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0:00/3:40
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If You Knew (demo) 4:420:00/4:42
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0:00/3:35
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0:00/3:17
ABOUT
The Carbonics are an indie rock band founded in Flagstaff, Arizona in 2022. Their unique sound combines a pop sensibility with strong roots in folk and a dallop of vintage R&B. The result is emotionally compelling songs with grooving basslines, catchy melodies, and heartfelt lyrics. They can fill a dance floor with a rousing chorus or spin a contemplative yarn to a listening room. Hints of contemporary influences like Nathaniel Rateliff, the Lumineers, and Vampire Weekend can be heard in their music, along with legendary songwriters like Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and Otis Redding.
BAND MEMBERS
Bryan Griffith
Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Bryan had resigned from a well-known management consulting firm in Chicago and was touring the country trying to make it as an artist when his van broke down in Flagstaff. He fell in love with the landscape, and then his future wife. He never left.
Today, Bryan is a contemporary artist with work in major museum collections around the country. He is a three-time finalist and past winner of Creative Flagstaff's Viola Award for outstanding achievement and community impact in the arts. Much of his work focuses on environmental issues. Bryan began studying songwriting more seriously in 2020 after all of his shows were cancelled due to the pandemic. He serves as the band’s primary songwriter, vocalist, and creative director.
Sam Williams
Guitar, Vocals
Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Sam spent his formative years studying delta blues before heading to Nashville to study guitar, music business, and English composition, and to play in bands around Nashville's alt-rock and pop scene.
A 2015 trip down the Colorado River convinced him to move to Flagstaff and pursue a teaching career. He now spends his days pushing back the frontiers of ignorance and his nights slapping strings on the single coil.
His influences include Mark Knopfler, Aphex Twin, Bob Dylan, Mississpi John Hurt, Doc Watson, and Organized Noize. In addition to lead guitar, Sam contributes songs and vocals to the band.
Mike Handforth
Bass
Mike began playing bass guitar in the ‘90s when seemingly all the indie rhythm guitarists of South Carolina went on strike from being forced to play bass in their bands. Rather than getting burned out from gigging five nights a week, Mike dove deeper into laying down the low end. He saved up his pizza delivery money, bought up a jalopy Kay string bass and moved to DC where he quickly became entrenched in the burgeoning bebop and bluegrass scenes. In 2002, Mike returned to the west coast, landing in San Diego where he continued expanding his gigging repertoire to include gypsy jazz, theater, and original rock operas while teaching high school music at the prestigious High Tech High school district. Mike and his wife, Lisa, packed up their doggies and chickens and headed to Flagstaff in 2016 when Lisa was awarded a fellowship to earn her PhD in Biology at Northern Arizona University. Mike is currently a high school welding teacher and enjoys spending his free time welding stuff or hunting and foraging deep within the wilderness of Northern Arizona.
Beau Santillan
Drums, Percussion
Beau grew up in Chicago and simplified his true Filipino name when none of his teachers could pronounce it. After a stint in the US Navy, he disembarked in Seattle, fell in love with the landscape, and played drums with several bands over the years in the burgeoning Seattle music scene. For Beau, drumming is a source of joy whether he’s up on stage or not. He can be found alone in the woods playing his trusty djembe to the pines or sitting in a creek bed tapping rhythms on stones with sticks. He amplifies the energy he finds onsite, and feeds it back to the crowd and rest of the band. Moving back to the States after a stay in Central America, Beaux drove up to Flagstaff in 2021 after landing in Phoenix, liked the vibe better and decided to stick around.