Rust on the Carousel, hailing from Asbury Park. Contributed photo.
There’s a new band on the street called Rust on the Carousel with a familiar yet unique sound.
Rust on the Carousel comes from the Asbury Park area of central New Jersey. Their music was born from their life experiences and heavily influenced by many well-known rock artists. Because of this influence, Rust on the Carousel has a style that many people will be familiar with. They encompass the strong-toned and emotional sound that comes from other great artists, including their fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen.
Some of the songs on their new EP “Born Dead” also have recognizable influences from other bands. Sophomore Allison Radde said, “The second song on their EP (The Ballad of Bubba) sounds a lot like something from Pearl Jam.”
While there could be a few comparisons made between Rust on the Carousel and other groups, their sound is unmistakably of simple, strong rock and roll.
Rust on the Carousel’s members include Doug Gatta (lead vocals and guitar), John Pietruszka (vocals and bass) and John Cancellieri (vocals and drums), a former Fairfield student and current sophomore at Fordham University. The band started playing together in high school jazz band a few years ago and came together officially during the past winter break.
This may sound like a band of college kids that plays covers from The Clash in their parent’s garage, and it is. However, Rust on the Carousel goes beyond basic covers and is expanding greatly to include original pieces.
This past winter, the band all chipped in to rent a recording studio for eight hours to create their EP, and the band has already played at La La Lush at Webster Hall in Manhattan.
They are scheduled to do a two-week tour in July. This trip will go through the entire East Coast, from New Jersey to Florida and everything in between. The band is continually working on more music for the tour and is even making Rust on the Carousel merchandise.
Drummer Cancellieri said, “The three of us love playing music, and the three of us love playing music together specifically.” This band is all about putting in a group effort to let people know who they are. “Music is the one thing that makes us the happiest we’ve ever been.”
The band is already on Facebook and Spotify for you to check out. However, one thing they stress is being bigger than just an online band. This is why they are going on an entire tour in July.
Cancellieri said, “You always have to be thinking about ways to set yourselves apart from other bands.” He continued by explaining that “you have to work your way up” to make it like new bands such as Imagine Dragons, or old ones like Nirvana – they all started in the same place.
The members of Rust on the Carousel know that making it as musicians is very hard and does not happen overnight. They will start on tour like all famous bands did, and they intend to keep going even when others would quit. They believe that perseverance is the way get noticed by the right person at the right time.
“It’s when you see these bands that are just popular now,” said Cancellieri. “Some of them will be popular for another couple of years, but the kids that are starting now are going to be the next generation of bands.”
The motivation of this group comes from the members’ common love for music and similar bands. Of their music, Cancellieri said, “What really drives our writing process is life, because it’s the easiest and hardest thing to write about.”
The band found inspiration from their love for the same bands, as well as their individual appreciation for these bands and musicians. They are confident that this will carry them down the challenging and rewarding road they are taking.
Cancellieri stressed that none of the members of Rust on the Carousel are pursuing music because they want to make millions of dollars. Instead, they play music because “it is what makes us happy, and we have the skill and talent to make it happen down the road and make a career out of music.”
Rust on the Carousel is a new band with a great sound and a promising future. You can listen to their EP on Spotify or catch them on tour this summer.
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