Carbon Leaf Preview

Carbon Leaf
House Of Blues, Chicago
Thursday, October 5, 2006

Did you know Carbon Leaf once appeared on “Dr. Phil”? The group played their “Life Less Ordinary” single to close an episode about aspiring musicians trying to get their break in the entertainment industry.

Carbon Leaf would probably point to a contest — sponsored by Coca Cola — they won in 2001 as their biggest “break” thus far. The grand prize was a performing spot on that year’s American Music Awards. While it didn’t catapult the band to instant stardom, it was enough to attract the attention of Vanguard Records, which released 2004’s Indian Summer, the first Carbon Leaf record not released on the band’s own Constant Ivy label. It’s fitting the group formed while the five members were still students at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia because their sound, including the recently released Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat, is firmly rooted in the modern college rock sound. Not as jam prone as Moe. or O.A.R but not as outgoing as, say, the Dave Matthews Band, Carbon Leaf’s rootsy pop rock is the same sound you can hear every weekend at campus clubs across America. It may not be distinct, but it has earned Carbon Leaf opening spots for numerous big-name acts such as John Mayer, David Gray, DMB, and Goo Goo Dolls.

Carbon Leaf’s House Of Blues stop is a co-headlining appearance with singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download Carbon Leaf’s “Learn To Fly.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly