Carnival Season

Carnival Season arrived on the scene during an inopportune era and locale; had the group been situated in Seattle during 1988 or Minneapolis during 1983, their blend of hard-rock guitar textures, introspective yet street-smart lyrics, and songs that combined aggression with melody would have aligned seamlessly with surrounding acts, yet their presence in Birmingham, AL throughout 1985 rendered them outliers, and within a locale where alternative rock struggled to secure traction, the quartet never reached the broader listenership their work merited.

Formed in 1984 under the initial moniker Karnival Season by guitarist-vocalist Tim Boykin and bassist Brad Quinn, both recent high-school graduates drawn to rock & roll, the lineup soon incorporated guitarist Ed Reynolds and drummer Mark Reynolds; the ensemble began performing steadily at Birmingham’s The Nick while undertaking brief regional tours across the South. A three-song 7" appeared on Rat’s Bane Records, prompting interest from an MCA Records A&R executive who facilitated demo sessions produced by Tim Lee of the Windbreakers. Although MCA declined to sign them, the British imprint What Goes On, already familiar with Birmingham’s Primitons, offered a contract to the correctly renamed Carnival Season. Mats Roden of the Primitons oversaw a three-song EP issued by What Goes On in 1986, the first recordings made after Ed Reynolds exited, leaving the band a trio.

Early in 1987 the group traveled to Rockville, MD to track its debut album, Waiting for No One, under the guidance of pop-guitar figure Tommy Keene. Critical notices that greeted the early-1988 release proved favorable though sparse, and a subsequent West Coast trek featuring new second guitarist Chuck Quinn proved largely unsuccessful. Sensing the opportunity had passed, Carnival Season limited itself to occasional hometown performances before disbanding in mid-1989. Tim Boykin later contributed to several Southern rock and pop outfits, among them the Shame Idols and the Lolas, while Brad Quinn recorded and toured at length with Tommy Keene and Mark Reynolds sustained an ongoing musical presence. A reunion concert took place at the band’s former venue The Nick during fall 2007, and in 2010 Arena Rock Recording Company issued Misguided Promise, a thorough anthology encompassing all prior releases plus previously unreleased demos and live material.