what is your name?
Joe Carlo
how would you describe what you do?
I make music, preferably on the drums.
what are you currently working on?
I run National Snack with Gemma Storr. We are a mungrul music band from North London.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
Lavikinga, my Mum and Dad, Fred Marshall, John Bonham, laziness and Aretha Franklin.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
Man, I don’t know! That it’s any good?
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
Hmm by ‘medium’ do you mean popular music in general? If so then the strength is the 3:30min throwaway nature of pop music that provides a breeding ground for so many pinnacles of human achievement and opportunities for human emotional connection on either a mass scale or personal. A song can make me shake and spit with rage and fury or it can make me fall in love or save my life. And everyone else’s too. All that food for the soul stuff is true. (Cheesy wotsit? Moi?)
The weakness – paying the rent is really difficult most of the time.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
Speaking about how it has impacted on me personally then I would imagine it’s the same as a lot of musicians these days – affordable, half decent recording equipment, powerful computers and the internet means it’s possible to write, record, promote, receive payment and distribute a song to people anywhere in the world without ever even leaving whichever room your gear is in. That’s some amazing tools right there. The downside of all that though is that more time updating your Myspace or website is less time writing or playing. And of course your still competing with massive record companies who the same and better tools AND millions of dollars and years of experience.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons though!
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Do what you do.
Oh and when you learn an instrument don’t do ONLY what your teacher says.
where can we find you online?
www.reverbnation.com/nationalsnack
www.last.fm/user/nationalsnack
what are you reading at the moment?
A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr and Travels With Charlie by Steinbeck
what are you listening to at the moment?
Lots and lots of metal. I fucking love it like no other kind of music. I guess you’ll have to edit that as you see fit.
anything else we should know?
Mungrul – (mung-grll) n.
1. A form of music from the south of Engand resulting from various interbreedings, a music of mixed or undetermined breed.
2. A cross between different styles, groups, or varieties, especially a mixture that is or appears to be incongruous.
Source – the insides of our heads.
And you all need to listen to The Red Fishes, The Jolenes, The Obscuritones, Hot Head Show, and The Dromomaniac. After listening to us of course…