Hi Tyson, tell us a bit about The Audio Cartel - who's in the band, how you came up with the name, and how long you've been together.
The Audio Cartel started in January 2007 when I went over to NYC. I have known Jesse my whole life as our parents are very good friends, so as we both had no bands going, we decided to form one together. Justin had been in bands with Jesse before so he was the obvious choice as drummer. We wrote and recorded two songs that weekend in CT and knew we had something pretty good going, so we decided to make it our main priority musically. The name of the band just kinda appeared one day after a long search, I think it sounds cool!

How strong are the Hunter/Schenker family influences in the music that The Audio Cartel are making?
Well, both our parents have heard the music, like it and are supportive of the band.

How often do you manage to get together for rehearsing and gigs etc? And what about 'virtual jamming' - how much use do you make of internet technology for that?

We try to get together every 3 months, either by going to NYC or London, but I am trying to move over to NYC, which would make things a lot easier, and would just overall be amazing, I LOVE New York! The last two songs we wrote were written in Cambridge, and then recorded in London, but we only had time to get the drums done. So I recorded my guitar parts in the UK, sent it over to them where they recorded the bass and vocals then had it mixed. I think the latest songs came out great and a big thanks goes to Rick at the Guitar Hanger for all his help. He recorded and mixed all of them.

What is it about the idea of living in New York that appeals to you so much?
I've always loved being in big cities and lived in London for most my life. I simply just fell in love with New York as soon as I stepped off the plane, it's got a certain charm to it and a cool music scene going on. I will also live closer to the band which will make things a lot easier.

Does the Schenker/Hunter dynasty open any doors for you? Or is it a hindrance?
It's got its good and bad points. Good points would be we get more exposure from it, we've been mentioned in Classic Rock a few times, Rock websites and we've probably got quite a few good links between us.
Bad points would be the comparisons, which isn't really a bad thing, but I think some people just want to see a complete clone, which isn't really gonna be happening!!!

Earlier this year you put together an EP - what tracks are on there and where can we hear them?
The tracks on the EP are:-
You're so Good
Nothin'
Nasty Habits
The Dumb & The Ugly
All these tracks can be heard on our myspace page :- www.myspcace.com/theaudiocartel
We are hoping to release some more stuff very soon so watch our website for news.

How do you go about writing songs between you?
So far, all the songs have been written by jamming all day, drinking and having a good time. Then someone comes up with a cool riff or idea then we take it from there and jam it some more.

How does The Audio Cartel compare with your previous band Faster Inferno when it comes to the song-writing? At what point in the jam sessions do the lyrics start to take shape, and does each bandmember contribute to the lyrics?
With Faster Inferno we used to come to rehearsal with an idea or a riff then work on it that way, but with the Audio Cartel, we don't come in with any ideas and just spend hours jamming until we get something we like. I prefer doing it this way because you never know what you'll come out with in the end. It's also good to learn about each others playing style and to become tighter as a band by jamming. We write all the music first then give the music to Jesse to work on lyrics, but he usually comes up with the vocal melody during the jamming.

What have been your most exciting rocknroll moments as part of The Audio Cartel? And also prior to that?
Haha, most of these moments have featured Justin and drinking, but shall remain undisclosed!!!!
Prior to The Audio Cartel I got to play the Wacken Open Air Festival with my previous band, and also got the chance to join the Scorpions onstage for a song. That was undoubtedly the best day of my life; onstage with my family, Scorpions and in front of over 40,000. it doesn't get more rock n roll than that.

Your new music stands up on its own, but when you play live, many of the crowd who are 'of a certain age' will probably want to hear you do some of the old Mott The Hoople or UFO/MSG classics. Would you consider adding any into the set, and if so, which ones? And what songs, if any, by other bands might you play?
I'm pretty sure we wont be playing any cover songs just because we don't need to. We gotta make it on our own music and play our own style.

What is the best ever gig you've been to, by any band - and why?
That's a good question and really hard to answer. I saw the Rolling Stones recently and they were amazing, The Scorpions rocked on the last tour, it's hard to decided, ive seen so many gigs I couldn't even narrow it down to a top 10. There is only one band I wish I had seen and that is The Doors.

Would you ever take the 'X Factor' (or similar) route to fame? Tell us what you think of shows like that, and also how you think they compare with non-televised Battle Of The Bands competitions.
I personally would never take the X-factor route to fame, because that's all they get, "fame", not recognition as a musician. They sing covers every week, win it, then release a covers album. what is the point in that? I guess the difference with the non-televised BOTBs would be the bands are playing their own songs, etc, but still, music isn't a competition, so no point to either really.

What do you all like doing in your spare time?
Music is such an important part of our lives that we seem to spend most of the time dreaming of the musical future ahead!!

© Get Ready To Roll - 10th September 2007