bring him around whenever Joey and I would be writing songs. Then I knew Kirk (Fredrickson) for quite awhile and so I started to bring him to our songwriting sessions. After a while it started to be a permanent jam session, then eventually we turned into a band.

(Q)-Transmatic has lived out what to many rock bands, would be a dream come true.

Andy Carrell- And an interesting ride so far. Yet the fans are not listing to the story they’re listening to our music. That is what will make it or break it for us. When we got together to make the songs for the album, we spent a bunch of time in the home studio (In the barn at the family farm of Zack Baldauf in the USA state of Indiana.) writing songs that we really cared about. We never really even cared about playing our music live all that much. We just tried to record a group of songs we could stand behind and that we felt good about. We were working at our regular jobs and three, maybe five times a week we got together to practice and to play our music.

(Q)-It has been over a year now since you and the band wrote those songs. Do you still feel good about the music that you have written and that is on your new self-titled record, “Transmatic”?

Andy Carrell – Yes. We definitely feel good about the album and we’re all really proud of the music. We put a lot into the music and we have all gotten now what we were initially looking to obtain. And, anything now that happens because of the music and the record, is just icing on the cake. First and foremost, we’re a band. And, we’ve made an album that we’re all proud of and that we like listening to. And I think our their pop and rock right now, you have many recording artists who do no write their own music or they are given material to record whenever they’re in the recording studio. These songs were all put together by us before we ever had a recording contract. We were just playing music for us. That is why, when we made the songs, we tried to concentrate on things that we were listening when we were to growing up. When I grew up, I had an older brother who listened to KISS, CHEAP TRICK and also British rock like The Cure and Australian rock of AC/DC. So a lot of my musical influences are the other guys influences are more towards commercial rock sounds. That’s what we like, so that is what we write. My goal with this was to write music that I was happy with. If I got a recording contract then great, if I didn’t then great. If I sold one album, then great. We just wanted to make ourselves happy and the only way that any of us are happy is if we are actually making music. So we would do this regardless of the publicity.

(Q)-The band has gone far with their music without years of concert touring. Now the band is starting to play live and touring. How has your sudden success affected you?

Andy Carrell- Like any other family, we do have moments whenever we get on each other. But, realistically, we’re living on the same tour bus now, we’re living in the same hotel room, we spend the better part of twenty-four hours of a day together. And, in order to do what we want to do and be able to make music and hopefully make a living at it, we have to be able to spend time together for long periods of time. But, I’ve been friends with these guys for a long time before we ever put together this band. Even Zack, I’ve know him since he was fifteen years old and he is the young guy in this band.
(Q)- Are the band members all still good friends?
Andy Carrell – Yes! When we get our days off, we go back home to Indiana and we still go out together and grab a couple of drinks at the bar. It’s not like I want to get away as far as I can from the other guys in the band, whenever we’re not touring together. We’re together a lot whenever we are not working. These guys are the best friends I have in the world and I have a lot of fun making music with them as well as just hanging out with them.

(Q)- Have you heard of any international interest in Transmatic?
Andy Carrell- Yes. I would love to travel overseas and tour. A friend who knows Joey well, was in Thailand and he said he heard our single there.

(Q)-Many new rock bands have a really desperate attitude when it comes to the music business and their music and scoring hit singles on radio along

with opening positions on really big rock concert tours. Being the leader of Transmatic, do you feel the pressure to succeed?
Andy Carrell- How on earth can I complain? I ride around the world in a tour bus and make noise for people. (laughs) I’m doing exactly what I want to do. I am extremely happy with the way everything is going in my life is going right now.

(Q)- What has the feedback been like from the people who have experienced Transmatic live in concert?

Andy Carrell- Just being able to get that instant reaction from people live whenever you’re playing your music onstage with the band, is great. Having someone come up to you after the show and asking you to sign your autograph on your record is wonderful. I think a lot of rock bands take that for granted. It is more fun for me then it is for them because I’m honored to be onstage in front of people playing my songs. I would be doing the exact same thing, I’d be playing my music in the basement of my house, even if no one was there to listen other then the band. Because that’s what I love to do. So, to be able to do it for anyone else and to have them come up to me and say, “Andy, I really love your band.”, is simply amazing to me.

(Q)- Transmatic has song lyrics on the new album that are positive. The band does not have the negativity that many American rock bands have today. Why?

Andy Carrell- I think that negativity comes into American rock bands because of everything from the rap music to the rap/rock, to the new metal rock music. Everything is very negative. I am not exactly sure why so many of these American rock bands are so very negative. We’re too happy to be writing song lyrics that are negative. Are lives are not bad lives. I mean look at what could be happening. So we have nothing to complain about. We’re happy to be playing music. So the songs reflect that and I don’t think there is anything horribly depressing in our music because we’re not horribly depressed people.

(Q)- What is Transmatic live in concert like compared to making music in the recording studio for you? How have you handled the criticism from the media?

Andy Carrell- We are happy with the way it has all turned out. We had our (record) producer Neal Avon come in and meet with us (On the farm in Indiana.) before we recorded our album and we discussed the music and how we wanted to sound on our album. We also talked to Neal about how we’d perform out music live, before we ever even went out on a concert tour. He would come out to our practice sessions and advise us on what was best for us both live and on the stage as a performing band. We actually tried to make the band an enhanced version of what we do live whenever we’re performing and making our music. So the album is already an enhanced version of what the band does live. Realistically, what it comes down to for me is that whenever we go onstage, we’re actually still having fun. And I think that comes across to the audience. We’re not up onstage saying, “Hey, look at us.” We’re saying, “Hey, this is cool. We’re up here onstage playing our music.” We’ve been put in a situation and given the gifts, where somebody out there thinks we deserve to be playing front of an audience and I will not take that for granted.

(Q)- Are you saying Transmatic is more about entertainment, then anything else?
Andy Carrell- Yes. Definitely. Not taking away from any other American rock bands but I have seen bands live in concert who sounded great on their record and then they just left me bored whenever I went to see them perform live. They just stand there and leave me bored.

(Q)- Like the British rock band Oasis?
Andy Carrell- (laughs) I saw Oasis at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles last year (2001) and while they are unbelievable, if you close your eyes, then the music is great.