Upcoming 100: What inspired you to become a musician, and how did you know you wanted to make music a career?
Carter Brady: My Mom actually helped coordinate guitar lessons at the end of first grade with my elementary school music teacher. I was also very fortunate to have parents with great musical tastes who exposed me early on to bands like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Matthew Sweet, The Replacements, and many others I still listen to this day. I don’t think I really had a mindset that I was capable of doing music near full-time and/or to this degree of dedication, work and overall financial commitment until maybe a year or so after college. At that time and before that, it was more of a “wouldn’t it be cool” and no matter what I would keep doing it for fun (which I’m still doing alongside a 9-5 marketing/advertising job). But my product and brand wasn’t quite there yet, and within the last couple years when I started writing songs for my most recent album ‘Shopping Cart’, I finally reached a healthy level of confidence and self-belief that while it’s very hard to be an artist in this day in age, I now felt that I was capable of making this something greater with the right amount of perseverance. At the end of the day, it will always be a lifelong passion no matter the capacity, and unlike others who stop I continue on because I truly love what I do and get to share with people who resonate with it.
Upcoming 100: Can you tell us about your songwriting process? How do you come up with ideas, and what inspires your lyrics?
Carter Brady: Almost every time I sit down to write something or allow myself to be creative, it will start with me messing around with a guitar chord progression. From there, if I’m lucky a melodic idea will pop into my head and I’ll start trying out different notal phrases, and basically just start jamming with myself for a few minutes. If it seems promising after a couple minutes or so (or gets me emotional sometimes even), I will hit record on my Voice Memo app on my iPhone and record what I’ve got and then see what I come up with from there. I then start to formulate a song structure, usually the chorus and then the verses (maybe bridge) after. While it’s very simple, it has definitely proven to be the most effective way to generate songs that I ultimately become proud of. Once I’ve got a full instrumental (and usually full lyrics too), I will record all of the added compositional elements and textures of guitar layers, lead parts, bass, and vocals in my basement music room studio. I will also demo drums in my basement and go on to record them at an outside studio (if the part is easy enough, otherwise my drummer Sam will play on the song). Lyrically, that typically comes after the music, and always had given I’m a musician/guitarist first and lyricist second. Since 2020, I have found myself focused within the themes of self-reflection, life’s challenges, romanticism, making sense of and defying societal conformities, and so on. But I’m always trying to find something unique and different to write and create, and I remain determined to write and release as many new refreshing rock songs as I can while I’m in my 20’s and still in a songwriting groove.
Upcoming 100: What are some of your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
Carter Brady: I have always been and still am a huge Beatles fan. I grew up going to The Fest For Beatles Fans every year with my Dad in some random hotel in New Jersey, and would play their music in the car constantly. My second biggest influence would have to be Foo Fighters, because Dave Grohl was probably my biggest idol at the time and still is one of my favorite musicians. I really admired his ability, like Paul McCartney and others, to be able to play all of the rock band instruments very proficiently, which is why to this day I continue to make it a challenge to push myself to expand on my fundamental abilities as a drummer so I can track all of the instruments on my songs where able. I definitely spent my fair share listening to all of the classic rock stuff like Zeppelin, ACDC, the Stones, etc. but over time I kind of grew out of that early obsession and moved into more 80’s and 90’s alternative like The Replacements, Pixies, Radiohead, Oasis, and Goo Goo Dolls, and also the modern rock stuff like Green Day, Cage the Elephant, Royal Blood, and many others. Modern indie rock artists like Momma, Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, and Mac DeMarco have been a major influence on me the past 3-5 years. I also have really been influenced by jazz, blues and lofi/R&B, so I feel like I've been exposed to so many different genres and styles. Being predominantly a guitarist I have idolized blues and jazz guitarists like Joe Bonamassa who has both a great sense of feel and chops and I really admire how he’s kept blues alive to this day on the mainstream stage. Another is Eric Johnson, who is amazing and truly has his own unique sound that was made most famous with “Cliffs of Dover.” Other jazz players like Wes, George Benson, Django, and Charlie Christan have been huge in my development as a guitar player and I think have definitely rubbed off on my rock playing to an extent.
Upcoming 100: What's the story behind your latest release/album/single? What inspired you to create it?
Carter Brady: I think what mostly inspired me to write songs from my latest album ‘Shopping Cart’ are the underlying feelings and emotional responses I seem to get from either small things that might not go my way, or a simple desire to pair a cool melody and chord progression I had already put together with lyrics that match that energy. I think given I am in my mid-late 20's and still young enough to feel and channel that rebellious side of myself, I am able to get myself musicially excited and self-inspire my songwriting through those feelings and musical ideas I hear in my head. I also of course have listened to so much rock over the years (from all decades despite me saying it's mainly 90's rock) that my music inherently is going to lean in that direction.
Upcoming 100: How do you approach your live performances? Do you have any rituals or pre-show routines that help you get ready?
Carter Brady: In terms of live performing, my band and I always try to approach every live performance with the mindset of making sure that we’re always giving something new to the audience. For example, we just had a show in Connecticut, and during one of the songs we had rehearsed playing the intro and first verse in a reggae style, then go back to the rock/album version style in the first chorus. At the very end, we even played an excerpt instrumental from the Star Wars theme song since it was May the 4th. My drummer Sam calls them “treats”, meaning exciting and unexpected moments that fans wouldn’t guess we are going to do that leave them in awe and wanting more. We also are never afraid to double a guitar solo or let a song breathe during the bridge, giving me a moment to talk to the crowd or check in and continue engaging with everyone there. Since forming my band in fall 2022 and breaking into the NYC local music scene, I have learned so much about how to own and control a stage, which I’m continuing to improve on as we navigate and keep performing live. In terms of pre-show rituals, we don’t do anything crazy. I also try to almost never drink during shows so I can really focus on delivering as perfect of a vocal performance as I possibly can (which ios of course near impossible, but since singing came later for me I have to focus on that more for it to sound good).
