Who: Cartel
Where: Louie's Backyard
When: March 13
Sounds Like: Jimmy Eat World, Boys Like Girls
Claim to Fame: Appeared on MTV's reality show "Band in a Bubble," reached no. 20 on U.S. Billboard 200 chart
Stuck in a "bubble" for twenty days straight and filmed for the entire world to see, Cartel did the impossible. They recorded their second
full-length record.
"We were trapped in there. You couldn't go anywhere without people seeing you. Cameras were everywhere, broadcasting our every move live online, which was kind of crazy," drummer Kevin Sanders stated on the band's official Web site.
Cartel's brand of pop-punk, similar to the sounds of Jimmy Eat World and Boys Like Girls, landed the band a stint on MTV's reality show "Band in a Bubble," which aired last year.
The show documented the recording of the quartet's self-titled sophomore effort. The rules were that the band would be filmed 24 hours a day and seven days a week for 20 days. Within those 20 days, they could not leave a 40' x 40' studio made of fiberglass on Pier 54 in New York according to their band's Web site biography.
"It was both the oddest thing and the best thing we've ever done," lead singer Will Pugh stated on the band's official Web site. "The whole eccentricity of having cameras follow you 24/7 with your fans, parents, everyone being able to access your lives during those 20
days, while trying to make a record, can get in your head a little bit. We really learned so much about how to exist as a band. We looked at it as a musical experiment."
Cartel, with guitarists Joseph Pepper, Nic Hudson and bassist Jeff Lett, received world-wide exposure that led to appearances on MTV's "Total Request Live" and a top 20 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200. But the band was no stranger to success. Their first single "Honestly," off of their debut record "Chroma," reached no. 55 on the U.S. pop 100. The second single "Say Anything (Else)" was featured on the "Madden NFL 2007" video game.
The band, which hails from Atlanta, Georgia, has toured with New Found Glory, Cobra Starship, and The Early November.
"It's the same feeling parents have when their kid grows up and graduates," Pugh stated on the band's official Web site. "It's like wow, this idea that we put down a few years ago has finally come to fruition. We couldn't be more proud of what we've accomplished while at
the same time looking toward the future."
The group will play Louie's Backyard on South Padre Island in March 13.
