Jennifer Moore: Keyboard and vocals
Chris Lyons: Bass
Jason Chef Pittman: Drums
Erin Budd: Vocals
Veronica Ortuño: Lead vocals
Stephanie Chan: Guitar and vocals
Shelley McKann: Vocals
Lace Durant: Guitar and vocals
2005
The group is formed in Austin, Texas this summer, thanks to a Myspace bulletin put out by Veronica Ortuño in which she sought people to form an American 60’s girl band. The result?, four people from diverse musical backgrounds. Erin Budd and Verónica were part of a rock n’ roll band which followed in the footsteps of BIKINI KILL, called FINALLY PUNK. Chris Lyons put out records (and still does) on K Records, Kill Rock Stars and Lookout! under the alias Gene Defcon, and simultaneously, found time to dedicate efforts to an electro-punk band, THE PRIMA DONNAS and the curious THE OLD-TIMERZ, a group that Chef, another one of the selected few played in. On top of being in this group, Chef also took part in playing concerts in small libraries in a children’s band, THE TELEPHONE COMPANY. Their principle objectives would be to put together a response to the uniform music scene in Austin, where dance and indie rock bands dominated.
After the first practice, they saw the need to strengthen their sound and that is when Jennifer Moore (she participated in almost all of the recordings of VOXTROT, as well as some of their shows, with her delicious voice) and Stephanie Chan (she also played with Erin and Verónica in FINALLY PUNK).
They started playing gigs throughout Austin with a repertoire basically consisting of covers of THE RONETTES (never forgetting to perform “The Best Part of Breaking Up” and “Remember”), THE SUPREMES and THE COOKIES, among others. The crowds in Austin were mesmerized because they were not used to this type of sound. It was only a matter of time when The Austin Chronicle and The Daily Texan started to sing their praises, recognizing their great sense of humour, their ability to have fun, their sixties wear and their fantastic melodies.
2006
While FINALLY PUNK received applauses from people like Tobi Vail (drummer of BIKINI KILL) and Karen O from YEAH YEAH YEAHS, THE CARROTS began to gain national fame after their performance on March 15th in the prestigious festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, sharing the stage with diverse acts such as Beth Orton, Kris Kristofferson, WHY?, Jose Gonzalez, OF MONTREAL, Mary Lou Lord and many others. This performance, with strong influences of the British band, BOY KILLS BOY, allowed their music to soar through the ocean, cultivating an interesting fan base on the other side of the Atlantic. From that point on, instead of using their real names, they used pseudonyms: Prude, Rude, Tude, Crude, Nude and Lewd. Having fun was just only one of the group’s principal objectives.
That summer, their first demo was released for free online via Myspace, which included recordings made in small home studios such as the first covers of “Secret Since’99,” “Jimmy Don’t Cry” and “Beverly;” The music of THE CARROTS reached the ears of Elefant and they end up signing them onto the label by the end of the year.
2007
After various concerts and their second performance in the festival South by Southwest (SXSW), they finally started recording the eight songs which would comprise their two singles. Eric Wofford produced these delicious songs at Cacophony Studios, a very unique recording studio in east Austin, on the shore of the Colorado River, where people such as Bill Callahan, THE EARLY TAPES, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ, MY MORNING JACKET, OKKERVIL RIVER, SHEARWATER and VOXTROT recorded. Throughout the months of April and May, the first recording phase would finish, due to the THE CARROTS’ tight schedule and previously planned concerts and tours with their side projects.
On June 9th, they opened for Calvin Johnson (BEAT HAPPENING, DUB NARCOTIC SOUND SYSTEM, THE HALO BENDERS, K Records) in the venue, Emo, in Austin.
Shelley McKann and Lace Durant became part of the band.
They returned to the studios in November to finish where they left off their recordings before the summer at Cacophony Studios and by the end of December, Eric Wofford completes the mixing and the production of the eight songs.
2008
On March 12th, the group returned to the festival South by Southwest (SXSW), along with groups such as THE LEMONHEADS, SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME, THE KILLS and Paul Kelly, just to name a few.
Throughout the months of May and June, they toured the U.S. with over forty concerts from coast to coast of the North American country, performing songs from their debut single “Doing Our Part” released at the end of May. This limited, special edition vinyl of only 1,000 pressings includes four splendid songs, “Doing our part” and “Jimmy don’t cry” on the A side and “Secret Since’99” and “Ladies of Givens” on the B side.
The first issue of the official Fan Club of THE CARROTS is published and available at concerts for followers of their tour.
At the end of June, their second single, “Beverly” will be released in a limited, special edition vinyl, like their debut one, with four songs, “Beverly” and “Kissing and Telling” on the A side and “I Tried to Call You” and “Gloria” on the B side. Both singles will be available on iTunes and other musical digital stores.
Discography in Elefant:
ER-261 THE CARROTS "Doing our part" Single 7" (May 2008)
ER-263 THE CARROTS "Beverly" Single 7" (May 2008)