Sleazy. Primitive. Uncomfortable. Long Beach underground rock band CARSEX sounds exactly like their name implies — and just as good as your dirtbag friend told you they would be.
Photo Credit = Chris Michael Media
Formed in 2018 from the wreckage of Long Beach scene staples like Damned Age, Black Velvet Brigade, and Red River Massacre, the five members of CARSEX are veterans of the Orange County circuit. After years of crossing paths at shows and surviving the implosions of past projects, they united under a shared love of chaos, distortion, and that sweaty, guttural thing that lives between punk and sludge.
Your new EP Human Interest tackles themes of chaos and disillusionment — how do you balance personal emotion with broader cultural commentary in your songwriting?
Carsex bassist Jeremy Schott: I don’t know if we do or put that much thought into it. We just kind of spit out what we are feeling and experiencing at the time of writing. It’s a visceral reaction to the world and society that we are currently living in. It’s our response to the world, writ large.
The track “Landmine” feels like a visceral psychological descent. What kind of headspace do you need to enter to perform or write something that intense and existential?
When Nigel and I work on lyrics, I usually read his scratchings and rough outline and then ask him what the song is about. We have a discussion of what type of emotions or story we’d like to tell within the song. As far as performing, I’m usually focused on the music and avoiding being hit by Nigel as he’s flailing around the stage.
You’ve worked with producer Steve Evetts, who’s known for shaping some of the heaviest, most unrelenting sounds in metal and hardcore. What did he bring to the CARSEX sound that wasn’t there before?
Steve is the best! He made us better players for one – we don’t record to a click. It’s a natural organic sound. It can breathe, but he will hear the tiniest infraction and have you do it over and over again until he’s happy. There were moments where I couldn’t hear what he was hearing and I would just keep playing it over again until he would say ok. He also knows how to get Nigel to enunciate. Before we recorded with Steve, it was hard to make out what Nigel was singing sometimes. Steve definitely helped with that. Also, recording with Steve is just fun – we love that dude!
How did the acid trip metaphor in “Landmine” influence the visual approach for the video? Were there specific visual artists or films that inspired the shoot?
When we asked Nigel what the lyrics of “Landmine” were about he said it was like a bad acid trip. We told Chris Michael, our video director, and he decided to roll with it thematically. We were looking for a location and found a room with a LED ceiling that we thought would help make the visuals a bit trippy. Chris had fun with it – The cool blue colors for the initial calm, then harsh reds and awkward angles take over as the hallucinations hit. We swapped the mic for a grenade to push the hallucinatory theme further. Everything about the shoot stayed true to the theme: chaos, distortion, and the constant threat of land mines.”
Songs like “Fuck This” and “D.K.C.” come across as pure catharsis — do you see your music as a form of protest, therapy, or something else entirely?
I think it’s a little bit of all that mixed together. But I think they are primarily a reaction to the society we live in. Everywhere we look, society is telling us how to live, what to buy, how to dress. There’s a constant barrage of ads. We’ve been comparing it to the movie, They Live or 1984. Our world and society is becoming more dystopian by the day and this record is our visceral reaction to it. Some days you just want to say, “Fuck This!” Other times you want to protest and yell from the rooftops for change.
Guitar question for Shane and Justin: There’s a lot of sonic weight behind this EP — what gear (guitars, amps, pedals) did you lean on most heavily to get that crushing, chuggy tone, especially on “Landmine”?
Shane and Justin pretty much use what they do when they play live. Mesa Boogie heads, Les Paul Guitars. The only thing different in the studio is that Steve will pull out all kinds of pedals and try them out. For Human Interest, we recorded at Maple Sound Studios. Cameron Webb, the owner, recorded a bunch of Motörhead albums. They had Lemmy’s Marshall head in the back. They mixed my Orange bass head with Lemmy’s Marshall. They definitely made my bass tone heavier!
With CARSEX emerging from Long Beach — a city known for genre fusion and musical experimentation — how much has the local scene shaped your sound or ethos as a band?
Long Beach is definitely influential. It’s a city that supports music and playing shows there is great fun. Genres mixing at shows is not uncommon. We play with indie bands to ska to metal. When writing music, there are no rules and I like to think you can hear it in our music. “Sitting Ducks” is probably to best example of that. That song takes the listener on a journey. But then we can switch to a more poppy, indie rock song like “Beyond the Trees.”
If CARSEX had to swap out instruments for random objects during a show — like drums made of pizza boxes or a mic made of cheese — who in the band would actually try to make it work, and who would immediately walk off stage?
I think Nigel and myself are the more experimental and free spirited people in the band. We would probably make it work. I can see Justin, Shane and Blue getting pretty frustrated…
CARSEX isn’t trying to save rock — they’re trying to gut it, smear its blood on the walls, and make you dance in it. Catch them live, scream along, and remember to bring earplugs — or don’t. That ringing? That’s CARSEX, and you won’t want it to stop.
Connect & Share with CARSEX
Official Website: https://carsexlbc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CARSEXLBC/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carsexlbc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carsexlbc
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Categories: Carsex, Interviews, Music
Capital Chaos TV 
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