Carbon/Silicon

Carbon/Silicon is a Garage Rock duo consisting of two punk rock legends: Mick Jones formerly of The Clash and former Generation X member Tony James. The band formed around 2002.

Career

Similar in many respects to Jones' earlier work in Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon aims to break the traditional approach to rock and roll. The band was described by critic Alan McGee as "...the Stones jamming with a laptop," as they made extensive use of samples in their recordings and live shows. However, they have given up doing it in recent years. The formation of the band was catalyzed by the internet and peer to peer file sharing. The first song written by Jones and James was entitled "MPFree," in which they expressed their willingness to embrace the technology of the internet and file sharing, in the interest of spreading music, rather than profit. The band still makes live bootlegs and recordings freely available through their own website, and the fansite.

Carbon/Silicon recorded four demo CDs: Sample This, Peace; Dope Factory Boogie; The Grand Delusion and The Homecoming. The band's first officially released album, A.T.O.M (A Twist of Modern) debuted on the band's website on 28 July 2006. The next album Western Front followed soon after on October 14, 2006 and included re-recorded versions of their earlier songs. The group's third album, The Crackup Suite was released in March 2007 and is now available for download on their website. The same month it was announced that Leo "Eazykill" Williams, former bandmate of Jones with BAD would play bass for the group, and that Dominic Greensmith formerly of Reef would take up the drum slot. The band further released two EP's plus another album The Last Post and toured, including the Isle of Wight Festival and dates in the USA.

In January 2008, in what is seen as a return their roots, the band played 7 weekly concerts at a tiny venue Inn on the Green in Ladbroke Grove, London. At the first gig, Topper Headon got up and played with the band for two songs. At the final gig, Carbon Casino 7, the Alabama Three took to the stage with Mick and Tony to perform the theme from US TV series, The Sopranos.. Throughout the run, support was provided by West London bands Taurus Trakker, The Rotten Hill Gang,and The Self, songwriter John Byrne, icons Pete Wylie, Glen Matlock, James Dean-Bradfield, John Cooper-Clarke, and new young bands including West London's Dirty Curtains, North London band The Usual Suspects and the Savage Nomads.