Carmine is an emerging female-fronted band from Victoria, blending driving basslines, gritty synth, and lush vocal harmonies into a striking alternative rock sound. Dark, moody atmospheres collide with energetic pop hooks, while sultry, intimately vulnerable vocals give way to brash feminine rage and smeared red lipstick.
Spring is here and so is The Zone @ 91-3’s May Band of the Month, Carmine, with their latest single, I Don’t Wanna Be Friends, produced by Mike Noble (Hotel Mira) and mixed by James Younger (Yukon Blonde, Sam Roberts, The Zolas). The band is made up of vocalist Reghan Geddes, bassist Breanna Montague, keyboardist Rowan Hensley, and drummer Brett Rose.
It took a minute, but Tyson Elder had a chance to catch up with Breanna Montague and Rowan Hensley to chat about their time as The Zone Band of the Month, The Jellyfish Project, and their over-the-top outfits.
Tyson Elder: Carmine, it’s hard to believe it’s already getting to the end of your run as The Zone’s Band of the Month. Congratulations are in order – better late than never. How has your month been? It seems to me that every time I turn on The Zone I hear the gang vocal yelling “I don’t wanna be friends!” at me. The longer I delayed this interview the more I thought that might be true.
Breanna Montague: The month has been great. It’s so surreal getting to hear our song on the radio, we’ve been feeling the love! And I’m glad it’s catching on cause I hope it’s inspired people to scream it along with us.
TE: Let’s jump right into it – I’ve known the band for a little while now, but there are a few questions I’ve never really asked and I’m dying to know the answer to.
First off: most people are surprised to hear that Carmine doesn’t feature a guitarist… a rare sight these days when it comes to modern rock music. The band is driven by Breanna’s bass and Rowan’s keys. Was this a conscious decision when putting together the band?
Rowan Hensley: It was a conscious decision, but it was mostly because we wanted to keep the team small and easier to manage. There just wasn’t room for a guitarist and a keyboardist. We could have Reghan play guitar and sing, of course, but I’m usually not a fan of tying the singer down with a guitar. I like it when singers are free to dance all over the stage like a maniac. It is funny though. Whenever we tell someone we don’t have a guitarist, we get one of two reactions: either “oh I play, can I join?” or “Oh that’s so cool!” Depending on whether or not they’re a guitarist.
TE: From a visual perspective, the band stylistically has a stunning onstage presence with deep and rich contrasting colours and over the top outfits that seem to complement the songwriting of Carmine. What goes into planning outfits for the band? It’s refreshing to see a band not just hit the stage in jeans and a t-shirt.
Rowan: I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to be in a ‘casual Friday’ band. Luckily the rest of the band was onboard with my vision. Reghan does most of the costume design, but Breanna and I have also each taken our turn putting together people’s outfits. Reghan really goes all out with it though. She found a bunch of stuff that was the right vibe but the wrong colour, and dyed it red in her kitchen. She’s also often sewing and hemming stuff to make it work how she wants.
TE: We know you will be ripping it up at The Duke Saloon in a few days as part of Throwdown Thursday. Beyond the band’s cool look, what can we expect when seeing a Carmine performance live?
Breanna: We thrive off of bringing as much energy as possible to our performances. Something of note is Rowan, despite being stationary, has a fun “keyboard tilt” he does that always gets the crowd hyped . . . either that or they’re worried he’s gonna drop it. AND for this show in particular, we have a couple surprises up our sleeves that you’ll just have to come to the show to see for yourself.
TE: Recently, I found out through a colleague’s teenage aged child that you performed at their high school as part of the Jellyfish Project. I was unfamiliar with their work on climate action until that day. How did Carmine connect with them, and why do you think it’s important that your band is part of their work?
Rowan: Some of the people behind the JFP are old friends of my mom’s, so when they were looking for a new band to present for them we stepped up. Climate action is obviously super important in protecting our future, and inspiring young people is some of the most impactful climate action available. Adding music to that just ups the cool factor. You don’t have to be a hippie to take climate action; it’s something we can all do, and we all need to do if we’re going to get through this.
TE: On your latest release and Band of the Month, I Don’t Wanna Be Friends, you worked with Mike Noble of Hotel Mira. How did you connect with him?
Rowan: It was honestly the most random thing. Breanna and I are friends with former Zone band of the month Cold Fame, and they were opening for Hotel Mira in Jan 2024. We met Mike at the show, and things just went from there. We sent him a demo of Eat Away, and he apparently liked it.
TE: As I was driving to my studio the other night I was listening to I Don’t Wanna Be Friends on The Zone @ 91-3 and it seems to me I find something new to love every time I hear it. I’d love to hear about the process of creating that song and your time working in Catalogue Studios.
Breanna: We sent Mike the original demo, and he immediately said he loved the chorus and the bridge, but he said the original verses were making him lose sleep because they were dragging the energy of the song down. We workshopped a few ideas back and forth and we landed on the verse we have today.
We love working with Connor at Catalogue Studios, and him and Mike are old pals so it was very organic experience that brought out the best in everyone.
TE: Following up on that, recently while on a night on the town with Mike Noble and he said casually that “Reghan [Geddes] is a once-in-a-generation songwriter.” It was his comment that got me excited to hear about what you have been cooking up for the future. Any hints of what’s around the corner?
Breanna: You didn’t cut him off from the Dinosours after that, Tyson? When we recorded Friends, we also recorded another song that we are incredibly proud of and some people who have heard it have said it might be our best song yet. Hoping to release it mid-summer.
TE: Before we wrap up this interview, I wanted to speak on a personal level how much fun it was working with the band on creating these Band of the Month photos. It was the first time I’ve gone out on building a set like this for a shoot and I think it really spoke to the band’s brand. I hope you love them as much as we did creating them.
Breanna: We love them so much. We’ve heard nothing but great things from everyone who has seen them, so thanks for going above and beyond for us!
TE: Carmine, thank you for taking the time to chat with me and it’s been great hearing you on The Zone all month. Congratulations once again and I can’t wait to see what is next.
May 2025’s Band of the Month, Carmine, will be proudly declaring, I Don’t Wanna Be Friends, on The Zone @ 91-3 all month long. The song is available for download, along two other songs, and more window dressing photos from Rocktographers, on their Band of the Month microsite.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.