Islander's Mikey Carvajal drops a tour secret, talks influences at Carolina Rebellion

Plus watch the video for Islander's 'The Sadness of Graves'

Members of Islander talk with Rockaholic's Sherri 'So Very'
after the band opened Day 1 of Carolina Rebellion 2015.
From lt: Mikey Carvajal, Sherri 'So Very' Crawford, A.J. Bareis
photo: Rockaholic

(As reported for AXS.com)

By Sherri 'So Very' Crawford | The cat’s out of the bag.

Ask Islander vocalist Mikey Carvajal about his dream artist collaboration and he’ll tell you that it’s already been done. But wait, there’s more – like an unannounced tour with that same musician in store.

“We’re going out with P.O.D. - it hasn’t been announced yet,” divulges Carvajal, after their set at Carolina Rebellion 2015. The tour will likely start at the end of June, following Islander’s show dates with 10 Years and Starset, adds Islander guitarist A.J. Bareis.

Carvajal first aligned with P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval while they were in the studio for the full length release 'Violence & Destruction.' The collaborative effort resulted in the 2014 album’s track 'Criminals.'

But Sandoval and company’s impact on Carvajal began long before the two vocalists partnered in the studio. Carvajal attributes the punk undertones in the Greenville, SC, quartet’s sound in part to Bad Brains - which Carvajal discovered thanks to his favorite co-conspirator.

“I discovered Bad Brains after P.O.D. talked about them a lot - I remember I was in the 8th grade – and I looked at that and did my homework basically, and found out this is what influenced them,” Carvajal explains. “We actually ended up recording a song with H.R. of Bad Brains, he recorded all the vocals over a cell phone – it doesn’t get more punk rock than that.”

But make no mistake, Islander is their own band – and brand. Founded in 2011, signed to Victory Records in 2013, and touring on The World’s Loudest Month circuit, these guys are seemingly on the fast track of success. But it was up to them to get there.

“Some people say it’s been fast and I can see where they’re coming from with that, but we’ve been hustling way before we were signed or anything,” Carvajal says. “After they’re signed some bands get lazy but that’s not something we decided to do, we decided to keep working and doing our thing and not depending on other people.”

Islander hits the Rocklahoma stage later this month and joins Rock Fest in July. Stay tuned for details on their tour with P.O.D., once it’s officially announced. Plus, listen to Islander's 'The Sadness of Graves,' off of the album 'Violence & Destruction,' below.

For concert photos and more, follow entertainment writer and photographer Sherri ‘So Very’ Crawford on Instagram and Twitter @RockaholicRx, and on Facebook.