Carp is in plague proportions throughout the Murray River system right now, but the only carp you’ll want to know about is of the musical kind.
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The Carp Factory is a five piece band based in Melbourne, but with three Deniliquin men among its members.
The name itself is rooted in Deniliquin, with local company Charlie Carp the inspiration behind the name.
The suggestion came from Will Keech, who worked for the famous fertilizer company for five years.
“The band name came completely from Charlie Carp,” Will confirmed with the Pastoral Times.
“It was my first job and I loved it; they couldn’t get rid of me.”
Will, Sid Pearn and Sam Young will be joined by band members Liam Taylor and Tom Nixon when they return ‘home’ this March to perform at Play On The Plains.
It will be their first ever performance in Deniliquin, unless they happen to be booked for a private or public gig locally before then.
“It’s going to be pretty special to play at home in front of our home crowd,” Sid said.
“It will be our first time playing at home, so we are all super keen.”
In the meantime, the band is being kept super busy on the Melbourne music scene.
That popularity allows them to explore their philanthropic sides.
The band has a deeply generous side, donating funds from recent and upcoming gigs in Melbourne to the Rochester House Flood Relief Fund and to the R U OK? initiative.
Meeting their bandmates after moving to Melbourne to study, the band has been developing its sound since 2021.
Will met Liam (from Bacchus Marsh) and Tom (from Alice Springs) through Menzies College at La Trobe Bundoora.
They jammed a lot at college and in Sam’s garage.
“We started because Tom, Sid and I had written a bunch of songs independently and wanted to play them live,” Will said.
“Sam is a talented drummer, so it only made sense that he would be involved.
“Our first show was in 2021.”
Tom is a law and criminology student and plays guitar synth and is on vocals.
Liam is a physio student and barista who plays bass and Sam is a builder by day and plays drums in the band.
Sid is currently between jobs and plays guitar and sings vocals, and Will is working as a journalist and is a vocalist and plays guitar and synth.
“Tom, Sid and I all sing lead vocals in parts,” said Will.
“We are really excited to be coming home and are extremely grateful for the opportunity, to play along side the likes of Jess Mauboy is exciting.
“We find if we enjoy what we do the crowd enjoys it too.”
The boys say they’re glad to be back to a five piece band, after temporarily being reduced to four while Tom was in Europe.
“We are much better as a group when it is the five of us,” Will said.
“We bounce off each other pretty well.
“The more the merrier we say.”
The Carp Factory’s music is influenced by another band with local connections, with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizards among their favourite bands.
King Gizzard originally started with two Deni members, but Eric Moore has since left the band to concentrate on producing music.
Michael Cavanagh remains the beat behind the band, which is gaining a huge worldwide following.
The Carp Factory also take notes from Australian rock legends like The Saints, blending them with the contemporary Melbourne punk movement.
The band has been described as “really super cool and fun”, “quite handsome” and “not to my taste” by their parents.
Play on the Plains will be played on Saturday, March 11 at the Deniliquin festival site that also hosts the Deni Ute Muster.
In addition to The Carp Factory and Mauboy, it will feature King Stingray, Northeast Party House, Alex Lahey and a youth battle of the bands competition.
Tickets to Play on the Plains 2023 are on sale now from Oztix. Camping and regional bus transportation is also available.