Systemic history

This site is dedicated to Systemic, a heavy metal band that hailed from the Southwestern United States during the turn of the new millennial.
Thanks for visiting.

January 2001

In the beginning was the forge...., just teasing....., couldn't help myself.
Responding to an add placed by Ostrander on craigslist, if memory serves me correctly some 22 years later: "Seeking Bassist and Drummer for Heavy Metal project"... or something to that effect. I(Carreras), called Scotty and said "Hey bro, have ya seen this ad?" "and Scott was like, "Na, but let's check it out." With the dissolution of Angels in Exile, Scott and I were looking for a new gig, and as bassists and drummers usually do, we had formed a solid friendship during our time together in Angels. So, with Scotty dudes in agreement, I called the number on the ad, and in short order(a day or two later) Ostrander is standing in my living room in Albuquerque, NM.
"What's up you metal maniacs?"
As Ostrander proceeded to lay down the plan to conquer the galaxy's celestial harmonics, he proceeds to explain that he and Craig have already begun to assemble a solid conceptual foundation musically, and that they are looking for a like minded bassist and drummer duo to fill the void in the now desolate metal wasteland we called home. Swallows and Ostrander were already in full production mode on the first album, which in truth, made it a little awkward for Scott and I coming in, but we swallowed our pride, worked together, and in doing so, the metal that we came to know, love, and trademarked as "Systemic" was forged. Scotty dudes has since passed away, and we(Craig and I) have lost contact with Ostrander. I have had limited correspondence with Ostrander's Family who informed me that Ostrander was having some medical issues, and I will respectfully not elaborate further on this at this time until I hear from him, as his personal matters are for him to choose to disclose, other than for me to take the opportunity to say that: Our prayers are with him always, all ways. There is more I would like to say about Scotty dudes as well, but again, I will bridle my tongue out of respect on the matter for now... With the recent Covid attack around January 2020,(personally, I do not consider it an accident and will not entertain such cognitive dissonance) that many a family has had challenges and losses, but I digress, with that said: Craig and I are in communication at the time of this writing(June 2023), and I will do the best I can to properly document the history of our endeavor together, and in doing so, hopefully fill in some of the blanks for the fans that we know, knew, and love. This content is subject to be changed as to be corrected when found to be in error.
Please note: Due to excruciating and extenuating circumstances that have affected us in life, such as Fraud, Theft, Hurricane Katrina, BP oil spill, Medical/Health, Death, Covid, ect... there is only so much material that I have been able to salvage, and I will do the best I can with what I have to "put it out there" for everyone to enjoy. At this time I am missing a chunk of the last few years of show dates as we travelled through Colorado, Arizona, and California. I do not know when I will be able to recover that data, or if ever. Time will tell. While we cannot undo the damage done to us by some of the aforementioned, it is my hope that by publishing this material, eventually to web3.0, that, in the very least, what we worked so hard for would not be lost again, and that it will live on to rock many a generation. We love you all, and may your lives be filled with joy. In that spirit, I have posted all 3 albums here for all of you, all the metal heads of the world, to have and enjoy freely. Please feel free to add them to your collection, and please feel free to share this site with others that may also enjoy the grooves.

Sincerely, Michael. c/o Systemic

April 2001

Getting in Gear:

After months of rehearsal, we finally found a pub
gritty enough to let us begin to bang the anvil on this rough raw molten metal machine....
Our first flyer. Sorry about the image being cut off. Salvaging what I can.... Did I mention all my crap got flooded in Katrina? I am hoping in time, Mike O. can help me fill in some of the missing blanks. ... time will tell.. for now, I forge on on this site!

Tech Tip: Hard drives don't care much for salt water....

On April 14th, 2001 we performed our First public show @ Sprockets Pub: Albuquerque, NM

May 2001

The wild wild west:

May 12th, 2001
We jammed at The Golden West Saloon in the historic El Rey Theatre. Dubbed: "the saloon that rock built". I was not able to find any data for this show other than it being listed in one of the data sheets, but there will be several that that will be the case for. We played here on more than one occasion, and if I am able to recover anything, or receive material from someone else who can, I will update this in the future. We would like to give a huge shout out to the staff and owners for always entertaining us and our friends, and may their memories live on long after we have gone.

Image for the El Rey and Golden West are credited to the Alibi and the Lope.

Fill er' up!

