Off The Charts: How Today’s Youth Are Reviving Rock Music

Bud Gambrell

Oct 21, 2024

Huntsville’s International Musical Youth Movement Invades the Camp

When I first had the idea for this article, I didn’t realize how much fun it would be. The idea came to me as I was watching a podcast. This podcast is a favorite in Huntsville as it showcases local talent, much like the article you are reading now. Pickletato is the name of the podcast. Don’t ask me about the name. Ask founder and interviewer Bill Neal.

Bill and I first met in August at The Alabama Smoke Show. I hope you read my article on The Smoke Show in the August edition. Pickletato was also in attendance. On September 15th, Pickletato released an edition featuring this guitarist, who happened to be 13 years old, you read that right, 13! As I watched the podcast, I felt the urge to know more about this young phenom, Carson Merritt.

Off the Charts with Bud Gambrell for Mixed Alternative Magazine

See the entire Pickletato podcast here:

Since Bill had a connection with Carson’s parents, I reached out to see if he could arrange an introduction. Shortly after I asked, I received the phone number of Carson’s father Rod. I put in a call to Rod Merritt. We had an outstanding conversation. Within this conversation, I saw the layers of this story start to unfold. The main headline is that we are talking about a barely 13-year-old guitar player. He doesn’t just play guitar. He is good! In my opinion, he plays way beyond his years.

Carson Merritt for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

The next layer of the story showed itself as an exchange student from Germany. It just so happens that Henri Schröder also plays guitar—and he is also very good! What are the chances?

I then learned that Carson takes lessons from Preston Black. I have heard of Preston for several years. His reputation precedes him. Preston is also an excellent guitar player. By excellent, I mean EXCELLENT!

Ok, now I’ve got enough to go with to write a story. Then, I discovered Carson would play live with Preston’s band Buck’d Up on Saturday, October 12th. Not only was Carson joining Buck’d Up on stage, but so was Henri! You don’t have to ask me twice to have a good time!

Preston Black for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

I arrived at The Camp around 5 pm. I will call it 5ish because when you work in this environment, you must be used to “musician time.” Walking up to the stage area, I had to decide who to talk to first. Again, there are a few layers to this story.

In the natural order of things, I decided to talk to my good friend Bill Neal from the podcast Pickletato. He had previously interviewed Carson and was somewhat familiar with the talent on hand.

OTC: Bill, I must credit you because if it hadn't been for Pickletato, I'd never have heard of Carson. Tell me how it came to be that Carson was on your podcast.

Bill: I had Buck’d Up on the podcast, and they talked about Carson, and this kid is amazing. So, after that podcast, I went and watched videos of him. I was like, man, I got to get this kid on my podcast. I asked Preston if he could reach out to his parents to see if I could have him on Pickletato and Preston asked if I could wait a little bit because he didn't want to have one of his students above the other. So, I waited a few months and contacted his dad personally instead of asking Preston. I didn’t want to put him out since I consider him a good friend. That was one of our first live performances on one of our podcasts. We've always wanted to do it. We didn't have the equipment and everything ready at the time to have bands on there, so Carson agreed to do a little live performance there. He was fanatic about it. I mean, he was so excited! It was the first podcast that he's ever done. He was super excited, and it made us feel good that he was excited to do it!

OTC: What is your impression of Carson?

Bill: He's well above anybody I've seen at that age, and you know we're talking, he just turned 13, so he's been this good for a couple of years. I asked him how he got so good as a raw talent. He said, ‘Well, I'll spend 6 hours on 30 seconds of a song.’ He's just in it!

As I talked to Bill, I noticed a man standing near the stage with a big smile after sound check. We spoke on the phone but haven’t met yet. I know a proud parent when I see one. This had to be Rod Merritt, Carson’s dad.

As I approached Rod, it was as if we had met before. We exchanged greetings, and then I had questions about his son Carson.

OTC: Tell me your story of Carson’s guitar-playing journey.

Rod: It kind of just started randomly, watching it. We watched a show, and he said, 'Man, I like this music.' And so, he decided to pick up a guitar. We figured it was going to be a phase. We realized within a few months that it wasn’t a phase. He took it seriously. He taught himself for the first eight months, and then after about eight months, we're like, ok, this kid potentially has something, and he's taking it to where it is now.

OTC: How long has Carson been playing the guitar?

Rod: Two and a half years!

