Carla Harvey

Carla Harvey
Harvey in 2014.
Background information
Born	(1976-10-04) October 4, 1976
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Groove metal, thrash metal, metalcore, alternative metal
Occupation(s)	Singer, writer, actress, author
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2010—present
Labels	Century Media
Website	www.carlaharvey.com

Carla Harvey is an American musician from Detroit, best known as a vocalist of the American heavy metal band Butcher Babies. Harvey is also an author, artist and actress. She landed her first job in Hollywood as an Entertainment Reporter for the Playboy Channel, and appeared on many popular network TV shows like Rules of Engagement. Harvey took a break from the entertainment world to earn a degree in Mortuary Science from California's Cypress College, and worked as an embalmer and funeral director before forming the Butcher Babies and pursuing her lifelong dream of being a touring musician.

Harvey is passionate about writing. She was named a "comic book mastermind" by Hustler. Her first published comic book Butcher Babies was released with great success at San Diego Comic-Con 2011. Her first full-length novel, Death and Other Dances, was released in 2014, and a new comic series entitled Soul Sucka was released in 2015.

Early life

Harvey attended Glenn Levey Middle School in Southfield, Michigan. As a teenager she attended Mercy High School (all-girl private Catholic) and Harrison High School, both in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Carla also has a degree in mortuary science from California's Cypress College, and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. In an interview, she said that "She hopes to one day open her own funeral home, but for now, she's enjoying life on the road with the Butcher Babies." She has appeared in several adult features, sometimes using the alias Bridget Banks. Among these are At Your Service (2006), Decadent Dreams (2005), and Bedtime Secrets (2008).

Reaction to criticism

Often being judged as less powerful and influential in the heavy metal industry, Harvey and her fellow Butcher Babies vocalist, Heidi Shepherd, never dwell on negative criticism. As Harvey mentioned in an interview with Blabbermouth.net: "There's always gonna be haters. We actually don't really play into the negativity, or read into the negativity. I think people are afraid of sexuality, especially Americans." She supports greater female representation in the metal music scene.

Discography

With Butcher Babies

• Blonde Girls All Look the Same (Single) (2011)
• Butcher Babies (EP) (2012)
• Goliath (2013)
• Uncovered (EP) (2014)
• Take It Like a Man (2015)
• Lilith (2017)

Musical influences

Harvey has cited her influences as Pantera, Slayer, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and the Plasmatics. However, in an interview, she has stated that her main musical heroes are Slash and Jimi Hendrix. She said: "As a biracial kid growing up in the Detroit area, I got a lot of shit for loving hard rock and metal, and seeing musicians that were also African American playing the music I loved made me strong enough to say, 'Fuck you, I'm going to like what I want.'" She is also heavily influenced by horror movies such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, House of 1000 Corpses, and The Devil's Rejects.