In anticipation of TAUK‘s upcoming shows, Grateful Web picked the brain of keyboard magician, Alric “A.C.” Carter.

Grateful Web: Hi Alric, Thanks for taking some time to talk with me. I really appreciate it.

GW: First off you just dropped a new live album on 1320 records titled “HEADROOM.” Can you talk a little bit about why you decided to put out a live record vs. a studio album?

Alric “A.C.” Carter(Keys): Up until this point we’ve had three studio releases. We consider ourselves to be a live band so it would only make sense to put out an album we felt accurately conveyed our live show. We had a lot of shows to choose from and decided it’d be better to do a double album and give our fan base more music to enjoy. 

GW: I see the jump to 1320 as quite an accomplishment. Can you tell me what lead to that transition?

A.C: We saw 1320 as a means to expand our demographic and share our music with active listeners. Aside from being a driving force in live music, STS9 has complied a great roster of artists/musicians from different genres and their digital distribution outlets have been a huge help spreading TAUK’s catalog. 

GW: You’ve been touring a lot with Umphrey’s McGee. Care to share any crazy tour stories with us?

A.C: Beating Ryan Stasik in ping-pong was quite an amazing experience. It went into overtime and was a very intense match. I’m really competitive so this one felt good you know.

GW: Is there any advice you want to give your younger self?

A.C: I’d tell myself to practice more piano and reward myself by eating more ice cream!

GW: What are your plans for 2016? More touring? Another album?

A.C: We’ve been working on a bunch of new material. Not sure exactly what we’ll do with it all in 2016 but I’d keep your ears to the ground for future announcements.

GW: Thanks and looking forward to the upcoming shows!

Check out upcoming TAUK tour dates: