Carbellion: Cameron Kellenberger
Carbellion, like Blackthroat, are old friends of WTD through the members’ previous bands. Lead vocalist Cameron Kellenberger loves to talk, but I’m a big fan of Cameron’s vocals, and he’s a big son of a bitch like myself, so I let the big man ramble on all he wanted.
WTD: Who are you, what do you do in the band, and who are your partners in crime?
Cameron Kellenberger: Cameron Kellenberger-Lead vocals, Peter Ruesch-Lead Guitar-Allen Wrench, Reagan Collett-Bass-Backing Vocals, Brandon Bauer-Guitars-Backing Vocals-Whoring, and Aaron Craft-Drums. I like to hear myself spew venom/talk/preach so I’ll be doing this little interview.
WTD: Give us a little history on Carbelllion; how long you’ve been around, where the name came from, how your sound was developed…the usual questions that you’re probably sick of answering.
Cameron: Carbellion got together with all us in this band having a desire to take it a little further than the other members of our former bands. I was the lead vocalist of Carbon Parlor (stoner rock), Brandon and Peter came from Whiskey Rebellion (boozin’ BLS style hard rock), and Reagan came from Onset Oblivion (experimental alternative female singer stuff). Aaron we drafted out of the drum department of a larger local music store. The decision was made in the first jam session to work harder, take it farther, and slam with more fury than anything any of us had done prior. We all had different influences and that influenced all the different melodies, riffs, and song structure writing as clichéd as that sounds. The name now is another story…
Carbellion, or the El Carbellion, was a Spanish merchant galleon that sailed between south America and Europe carrying riches from the new world. She was sunk somewhere (never found) off the coast of Brazil by a pirate vessel after a mutiny driven crew turned on the officers and sold out to the pirate captain. It is said that she haunts the waters of that coast much in the same way as the Flying Dutchman. Or was it…
Carbellion was the stage name of a legendary bullfighter of the past that is said to have tamed and defeated the strongest and nastiest of all the bulls in the arenas of Mexico. He also had a reputation of taming the strongest and nastiest of young woman in the bedroom! Though the bulls of bullfighting are drugged as to slow down the assault of the beasts it is said that a jealous husband saw to it that a prize bull set to face Carbellion in the arena that day was not drugged and therefore ferociously strong and quick for the afternoon match. The man known merely as Carbellion would see his fate not at the end of a Mexican revolver but instead by having his pelvis and genitalia pushed to his sternum by the horns of the beast. Or was it…
The tale of Jack Carbellion. You know that one is better told by a friend of ours named Troy from the reformed Whiskey Rebellion. Don’t all of these things sound a little more interesting than putting Carbon from Carbon Parlor together with Rebellion from Whiskey Rebellion? It has become quite the game in the bars and clubs to convince naïve young ladies of our treacherous tales of band name meanings.
WTD: You know I was a big fan of Carbon Parlor, and I dig Whiskey Rebellion, so I was hooked on the new shit right away. You list your influences as everything, “from metal, to rebel country to classic rock and all great things in between!” How influential was the Norwegian black metal scene on your sound?
Cameron: Not as much as other genres have been to our music despite the occasional gargling needles scream. It is possible though that the church burning of the past in that scene has influenced us to do lighted shots of liquor in some long stretching it sort of way.
WTD: I don’t remember how I found you guys on MySpace, but there’s probably another band or a hot chick to thank. I might as well get this obligatory question out of the way. MySpace is filled with 40 year-old men looking for 14 year-old boys, tranny porn stars, and a former cop from La Crosse, Wisconsin that enjoys sodomizing the aforementioned people with a pool cue. However, it has also allowed me to find a lot of great bands that I probably wouldnt have heard otherwise. How important has that awful site been for Carbelllion?
Cameron: It has been great to the music scene and great for Carbellion. We have had the opportunity to share our band and songs with people that wouldve never heard of us. Weve toppled the 1700 friends mark with people that seem genuinely interested in the band and not just me and Brandons masturbation techniques. That being said Ive personally been able to meet several women who will defecate on my chest during sex which is an added bonus.
WTD: What’s the scene like in Wisconsin? I’ve never been there, but I know a lot of folks are batshit about the Packers and could give a fuck less about anything else in life.
Cameron: Sadly in reality the scene hear is poor from an audience/attendance support standpoint vs. the other areas of the Midwest that we frequent. Beer drinking (though a fantastic pastime) takes a priority over all other forms of entertainment. We traditionally will run the infamous Carbellion Tab giving away free drinks to devout attendees. That being said the people that are dedicated fans will drive as far as another state to see us often times so what more can you ask? The Packers thing has a lot to do with beer drinking too
WTD: You guys have shared the same stage with some big bands; Motörhead, C.O.C., Clutch, Seether, Ministry…it’s a long fuckin’ list. I read that you guys do your own booking, which is impressive as hell. How in hell have you landed all of these gigs but not a record deal?
Cameron: A lot of these shows have taken place over a long period of time (about 7 years or so) with many of them being included from my old band Carbon Parlor as I did all the booking. In that last year or so as Carbellion however we did do Motorhead, COC, Zeke, Dixie Witch, and many others. We bust our collective asses to draw people to the shows and give them 110% from the stage and that has the clubs and promoters wanting to have us be opening support for the touring national acts. They have also indicated that we not only perform on par with many signed acts but behave off stage as professionals.
The record deal thing is tricky. I dont have the $50 answer to that question. Weve technically only been a band with this line-up for just under two years. The new record coming out next month independently with any luck will open that door.
WTD: Give us five reasons why record labels should shower you with gifts, and why people should spend their hard-earned money to see you live.
Cameron: For the labels:
1. We work harder than any other unsigned band in weve encountered. Thats no bullshit
2. We draw well for our scene as well as other markets.
3. We are road tested on our own with no help at all. To summarize; 44 shows in 40 weeks across 5 states while all members hold 40+ hours a week day jobs.
4. Many people/clubs/promoters/etc. think we are already signed so we must be doing something right?
5. We would shower the record label back with the gift of our gratefulness.
For the people who come to shows:
1. We will throw down harder than most bands youve ever seen. Thats no bullshit.
2. We will likely buy you drinks if you are extra enthusiastic.
3. We tend to give some T-shirts away if the crowd is game on. Larger ones for the big guys. Others that are at least one size too small for the girls.
4. We do a lot of semi-crazy dumb shit on stage. This could entail pouring drinks on each other, slam dancing while playing, several vintage 80s hair band maneuvers, and the occasional appearance of the brain.
5. We really do care about the music so wed like to think that if people like heavy rock then they will have a good time.
WTD: Thanks for taking the time to do this. Good luck with the band, and make sure we get a copy of your album to review when you get signed. Now, feel free to take this opportunity to speak your mind and plug whatever you want. Stay outta the fridge and lock up on your way out…
Cameron: Thank you for taking the time to give us some press. When this gets posted do let us know the where and when so that we can push our fans/friends out to it. The only shameless plug Ive got going is for the new CD coming out in late July/early August.
Its entitled Villains and features 7 new tracks and the first 3 from the American Heavy Rock demo remastered. Weve even got a T-Rex cover. For info on this go to myspace.com/carbellion and carbellion.com or email booking@carbellion.com. Thanks again bro.
Reverend Sick | 07/08/2006