Donald Carpenter - Vocals | Eric Friedman - Lead guitar, Vocals | Kelan Luker - Bass | TJ Davis - Guitar | Garrett Whitlock - Drums
After the indulgences of the 1990s, today’s audiences are searching for music that asks the big questions, and offers hope that a band can be a positive force for a change. Submersed, a young band from humble Stephenville, Texas welcomes that challenge on their debut, In Due Time. The five-man band -- consisting of an army-man lead singer/lyricist, a high school football hero on bass and a Los Angeles wiz kid on guitar -- is an unlikely combination, but their mix of lyrical passion and instrumental flash aims to give the music world a little shake.
Submersed front man Donald Carpenter does not profess to know everything, but he does feel there is an absence of strong, relevant thought in the lyricism of today’s music. He mentioned, “With the state of the world today, with so many different leaders who think they know best, I feel it’s the responsibility of artists and musicians to say what needs to be said, to put our government on their toes, to speak for the other people of the world, and address the changes that need to be made.” That idealism and willingness to confront life’s battles and contradictions is evident in the song Divide the Hate. Opening with a haunting Middle-Eastern guitar line, the song is a call for understanding and reason amid the tensions and anger after 9/11. Carpenter recalls, “I wrote the line `Father May I behold a man that has no Pride,’ because I feel a man with pride is a man who dies and we need to sit down and really think about what's happened to us. We need to divide the search for peace from what our hate is founded in. That's why the extremists are having a problem. They’re putting their positive beliefs together with their hate, combining two things that drive them in totally opposite directions.”
That’s not the opinion you’d expect in a guy with a small-town upbringing and Army training. Yet that thoughtfulness typifies Carpenter’s analytical tendencies, and his strong belief in individual thought. It’s a trait that’s also evident in the anti-bullying rally cry, Unconcerned, and You Run, which confronts the hypocrisy of religious faith without personal commitment. He offers, “When I write I'm pretty much ironing out my own dirty laundry. I did my share of drinking. I did my hypocritical pew sitting. I write off my rage about myself, and use that to make myself a better person.” With first single Hollow, listeners will be introduced to this internal tug of war, this substance over style world of Submersed. Carpenter offers, "I usually try to leave perception of the songs wide open, but Hollow is basically about the duality of relationships. You can hate a person more than you've ever hated before, but find so much love for them at the same time. That same person can either destroy you or make you live forever." With a blistering chorus of You can make me scream internally. You can make me breathe eternally. Hollow is a prime example of the struggle between love and hate, and the fine line separating the two.
Carpenter had hoped his army stint would help him become a better person, but the experience wasn’t all that it could be apparently. He describes his time in enlisted service as a year of self-discovery, and two years of sheer endurance. However, the three-year absence fueled his desire for music, providing the time to reflect, and ultimately mature as a lyricist.
The three-year gap also allowed bassist Kelan Luker to play out his glorious high school football career. He was named Texas High School Quarterback of the Decade while playing for Stephenville High School. He even gave up a starting position at Southern Methodist University when he decided he’d rather make ears ring than get his bell rung. Carpenter had no fear that Luker could make the position switch from 1st-string quarterback to 4-string bassist. Carpenter shares, “We just wanted some good people in the band that we can count on, and his work ethic exhibited on the field was undeniable. He has drive and amazing ambition as far as music, and we are very thankful he gave up everything he did to become a part of the band.”
When the group moved to Dallas, Carpenter’s close friend TJ Davis (guitar) came along to complete the inner core of the band. But a key ingredient to Submersed was living way out west in sunny Anaheim, California. Early in his career, Anaheim’s Eric Friedman was on the path of being a shredder extraordinaire. The success of Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd showed what a teenager with some talent and drive could accomplish. By age 15, Friedman was hiring session men twice his age for his own band, and producing their indie album in his studio in Burbank. He even had a development deal with Steve Vai’s label, Favored Nations, but his eyes and ears were opened to the power of modern rock by hearing Creed’s Human Clay. Friedman’s reputation as a leader and sought-after session player preceded him when he met the band’s Mark Tremonti at the National Association of Music Merchants convention in Anaheim in 1999. Tremonti and Friedman have kept up their association ever since. When Submersed needed a new guitarist in time for the 2002 Florida Music Festival, Tremonti referred Friedman, who jumped on a plane the next day.
Though he was coming from far away, socially and geographically, Friedman describes the meeting with Submersed as an “instant click.” The band wrote half a dozen songs their first week together. After an acoustic showcase at the Wind-up offices in New York, Submersed had a deal, and recording dates were set for January 2003 in Orlando. Friedman’s song Complicated gives a glimpse into his own melodic songwriting skill. “It was a super dream come true. I had literally dreamed of Mark Tremonti producing an album for me. And then here he was sitting in the control room offering insight and giving directions.”
In Due Time was co-produced by Tremonti, Kirk Kelsey, and Don Gilmore. The album represents the product of the group’s highly collaborative approach. Carpenter wrote most of the lyrics, but all members contribute musical ideas to the strong yet subtle interplay. “A lot of the music is written with all of us on different instruments,” says Friedman. “Maybe I'll be on drums, TJ playing bass and Kelan on guitar, totally reversed from how we record it. We’re just trying to dip it in some different colors.”
Now with the addition of Garrett Whitlock as full-time drummer, Submersed is poised to begin the next chapter of their career. Ultimately, the band’s efforts will put Stephenville, Texas on the map for being something other than the Cowboy Capital of the World (where Jewel is regularly seen hanging out with Rodeo Champion Ty Murray). Hopefully Stephenville will be recognized as the birthplace of a band Friedman claims, “Offers great music with deep, interesting lyrics that make you think, make you look at yourself, and ultimately at what you've been doing. That’s what Donald’s lyrics are a lot about. Self-evaluating, mature lyrics that make you think.”
