She Was the Carnation and the Rose

She Was the Carnation and the Rose (USA) was formed in the late rainy months of 2023, by singer ​Noémi Sárog, songwriter Michael Seebold, and drummer Bill Eagen.

The band’s debut album The Guardian Angel, comprises five original songs with atmospheres ranging from the wintry to the melancholic, to the serene. The Guardian Angel is also the first installment in the band’s planned trilogy of albums (the “stained glass” trilogy), across which listeners can expect a palette of dream atmospheres, mellifluent and dark passages interwoven, the odd jazz nocturne or classical minuet.

Tell me about the latest band news?

Noemi: We are in the midst of recording our next album, Mercury retrograde or not.

Michael: Due out next year. More info in the coming months.

Any new projects coming out, live shows or announcements?

Noemi: We’ll be featured at the Fenway Recordings Monthly by DJ Carbo on indie617.

How long has the band been together?

Michael: We started in the late months of 2023. As of now, aiming for an album of year.

What was your main motivation for starting or being in a band?

Michael: The inevitability of the songs.

Noemi: It was a long-time dream of ours, and now it is reality. Who doesn’t wanna be a rock star?!

Which do you prefer? Writing new songs and recording or playing for a live audience?

Noemi: Playing for a live audience for sure! Their energy is mesmerizing.

What’s the strangest request that you’ve ever received from one of your fans?

Noemi: Could you sing quieter, please?

Were your parents supportive of your aspirations to play in a rock band?

Noemi: Yes, 100%.

What are your favorite tracks to play live?

Noemi: Birds Before Rain, The Guardian Angel, Magdalena’s Minuet.

Michael: Possibly the guitar in Magdalena’s.

~~ - XS Rock

“She Was the Carnation and the Rose” is comprised of singer Noémi Sárog, songwriter Michael Seebold, and drummer Bill Eagen and their debut album, The Guardian Angel, is set to be released on August 2, 2024.

LLTM: Who have been some of your biggest musical influences and can we hear any similarities?

Sárog: Nightwish is an inspiration. When I was a child I heard Tarja’s singing, and I hoped I’ll get there at some point in my life. 20 years later, here we are.

LLTM: What has been the hardest part about being in the music industry today? What about the easiest?

Sárog: Hardest part to find people who are willing to invest in you and support your art. Easiest thing is to perform your music.

LLTM: When you listen to music, do you connect more with the lyrics or the instrumental side?

Sárog: I like when the music supports the lyrics and vice versa. They can inform us about the story better together than one or the other.

LLTM: Who is currently on your playlist, and what song could you never get tired of?

Sárog: My playlist is dominated by Loïc Nottet, Stromae, Agnes and Måneskin. I can’t stop listening to Danser by Loïc.

Seebold: At the moment, Opeth.

LLTM: Who has been that person in your life you have always looked up to and why?

Sárog: I have always looked up to my husband because he has this wisdom to see things as they are and make the right decision no matter what.

LLTM: What do you hope the fans get out of your music?

Sárog: I hope they will feel uplifted and transformed after they hear our music.

LLTM: If you had to give up something for 30 days to perform with any artist/band for 1 hour, what would you give up and who would you be performing with?

Sárog: I’d give up sugar, and I’d love to perform with Kerecsen Sárog, the amazing Hungarian metal guitarist and singer and with his band, Cigifa.

Seebold: Wouldn’t take up the offer.

LLTM: Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years and what will it take to get there?

Sárog: In five years I see myself 5-years wiser, and 5 times more beautiful. We’ll see what it will take in 5 years.

Seebold: Perhaps writing album #5.

LLTM: What is the most influential quote or saying for you and why?

Sárog: Most influential phrase: “baby steps”. I usually don’t take baby steps, I wonder what it feels like.

LLTM: Has the writing or recording process begun for a new EP/Album, if so when can the fans expect it to be released?

Seebold: We go back into the studio starting the first week of August, and recording the second album should take us through the fall.

LLTM: What does the touring schedule look like for 2024?

Seebold: Nothing booked as yet, with the recording sessions looming. - Live-Life-Thru-Music

According to a recent press release: “Emerging band She Was the Carnation and the Rose is excited to announce the release of their debut single, “Birds Before Rain,” from their debut album, The Guardian Angel, set to be released on August 2, 2024. The music and lyrics for the entire album were crafted by Michael Seebold, who also took on the role of producer. The recording, mixing, and mastering were expertly handled by Dick Hodgin at Osceola Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed during the late rainy months of 2023, She Was the Carnation and the Rose is comprised of singer Noémi Sárog, songwriter Michael Seebold, and drummer Bill Eagen. Their debut album, The Guardian Angel, features five original songs that create a range of atmospheres from wintry to melancholic to serene. This album is also the first installment in the band’s planned trilogy, known as the “stained glass” trilogy. Across these albums, listeners can expect a blend of dreamlike atmospheres, mellifluent and dark passages, and the occasional jazz nocturne or classical minuet.” We get Michael and Noémi to discuss new music, influences, and more.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Michael: The Guardian Angel is five songs and our first release. The first in a trilogy of albums, so, I’ll defer until II & III are out for comparison.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Michael: The thrill, challenge, insight, inherent in searching for how to elicit something envisioned. Interplay of mood and form.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Michael: Too many to name.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Michael: I wonder if one knows these things? Guitar, piano, neutrality, mirrors, evening.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Michael: The band name might convey some first impression. None as yet.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Michael: Music.

7. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Noémi: A shamaness.

8. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Noémi: I’d love to go back and actually record the classical European composers. How fun would that be to hear Bach, Stradivari, Mozart or Liszt play their own music. - 100% Rock Magazine