When a band says that it wants to bring all the people together, it sometimes comes off as sounding cliché or it’s just to get a pop out of the fans or audience. When Donald “DC” Carpenter of Eye Empire says it, you feel it in your bones – especially if you get the chance to see them live. Eye Empire is creating something very unique and engaging in an industry full of “flavors of the week” and here today/gone tomorrow artists. They recently unleashed a new album entitled Evolve that is set to propel them to the next level in their career. A truly befitting title for a band that has been on a perpetual path of evolving into the powerhouse of a group that it’s become.
The origins of Eye Empire can be traced back to 2007, but it took a while for all the intricate puzzle pieces to come together. The band that we know today, comprised of lead vocalist Donald Carpenter, guitarist B.C. Kochmit, bassist Corey Lowery and drummer Ryan Bennett, were unified in 2011. Their mantra of “Love, Respect, Support” combined with their passion and work ethic, began to win fans over in huge numbers.
After touring almost non-stop for most of 2013, their latest run was almost coming to an end. I had the chance to sit down with lead vocalist Donald Carpenter before a show in a small, intimate club in North Carolina for one of their last dates, to discuss their new album Evolve and many other insightful topics.
Johnny/RockRevolt: Hey DC, I missed my opportunity to talk to you at Carolina Rebellion this year, so this is an overdue treat for me. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me tonight. Let’s jump right into this stellar new album, Evolve. Can you give me some insight into your songwriting process for this album?
DC/Eye Empire: Hey Johnny! Thank you for wanting to talk to me. The songwriting process itself is an unorthodox as it gets. The first record was done in three different sessions. We all live in different cities along the eastern seaboard and we don’t have the luxury of being able to get together on a weekly basis and jam. We’re all writers from our previous bands, so it’s only natural for us to express ourselves through writing. It’s something that is a continuous process and it’s natural for us. Brad contributes his ideas, Corey contributes his ideas and I was able to contribute a couple of new ideas for this one. By the end of it, Ryan’s going to come up with some stuff that we’re going to start working things around. We have the ability to have a bass player who can play lead, we have a riff-master in Brad and all that really gives you a lot of directions to work from.
Listening to the new album, the lyrics seemed to me to be very personal and maybe a bit introspective in part. Are these some of your own personal experiences or do you draw from others experiences?
DC: Well, for me, music is definitely life and I only draw from personal experiences or what I try to observe; living from an observer’s stand point, trying to take in as much as I can. A couple of these songs we wrote for Veterans and a couple of certain projects that we were involved with. I wanted to be topic specific in what I was trying to voice and get across – such as is ”The War Isn’t Over Yet” or a song like “Can’t Forget” where I was really trying to put myself in their (the Vets) shoes as much as possible and tell an honest tale that really kind of cut to the core of the topic. You only have three and a half to four minutes to try to expose your soul in a way that hopefully will have a lasting effect on people’s lives. I think the best way to do that is to be truthful and open and honest and you know, some of these songs are extremely personal. I was hoping that I was going to be poetically vague to where it came across, but not too strongly. As a lyricist and somebody who is trying to grow, to know that it comes across is a great thing.
Now, you mentioned projects that you were involved in. I know that the song you just mentioned, “The War Isn’t Over Yet”, was used in the Battlefield of The Mind documentary and appeared on the soundtrack. That was an amazing documentary and a great project to be involved in, so I tip my hat to you for being a part of that. How did you guys involved with working on it?
DC: Thank you for saying that, I really appreciate that. We came off the road and we were working on new music and that was right around the same time that Fran Strine was putting the documentary together. He knew that we were an independent entity working on new stuff and we didn’t have a lot of red tape to have to work with and that kind of flexibility, so he asked if we would like to contribute to it. The guys had put together this track of music that has this franticness and ferocity to it that and it seemed like that was the kind of story that it was telling.
Lyric Video for “The War Isn’t Over Yet”
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The new album Evolve dropped on October 29th and is kicking ass on the charts. I know what I am hearing and reading online about it which has all been great, but what’s the feedback that you guys are getting directly? Are the fans gravitating to any particular songs?
