NASHVILLE, TN - At a Halloween party in 1998, after a lot of redundant conversation about the sorry state of rock music (and way too much beer), three friends decided to take things into their own hands. Drummer Todd Kemp, guitarist Todd Anderson, and bass player Ryan Ervin, three young men with an intense love of all things rock ‘n' roll, got to work in a hurry, and the Carter Administration was sworn into office. With all the members sharing songwriting and vocal duties, the trio quickly found itself with a small army of songs. Within a year and a half they had recorded and released three well received EPs, Fuck Off I'm Listening to the Carter Administration, High on Voting, and Do I Still Look Good?, all full of raw, brief, energetic, and noisy bursts of melody and rhythm. In the fall of 2000, they recorded their first full length album, Betty Ford Start Packing, the Carters are Coming, with Nashville rock veterans Dean Bratcher and Sam Powers. As a young band, they continued to grow as songwriters and performers.

The spring of 2001 marked a new era for the band as the Administration lost a cabinet member, amicably splitting with founding member Todd Anderson. Having grown tired of continuously playing to a couple of drunks in dingy rock clubs at one o'clock in the morning, Todd now publishes two webzines (popshot.net and nashvillezine.com), writes and records songs under the name the Hit On List, records music at his and Todd K's home studio, Southern Engineering, and continues to hone his considerable table tennis skills. Todd K and Ryan decided to soldier on as a duo, playing out and even releasing an EP of homemade four-track recordings, the sonically challenged - but melodically sound - Two Man Advantage. Things were going fine, but the two started to get the nagging feeling that they were missing that extra spark. So when Andy Willhite, former guitarist for garage rock maestros the Obscure, inquired if the two might need a bass player, they gladly welcomed the certified southern gentleman aboard.

The reenergized trio spent the better part of 2003 writing and recording, releasing two new EPs, All Talk, No Liver, and World Champions of the World, and sharing the stage with such respected bands as the Natural History and the Deathray Davies. As the winter months came, they settled down to record their next collection of songs. The result is Pony Up!, six songs recorded at Southern Engineering, all done of the Carter Adminstration's own accord. It finds the band continuing to hone its brand of smooth as silk rock ‘n' roll, with all the electric melodies and vibrant rhythms still in place. It also features bassist Andy Willhite's first contribution to the Carter catalog, the lovely “It's Not Rocket Surgery.” So make sure your hat's in place and your boots are on tight, 'cause they're just getting started.

The Carter Administration is: Todd Kemp Ryan Ervin Andy Willhite