Rock On The Rise: Subkonscious And Their Hopes For The Local Rock Scene

Local Hard Rock band Subkonscious discuss the trends the band has seen in their nine years of performing and where they think the local rock scene is headed.

Photo credits to Chattanooga Live Music,

Mark A. Hendon

When people think of Chattanooga music, a few images immediately come to mind: bluegrass singers at festivals, street performers from SoundCorps, local hip-hop artists, and the other usual suspects. One genre that is relatively lacking locally though, is hard rock. That is beginning to change though thanks to rock groups like Subkonscious. Subkonscious was created by Carl Foshay originally as an outlet for him to release his original music. In 2011 it took to the stage though as a full band. While it has seen a lot of changes over the years and many band members come and go, it has maintained itself as one of the areas main rock bands. Currently, the band consists of four members: Carl himself who plays bass, brothers Heath (the drummer) and Nick (a guitarist) Price, and Colton Bowlin on keyboards. Despite having been around for so long, Carl thinks Chattanooga is just now starting to give rock groups like Subkonscious the same attention as artists from other genres. Carl believes this is because of the stigma people have of associating rock music with negative behaviors. While the scene has grown over the years, it still doesn’t get the same coverage as the rest of the music scene. “Chattanooga is a tourism city,” Carl said. “The powers that be will keep it that way, and that means venues and events will be selective about what music is played in town.” Subkonscious has outlived many other local rock groups that have come and gone over the years with it being one of the few bands with staying power. The band members believe a part of why it’s so hard for rock groups to make it in Chattanooga is the fact that many venues in the city aren’t willing to host them. “There are so many places to play in Chattanooga if you get out there and look around, you’ll find something different on every block, but a true blue rock scene in town sees many bands that just don’t last.” Carl and the rest of the band are not deterred by this though. They believe that music as a whole is on the verge of a rock resurgence and we are about to see a lot of new rock stars rise in the next decade. Subkonscious will undoubtedly be at the head of any rock movements that come to the Scenic City. Subkonscious will be playing at JJ’s Bohemia on Jan. 19 and at Connect Live in Wood Stock, Georgia on Feb. 22 as well as at the Road to Nightfall competition in March. Make sure to go follow them with the Instagram handle below and to check out their music on Bandcamp with the link below. @subkonscious423 Subkonscious.bandcamp.com