Scott Carney's band, Wax Fang, will play at Headliners on the night before Thanksgiving. We recently asked him to explain every last detail about what makes his mind work, and why:
Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
I grew up in Louisville, KY, in Hikes Point. My family is neither particularly musical nor artistic, however, my father did play a bit of guitar back in the day. I remember him playing the intro to "La Bamba" for me when I was a kid. I suppose, in some way, that was what made me want to learn to play guitar - to be able to play "La Bamba" better than my father, which I can now do. Take that, Dad!
What is your musical background / training?
I took formal guitar lessons for a little over a year. My first lessons were from my 6th grade teacher, Barbara Simmons. She played guitar in our church and gave a summer course in acoustic guitar. Nothing fancy, just chords and such. I learned to strum songs like "Take Me Home, Country Road" and "Amazing Grace". After that, I was taught by a fellow named Monty Foster, who taught at a place called Bader Music Village, located in McMahon Plaza near my house. I stopped taking lessons from him after he failed to live up to his end of a bargain we made - he bet I couldn't learn "Dueling Banjos" in a week's time and that, if I did, he would teach me Metallica's "One" from start to finish. Let's just say I had to teach "One" to myself. I'm still learning it.
Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
At the moment: The Features, Centipede E'est, Wolf Parade, TV on the Radio, Les Paul, Django Reinhart, Bob Dylan, Whistle Peak.
What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
Wax Fang. I met (drummer) Kevin (Ratterman) when I went to his studio to mix our first record, Black & Endless Night. I had gone to him specifically because I knew he wasn't playing with anyone at the time and I was hoping he would like the record enough to want to play together and, lo and behold, he did. Then we stole (bassist) Jake (Heustis) from Cabin and completed the circuit, so to speak.
What do you hope to achieve with music?
I suppose at the very least, I'd like to inspire other people to make music of their own.
