Auditory samples
Conquer (2004)
- Puppet (Wrenching Lament)
- Hit & Run (Safety Council Jingle in 4/4)
- Time (A Rock Look Inwards)
- Hardon (Locker Room Rock)
- Barbie (Metallic cry for help)
- CartBlanch (Our theme song)
- Corpse (My worst date, ever)
- Viking (Lift your glass hard rock)
Note: the tunes from Conquer are hosted at purevolume.com which streams the songs.
More tunes are available for download on our homepage.
Venues we've graced
- Great Scott, Allston MA
- My living room, Allston MA
- O'Brien's Pub, Allston MA
- Choppin Block, Boston MA (It was a sad day for us when they closed.)
- Copperfields, Boston MA
- Linwood Grille, Boston MA
- Lizard Lounge, Cambridge MA
- Middle East, Cambridge MA
- Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge MA
- The Attic, Newton MA
- Abbey Lounge, Somerville MA
- Kirkland Cafe, Somerville MA
- Sky Bar, Somerville MA
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Oral Statement
For over a decade CartBlanch has bewildered, enlightened, amused and enraged
music fans of all types. Biker-chick-metal-heads to theologians to dancing
downs-syndrome-teenagers assert "CartBlanch really strives to meet my needs".
Here's our secret.
Step 1. Original music
From the first show at the RumRunner in Geneva NY in the spring of 1994
to the unforgetable Halloween 2003 Cockstume party at the Choppin Block in
Boston's Mission Hill, CartBlanch delivers club goers the exception to
the rule of coverbands.
We can play over 4 hours of original music without a bathroom break. And
you won't hear the same song twice, at least not on the same instrument or
with the same arrangement.
Now that's original.
Step 2. Day Job
As gainfully employed wage slaves we don't rely on popularity to pay the bills.
We are free to do what we want.
Hurray for the day job.
Step 3. Power Trio
Every instrument is created equally.
And some are created more equally. We use our instruments to that
end while focusing on process.
Power. Trio.
Step 4. Line up
Matt Haenlin on guitar, bass and vocals.
Dewey Rogers on guitar, bass and vocals.
Matt Dodson on drums and percussion.
And that's the lineup.
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Written accounts
THE NOISE BOSTON
REVIEWS CONQUER
Cart Blanch, Conquer, 8 songs
Hmm. Where to start? Motörhead meets Boston rock? Spinal Tap and Monty Python meet Boston rock? How about just some damn cookin’ Boston rock? This three-piece plays some serious ass-kicking hard rock yet has a wry, tongue-in-cheek quality. Their material isn’t overtly funny but these guys have a deadpan quality that make you wonder if they’re really serious…or not. On one level, the guitars earnestly crank out feedback and crunchy fuzzed-out riffs. On another, the lyrics include incongruous lexical juxtapositions such as in “Viking,” which evokes Terry Jones’s movie, Erik the Viking (coincidence?): “The Horde will guard with might their prize and fight away all other tribe…how cute is that?!” Yet another song, “Hardon,” explicitly and soberly describes exactly what you think it does. The song seems too simple to be serious but then again, some consider the phallus to be serious business. Then there’s the song “Cart Blanch,” a shamelessly self-glorifying plug for themselves. But Cart Blanch isn’t a novelty band; there is depth in their humor. Another song hits a somber nerve; “Hit and Run,” relives the process and the horror of killing an animal while driving. Cart Blanch must have a cult following. I’d love to see their live performance. Oh, and the production is just right.
— Robin Umbley
CART BLANCH, MEDINA SOD
O’Brien’s, Allston, MA 9/9/2005
Medina Sod is on the stage but there seem to be some technical difficulties. The sound guy apparently can’t figure out how to activate (plug in) the bass player’s microphone. The anger stirs inside to the point where it seems like the bassist is gonna jump off the stage and strangle whomever is doing the sound. Ah, finally the problem is solved and the music is starting. These guys are clearly influenced by Phish, Zappa, and Floyd, borrowing elements of each when writing their originals. They have a vintage prog rock sound with innovative interludes, chord changes and outer space moments which ultimately defines them as Medina Sod. This is my first time seeing them with their second guitarist. He not only blends in well but adds to their sound with his array of effects and pedals. Their set is cut short due to hard feelings from the scuffle that occurred at the beginning.
Cart Blanch is dressed in uniform: bright orange slacks, a light blue (Cart Blanch) T-shirt with simulated breasts with nipples painted on, bowling shoes, and most notably an I Love Michael Jackson‚ pin. They begin with an Irish a cappella song (perfect harmonies by the way) with funny lyrics. The music switches from one genre to the next. The bassist is doing every rock ’n’ roll stage maneuver in the book. His comments between the songs are usually sick and twisted sexual references such as screaming, “I like boys!” The words and song titles are equally as disturbing. In the middle of the set, the guitarist and bassist switch instruments accompanied with a high-five. They are both just as impressive on either instrument. Bound by no limit to their talent, they find new and interesting ways to express themselves. They end with a rockabilly song that gets everyone bouncing about the place like drunken hicks. The lyrics “There’s a mosquita on my peter, whack it off.”
— R Feed, The Noise
Halloween A La Cart
What better way to spend All Hallow's Eve than by getting some unholy rock & roll education at the hands of New England's premier heavy metal funkgrass power trio, Cart Blanch? Jack Black's School of Rock has nothing on these devilish pranksters, who'll teach the uninitiated about the birds and the bees with their classic “Smells Like Teen Pregnancy,” while serving up many other tasty tricks and treats. Joining Cart Blanch is frequent co-conspirator Medina Sod, who live up to the Lebowski-inspired moniker by bowling over audiences with more inspired zaniness than a barrel of marmots. Don't forget to wear some spirited threads, because there's a costume contest for all the boils and ghouls in attendance, and you will be judged. It all happens on Friday, October 31 at the Choppin' Block Pub at 24 Huntington Ave. in Mission Hill. 9pm/21+/$5.
— Jason W. Smith, Weekly Dig Online
CartBlanch, CartBlanch
"I asked Fred's mom if she liked it and she told me to turn down the music. I was listening to Cart Blanch, so I kicked her fat ass outa bed."
A musical tossed salad about masturbating novelty items and crossbred animals, CartBlanch's "Citadel" is faster, harder, now. A mantra for pagan America, its eight tracks roll from the start with musings on a well-endowed wind-up toy. The energy of this song, Happy Jerk-Off-Clown, is endemic to the rest of what the power trio of transplanted Bostonians offer. That's clear in the Layla-like transition of Jackalope, which hits you with the gut-wrenching emotion of loving an antlered wall ornament. We've all been there, and it's comforting to hear someone sing about it.
Also reassuring are the heavy strokes of Unleash the Beast. Its guttural ruminations help me conjure happy pictures of Martha Stewart being devoured by her creations. Even more joyful is Skeeter on my Peter. An upbeat bluegrass stroll through the darker side of country life, it passes the toughest test of all — it's been performed by first-graders who had no idea about skeeters or peters. And what could be better than that?
Cart Blanch offers something for everyone, especially those who stroll a little skewed.
— Tom Williams, Golf Course Bi-Weekly Journal
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