While travelling around India, Larry sat down with the five bands who were participating in OzFest’s Aussie BBQ series around the country. In the first part of this series, Larry sits down with Ian Kenny of Perth’s Karnivool, who have had considerable success already in the country, just before they hit the stage at Mumbai’s Hard Rock Cafe. We find out what the success in Infia means to him, what’s next for the ‘Vool and much more…
What has the experience of this tour been like? I know you’ve been here before, but it must still be somewhat surreal…
It is. And that hasn’t worn off — the fact that there’s people here who are fans of the band. I mean that was the thing that took us by surprise when we first played over here, at the Mood Indigo Festival in December last year. There were just rabid fans. We did have some idea that there were fans here, because of the traffic online, and conversations that were going on. We were lumped in with all the artists that are rife with file sharing, and that’s totally helped us out in a place like this. Knowing that we have a fanbase here, that there are passionate music fans in general here, it’s awesome.
It seems to be the metal scene that happens over here. The Megadeth’s, the Metallica’s, the Karnivool’s. It’s interesting that that’s what has worked here. Any idea about why that might be the case?
I’m not sure. Maybe it’s something relatively new? I mean generationally new — I don’t know when metal hit India. Was it at the same time that it hit the rest of the globe? I’m not convinced it did. I think it might have come a bit later, it’s so easily accessible at the moment. And I also think they have a lot of dance over here. There’s a huge trance scene, they’ve got Bollywood…
I definitely don’t think it’s come from following the trends; like whatever filters through America hits here and they just think it’s cool because of that. I was talking to some of the guys at the festival, and they were like, ‘what are you listening to?’ and I rattled off a couple of bands, and I asked them the same question, and they said, ‘that’s cool, but there’s nothing new coming through, so what’s the point?’ which is a very harsh look at things, but he was right. There’s calibre here. They don’t just settle for anything, like throwaway-metal or throwaway-rock.
And they’re so responsive to your music. They know every word to every song. That was what I heard at the acoustic session last night.
Yeah. Last night, the acoustic session, only 80 people allowed in this tiny room… It’s the coolest thing we’ve done in years. They were singing every word, collectively louder than we could be. Just drowning us out. It was fuckin’ great.
I know you’ve done it in the past, but it’s not something you do often, yeah? So do you now have the urge to do an acoustic album?
Not an album, but we’d love to do that again. I could probably count the number of times we’ve done that on my fingers. It’s very much out of our comfort zone, but we’re still into it.
Now, you’ve played the Aussie BBQ before — not with Karnivool, but with Birds of Tokyo a couple of years ago.
March 2009, in Austin.
So what do you think something like the Aussie BBQ brings to a place like India? What standing does Australian music have in India at this point? Because it feels very new, and bands like yours are creating the link, in a way.
I think it’s really new. I think it’s something that both sides are prepared to invest into, and that’s what’s going to work. Because it’s on the up-and-up, and both sides are taking interest, and there is a common ground, which is music. That’s the communication — the language that we don’t have to know. We just have to feel it, right? So all the guys that we’ve met, all the guys that are fans of the band, they all ask about Australian bands. What’s happening in the heavy scene, what’s happening in the rock scene, can you suggest this etc. So there’s an interest there for Australian artists and Australian content, which is great. And we’re talking about a fairly uncharted market, which could be a pretty big one, if it’s handled correctly. They’re hungry for new music, and the knowledge based around new music. And it’s fascinating.
At this level, what’s the hardest thing about touring in India?
…It’s been quite easy! We’ve been very well looked after. There’s been many minds, and many hands on ground, to deal with logistics, and to make it a comfortable touring circuit. But the hardest thing… getting the right gear onstage can sometimes be difficult. We’re used to a pretty elaborate production, but we just make it work as best as we can. Everybody does.
You don’t want to be the prima donna on the tour!
No! It’s half the challenge. We go, ‘we’ve got this, this, and this,’ and then go, ‘okay, we can make that work.’
You’re only here for a couple more days. Are you heading straight home? I know you’ve got some tracking to do…
Yeah, yeah. We’re in the middle of finishing the writing for the next record, so we could only afford a week out of the studio. We’re going to head back and finish that, and then in February we’ll be recording… I’d love to stay, if we could, though. Travel around.
Did you get a chance to do that when you were here last December?
Some guys did. Some guys came back and partied, but I didn’t.
It seems that Karnivool have had more success overseas than in Australia, in recent times. Would that be fair to say?
I guess, yeah. We’ve found that if we can get to Europe, and get to the States, and get to India, we’ll win fans. So it’s just investing the time to get over there.
Europe, especially. You were co-headlining a rock festival, I believe?
Yeah. And I can see the same beginnings of that sort of thing here in India. It’s great.
Is it hard to be a rock band in Australia?
In terms of making a living, it can be. Australia has a few rock bands, and if you’re not one of the top tiering ones, I imagine it’s hard to make a living out of it. A band like Karnivool will only get played on one radio station, sometimes, and that’s triple j. We’ve never been played on anything else — nothing commercial.
We need a KROQ in Australia, or something. There’s a missing link in our radio world. triple j equals “touring festivals” now. If you get played on them, you get to play festivals. With the commercial scene, there’s no link to festivals.
The percent of Australian music that is played on Australian radio right now is so poor.
And their argument would be, listen to community radio then. And that’s not the point. Radio still has such a prominent place, in terms of how we discover new music.
It’s a powerhouse, it really is. It’s such an important form of media for any artist who wants exposure, and it can make and break careers. It just makes me wonder what it would be like if it was 80% Australian content, 20% whatever.
Around ten years ago, everybody was saying it was the death of radio, but it seems to have become more important. Because there’s so much music out there, and people still need a way to say, ‘okay, that’s the music I want to listen to.’
And then there’s the people who just have the radio on and don’t really give a shit about music. So it’s, ‘what do you like?’, ‘oh, I like… the radio. I don’t know who it is, I just like it.’
That’s the exciting thing about meeting fans in India, is I’m getting to meet Superfans for the first time in a while. The ones who know every word to every song, the people that are really passionate about the bands that they know and they love. And I feel that that’s slowly escaping us in Australia. It’s such a singles culture, whereas here, it’s all about the bands, and really worshipping their catalogue.
It’s new again, in that sense. It’s a really, really beautiful thing to be a part of — surely as a fan as well. It’s fuckin’ cool. And we’ll be back next year, for sure.
Well, good luck with the album!
Yeah, thanks!
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