Frantik Interview: Karnivool “We’re Up In Arms About Britney Spears Miming And Tiger Woods Infidelities While The Tyrannical Global Government And A World Extremely Reminiscent Of Orwell’s 1984 Is Literally At Our Doorstep”

21 Dec, 2009

This band is one of those bands that come along and really give music a good kick in the arse. Unorthodox arrangements, cunning musical dexterity, and songs that simply showcase a band at it’s musical prime, continually pushing the envelope. The band is no other than Australia’s greatest import, Karnivool. Spanning three albums, an impressive number of important shows and a musical aptness few have acquired throughout their years of playing, Karnivool is a band that I call schematically ingenuine. Treading on uncharted territories on their latest effort, Sound Awake, the band has once again broken new ground and re-shaped the sound they’ve grown to be known for. We caught up with guitarist Drew Goddard of Karnivool and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for Frantik. Let’s get to know Karnivool.

Well guys, let’s jump right into the fire. Are there any plans of doing a U.S. tour anytime soon and if so, how much of the new material are you guys planning on including in the set and are there any
places that you guys are looking forward to playing?

Yeah we’re booked in for South by Southwest in Austin TX in March 2010 and we’re currently in the process of booking a bunch of shows around it. We’ll be visiting some places we’ve been to before as
well as some new towns we’ve had our eyes on for a while. Boston, cough, New Orleans, cough, San Fran. We’ll be focussing our set mainly on the new material with a healthy dose of Themata in there too.

Sweet! Now “Set Fire To the Hive” has been out for some time now and it has definitely seeped into my skin like an infection and I love it! What sparked the creative fire inside of you guys this time
around and what influenced the overall production of the recording?

‘Set Fire to the Hive’ was born through sheer frustration at the state of humanity, particularly in the western world. We’re being sold a fictitious reality through the mainstream media, and it’s become quite apparent that we’re having a little bit of trouble letting go of it. Relax! Everything will be taken care of by the same trustworthy folks that so thoughtfully manufactured the problems in the first place. We’re up in arms about Britney Spears miming and Tiger Woods’ infidelities while a Tyrannical Global Government and a world extremely reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984 is literally on our doorstep. Pure madness. It’s time that we open our eyes, free our hearts and minds from the shackles placed on us not only from ‘the powers that be’ but more importantly from our fellow humans, and really start thinking for ourselves. It’s a call to arms to unite as one world and one consciousness, remembering who and why we are, and evolving out of the mire. Or maybe it’s just about a beekeeper who forgot to put his ciggie butt out then got stung on the arse by a swarm of angry bees? Whatever you make of it really.

As deep as that was, I think the guy forgot to put out his ciggie. I’m just sayin’. Would you guys consider “Sound Awake” to be somewhat of a pinnacle in the band’s career and do you guys feel like you really stepped up the bands’ songwriting as a whole for this album?

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved with “Sound Awake” and acknowledged the creative growth of the band, but we still see this record as a solid stepping stone to our next project. We like to keep looking forward as opposed to standing around patting each other on the back. This was the first record we’ve written as a complete lineup and I know we have room to move.

So what’s the main goal for this album and how has the band musically grown in certain aspects?

The main goal was really just to explore new sound and new ground while trying not to lose what makes a good song. We wrote most of the parts together in a jam room, so this was a real exercise in finding our individual roles within the overall sonic spectrum; filling the gaps that need to be filled, while not treading on each other’s toes and leaving enough space for things to breathe.

Well, by the sounds of it, you guys did a great job doing just that. Did the economical state of things in the world have any impact on the writing and recording of this album by any chance?

The ecomomical state of the world is one aspect to the overall elephant in the room that emerged for me personally during the creative process but definitely not a focus in itself. The “Hegelian Dialectic” and “Problem-Reaction-Solution” which the economic situation falls neatly into however, did have a significant impact on my creative outlet.

It took a while for me to get settled in to this record but as I previously mentioned, it sunk in and now it’s my favorite out of your catalog. Did the songs take a while to manifest for you guys and now that it’s out, which song have you guys grown to love and why?

Yeah, even after the album was completed, some of the songs (or at least our relationships to them) have continued to change and evolve. Some things have only really made sense to us recently and have taken on a new meaning, especially after playing them live. A song like Change is a good example.

That’s one that took a while to get used to. Speaking of your album title, have you guys actually set fire to a hive and if so, how did you escape the flames and stingers?

No but our manager’s old man is a bee keeper, I’m sure he has a few stories.

Let’s shake it up right now. H1N1. Take the vaccine or skip it or take it when necessary?

I’m definitely not taking that shit. No one is forcing me to either. People should do their homework before taking a jab. Just another case of “problem-reaction-solution” in my opinion.

Totally agree! Something about that vaccine scares me in a few different ways. Red Flags everywhere. Which band member has the most interesting set of tunes in their iPod that would be considered shocking or unusual?