DC: Everybody seems to have their favorite depending on what day and what situation you’re in. “Live Loud” is one that seems to be coming out early and “Beyond The Stars” is a song that we knew going into the finished product was a really good track that people would gravitate to.
There is some real diversity in the tone of the individual songs on Evolve, yet they all seem to “fit” and flow together cohesively. Was that intentional or did it just happen that way.
DC: One thing that’s key for us is to make sure that we keep the listeners on their toes. We try to break up some of the monotony and redundancy that you find in music today. Expectations are killer whether they be in relationships or in the music business. I think we just have to open ourselves up to the natural process of evolution a little more and that’s what Evolve is all about. It’s about being open for the journey and creating a community where we can all come together and accept each other for who we are and grow together, at our own paces and in our own ways. To us, that’s what music is all about; it’s about encouragement; it’s about empowerment and creating that common bond. The key to it and the strength of its power is only measured by the conscious intentions behind it. I think when you have a band who consciously intends to go out there and do great things with their music, to be open and honest; I think you see impact and power of it.
Let’s talk a little bit about this run that’s about to come to a close. How long have you been out on this bill?
DC: We’ve been out about two months on this run, give or take a little. True Becoming’s been there from the beginning and we did have Stardog Champion on the direct support slot, but it’s been a blessing in disguise having the Mindset Evolution guys jump on board. The mentality of their band, the personality and topics of discussion kind of fits in the vein of what we do, on top of them being very capable musicians. We really hope that we can spend a little more time with them in the near future.
I definitely think so too and I picked up on that same vibe from both bands. Have these shows produced any standout memories, whether good or bad?
DC: I think we’ve been able to take something away from every night. We usually have that approach each night where there are a lot of really good people who support what we do. You see those one or two faces out there of people that you recognize from other shows and it gives you a lot to draw from. We know, especially going into this break at the end of the year, that the business of touring is in a very precarious position and it’s a damaged business. It’s very hard to go out and tour and get people into the clubs. It gives us a lot to think about going into the next year and hopefully we’ll be recharged and ready to hit it hard.
So, you guys are about to end 2013 on a break. Are there any plans for the last month of the year?
DC: Yeah, it’s break time! That will give us the ability to try some new ideas for future shows and releasing new singles new singles from the album. I think we’re going to use this time to slow it down and let some of these new songs test the market a little bit; test the waters and see what people gravitate to. We’ll look back on what we’ve done the last few years and start to strategize on what to do next year. We’ve been gone a lot this year, so we all can’t wait to get home to our families and friends, enjoy the holidays and spend some much needed time with them.
Well you all have earned some “down time” for sure and you’ve got the new album out, so it’s perfect timing. But, I know you guys will be hitting the stage again sooner than later; do you have any pre-show rituals that you can share with your fans?
DC: We’re very much men, we’re creatures of habit. I think everyone, after being out here this long, has their routine. I have a four-hour countdown that kind of starts the process of getting prepared and getting ready. We do a huddle right before we go on stage each night. Everybody seems to be doing their own thing and working on stuff throughout the day, but you have to find that moment to focus and come back together and get back on track. We huddle and have a little talk and regain that focus that we need.
Just for fun, let’s say that the industry self-implodes tonight and you suddenly have to go into professional wrestling. What would your wrestling name be?
DC: I was thinking Esqueleto from Nacho Libre. You mention wrestling names, ironically, we like to think that we’re kind of like the Avengers. Ryan is Spiderman, Brad is Iron man, I’m Captain America and Corey is our Incredible Hulk.
That’s funny because my last question was going to be what super power would you love to have.
B.C.: I would love the ability to see through bullshit (laughs).
Ryan: I’m a Superman fan, so I’d love to be able to fly.
DC: Yeah, flying would be way cool.
What a way to end the interview! I can’t wait to see the show!
By: Johnny Price, Lead Senior Journalist
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