OTC: Is that in people years or dog years? (laughs)

Rod: (laughs) No, people years. It's been a short amount of time, and you know you must have some natural talent. I know I'm biased in saying that because it's my son. But at the same time, I mean, he does have a natural talent for it. He also has a work ethic, and he's very fortunate that he's been surrounded by the guys who are Buck’d Up or even his first guitar teacher, Pat Bryant. He is a U.S. Navy veteran, and was in the Navy's band for over 20 years. Carson has been surrounded by good musicians and people who lift him and encourage him. I think it's brought him up several levels, and he's had a passion for it.

OTC: I’m sure that you took him. What was Carson’s first concert?

Rod: It was just this year. We went to see Metallica in September up in Chicago. So yeah, he got to see the mighty Metallica. It was Metallica, Ice Nine Kills, and Five Finger Death Punch. And he loved it! And then, just a couple of weeks ago, we went to see Megadeth and Mudvayne up in Nashville. So, he's gotten to see big shows.

Earlier in this article, I mentioned that the Merritts are hosting an exchange student from Germany. What are the chances that a family with a son who is a guitar wiz is hosting an exchange student who is also a guitar wiz?

Henri Schröder is an exchange student. I pulled him aside after sound check to have a conversation. Before I get into the questions, I will say that Henri was such a wonderful young man. Just picture him smiling while you’re reading his responses.

Henri Schröder for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

OTC: Henri, how long have you been playing guitar?

Henri: I've been playing the guitar for eight years, but I started playing the guitar passionately about four years ago. Before, it was more noodling around.

OTC: What made you want to be a guitarist?

Henri: Since I was young, I have wanted to play the drums, and my parents always tell me, oh, that's too big. And then I looked for the next instrument in my coolest instrumentalist, and it was the guitar. So I started playing guitar. It's just an amazing instrument, which is not easy to play.

OTC: How did you happen to be an exchange student in a household with a family member who played guitar?

Henri: That was not a coincidence. I wrote an application, and a few more months after I sent it to my agency, they told me that they had found a family that was also really interested in music and that their son was playing the guitar. And I was pleased about that. As soon as I got to know Carson, I knew I wanted to go to that family. That's how it happened.

OTC: What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?

Henri: Music can help you out in every situation. If you are sad or happy, you can always have music. Even if the times are not that good, music can help you out of that. That's what music has meant to me.

OTC: I noticed during soundcheck that you and Carson have some chemistry while playing.

Henri: Definitely! I’ve known Carson for two months and Preston for around two weeks. Both of them are very loving and just amazing people. It's like we are in our bubble and really like each other!

Preston Black is the guitarist in the band Buck’d Up. He has played in the Huntsville area for many years and taught guitar for 21 years. The other members of Buck’d Up are Alex Mercieca, who is on bass and lead vocals, and drummer Rob Buck. This band gets my respect for being a badass power trio and for sharing the stage with these young men.

Buck'd Up for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

OTC: Preston, at some point, Carson's dad brought in a prospective new student named Carson Merritt. What did you think when this student came in and sat down and played for the first time?

Preston: Well, I was blown away! Because he was only 11 years old when he first started and was already good! He had already been playing for around a year, a year and a half, maybe two years, or something like that, but he was already good at that age, and it just blew me away! So we got him up on stage maybe six months ago, something like that after he first started lessons, and he blew everybody away! That was here at the camp also. I think he was, by that point, maybe 12 years old. He's a natural!

Preston Black of Buck'd Up for Mixed Alternative Magazine — Credit: Bud Gambrell

OTC: This makes me think of the videos on YouTube of a young Derek Trucks at the age of 13 playing with the Allman Brothers. His playing was far advanced for his age. How is this even possible?

Preston: It's amazing! I've been teaching full-time since 2003. It's weird to say, but in all those years, I've only had a handful of younger students who were naturals when it came to guitar. But Carson is the youngest, especially in lead guitar playing. All that stuff is natural for him, and he works hard! It's not just that he can naturally play. He works hard! As an instructor, I am more of a guide than anything else because he does all the work and figures out a lot of stuff on his own. So that in itself is impressive, especially for an 11-year-old! Now he's 13, but he's a very mature, brilliant kid.

OTC: As a teacher, you've taught people of all skill levels. What does it mean as a teacher to have somebody so determined to practice like he does? It's like he is driven to play this guitar and improve.

Preston: It makes my job easy. All I do is, you know, steer him one way or the other. I like to focus on the things that interest him because he will work the hardest on those things.

OTC: Rob, as the drummer for the band, what were your thoughts when Preston presented the idea of having a 12-year-old play onstage with Buck’d Up?