This is a shot from the inside of the saloon looking back to the front toward the stage that was so kind to let us play many times. It is hard to appreciate the beauty of this saloon and it's historic charm unless you were actually standing in it. Looking back now, I feel so privileged to have been there. The entire ceiling was made of intricate wood. The walls of this place displayed an enormous history.

Special Thanks to On Fire Productions and Desoto Productions for all their hard work to help us get this done!!

As you can see, we were still learning how to make flyers!! For 4 guys all working 40+ hour a week day jobs, looking back, I don't know how we found the energy!!

Preparing for Launch:

Getting fired up!

May 18th, 2001
Our 1st Self Titled CD Released
Systemic - Systemic

Craig Swallows - Vocals

Michael Ostrander - Guitars

Scott Gates - Bass

Michael Carreras - Drums / Vocals

having a Ball:

On May 30th, 2001 we had a head banging ball on the Ernie Ball Semi Trailer for an outdoor promotional event at Grandma's Music in Albuquerque, NM.

June 2001

Grinding Gears:

Can't find em, grind em.
Earning our bones on the local scene with the bikers @ Sprockets Pub on June 2nd, 2001.

double clutch:

June 7th, 2001, gaining a little traction on the local scene as locals began to drift with us into the fast lane @ Sprockets rumbling out a double header.

the launch pad:

Well known venue in downtown Albuquerque and one of our favorite places to play. Many a band has called this place home. I had the pleasure of hanging out with Danny Carey of Tool at this venue, fantastic guy! He tolerated me for a whole hour!! Launched our first show at the Launch Pad on June 8th, 2001. Thanks R.B. ! We pray you are well, and we miss ya bro!!

Golden Ratio:

On June 16th, 2001 The Golden West Saloon was nice enough to let Systemic run a thorough systems check before...

Forging Metal:

Fired up!

June 28th, 2001
Tearing the roof off again at sprockets as we begin to discover how to synchronize clanking steel with screeching bearings, tribal growls, and pounding kettles. The whales of the local patrons' reciprocation began instructing us on how to float these grinding metal gears into a more efficient machine.

We loved being able to help promote the local music scene, and are forever grateful for the opportunities we had to do so. Thank you all.

July 2001

reaching for the sun:

July 7th, 2001 Systemic @ The Historic Sunshine Theater.

As far as local bands go in Albuquerque, this was considered moving up. Many a major act has played at this venue. We are grateful to everyone who work to support these venues. Looking back this is another piece of history that I am personally glad to have been a tiny part of. Systemic thanks you Sunshine. Good Times. Shout out to Joe Anderson. Thank you.

going scorched earth:

Systemic back @ The Launch Pad with some friends on July 21st, 2001.

August 2001

spinning sprockets:

August 11th, 2001. To the best of my knowledge, this would be the last show we ever played at Sprockets Pub on Central Ave in Albuquerque, NM. If we played after this, I don't have record of it. It would appear that that synchro's gave way when we flew off the chain. R.I.P Sprockets! Sprockets Pub went out of business. It would seem that some search engines are all to eager to memory hole images of the little known biker's dive. Well, we remember you Sprockets for giving many a band a place to play for the weekend. Systemic humbly thanks you for letting us fill our tanks, grind our dirty gears, and polish our nasty pipes.

Crawling home:

On August 25th, 2001 we rocked the Alibi Fall Crawl. I don't know if they still do this, but this is/was an insane event in the Albuquerque downtown area. They would close off downtown central ave. for the entire weekend and basically any band who is actively playing the circuit is somewhere in here at some pub at some point. I wish I could tell you more, but my memory is faded on this matter..... no further comment.

ground zero:

september 2001

Zero Hour Squared benefit at the Launch Pad on September 8th, 2001. Mike Trujillio gets an honorable mention here cuz he has always been a huge supporter of the music scene. Thanks Mike. I'm not sure if they are still doing anything, but I remember Mike giving us our first T.V. interview. Pretty dang cool.

nite out clubbing:

On September 14th, 2001 Systemic got clubbed at The Club in Las Cruces, NM as N.M.E.(New Mexican Erection) special guests

october 2001

The historic el rey theatre:

Systemic performed at the Golden West Saloon on October 27th, 2001.
In February of 2008 the Golden West Saloon, which was housed in the historic El Rey Theatre, was destroyed by fire. As disheartening as this was for us to learn, we were glad to hear that the theatre itself, along with The Launchpad, was spared, and as of this year(2023) they still live on to this day to entertain the Albuquerque community. Rock On!

After Systemic, Craig went on to become a Fire Fighter serving the Albuquerque and surrounding communities.