Diamond Carter

Diamond Carter
Diamond Carter performing at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA
Background information
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	2011 (2011)–present
Website	diamondcartermusic.com
Members	Tyler Tuohy Cameron Black Josh Cropper Trevor Hunnicutt

Diamond Carter is an indie rock band from Southern California that formed in 2011 and uprooted to Nashville, TN in 2013. The group consists of Tyler Tuohy (lead vocals/guitar), Josh Cropper (bass), Trevor Hunnicutt (drums), and Cameron Black (backup vocals, keyboard, saxophone). Their sound has been described as “fun funk” and “straddling the border between blues, jazz, and indie-pop”.^[1]

The band's first album, Pink Balloon, was released in September 2012 and debuted their radio single “Let Yourself be Loved,” co-written by Tyler Tuohy, Michael Gigante, and John Stamos. Other successful radio singles include “Evil is a Young Man’s Game” and “Cali Christmas.” Their second album, Duende, will be released at the end of 2014.

Life and career

Diamond Carter began as the house band for an underground club in LA called 'The Overpass.' The band's sound originated from Tuohy’s attraction to '60s revivalist groups that were sprouting out of Orange County during this period. In September 2012, the band released their first album, Pink Balloon.^[2]

Shortly after the album’s release, Chris Allen, with Collective Music Group, suggested Tuohy travel to Nashville, Tennessee to embrace the music scene that was taking place within the city. He soon met and played for Gilles Goodard with Olé Publishing, who attributed Diamond Carter's soulful sound and Tuohy's vocal stylings to that of a male Amy Winehouse. With Goodard’s suggestion and assistance from the band’s producer, Michael Gigante, Tuohy relocated the entire band from Southern California to the growing artistic community of East Nashville, TN in February 2013.^[2] By April of that same year, the band was taking part in local radio station Lightning 100’s “Music City Mayhem.” Diamond Carter was chosen from over 300 local bands and placed in the Final Eight, receiving a high number of votes in each round.^[3]

The band’s enthusiastic stage presence, distinctive melodies, and alluring song lyrics have earned them a spot as artist of the week twice on Lightning 100 for singles “Let Yourself be Loved” and “Evil is a Young Man’s Game” (October 2013). In March 2014, John Stamos directed the “Let Yourself be Loved” music video starring Tuohy alongside actress Nicky Whelan. The video was released as a feature music video on Yahoo Music May 14, 2014 and received Twitter recognition from artists such as John Stamos, Howard Stern, Lori Loughlin, Amanda Cerny, and Matt Sorum.^[1]

The band's second album, Duende, will be released at the end of 2014 and displays eclectic elements of '70s rock, surf rock, and psychedelic rock.

Style

The members of Diamond Carter each bring a unique style to the group’s collective sound. Favorite musical artists include Lou Reed, Sonny Rollins, and Stone Temple Pilots, while inspiration comes from poets such as Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud.

Pink Balloon portrays the musical stylings of jazzy blues and Motown funk with lyrics that indicate a lonely hitchhiker’s tales of addiction and hopelessness. Their LP Flowers of Evil: Searching for a Sound, along with single “Evil is a Young Man’s Game” illustrates the band's creation of a new sound. From this melodic search came their second album, Duende, which has elements of surf rock, '70s rock, and psychedelic rock coalescing to produce new properties of the band’s musical identity.^[4]

Discography

• Pink Balloon (2013)
• Flowers of Evil; Searching for a Sound (2013)
• Fuzzy Holly and the Mistletoe Mishap (2013)
• "Legend" (Single) (2013)
• "Evil is a Young Man's Game" (Single) (2013)
• Duende (2014)

References

• Geller, Wendy. "John Stamos". Yahoo Music. Yahoo. Retrieved 5 August 2014.