Our drummer Steve has the most ecclectic and slightly disturbing mix out of anyone. Toto’s “Love Isn’t Always On Time” is one of the tracks on his playlist that he made before every show on our recent tour. Lets just say that a lot of Toto fans came out of the woodwork. The sing-a-longs were unrivalled!

Dude, Toto! “I Bless The Rains Down In Africa….” Classic! lol! With the year 2012 closely approaching, do you guys think the Mayans are correct about the end of days closing in or what do you guys think will happen in 2012?

I don’t know if anyone can say for sure. This is a point of contention amongst our band members. For me personally, even if I had never heard anything about the Mayan Prophecies and their Calendar, I would still think we are in for a huge change soon. In my humble opinion everything that is happening around us at the moment including all the pain and suffering is providing us with a choice. For anyone that has clued on to the NWO agenda, I like to the think that the ‘powers that be’ are only doing us a favour by closing the walls in us. It’s only giving us the catalyst and the tools to change and evolve. It’s all a part of that cosmic power struggle between ‘us and them’ in order to show us that maybe there actually really is no such thing as ‘us and them’ or ‘good and evil’ or ‘black and white’. Maybe it’s both, maybe it’s neither? Or maybe it’s both and neither at the same time? I say THANK YOU to the power hungry elite for holding a mirror up to humanity. I just think that there’s things we can’t be taught, but we have to learn it for ourselves if we are to take the next step. Science and spirituality and other so called paradigms are currently converging in a beautiful alchemy and we are beginning to realize some fundamental truths about the nature of reality and our place within the cosmos. This world that we experience with our 5 senses is just a tiny, minute fraction of what is really out there. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I reckon it’s gonna be a bumpy ride, but regardless, it’s an amazing time to be alive.

And I thought your earlier sentiment was deep. This one takes the cake! You actually have some real interesting views on that subject and I totally agree, something is going to happen. Just don;t know how big of a scale it would be but it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Since Christmas is coming up, which Gag gift is the best to give? I was thinkin’ Snuggie.

Have you seen the Weezer Snuggie? Amazing! I also like the “Freudian Slippers”.. http://www.stupid.com/fun/FSLP.html

Freudian Slippers huh? Going to have to add to the list! Aside from your most awesome album, who should get the “Album Of The Year” nod for 09’?

I really liked Porcupine Tree’s ‘The Incident’, Doves’ ‘Kingdom of Rust’ and Muse’s ‘The Resistance’.

Great choices! What would you guys love to see happen in the year 2010?

The first international magic mushroom day.. where the whole world stops to get really fucking high for just one day. Yeah right! :)

Going to start the petition for that now. Everyone needs to eat magic mushrooms at least once in their boring lives to get a glimpse of the other side or have a life changing epiphany! How do you guys feel about people’s addictive obsession with networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Myspace?

Like everything there’s positives and negatives. It has shown that there is an inherent need for people to connect to one another and to share information and opinions. It is bringing us closer together and new information has the ability to go viral, which can only be a good thing, I think. Some see the internet as the beginnings of a collective intelligence or a supermind. But as we all know the internet is a showcase for both extremes.. human stupidity and human endeavour. At least we’re learning more about ourselves and each other, even if it is Joe from Springton broadcasting to the world that he’s just soiled himself in his computer chair. I like to think that truly great ideas stick, while trivial rubbish fades into the ether. But maybe I’m just being idealistic? We’ll see.

Nah, you hit it right on the head. Are there any bands flying under the radar that you guys have recently heard or witnessed that deserves our attention?

Coerce, Kid Sam, Cog and Gotye. (Not so much under the radar here in Australia).

Will have my assistant fetch me those albums, you guys seem to have great taste in music by the way you guys make it. While the economy is continuing to slowly decay, how does a band adapt and become recession proof in these times?

Sell more t-shirts! :)

Best answer ever! Would you guys consider this record to be a defining moment in the band’s career?

Too early to say. We’re just enjoying ourselves in the moment while looking ahead. I can’t really get a real perspective when I’m right in the thick of it.

What’s next for Karnivool?

We’ve just finished another Australian Tour which was amazing. We’re gonna shack up in our home town of Perth for a month in our new jam room and get busy on album #3. Come mid January 2010, we’re off on the Big Day Out Tour which travels around Australia and Auckland NZ. Our record “Sound Awake” is coming out in the USA and Canada February 16 and then in a bunch of European countries – Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherland and Ireland on March 5. We’ll be following this up with tours through these territories, while continuing to work on album #3.

Great news right there! Any plug, shameless promotion, or anything you guys want to get off your chest?

Yeah! This annoying sweat rash next to my left nipple.

Paging doctor…nevermind. Guys have a great time out on tour promoting this record, it’s a smashing album in my opinion that people really need to purchase and get lost to. Thanks guys and keep up the great work!