Upcoming 100: What do you hope fans take away from your music? Is there a message or theme that you're trying to convey?
Carter Brady: I hope that fans or potential fans who come across my music are able to feel like they’re not alone when it comes to feeling lost or discouraged in certain moments in life. More recently, I have tried to make an effort to have my music, wherever possible, express the emotions I’m feeling in that very moment I write songs. While I am a very upbeat straightforward guy and everyone knows me as that, I can also feel vulnerable and sad at times, hence the 90’s nostalgic-driven direction my songwriting is currently focused in. But in a weird way, I’ve come to enjoy those more melancholic emotions, and have found a way to channel it into my music that almost spins it back the other way and makes those sad feelings into happy feelings. It has become a very great coping mechanism any time I’m not 100% myself, and is very much therapeutic and motivating, especially when I feel good about a song I’ve just finished or released.
Upcoming 100: How do you balance your creative pursuits with other aspects of your life, such as personal relationships or business responsibilities?
Carter Brady: This can definitely be challenging, as I keep myself very busy with my music career, but also have a 9-5 marketing/advertising job and keep up my social life and spend a lot of time with my family. I am not perfect, but I do think that I’ve found a nice balance between everything, and when I do need to prioritize my music stuff I will, because life is too short to not do it if you enjoy and care for something so dear to you that much.
Upcoming 100: Can you tell us about some of your favorite songs or albums that you've worked on? What made them special to you?
Carter Brady: I haven’t really thought about this recently, and since I’m writing songs so often it is often hard for me to decide or give people a deliberate answer. But, since you’re asking, if I had to choose a handful of songs I’m proud of from what I have released already into the world, I would probably have to say We’re Talking, Grocery Store, Invincible, Go Home, How Come It Happens?, Lost In This World, and Suppressed, which are all of of ‘Shopping Cart’. Instead and So Late are up there too, but I would lean towards the first 6 I listed. I think what has made those songs special in particular is that they are all different yet equally sonically unified on that record, and that was exactly what I sought to accomplish per the album’s concept of having the songs be thought of as grocery store items being thrown into a shopping cart. I am also definitely still very proud of my previous record Blue Reverb and the songs on there, but I do think I’ve continued to evolve and improve as a songwriter and overall recording musician since then, so inevitably I am going to lean towards the more recent stuff.
Upcoming 100: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as a musician, and how have you overcome them?
Carter Brady: I am still an unsigned indie artist doing mostly everything myself - the marketing, social media content creation, the financing of my songs and albums getting properly produced, mixed and mastered (since I still can’t do myself yet at a high level due to prioritizing my time I get to write and record my songs instead), and booking live shows. It can definitely be challenging to juggle everything and stay afloat, but the more years I have been doing this the more I have gotten a grasp on what needs to be done in order to make it all happen. I consider myself a very organized person, and since I’m working a corporate job alongside all of this I think that has really helped me treat my music career like a true responsibility and business/brand. Many musicians have become drained to the point where their music career starts to feel too much like a job and they lose the raw passion; however, I think having kept my corporate career and music career separate has allowed me to retain my love for music intact, and I’m very grateful for that.
Upcoming 100: How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue creating music? Do you have any specific habits or routines that help keep your creative juices flowing
Carter Brady: Similar to how I stay organized and motivated in my 9-5 corporate marketing/advertising job, every day I write out a to-do list in a notebook that outlines outstanding items I need to get to during the week. It really holds me accountable and makes it much less overwhelming. I also think just knowing when it is a good time to take a step back for a few days and just give yourself time to allow any ear fatigue or overfixation to fade, before coming back to what it is that you were doing previously. Truthfully, I don’t have a hard time continuing to stay motivated; it may sound a bit self-worshipping (I honestly don’t mean for it to), but I do like to listen to my ongoing projects and song demos on long runs and when I’m in the office during the workday. It keeps me excited for what is to come, and since I have a ton of ongoing projects in the works it allows me to go through everything in my head, remind myself of where I am with certain projects, and lay out what I am going to work on next (recording a new song, adding a new guitar part to an existing song, re-record a vocal take, etc.).
Upcoming 100: What's next for you in terms of new music or projects? Can you give us a sneak peek into what's coming up?
Carter Brady: When I said it earlier, I really meant it. Right now I am on a mission to release as much music as humanly possible in the next 2-3 years. While I have yet to release anything this year and haven’t really held up to that notion, the amount of material I have in the queue is almost overwhelming. I am planning to release an acoustic cover of Everlong by Foo Fighters as a single in the next month or so, accompanied by a VHSified 90’s style music video I am equally really proud of. I am then planning to release a 4-song live session EP from 2023 that my band did at our drummer Sam’s studio, followed by some more cover song singles that are grungy rock renditions of famous pop and more acoustic-oriented rock songs. I also have some alternate versions of previously released songs that I want to put out this year too as singles. To give a real sneak peek, though, right now I have three albums I am working on at once. I am not making any promises that any or all of them will be coming out by the end of this year, but I am going to do everything I can to get those out this year without rushing anything. My guess is one of them will be coming out, with the others getting moved into early 2026, but we shall see what happens. All in all, having a lot of music to release is definitely a good problem to have, and I couldn’t be more excited for what is to come in the near future that I get to share with you all!
