MONDAY MORNING MUSICAL MAYHEM - featuring Camel City Blackouts
New interviews from people in the music scene every Monday, every week, every month!
Welcome to Monday Morning Musical Mayhem: an online series that focuses on musicians, bands, artists, and whoever else in the musical industry that reaches out to us! The goal is help spread the word about people doing rad stuff in the music world! Are you doing rad stuff? Email us at brutalrealitydigest@gmail.com to be featured! xoxoxo
We've been focusing on Ontario a lot lately so let's break it up and head South! To the shiny state of North Carolina! Here we will find The Camel City Blackouts - a punk band based in Winston Salem which has to be the only city named after a British prime minister and a talking cat. We forgot to ask him about it so we'll just assume it's true. We did talk to frontman Ryan Sizemore about the band, Tar Heels, and the Carolina Hurricanes so grab a beer, throw on your reading glasses and prepare to feast on Camel!
BRUTAL REALITY DIGEST: Introduce yourself, your band, and weapon of choice.
RYAN SIZEMORE: Hello, I am Ryan and I am from the Winston-Salem, North Carolina based band The Camel City Blackouts. My weapon of choice in the band is guitar and vocals. Outside of the band my weapon of choice is getting naked. Nobody ever wants to fight the naked dude…. Nobody.
BRD: Since we're dumb Canadians, all we know about North Carolina is that Michael Jordan is from there and we think maybe the Hurricanes play there as well. What else should we know about your state?
RS: I think it is imperative that Canadians know that North Carolinians are not all hicks and buck tooth cousin fuckers. We are pretty normal minus the annual county fair goat fuckings. We did not all vote for Trump and we don’t think all Canadians are like the characters in Letter Kenny and the Trailer Park Boys….. Oh and everyone here loves Nascar!
BRD: What the hell is a Tar Heel?
RS: I thought it was UNC’s nickname for their college or what happens when you don’t look where you’re walking but I’m wrong. It is a derogatory term for poor people or at least that’s what the internet says.
BRD: If you could convince any guitarist in the history of music to rip a solo on one of your songs, who would you ask?
RS: The punk side of my heart would say Mike Ness from the early 90’s Social Distortion. I love the solos and leads on their songs during that era. A close second would be early 90’s Johnny Rzeznik From the Goo Goo Dolls.
BRD: What was the weirdest show you ever played?
RS: One time we played a show, outdoors, at a local bar called the Empourium in Kernersville, North Carolina. They had us setup in the back yard a couple of yards away from where a water balloon fight was to begin when we started playing. There was a mass of people on the left and right side of the yard. When we started playing, both sides of the yard charged at each other, I’m pretty somebody died in the melee. Also, that same night they had body painting and fire dancing. It was an interesting crowd.
BRD: What was the first video game you ever beat?
RS: I think the first video game I ever beat was Pac Mania on Sega Genesis. Pac Mania is the only Pacman game I know that allowed players to jump over the ghosts. Which at the time was like living in the future.
BRD: If you could go on a world wide tour with Green Day but the only catch was Billie Joe would run out and kick you in the balls every set, would you still say yes?
RS: Totally, I’m sure my peaches would callous up after a few kicks and I could always double or triple up on underwear.
BRD: What is a festival you're dying to play with your band?
RS: Warped tour would have been on the top of my list if it were still going. That tour was a punk merit badge I wish I could have gotten. A current tour I’d want to see us on would be Punk in Drublic. I think it would be fun to be counted amongst those bands who helped get us into punk and to see all the new bands. I bet the crowds this year are going to be insane. I’m so jealous.
BRD: If you could travel back in time and include your band on any compilation, which one would you want to be a part of?
RS: That’s easy. I would want to be on the Atticus …dragging the lake vol. 1 comp. So many great songs on that comp from Blink 182, Alkaline Trio, Midtown, Simple Plan, NFG, Boxcar Racer, ect. That was a huge album for all of my friends and myself.
BRD: Tell us about your plans for the rest of 2021 and beyond!
RS: I am calling 2021 the year of the camel. Our mission statement is to continue to bust our asses to get noticed. We have already released a 3 song ep this year called “13” ,which has gotten a lot of buzz, and we have another one coming out in July. We are planning on shooting music videos for all 3 songs on the new ep and those are the only guarantees for 2021. I am hopeful this year we can also release a 3rd ep and play a ton of shows. We are just going to push our luck and see where it takes us.