Our Musical Memories: the sophisticated metal sound of Fifteen Strings: an interview with Chris Carmichael

Chris, how did you come together as a group?

I had been touring with entertainer Joe Savage – who incidentally drove up from Nashville to see me when I was playing with the Flying Monkees (Larry Dillard, Webb Hendrix, Jane Pearl, Bev Smith Lovelace, Scott Brantley) at the old Kona Kai Lounge and hired me on the spot – the two guitarist of the group Lust (Kurt Menk and Ken Kennedy) came to see us in a Nashville stint and developed an idea for a group with me as front man. Shortly after leaving the Savage Experience, I relocated to Nashville permanently, and was playing with Anthony Crawford (now touring with Neil Young) when Kurt and Ken approached me with the idea to form a hard rock group lead by a singing rock violinist. I jumped on it – and in a year’s time we were signed to Atlantic records in New York.

How did you decide on “Fifteen Strings” as the name of the band?

Fifteen Strings was simply the number of strings contained in the group.  But, there is a twist here – 2 guitars (lead and rhythm) + violin = 16 strings –  the rhythm guitarist however did not use his high E string  – 1 = 15.  Our bass was provided by our keyboardist Roger Osborne and Matt Green was our drummer.

From whom or from what bands did you draw your inspiration?

I was always inspired by the guitar greats and approached the violin from a more guitaristic standpoint – though the great jazz violinist Jean Luc Ponty – who I had the pleasure of meeting once when he came to see me play with Joe Savage – also had a profound impact on me. As a band, we were drawing inspiration from groups like UFO and the Scorpions.

Did you draw inspiration from any local Southern Kentucky bands?

Not being an indigenous Southern Kentucky group, though we played a good bit in this area, I would have to say no. The local group that had an impact on me was Sgt. Arms.  It was during this time that I focused on writing songs and playing them in bands, which I suppose eventually led to my being the primary writer of Fifteen Strings as well as securing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell some years later.

With regard to your sound, what were you trying to achieve musically?

Fifteen Strings was a very dynamic band – we could blow you away with a sonic wall and then draw you back in with a cooling ballad.  For the most part our lyrics were designed to make you think.  But, we did sometimes cater to the desires of our record company to write songs about more salacious themes.   It is a record DEAL after all.

The use of the violin was somewhat unique during that time. How did its presence impact the types of music you developed?

Well, I don’t think the terrain of hard rock violin had been explored too extensively back then.  It was very natural for me though since I loved the guitar greats and wanted to express myself more in the line of Jimi Hendrix. I have not really been a part of the community of other violinists, or fiddlers for that matter, always preferring to be in the company of other types of musicians and writers.

Did you do a lot of original material? Who were the songwriters in the group?

Kurt Menk and I were the primary writers of the group.  I focused mainly on lyrics while he focused primarily on riffs that were the germs of songs – though we did at times meld over into each other’s area of natural proclivity.

Did you work with a management company? Who did your booking?

Our manager was Michael Dixon.

Did you ever make a record?

We did make a record for Atlantic, spent $300,000 in doing so.   But the mighty winds of the grunge movement were strong enough to blow it high upon the shelf, never to be released. All that remains are some tunes on MySpace that are taken from a rough cassette copy.  www.myspace.com/rogerosbornemusic

I’m sure you had many experiences as you were performing. Can you tell me about one or two that stand out in your memory?

The main thing that stands out in my mind aside from crazy things that happened while playing, is the iconic people that have been in the audience while I played and the people that I got to meet – truly surreal at times – too many to list. We created an interesting scene wherever we went.

What brought about the dissolution of the band? Had the music just run its course?

Well, Atlantic was content to let us hang out to write and record to see if we could transition into more of an alternative type of group and perhaps repackage some of what we had already recorded that was more in line with the movement that was taking place in music.I was ready to get my life back and asked to be let go from the label.  They graciously consented and I promptly went 3 floors up the building and signed a deal with Warner Brothers as a staff writer.

This move wasn’t hugely popular with the rest of the group. But when you are crowding 30 in 1992 and can still carry all you own in a Toyota Tercel, it’s time to make a move that has a future and a plan other than rocking the house.

Is there anything you’d like people to remember about Fifteen Strings?

That we gave 100%, 100% of the time. I’m still friends with those guys  and always wish them nothing but the best. I doubt that a reunion would ever happen, my tresses having given way to the ravages of time.  I couldn’t be more content.

Thanks so much Chris. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Eat your peas.

Jack Montgomery is a librarian, author and associate professor at Western Kentucky University where he handles bookings for musical acts in University Libraries, Java City coffeehouse. Jack has also been a professional musician since 1969 and performs with a celtic quartet called Watersprite.