Connecticut band to hit local stage with Into It. Over It., Hostage Calm
From the halls of their high school to concert venues across the country, the members of Make Do and Mend have traveled a long way together.
The alternative quartet from Hartford, Conn., will play New Brookland Tavern tonight. The band will be joined by acoustic solo act Into It. Over It. and fellow Connecticut punk rockers Hostage Calm.
Front man James Carroll spoke with The Daily Gamecock this week about the band’s history and what fuels his desire to make music.
Make Do and Mend has been making music for six years. The band formed while Carroll was a freshman in college — the other members, including Carroll’s brother Matt, were still in high school, the place where the group got its name.
“It came from a poster off the wall of a classroom that some of us had class in in high school,” Carroll said. “My brother Matt brought it up as a cool band name, and we kind of just ran with it.”
Carroll’s brother Matt plays drums, so they’ve known each other for life. Carroll said the other members have become like family, too, though.
“Mike (O’Toole), our guitar player, has been our friend for many, many years,” he said. “Our parents were actually friends before we were born.”
Bassist Luke Schwartz joined the band after meeting the guys while they were out on tour, but they were all friends for a long time before he became an official band member.
“There was an opening, and it made sense for him to be the guy,” Carroll said.
Make Do and Mend has an active social media presence — maintaining profiles on Facebook, Tumblr, Bandcamp, MySpace and Twitter — and keeping in touch with listeners is very important to the band.
“I grew up in a time before the Internet really took over music,” Carroll said. “But now, in a time where information is so readily available, it’s definitely changed the landscape ... People [have] the ability to be closer to a band on a personal level than they had been before social media was so prevalent.”
While seeing the world and reaching fans is a wonderful part of hitting the road, Carroll said making music is still the best thing touring has to offer.
“My favorite thing about touring is playing shows. That’s the long and short of it,” he said.
Carroll said he doesn’t know what he’d be doing if he weren’t a musician, but he knows he’d want to be happy with whatever job he had.
“I want to make my life for myself,” Carroll said. “Playing the band definitely allowed me to do that.”
The band released its second album, “Everything You Ever Loved,” this summer on Rise Records. While the band’s previous album was released on a different label, Paper + Plastic, Carroll insists there was no conflict or struggle between the band and the label; Make Do and Mend simply seized the opportunity to record with a larger label.
“Opportunities became available, and we are of the mindset that we always take the right steps when they come,” Carroll said.
The singer names Hot Water Music and Jimmy Eat World as some of his biggest musical influences, but casts a wider net for sources of inspiration.
“On a grand scale, bands that make honest music without a gimmick,” he said.
As far as what to expect at tonight’s show, Carroll said the band will be “playing a bunch of new songs.”
Make Do and Mend’s New Brookland Tavern show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 at the door. The venue is located at 122 State St.