Signing Story: Carpool Date Signed: October 2023 

Label: SideOneDummy Records 

Band Members: Chris Colasanto, guitar, vocals; Tommy Eckerson, guitar; Milo Duhn, bass, vocals; Alec Westover, drums, vocals 

Type of Music: Punk 

Management: Dan Doyle and Trevor Chesler - 918 Management 

Booking: Jason Parent - Sound Talent Group 

Legal: Henderson Cole 

Publicity: Daniel Cooper - Lucky Bird Media, daniel@luckybirdmedia.com 

Web: carpoolny.band 

Label Manager/A&R: Phil Bender-Simon 

Says Chris “Stoph” Colasanto of Carpool’s signing with SideOneDummy Records, “I’ve been buying shit from SideOne since I was 11 years old. It’s a very full-circle, wild moment to be on that label now.” The band has also signed with Sound Talent Group. 

With phenomenal friends and family supporting them, Colasanto says “Rochester's the number one city on Earth. They picked us up and put us on their shoulders, so it means a lot.” Releasing their 2018 EP independently (re-released with Old Press Records, now part of Acrobat) they performed in-studio at Audiotree in 2020 for wider promotion. Summer 2023 brought a tour supporting Cliffdiver (also on the SideOneDummy roster). Cliffdiver and manager Dan Doyle pushed for them to be heard. 

“I could go on forever about how much I love our team,” says Colasanto. “They’re great people. Referring to Doyle as a “true Western New York cat—cordial, kind, and cooperative,” Doyle ran a venue where 

 Carpool played frequently and the band invited him to join them on tour. Manager Trevor Chesler is a “nose to the grindstone, locked and loaded, man on his game,” and Colasanto describes label manager Phil Bender- Simon as “one of the realest people I've ever met in the industry, an absolute blessing and a dream come true. It’s a pure, genuine interaction every time.” 

The shift in momentum is already obvious. “Marketing, press, rollout— everything is official,” emphasizes Colasanto. “The song [“Can We Just Get High?”] is streaming better than any other song we have released. SideOne [gave] us an avenue to be ourselves and do our own thing, while pushing and marketing so people can latch on.” 

Bender-Simon shares that Carpool have great energy and felt like close friends immediately. “Their music has been stuck in my head for three years. It’s that incredible wide-eyed feeling when you hear something truly great.” 

The signing included an advance and one-album commitment, with an option for two more. Album My Life In Subtitles is scheduled for release in March. – Andrea Beenham The post Signing Story: Carpool first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.