“My dream is to have a hundred thousand people rocking out to us”- Kelly Reed
Two weeks ago, we had the opportunity and pleasure to sit and chat with Cameron Clark, James Weishar, and brothers Kelly and Kody Reed. Formally known as C2 & The Brothers Reed, this young, electric rock band hails from Danville, Kentucky. “Born Kentucky” was the initial response we received after proposing the question, with drummer, Kody, flashing his faded blue Kentucky Wildcats tee mid-response. The name derives from the two Reed brothers, Kelly (guitarist) and Kody (drums), and frontman Cameron Clarks initials for the “C2” aspect. “It was originally ‘C squared’, but the ‘squared’ part was difficult to put online, so we just went with ‘C2’.” The group all attended the same high school in their Kentucky hometown, but did not form until after college, where they all met and would eventually become friends. We stumbled upon the group during their first of two sets throughout the night at Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia during an alumni weekend concert. What initially drew us in was the group’s ability to stand a cover of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” in such a spectacular fashion. Later that night, they performed again, this time at a different, more intimate venue. The group is trying to promote their debut LP, “Weigh Station”, which was released in 2015-16. It contains “Exit A” and “Exit B”, which hold six and four tracks respectively. This double LP mixes hauntingly electric riffs and calming southern blues, which all topped with a velvety, rich voice provided by frontman, Cameron Clark. As you sit and listen to the album, it is evident that there is a heavy rhythm and blues inspiration behind every track, coupled with their own interpretation sprinkled on top. C2 & The Brothers Reed have been touring for nearly five years trying to promote themselves, and they have travelled all throughout the country performing in front of hundreds of different crowds. When we asked what the tour life was like, they discussed the struggles of lacking a proper sleep schedule and living out of their van. Their thoughts on driving were shared in a more sarcastic tone, where James claimed, “It’s our favorite downtime activity.” In a more serious light, Kody claims the outdoors as his favorite thing to do aside from the music and tourlife; “I just love being lazy.” When we discussed the album with the group, they claimed to have drawn individual inspiration from a variety of places, most notably being the Three Kinds (Freddie, Albert, and B.B.), Herbie Hancock, and vocal legends with respect to Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Freddie Mercury, and the Motown scene in its entirety. While constructing the album, they found themselves channeling inspiration and encouragement from the English rock giants such as Bad Company and, of course, Led Zeppelin. The combination of inspiring guitar solos, battered drums, haunting vocals, and complimentary keys to fill the spaces in between, these inspirations translate beautifully on stage and in the double LP, and makes for an exciting show. As we all began to settle in and become more comfortable with one another, conversation was sparked about the upcoming Queen movie, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which opens to the public on Friday, November 2. Guitarist, Kelly Reed, and keyboardist, James Weishar, led the charge with their oozing excitement over the movie, and Kelly gives credit to Queen guitarist, Brian May, as being an inspiration to him when he plays. Steering even further off topic, we began to discuss the iconic mustache beheld by Freddie Mercury, and even began to share compliments about the facial hair of one another. Showing particular interest for my own mustache, the band showed their charm and humor when James pointed out his admiration; “I love how it just hangs there”, while Kody added on, “He’s motivating me to grow one right now!” Finally reeling everyone back on track from the jeers and banters of the world of facial hair, we began to discuss the music industry today. When I asked the band how they felt about the music coming out today, and what their opinion was on the “lack” of rock ‘n roll today, James took the mic; “We’re kinda bugged when we flip through the radio and hear what is playing,” and as he looked to his bandmates who seem to nod and concur, he adds, “we don't really care about that right now, were just playing our music and doing what we're doing.” Cameron chimed in saying, “Rock ‘n roll has definitely resurfaced.” The response for the the Reed brothers, Kody and Kelly, was the most surprising of the four when Kody said, “I don’t listen to much modern music anyways, mostly podcasts,” where Kelly agreed with his brother with a rather powerful head nod. They did, however, show their love and appreciation for Quaker City Night Hawks, DARLA, and Sing-Sing, who they will listen to on the road or between shows, and, obviously, rock classics from the Seventies. James adds the final words: “We definitely don’t listen to new hip-hop. None of us do.” One thing that stuck out about this group and caught our eye was Cameron’s remarkable vocal range on stage. It almost instantly made us draw comparisons between Cameron and Josh Kiszka, front man for the beloved Greta Van Fleet. We asked if he had trained his voice or taken any lessons, and says, “I didn’t do any lessons or anything.” In a hopeful reach, the following question was whether he aspired to be like Sting, being a frontman who happened to wield a bass guitar. We shared a laugh following the question, where he denied our claim and said that, if anything, he imagined himself Jami Jamison more so than Sting. The passion the group presents with their music is nothing short of admirable. When we asked if they would consider it an out of body experience, they agreed that it is a state of mind that ebbs and flows. “One second you are there, the next you aren’t,” said Kody, “you are continually in and out of your zone.” Kelly added a nice little piece to the end of the question by saying that “we are a team,” when he referred to the relationship between the band and the crowd. Having just played in a very small, intimate setting, we asked for their thoughts. “I like this place a lot. You can really tell that people are enjoying what we are doing, which is super cool to see,” said James. Kelly added to his point, “Yeah, it’s just cool to see that people are paying attention. But, we play the same everywhere we go.” He added, “My dream is to have a hundred thousand people rocking out to us.” With the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame recently releasing their 2019 induction nominees, we thought it would be a neat way to finish off the interview by asking their thoughts on the class, and their thoughts on the Hall in whole. Fellow axe wielder, Kelly, began with “Well first of all, I can’t believe it took so long for Stevie [Ray Vaughn] to get in.” Cameron added, “None of it really matters. It’s the music, it’s what they did. There is no award for art, so how do they sit around and judge it? It’s what matters to the people.” Go check out the amazing C2 & The Brothers Reed now! You can check out their Spotify link below for a taste of their debut LP “Weigh Station”, and their website link below for more info, merchandise, and tour dates! Another thanks to C2 & The Brothers Reed for allowing us to sit and chat! All the best! Vocals, Bass / Cameron Clark Guitar / Kelly Reed Keys / James Weishar Drums / Kody Reed C2 & The Brothers Reed- Website C2 & The Brothers Reed- Weigh Station Tour: Exit A C2 & The Brothers Reed- Weigh Station Tour: Exit B -L.C.
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