Plastick

Rock & roll is dangerous. Just ask Chris Scott and (especially) Brian Carhart of Huntington Beach's Plastick.


Plastick: Good things coem to those who suffer a bad fall from a stage


What's the story behind the band?

Brian: Our previous band ended, and I went through some injuries. I ended up writing my own songs, and now I'm the singer. I used to be the drummer for the last band. The old band fell apart, and me and Chris kept going with Plastick.

How do you describe your band to people?

Chris: I just call it hard rock, or rock, if you have to call it anything.

Does that make it hard for a band when shows are often scene-oriented or built around specific subgenres?

Chris: Playing with indie bands is difficult because we have a three-guitar lineup, so if the band before us or after us is acoustic, it doesn't really work.

Your MySpace page has some Surfrider banners. Are you surfers?

Chris: I am. I've been surfing since I was 6 or 7. I grew up in downtown Huntington Beach. We're kind of like the Beach Boys—one true surfer in the group.

Do you see much crossover in those worlds?

Chris: I've always been around music because of my parents. My dad was a surfer, and my mom was a hippie. When there are no waves, I just grab a guitar. I don't think there are a lot of people out there that are like that. I have a few friends who surf and play music, but all of my surfing friends are surfers. And I have my musician friends. It's two different worlds, actually. They're both great, but both different. With music, you're up late. With surfing, you're up early. When it comes to surfing, it's pretty much you and your friends dissing one another the whole time. And with music, you're creating something instead.

And Brian produces demos for your band and other bands?

Brian: Yeah. I haven't done much lately. I went through a period where I was injured. [Producing is] really time-consuming. I used to do it like a madman. Now I'm free to work on our stuff. We were actually mixing when you called.

How did you get into recording bands?

Brian: I have two older brothers who had 4-tracks and keyboards. I've always had access to recording equipment, and I learned really young. Being in bands came later.

Is home recording at the point where you can get a good sound at home?

Chris: It depends on how good you are as an engineer and a producer. That comes with experience. You can't just go, "I want to be a producer," and be a producer. Brian's at the point where he's starting to prove that he's a really good producer.

Is it different recording your own band as compared to recording other bands?

Brian: No, because I'm a weird type of person. I can lean back and play second fiddle to somebody and do whatever they want. Or, if they let me, I can take it and lead it. With my band, I can do it the way I think, but I work with Chris, too. It's not really different.

With this band, you moved from drummer to singer?

Brian: This was my first band moving from drums to behind the mic live. As a drummer, I got to the point where I was showy. I didn't want to be just a drummer. Becoming a singer wasn't too weird. The injuries I went through made me angry enough to write songs nobody else could sing.

What was the nature of the injuries?

Brian: I got knocked off a stage that had an 8-foot drop behind me. Because we love the Who, we used to end shows pushing over the drum set. Or the bass player would come flying at me and break the guitar. One show, the singer jumped from the front and knocked me over, and there was an 8-foot drop behind me. I fell and messed up my back for a long time. It's part of why that band broke up—I was injured. It played a big part in writing my own songs. I had a lot of spare time.


For more information, visit www.myspace.com/plastick.

Written by Rex Reason - OC Weekly Jan. 31st 2008

OC Music Magazine at 08:41 PM on March 28, 2009

By Michelle Richardson

Sitting amongst the band in their rehearsal room in Costa Mesa, I realized that I was in the presence of true rock. Laughing, joking, passing beers – we were friends instantaneously and I felt regret when I left for not knowing them sooner. Despite their fun and light hearted personalities, their devotion and passion were obvious once we started talking about music. Currently overcoming obstacles - being scattered widely across southern California, working other jobs to make ends meet, recording independently, and also lacking a committed bass player – their dedication shines through in their ability to stay in the studio recording their album and their willingness to make the drive to rehearsal nearly every other day.
With sounds that will remind you of pure 90’s rock and with influences that date back to the Beatles, Plastick will keep you on your toes with their ever changing and highly eclectic variety of melodies. As soon as you put on their CD, you can feel how deep rooted they are in their unique version of grunge rock as you listen to their solemn lyrics and screaming guitar. They describe themselves as “hard rock and melody driven” and as a “massive hodgepodge of quality.”
Plastick started years ago with Chris and Brian, slowly growing to include Andre and Shane. They started out acousticly, but the band changed shape when Brian was inspired by a series of accidents spanning the years. These accidents helped him create an edge to his writing, and with the introduction of rock elements and a full band, the Plastick that you hear today was born. Brian is the epitome of talent variety – he started out playing drums, is now playing guitar, handling lead vocals, and managing the main engineering on their new album, all while also backing up their current empty bass player position with Chris’ help. With Andre and Shane being the newest members to the band, they offer their own methods of creation and objective opinions. None are afraid to give constructive criticism, as they say that they are all on the “same wavelength,” which is something that they seem to appreciate the most about themselves as a band.
Their current goal is to find a new bass player that can fit into this energy. “We’ll find the guy because we know exactly what we want and we know exactly what we are looking for” they said. After spending the last few months in writing mode, they are now currently recording their new album, competing in a contest to play the Warped Tour locally and rehearsing regularly. Though without this bass player position filled, they are a bit hindered in growth.
Refreshingly personable, they are happy to provide goodies to fans that are genuinely interested in them: CD’s, signed drumsticks, etc. Their songs and lyrics might be serious, but their live shows are “all about fun.” In their words, “If you become famous, if you become successful or not, it’s still just to have fun.”
Plastick is noticeably reaching back to roots that many of us have forgotten. Those familiar with both 90’s grunge and classic rock will be impressed, and newcomers to these genres will be blown away. With a penchant for both amusement and aggression, and with a melodic drive both musically and vocally, you truly get a taste for every range of emotion and every aspect of talent. So I encourage you to give them a try, vote for them to play Warped Tour, grab their new album when it is released (they say in about a month and a half), and as Chris stated as his final words, “Come out. Have fun. Party. Let’s do this.”


- OCMusicMag.com