Knoxville, TN – 4/10 – We got the chance to sit down with Michael Carnes and Stephen Harmon of The Rhinos! to talk about life, music, and making hard decisions. Michael had some pretty insightful things to say about being a part of a local scene, the lifespan of a band, and how they approach a music career in the small-mid scene.
Chris Hampton: So tell me about The Rhinos!, what’s the story behind that?
Michael Carnes: Well it started out with just myself and our drummer Justin. He had just gotten out of a band and I really wanted to play music with someone so it all worked out. I was experiencing a bit of a life change at the time because I got kicked out of my mom’s house and Justin had heard a song I wrote and posted online and we scheduled to meet up. The song is going to be on our upcoming debut record and the song is called “Stand A Chance” and it’s super dancy. We spent most of our time together talking instead of actually playing music and the other two members later joined once we learned there was a demand for more players for the setup we wanted to have. I had known Tyler since the 6th grade and I knew he wanted to learn how to play bass and so I threw out the invitation by saying “The best way to learn is by playing with other musicians.” And with Stephen, I’ve known him since the first day of my junior year of high school and he sat in on our first recording session and then he asked if he could join to take the load off me as far as how much I was doing on guitar and the rest is history. So far it’s worked out.
CH: Tell me about what the band is currently working on.
MC: Right now we’re working on our debut album. It’s our first full length and it’s professional grade and it’s taken about 6 months for us to pull it off. We’ve been together for about 3 years so this record kind of catalogs most of what we’ve went through when it comes to matters of the heart. The cool thing is that each song is kind of like its own world because we’ve experimented with tons of ideas. For us we can tell what song sounds 2 years old versus a song that’s like 2 months old. So that’s cool for us. Even though people might not be able to tell, it’s just a cool feeling hearing these songs and knowing where we were as people at the time. The cool thing is that we actually finish tracking the whole thing this weekend so that’s exciting!
CH: I know that it’s always pretty exciting to see a project come together, but as one project ends sometimes there’s a big question about “what’s next?” What comes next for yourself and the band?
MC: Well it’s hard to know what exactly is next for the band as a whole because this album has basically been 3 years in the making. I know that individually there are things we want to pursue musically, whether it be collaborations with other talent or maybe focusing on aspects in our lives that we sacrificed for the band. So I think after we play a few shows to promote the album, a small vacation is in order. I think we’ll take a little bit to recalibrate each other and work on our friendships outside of the band. Because I can already tell that if there is going to be a next record, it’s going to sound different than this one. Not saying I expect us to break up, because we’ll always be friends. It’s just that right now I think this project has taken a lot out of us especially myself and some recalibration is definitely in order. Though when it’s time to get back together and make another Rhinos album, I think it’ll be great and it will happen once we’re all synced up again.
Stephen Harmon: I have a bit of a different perspective on this. I personally have always treated this band as a means to express creativity and kind of release some of the tension that a normal work week can put on me. I think that the other members, excluding Michael, have shared a similar mind set when it comes to this band. Looking ahead it’s hard to really have clarity. If I had to guess; I would say that there’ll be several concerts between now and June of this year, then most likely a break lasting a couple of months. After that break we’ll get together and see where everybody’s head is at. It’s very possible that the four of us will decide to pursue music in separate projects. Ultimately, time will tell, but I’m excited to be a part of this Musical journey that is and has been The Rhinos!
CH: Do you feel like that’s the life cycle for non-professional bands or just the fate of the Rhinos? Do you feel like the aspirations have evolved as time passed with the band?
MC: For the first question, I think it can be for both. I feel like a band is a band, because we’re all people no matter how famous we are. Of course I’m only speaking as a guy who has only achieved some small local fame. As for the second question, that’s a little bit harder to answer so I’ll answer it like this. It’s been made clear that I’m the leader of the group and one thing I stress is that we are friends first and bandmates second. I think after spending time with each other in an environment where we’re constantly trying to work on something, we need some time to just relax. For the past 3 years we never took a break. Seriously. (laughs) Now that this album of our favorite songs over the past few years is finished, we’re kind of like “Yeah maybe a small break is needed.” This band has taken up a lot of our time and it’s kind of nice to put that focus and watch it be used for something else. Like, Stephen and I are going to try to pursue some small side projects while the other two try to focus on what’s going on in their lives. So this will be good. Because I know that as long as we’re friends, this band will always in a way exist. So we just have to find ourselves outside this band for a little bit, because when it’s go-time, it might be the coolest thing ever.
SH: To be honest, I think it takes most musicians several attempts to successfully find the band they can properly express themselves in and to find the band that can accept those expressions, mix it with their own, and formulate a seamless cohesive unit with a shared drive for the same goal. As for The Rhinos! I think to some degree we fit that description, but maybe not to the degree that success and longevity will require.
CH: Speaking to the future, what advice would you give to hobbyist musicians who are looking to start a band?
MC: To put it simply, I would say go for it. The worst thing that anybody can say is “no” and you don’t have to let them dictate what you should or shouldn’t dream. I’ve had people say the worst things about me on the internet, but it’s all just relative. For those who say they don’t have time to start a band, my advice to them is to go for it as well. A few years in a band compared the rest of your years on this Earth doing something else is a small price to pay. Who knows, you might even love doing it. That’s how I learned to love music. Also, the coolest thing about being in a band is the support of other musicians once you really start getting your grind. So that’s fun too. There’s really no downside to at least trying it out. Also, do it with people you love. But yeah, that’s all I have on that.
SH: I have recently found a lot of motivation in the simple quote “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.
CH: We live in a society that is pretty focused on longevity and legacy. What would you say was your legacy?
MC: Before anything, I would hope that my legacy is just my attitude about my life. If I wasn’t so persistent at everything I did, I wouldn’t have had this band among other things. As far as my band goes, I hope that its legacy is that I hope people understand that it’s possible to be in an alternative pop punk band in Knoxville, TN when the scene here is primarily really bad country or really thrashy death metal, and still survive.
SH: In my opinion, our legacy is something that we can attempt to develop, however it will be up to our fans and peers to bring it to fruition. As much as I would like to aim for our legacy to be something deep and something that will forever change the music scene at least at a local level; if I had to bet, I would say that our Legacy will be a picture painted of four normal, “run of the mill” guys that came together with some cheep guitars and a desire for unity that was able to reach deep enough into their wells of creativity and somehow construct an album. If we could do it, then anyone reading this could do it too
