|
KrashKarma has just released their debut album Straight To The Blood, but right before the release they were on tour in Europe. It seems that KrashKarma try to do things differently... Time to learn more about the band, thanks to drummer Niki Skistimas for answering my questions within no time!
The band was started as Suicide Holiday, later got renamed to KrashKarma. Why renaming? And what's the idea behind the name?
The idea behind the name has always dealt with duality. Like Suicide and Holiday, the two words together create a vivid image in the mind even though they would typically not be used at the same time. We decided to change the name in 2008 because as we began to gain success in the USA we were losing out on some major opportunities because of the word Suicide in our name. It carries a lot of stigmata here in the states and even though it was never a negative thing to us, we had to explain it always. It was taking away from the music. We decided on KRASHKARMA because in essence it holds the same duality. To us it means, Instant Karma or you get what you deserve.
Even before recording your debut album you toured a lot, even outside the US. Some signed bands even have problems to tour outside their home country... How did you get it organized and financed?
We have done everything independently. We have financed our touring by touring. The positive thing about being independent is that the money we make goes straight to the band, so we are always conscious of the reality of expenses and profits. Opportunities are out there, we have always jumped on everything we felt was good for our progress as a band and what we new we could pull off financially. As bands grow, it is essential to have financial backing to assure the highest level of success and with our debut album we are looking to take it to that next level.
It's also unusual for an independent band to release video clips, not just some live footage. How come you can do video clips frequently while most bands complain about costs?
Honestly, the resources are available to everybody these days. If you have a cell phone you can create and upload videos. We are also sponsored by a company called PreSonus who has given us an editing software to work with because we are known to make so many videos. So our only edge up on other bands is that we can make our videos look pro without having to hire someone else to do it.
The songs on Straight To The Blood are a collection of songs you wrote over a longer period of time, right?
We starting writing Straight To The Blood in October of last year while we were on tour on the East coast. We continued writing and recording in Los Angeles all the way through the summer while we were in Germany to have it all finished for our October 8th release.
You also wrote some music which been used for TV, for Fox Sports. How did that happen? Did you send them some demos? Or did they contact you?
In Los Angeles there are many organizations that focus on networking for people involved in the music business. We attend many of these to broaden our knowledge and network of people we work with to keep our career moving forward. We met someone who knew someone and got a meeting with the head of the music department at Fox Sports and he loved us! That's how most relationships start in this industry. Right time and the right place.
You just been on tour in Europe, but your album was released a little afterwards. Are you satisfied with the response?
So far, yes. We have a great team over there working hard for us while we are in the States. Our last tour was more to get our name out, so we are very excited to get back to do a tour to support the release.
© KrashKarma
I guess that you captured some tour impressions on video... Any plans to use some of this stuff? Perhaps as bonus material?
We have already posted some of the footage for our fans on our Youtube and Facebook pages. We did get some amazing footage, so there is a good chance that we will prepare some extra bonus stuff in the future.
Any plans to come back to Europe to promote the album live? Or will you first record some new songs?
We are always writing and recording, but we are definitely planning on coming back to promote our debut album! At the moment we are thinking it will be in March after our US tour.
Have you already started working on some new songs?
We have indeed started working out new song ideas. Our immediate attention is on our Christmas song. We release one for free download every year.
What are your plans for 2011?
Tour the World!!! We are working on playing all the major festivals next year and doing club dates in between to spread the awareness of the band.
It seems that nobody can stop the foursome at the moment! They want to get their music out and they want to tour, no matter what it takes. While many bands wait to get everything presented on a silver platter Niki and the guys work hard to do it on their own. Visit their virtual homes, listen to their music and if you can catch them playing a local club, show some support!
|
|
