CARRTOONS at Newport: A Conversation with alldaywes on Family, Collaboration, and the Road to Space Cadet

alldaywes: Alright, man. So yeah, great performance earlier on the harbor stage.

CARRTOONS: Thank You so much.

alldaywes: My name's alldaywes here, talking with Ben Carr, AKA CARRTOONS. He's here at Newport Jazz Festival, and I saw you had Kiefer up there on the keys with you and your band. I know you guys collaborate a lot and play together. And tell me about some of the other bandmates that were in that band with you today.

CARRTOONS: Well, yeah, I'll start with the singers. Joanna Teters and I have been working together for 15 years.

alldaywes: Her voice is incredible.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, we had a band called Mad Satta back in college days, and we've been working together ever since. And then Julia used to sing backgrounds with that band, Julia Zivic. And so I produced some of their own solo music over the years, and we've always been in touch. And when I started doing the touring band, they were free. And it was just one of those things where we'd all been in bands, but we were all free. And I was like, this would actually be really cool. And I feel like we could kind of sing a good amount of the catalog I've been doing between the two of them. So they, or two of my best friends were in my wedding and stuff. So those squad have definitely become part of the family, the CARRTOONS family. And then Diego Ramirez, the drummer, started playing with us like a year or two ago. And really just somebody I met through the New York scene through gigging and stuff. And just the perfect fit, just when you meet the perfect person for the gig. And it's been a blessing to have all these guys. And like we were saying, Kiefer, anybody that knows knows that he's doing his own thing as well.

alldaywes: Right. Kiefer will be on the quad stage here tomorrow I believe so, yeah.

CARRTOONS: And I'll be playing bass on that as well.

alldaywes: Let's go. So yeah, that's great that you guys kind of can go back and forth and just that having that connection with your band mates on stage, you can feel it in the crowd, you can feel it translate through the music.

CARRTOONS: Well, I love to hear that. I love to hear that.

alldaywes: And you know what else was really cool, I really love that you were talking about how you have been going to Newport for a while as a patron and with your dad, and then you brought your dad upstage to perform with him. Talk about that full circle moment, kind of how that felt.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, I mean it was the first thing that came to my mind when the gig got offered, this is kind of like a family thing with me and him. We would take road trips often when I was younger and this was the destination a few of those times. I think we probably came here four or five times. And the last, I always say when I decided to do music for a career was here actually when I was 17 years old, saw Christian Scott with the original band that he was playing with. And it just really was just one of those aha moments I suppose. So this place means a lot to me in general from a symbolic. So I was very sentimental on stage without that being there

alldaywes: without that whole moment.

CARRTOONS: And then with that, it was a really special show today. So I'm still buzzing from it for sure.

alldaywes: Awesome. Really want to talk about your new album coming out here in the fall, Space Cadet, dropping in the Fall, I believe, and loving the singles, Thursday Disco with, and that's Haile?

CARRTOONS: Haile

alldaywes: Haile, Haile Supreme, and also the other one, Green Eyed with Pale Jay.

CARRTOONS: Hell yeah.

alldaywes: Man! What great songs, what great singles. And I read that the collab with Pale Jay was one of the first ones that you made for the project started in 2013 with a conversation y'all were having.

CARRTOONS: It's funny. That should have said 2023, not 2013

alldaywes: 2023. Okay.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, yeah. I don't know how that typo snuck out there

alldaywes: I was going to say, I was like, that's a long time coming.

CARRTOONS: That would be DeAngelo level. We were cooking for 12 years. We're cooking for over a decade. No, no. We met a couple of years ago and we both would show up on Spotify as our fans liked each other

alldaywes: If you like this, recommended for this.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, And we were just like, who is this guy? And we were both curious I think. And we hopped on a phone call and we really just hit it off and I just did a little tour with him, music directing as well. And he's really taken his own ascension, which has been awesome. And it is cool to produce for a more traditional soul voice like that.

alldaywes: His voice is very unique

CARRTOONS: And it very lives on its own. It's very cool.

alldaywes: To hear it on your production too is really awesome.

CARRTOONS: Thanks man. Yeah, no, I'm very lucky to have gotten him on a track. I feel like since we met, he's really ascending in a beautiful way. And sometimes you just get lucky with the people you meet along the road, on the road. He's the man.

alldaywes: Stars aligning there even more so.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, for sure.

alldaywes: Well yeah, I know you just released the track list and all the features for the album. I mean, collaborations you have on there with are really awesome. Like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Phonte, Eric The Architect, Rae Khalil, The Kount, one of my favorite producers, just to name a few. I mean, take us kind of into putting together that lineup of artists and what it was kind of putting those songs together.

CARRTOONS: I mean, with any project, I'm trying to elevate the people I can bring into the world if I can. I want to get the best people available that will do it. And this was the first time we had really reached out to a little more strangers, and it didn't really work. So it ended up, these are all people that I've worked with before, people that have reached out as fans, and people that just like making music. We have a good rapport, and almost all these people I've worked with in a different capacity. So this is almost always a follow up, a couple people that it was the first time, it was a great excuse. We were working on an album to send them something and this is, maybe they'll respond. I think Wiki was probably the only person that I hadn't met before that did the project, and we got in the room via Josh here and made some magic happen.

alldaywes: That's awesome. Well, last question I have for you, and I know you got a couple more interviews, so I'll give you some time, but what's on your playlist right now? What's kind of catching your ear?

CARRTOONS: Yeah, I mean, I've been listening to George Benson's eighties era. I've been listening to, hold on, let me pull out my phone.

alldaywes: I always have to do the same thing. It's always changing,

CARRTOONS: It's in the thing. But no, there's a couple ones I feel like I want to reference

alldaywes: Really highlight. Yeah,

CARRTOONS: Actually like yeah, I've been listening to the New Tyler thing, the New Freddie thing.

alldaywes: Okay. Yeah,

CARRTOONS: I enjoyed those. Those were cool. But..

alldaywes: With Madison McFerrin? did you hear that one cut with Madison?

CARRTOONS: And Maddie, I've known Maddie and Joanna have been friends since the Berkeley days.

alldaywes: Really? Yeah.

CARRTOONS: Our bands used to play shows together back in the day. So it's definitely a small world and I love to see her shining.

alldaywes: So cool. She's been having a great year. Yeah.

CARRTOONS: Great year. And yeah, George Duke definitely been back on that.

alldaywes: Getting into classics.

CARRTOONS: Old Slippers... Ridiculous. Madonna Lucky Star really is moving me this week.

alldaywes: Alright!

CARRTOONS: Bobby Hutcherson Prime Thought that track is really ******* me up this week. And then a lot of yacht rock, man.

alldaywes: We're a great place for that.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, I don't need to have my phone for that part. I've definitely been on a yacht rock kick of sorts. Nice. Definitely been listening to a little more Steely Dan than I used to. A little more Michael McDonald, all that.

alldaywes: Yep. Yeah, I agree. It's been kind of exploding this year, a little bit like a revival of yacht rock, but I've been in that same bag.

CARRTOONS: Yeah, man.

alldaywes: Well great to talk to you, CARRTOONS, my man.

CARRTOONS: What a pleasure!

alldaywes: Great to meet you. Thanks so much. And definitely looking forward to hearing the album.

CARRTOONS: Hell yeah, man.

alldaywes: I know all the listeners will be as well.

CARRTOONS: Thank you for caring.

alldaywes: You bet.

CARRTOONS: I appreciate it man.

alldaywes: Of course.

CARRTOONS: Yes, much love.