Carousel: Round & Round

Austin, Texas - In the fall of 1989 guitarist Matt Clark placed an ad in the local alternative mag “The Austin Chronicle” seeking musicians for a hard rock project. Fellow guitarist Louie Beltran answered the ad and the two quickly bonded over bands like White Lion and Dokken. They began writing songs together, solidified the vision, and set out to find their future bandmates. Next to join the fold was drummer Steve Miller who happened to share a class with Matt at the University of Texas. The band still needed a bass player and lead singer. Both roles were filled when Robert Ferebee entered the picture. They named the band Sky High and started playing shows at a local concert venue called “The Back Room.” Before long they were playing shows all across Texas. The next step was heading into Austin Recording Studios (A.R.S.) to record their first 3 song demo with producer John Viehweg. On the strength of this demo they were featured in Metal Edge’s “Rock on the Rise”. They also played the New South Music Festival in Atlanta and one of the first SXSW festivals in 1991. Also appearing at SXSW was a Swedish act who happened to be named Sky High as well. A few days later Matt received a call from Randy California. You may have heard this name when Led Zeppelin was accused of stealing “Stairway to Heaven” from Randy’s band Spirit. Randy was representing the “other” Sky High and insisted on a name change or he promised legal action. Wanting to avoid this hassle, the band renamed themselves Carousel soon after. Simultaneously they became a 5 piece with the addition of lead singer Don Howell. Before long they were back at A.R.S. to record a new 4 song demo which once again landed them on the pages of Metal Edge and regional rock press around the United States. This lineup’s final gig was opening for Bang Tango before Louie and Don exited the group. The third and final lineup of Carousel would consist of Matt, Rob, and Steve joined by Matt’s longtime friend, guitarist Jay Haygood. Soon enough they would head out on tour with the newly signed Cherry Street in 1993. Rob, Matt, and Jay would later recruit Scott Freak and Bobby Sharron to form Freakhouse in 1994, releasing the cd “Addicted to the Numb” the following year. Eventually Rob, Matt, and Scott moved to Los Angeles and released numerous albums under the Freakhouse moniker. Currently, Matt is mixing albums and has a new band with Scott Freak and Kendall Clark called “Dead Soul Revival.” Rob is back in Texas and has a new band called “Livin’ Dark Daze” with Buster Grant. Acts Carousel/Sky High supported include Trixter, Cry Wolf, Saigon Kick, and Pat Travers to name a few. They received local airplay on KLBJ. There is also Youtube footage of an early Sky High gig at the Back Room in Austin, Texas.