"Valentines Day meets Halloween"
The Camel City Blackouts
The Camel City Blackouts formed in 2015. Their love for punk rock and having a good time together made them a band. The band from Winston Salem, NC, still consists of the founding members Ryan Sizemore and Derek Gilreath.
The two released their debut album "Possession" in 2019. In 2021 it was time for some new music. With their brand new EP "13", they want to showcase their influences. The outcome is pretty brilliant.
I now had the chance to talk to Ryan about the project and their plans for the future.
Anne: Hi! Thank you for taking the time for this interview! How are you today? How is the response on your new EP "13" so far?
"The response on the EP is huge"
Ryan: No worries, thank you for conducting an interview with our band! I am a little anxious today. Derek and I are finishing up writing new material that we are planning to record next month, and I am hoping it will be as good as "13." The response to "13" has been huge for us. It has really opened a lot of doors for us to push our band. We're hoping to reach as many people as possible because we feel like this ep is special.
Anne: I like it a lot. I think it's the kind of music people need these days. Quite straightforward and melodic, though. So you are you happy with the outcome of your work?
Ryan: I am thrilled with the final product. I think a lot of that comes down to us writing better songs and recording with Scotty and Johnny at the Sandwich Shoppe and I feel like they really understood what we were going for and got the best out of what we had. I can't speak highly enough about recording with them.
Anne: What inspired you when you were writing it?
"The city where it all began"
Ryan: Boredom, quarantine, alcohol, and failed relationships were my muses during the writing process of these songs. A lot of ugly situations lead to us writing our best songs.
Anne: You named yourselves after your home base Camel City aka Winston Salem, North Carolina. Are you both from there? Do you like the city?
Ryan: I don't live in Winston, but I was born there, and I work in the city. Derek was living in Winston the first couple of years we started playing together. We were originally just "The Blackouts", but there was already a band called "The Blackouts." It was suggested to us to alter our name, so we decided to incorporate the city where it all began into our name.
Anne: And why "Blackouts"?
"The punk scene in Winston is nonexistent"
Ryan: We chose the name blackouts because it sounded cool, and we liked to drink a lot in those early days. Some of those evenings of drinking lead to blacking out. I don't encourage doing that, though.
Anne: How would you describe Winston Salem's music scene?
Ryan: I'm not sure. Some bands are just starting to play out again, and there are still restrictions on how late bars are open. Not a lot of opportunities for bands to get out there yet. I can tell you the punk scene in Winston is all but nonexistent. However, when we've played out locally, we received a positive reception. I hope we can influence our local scene in the future and grow a punk scene.
Anne: Now that we're all under lockdowns again and again: How are you spending your days? You've told me you are already working on new songs?
Ryan: I have spent many the past few months concentrating on marketing our band and growing our social media following. I also have been writing new material which we will be recording next month.
"We have matured as humans"
Anne: You formed in 2015. What has changed since then?
Ryan: Actually, not much at all has changed. I think we have matured as humans and have learned each other's strengths and weaknesses. Currently, it's just Derek and me on a quest to find a drummer who vibes with us and is committed to what we're doing. That has been an ongoing theme for us since we started finding and keeping a drummer.
Anne: You described your 2019 debut album "Possession" as "Valentines Day meets Halloween". What do you mean by that? By listening to it, I can guess it is about the ups and downs in life, like falling in love, splitting up, getting hurt and having a good time?
"I wanted to write songs that where dark and light-hearted"
Ryan: "Valentine's Day meets Halloween" was a description of what kind of songs I told Derek I wanted to write when we first jammed. I was really trying to say that I wanted to write songs that were dark and light-hearted. That description goes for both lyrical content as well as the music. I feel like we were able to achieve that on our album "Possession". That idea came from listening to Alkaline Trio's album "Good Mourning". That is one of my favourite albums, and I think it has a great balance of dark and light.
Anne: You said that you are pretty much into punk music. Do you like to name any other influences?
"I want to play shows"
Ryan: I love singer-songwriter types and punk bands. Bands like Alkaline Trio, Rancid and Blink 182 were and are still big influences on me. I also love Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. I know Derek loves NOFX, Rancid, Dropkick Murphy's and Anti Flag.
Anne: What's up next for The Camel City Blackouts?
Ryan: We want to write and record as much as we can this year since we can't play shows at the moment. We also want to reach and grow our following. Beyond that, we want to play shows and see how far we can push The Camel City Blackouts. I know it won't be easy, but we know what we want, and we know we will pull ourselves to where we want to be.