Maricopa band Combust all about local sound

In a rather dimly lit performance space at Tempe’s 51 West, one of Maricopa’s own rock ‘n’ roll bands, Combust, ripped out a half-hour set to an excitable crowd Feb. 11.

The trio of young musicians belted out a mixture of old and new material at the show, with each song showcasing their diverse, yet subtle, rock and roll influences.

Frontman, vocalist and guitar player Austin Carson, 21, piped out his slightly overdubbed-garage band style of vocals found in the hymns of industry icons like Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters.

Twenty-one-year-old drummer Jake Hill backs up Carson with hard-hitting percussion in the likeness of punk figureheads the Vandals and Bad Religion.

Bassist Nick Hanson, 19, thumbs his bass in a manner reminiscent of hard rock heroes such as Tool and Audioslave.

All musical predispositions aside, the band doesn’t hope to sound like any particular band that’s come before them. They use their influences to create a one-of-a-kind sound reflecting who they are and where they come from.

“Where you are really influences how you sound,” Hanson said.

Many bands, they said, have a sound that’s unique to a particular area, and they love that.

Flagstaff band False North is the personification of this for them. Their sounds remind Hanson of driving through the snowy woods or walking through a wintery downtown Flagstaff.

For Carson, Hill and Hanson, there is little to no illusion of making it big one day. All they want is to have fun. Not making it about fame and fortune gives them an opportunity to dually promote other area music, which inspires them and drives them creatively.

Carson writes most of the songs, which for them always come instruments-first, lyrics-last. This aspect provides them a sound that’s tone driven and melodic without being overly wordy.

“There is no right way to make music,” Carson said. “That’s what makes it so cool.”

They support many local bands. A suggested playlist of local music, they insist, should always include Sunday at Noon, False North and The Sink or Swim.

Combust is set to release a new single in March. The band’s album Gaining Speed is available on Sound Cloud, SoundCloud.com/Combust-1.

Facebook.com/CombustTheBand

---

This story appears in the March issue of InMaricopa.