Who are you and what is your role in the band?
Zakk: I’m Zakk Rogg-Meltzer, the rhythm guitarist/manager/founding member/band dad.
Jon: My name is Jon Bernstein, but you can call me JB. I am the lead guitar player and one of the primary song writers for the band.
How did the band get started?
Jon: That is more of a question for Zack, but I joined the band in the Spring of 2014. At first I was just a fill in, but I guess they loved me so much they couldn’t let me go!
Zakk: Haha. The band actually started back in April 2010. Former singer Evan D’Abrosca and I went to college together and collaborated with our former basisst Joey D’Alessio to start Chasing Carmen. What once started as a small thing, has become much bigger over the years.
What are your influences and how do they play a role in your sound?
Zakk: For me, my biggest influence is definitely Soundgarden – or anything that Chris Cornell creates for that matter. I think he is an absolute genius from a songwriting perspective, and I love the unpredictability of their sound. I love many other bands from the 60’s to the 90’s as well, ranging from Zeppelin to The Offspring – so definitely fairly varied. Outside of rock, I would definitely say I’m a fan of the blues – something about that type of music really gets the emotions pumping.
Jon: My influences vary but they are all under the rock umbrella for the most part. My absolute favorite band is a band called Story of the Year. They taught me how to deliver a phenomenal live show and their music is a part of my blood. They have become friends of mine over the years and I still look up to them in every way, shape, and form in terms of music, business decisions, and life in general. Eddie Van Halen is another major influence of mine. I actually didn’t get into him/Van Halen as a whole until I was 21. Most people look at me twice when I tell them I didn’t get into Eddie until I had ten years of experience under my belt, but then again I’m always late to the game when it comes down to discovering artists. I’ve never heard Freebird and I heard Stairway to Heaven for the first time only last year [laughs]. I have been studying the way he (Eddie) plays for 6 years now and that really helped me step up my playing. The approach he has to the fretboard is beyond inspiring to me and changed the way I have approached not just my instrument, but music as a whole forever. Zack and I saw Van Halen play last year and I am pretty sure I teared out of joy when Eddie walked out. Other major influences of mine include Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, Thrice, AC/DC, Deftones, Linkin Park, and many others. I try to have a wide variety of influences so that I don’t get bored, but I really only like 15% of the music that is really out there. However, that 15% is a part of my soul. Some of them are not even rock oriented but in my opinion that is healthy for a musician. When it comes down to how they play a role in my sound, the biggest thing I try not to do is sound like my favorite band. I try to incorporate their influence on me and replicate the fire they stir in me, but I am only 1/5th of this band. What I love about Chasing Carmen is that we are all so different musically so it’s hard for us to be a cookie cutter version of our favorite bands.
What has been your most meaningful experience being in this band so far?
Jon: Minus the fact that I still get to do what makes me truly happy, which is playing music, I get to do it with people I like. Zack has become one of my best friends over the last year few years and I consider him family at this point. He put me in Chasing Carmen at a dark time in my life and it helped turn me around. My cousin is our current bass player and we were raised like twins, so that’s cool too. Even the alumni members of this band are people I still talk to daily and have close relationships with.
Zakk: I echo what Jon said. Just the opportunity to play music and have the platform to share what we have created has been huge for me. Being asked to sign an autograph or take a picture after a set is an incredible feeling, and to this day it feels surreal.
Favorite memory from a show you’ve played or a place you’ve travelled?
Zakk: It’s hard to narrow it down, but here’s a top 2 on my end. A few years back we got the chance to open for Alice in Chains and Jane’s Addiction during the Rockstar Uproar Tour. These were two of my iconic bands growing up and it was incredible to be able to share the stage and support them. Second, we played a sold-out show with all local bands at the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall in NYC (1,500 capacity). All I can say is, what a crazy fucking show. And our two years at SXSW were killer from start to finish as well.
Jon: I love playing NYC. We do very well in that market. One of my favorite shows was when we co-headlined Webster Hall with a band called He Is Legend on my birthday last year. That was real special for me. We tore the house down and broke all sound barriers. I also received a cake! Also, I smoked weed with a stranger in the crowd during our set while we were playing a show at the SXSW festival in Texas. Oops? Nah.
What do you hope to accomplish with your music?
Jon: We are in a time right now where playing music is not a great way to make money. However, I am not trying to sustain a living off of this. We all have full time jobs and do this for the sake of love. That is the only way I will play music. I hate the music industry today. You have 12 writers per one song on an artist who doesn’t know anything other than how to shake his or her ass to a backing track. You can’t even call them an artist, more so a performer I guess. However, that doesn’t stop me from doing what I love and the route I go about doing it. The goal for me is to always be happy and proud with the music I write. If you like it too, then great but if not, I don’t care because I wrote this for myself. I want to crank the volume when that song comes on as if it wasn’t my own.
Zakk: Just to be able to release music, tour the country, and have the opportunity to be on stage. There are very few things that compare. And if people get enjoyment from our music – even better.
Something about you that no one knows?
Jon: The only way I am capable of tying my shoes is using the bunny ear method.
Zakk: Haha, you’re such an idiot. From a band perspective – one of our songs (Dethroned) appeared on a recent UFC telecast. Personally, I am actually part Transylvanian (aka I have a little Dracula in me).
What is next for the band?
Zakk: We have a new lineup now which is super exciting. Vocals and keys are currently being manned by Athan Hilaki – a super talented Greek singer from the band Trapped in Static. Drums are being handled by an absolute monster behind the kit, in David Torres and bass by Jon’s cousin – Jeremy Bernstein (or as he is affectionately called “Baby Food”.) Secondly, we have just started working on some new material for a new record, and we are off to a great start. Stay tuned as it will blow your mind, haha.
Jon: We are in the process of writing a new record. We will still play some shows, but we are trying to really write music that the 5 of us will be happy with. It can be a challenge because we are all so different musically, but that’s what makes a good band in my opinion. I would be embarrassed if I showed the guys in Story of the Year a song that sounded like a rip off one of their songs…hence why I don’t show them anything from my first band (laughs).
Anything else you want to add?
Jon: I really like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups so if you ever want my attention, throw one at my face and I am all yours.
Zakk: Throw anything at Jon’s face and he is all yours, haha. But seriously, we have a big July 15th headlining gig in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge where we will be recording a live album, and debuting a few new tracks!
