Carvings

Queen’s is the small pond to rock band Carvings’ big dreams.

Carvings, who regularly open for bands playing the Mansion as a stop on their tours, have plans to relocate the band after graduation.

Three of the bandmates — Mac Cameron, Dan Hughes and Geoff Parent are all Queen’s students, while their bandmate Tom Hinchcliffe dropped out two years ago and their other bandmate Ben Webb lives in Kingston.

Over coffee, I had a chance to listen to Carvings lead singer Cameron’s perspectives on the two-sided experience that Queen’s has been for him and the rest of his bandmates.

Cameron, ArtSci 13’, speaks fondly of his time at Queen’s, mostly spent working on his music.

“The culture of focus on school, and then when you’re not doing that, [to] go out and party is great for some people, but we’ve never really felt like we fit in,” he said.

Cameron said he finds that when students are looking for a place to go on a Friday night, they go to clubs for electronic music, not rock and roll.

“Even the rock bands that are big aren’t even rock bands. Like, Mumford & Sons, for example, they are a folk band.”

The general population of Queen’s students isn’t always in the mood for a live rock gig, Cameron said.

“Other than our friends, nobody really cares to look further into what we’re doing,” he said.

Recently the band recorded an EP called These Days. According to Cameron, the EP is mostly about his mixed feelings towards his school.

“It’s a four-song collection, and goes through what it’s like to be here, and why I’m angry about being here, and why I regret coming here, and how it all came together. But also why I’m happy I came and the good things,” he said.

These Days, the first song and the title of the EP, seems to particularly capture these set of mixed emotions with a resemblance of the more angst-filled past work of the Killers.

Cameron mentioned an advantage to the band’s current setting of a university town.

“Playing in Kingston has been good for us in a sense. It introduced us to the reality that there isn’t always going to be people at shows — we understand that,” he said.

Looking to the future, the band has their sights set on big city fortune.

“As soon as we’re done school, we want to relocate to Toronto. Geoff, Dan and I are all from around there and Tom and Ben are both ready to move.” - The Queen's Journal

Queen’s is the small pond to rock band Carvings’ big dreams.

Carvings, who regularly open for bands playing the Mansion as a stop on their tours, have plans to relocate the band after graduation.

Three of the bandmates — Mac Cameron, Dan Hughes and Geoff Parent are all Queen’s students, while their bandmate Tom Hinchcliffe dropped out two years ago and their other bandmate Ben Webb lives in Kingston.

Over coffee, I had a chance to listen to Carvings lead singer Cameron’s perspectives on the two-sided experience that Queen’s has been for him and the rest of his bandmates.

Cameron, ArtSci 13’, speaks fondly of his time at Queen’s, mostly spent working on his music.

“The culture of focus on school, and then when you’re not doing that, [to] go out and party is great for some people, but we’ve never really felt like we fit in,” he said.

Cameron said he finds that when students are looking for a place to go on a Friday night, they go to clubs for electronic music, not rock and roll.

“Even the rock bands that are big aren’t even rock bands. Like, Mumford & Sons, for example, they are a folk band.”

The general population of Queen’s students isn’t always in the mood for a live rock gig, Cameron said.

“Other than our friends, nobody really cares to look further into what we’re doing,” he said.

Recently the band recorded an EP called These Days. According to Cameron, the EP is mostly about his mixed feelings towards his school.

“It’s a four-song collection, and goes through what it’s like to be here, and why I’m angry about being here, and why I regret coming here, and how it all came together. But also why I’m happy I came and the good things,” he said.

These Days, the first song and the title of the EP, seems to particularly capture these set of mixed emotions with a resemblance of the more angst-filled past work of the Killers.

Cameron mentioned an advantage to the band’s current setting of a university town.

“Playing in Kingston has been good for us in a sense. It introduced us to the reality that there isn’t always going to be people at shows — we understand that,” he said.

Looking to the future, the band has their sights set on big city fortune.

“As soon as we’re done school, we want to relocate to Toronto. Geoff, Dan and I are all from around there and Tom and Ben are both ready to move.” - The Queen's Journal

Fueled by a crowd of friends, including a guess-the-drug duo, Carvings instigated some glorious moshing in the perfectly paradoxical Sleepless Goat a few weeks ago. Needless to say, a Carvings show is a good time. These high-energy performances are orchestrated by five Kingston-based musicians who are brandishing an aggressive amount of talent, stamina, and an admirable commitment to their craft.

If you are expecting a Bon Iver ukulele cover band, you may want to move on. (Actually, try scrolling down a bit…we may have what you are looking for). So what to expect from Carvings? A lot of loud. But a precise, rhythmically driving and highly dynamic loud. You can expect a seamless counterbalance of their heavy sound with softer elements, characteristic of the contemporary punk music scene. And, look forward to some contagious hollering and clamouring.

Carvings’ new EP, These Days, is available for download at their bandcamp as an ‘optional-free’ download. (But just a reminder- paying for music is still a thing.) - The Vault

Fueled by a crowd of friends, including a guess-the-drug duo, Carvings instigated some glorious moshing in the perfectly paradoxical Sleepless Goat a few weeks ago. Needless to say, a Carvings show is a good time. These high-energy performances are orchestrated by five Kingston-based musicians who are brandishing an aggressive amount of talent, stamina, and an admirable commitment to their craft.

If you are expecting a Bon Iver ukulele cover band, you may want to move on. (Actually, try scrolling down a bit…we may have what you are looking for). So what to expect from Carvings? A lot of loud. But a precise, rhythmically driving and highly dynamic loud. You can expect a seamless counterbalance of their heavy sound with softer elements, characteristic of the contemporary punk music scene. And, look forward to some contagious hollering and clamouring.

Carvings’ new EP, These Days, is available for download at their bandcamp as an ‘optional-free’ download. (But just a reminder- paying for music is still a thing.) - The Vault

I like these guys cause they sound as if they would have fit right in with the band’s I used to see at Taste of Chaos back in high school. They have that coarseness to them, but the guitars are melodic, they scream, they chant, its all-good stuff.

Sounds like: Faintly The Used / Brandon Boyd - Alancross.ca

I like these guys cause they sound as if they would have fit right in with the band’s I used to see at Taste of Chaos back in high school. They have that coarseness to them, but the guitars are melodic, they scream, they chant, its all-good stuff.

Sounds like: Faintly The Used / Brandon Boyd - Alancross.ca