Rob: I'm all about it, man! I started playing when I was three, so I've been in this my whole life. To see fresh talent, good talent, and God-given talent come in, I couldn't ask for any better. Yeah, bring him home. Let's go!

OTC: Alex, before you got to play with him, had you heard him play yet? Have you seen him play before?

Alex: Preston had talked to me about it and told me how good he was, but then I was blown away when he got up there and started shredding away! He didn't miss a beat. It’s like we had practiced with him for months. But everything just fell into place. Perfect!

My comparison between Carson and Derek Trucks wasn’t about their playing styles. These two have opposite playing styles. That comparison was regarding their age. It also had to do with their demeanor onstage. Both have excellent control over their emotions while playing. I asked Bill Neal if he had noticed that, too.

OTC: Bill, you've seen Carson play before, and this kid's barely thirteen years old. What's your impression of his stage presence? He doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all.

Bill: That's one of the things I asked him on the podcast. I asked him, 'I’ve seen you play up with Buck’d Up.' I'm like, 'You don't even seem fazed. Are you nervous at all?' 'Well. No, not really.'

It doesn't make sense because I'm sure you're the same way. We picture ourselves at that age, and there's no way I would be able to do that. Maybe if I had the talent, but I've never been able to do anything like that, so he's well above anybody I've seen at that age.

I enjoyed my time with Buck’d Up so much that I asked them a thought-provoking question to get a deeper look into who they are.

OTC: If you could collaborate with one artist or band right now, who would it be?

Preston: I’ve never thought about that. I guess it would be somebody like Steve Vai because I listened to his music yesterday. It had been a while since I had listened. I used to listen to it all the time when I was younger. I'm just blown away and amazed by how he composes. He's a good guitar player, but compared to his guitar playing, the composition of the music he writes is way more complicated and musical. He's a better composer than a guitar player, so I would like to pick his mind and brain and work with him. That would be fun!

Rob: I already get to collaborate with some of the best dudes right here! But, if he were alive, I would say Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. I'd love to sit and play with him for a day.

Alex: I'm going to take Rob’s approach to this answer. I’d love to collaborate with Victor Wooten, sit down with him, and learn some writing skills. In the past, I thought it would be really cool to sit down with Cliff Burton and get some things going with him, even during his years. He is better than what I was expecting to see.

OTC: What first got you into music?

Carson: So there was this show I watched called Cobra Kai, and one of the characters, Miguel, sets his ringtones to Round and Round by Ratt. I love the guitar on that song. So, I wanted to get a guitar to learn that, and then I expanded into different genres, and it's been enjoyable!

OTC: What inspires you to pick up your guitar and practice?

Carson: I want to be amazing and join a band someday. You know, I want to make it my career. If I practice, I can work further towards that.

OTC: Do you enjoy practicing?

Carson: Absolutely!

Check out this video of Carson practicing here:

This was a bucket list solo for Carson. Two years and a half ago when he first started learning to play the guitar, we had no idea that at 13 years old... | By Angel | Facebook

OTC: What do you enjoy about practicing and learning new things?

Carson: It's just super fun! Honestly, it's beyond anything I can explain. You know, just that feeling of a pinch harmonic or a harmony. It’s just beautiful! It's just a beautiful instrument!

OTC: What is the best piece of advice that another musician has given you?

Carson: My guitar teacher, Preston, once taught me that you might have to work four hours for a three-second part of the song, and even though talent is a part of it, it's mostly work ethic.

OTC: As a guitar player, you have a favorite guitarist. Who is your favorite guitarist?

Carson: Kirk Hammett of Metallica.

OTC: Shouldn’t your answer be Preston Black tonight? (laughs)

Carson: (laughs) I didn’t know we were doing that. I also like Dan Sugarman of Ice Nine Kills.

OTC: So, tonight you're playing with Buck’d Up, but could you get up there and play with any band right now? Who would you play with?

Carson: Ice Nine Kills. They're my favorite band.

OTC: What strengths do you think make you a great musician?

Carson: Determination and work ethic.

If that last answer is insufficient to blow you away, you haven’t been paying attention. Carson Merritt is barely 13 years old. When I was 13, I was unsure if I understood what those words meant. Carson not only has raw talent, but he also has the drive and determination that will carry him far.

As I sign off this edition of Off the Charts, I will say one last thing. Rod and Kelly have done an outstanding job with this young man. Not only does he play guitar beyond his years, but he is also very polite and respectful. Those are a few qualities that I wish more people possessed these days.

Until next time,

Keep your diamond down in the groove!