When the circus rolled into town there was always one freckly kid dreaming of running away to join the show. Intrigued, and often a little scared by what went on behind the scenes, the carnival often seemed a dangerous and exciting place. Carnival is a place of mystery and intrigue; The Bearded Lady, The Acrobats, and The Strong Man, these were beyond the scope of the normal imagination. And behind the scenes an immense amount of work, training, dedication and fun would accompany the rewards received.

Karnivool are one group who are willing to walk the tightrope, clean up after the elephant, and set up The Big Top. Keeping the show going is in the lifeblood of Ian Kenny (vocals), Andrew (Drew) Goddard and Mark (Hos) Hosking (guitars), Jon Stockman (bass), and Steve Judd on drums. After getting Drew, Ian and Hos secured in an upstairs room at The Rosemount it was clear from the first question that longevity plays a crucial role in determining the overall success of the band. Having been together for seven years they still felt that their time has only just begun. As Drew noted, “I think persistence is one of our best traits. We’re not going to stop anytime soon. We’ve got about twenty albums in us or so.”

Karnivool have released two EPs and a single to date. With their debut album ‘Themata’ being constructed over a three-year period, many fans have been suffering major withdrawals waiting for this full-length debut. Having worked with former WAAPA graduate and now producer prince in waiting Forrester Savell (Monique Brumby, Helmet) on their past releases, they were fortunate enough to have him available for ‘Themata’. As Drew explains, “He was in America recording and called us to say he was coming back and said ‘you’d better have an album ready for me’ so he gave us the kick in the ass that we needed.” Also described by Ian as the “cattle prod” Savell certainly provided a catalyst for the band to complete the album, “It’s co-produced with ourselves and Drew has a lot of production value on the record. Forrester’s quite strong and bold in his ideas but he’s open to let all fingers get in the pie.” For Drew it was personal similarities, rather than creative differences that pushed ‘Themata’ to a point where everybody was satisfied with the result. “He’s very opinionated like me so we butted heads a lot of the time and argued a lot. Sometimes I could have punched him and he could have punched me but we knew it would all work.”

Upon arrival at the ‘Themata’ launch at the Lookout it became clear that Karnivool create an atmosphere more akin to a touring act, not a local band. One of the problems many bands have is that they feel like they’re from a small town and it shows. A proper merchandising stall at the CD launch gave the immediate impression that these guys had an image, a product, and demand for both. A quick check of their website proved this as most merchandise was sold out. Even before Soundgarden’s ‘Badmotorfinger’ had died down the crowd began to chant for their local heroes to appear. Four songs in and you would need an impairment not to realise this was a band with a true following. About half the audience were singing every word being uttered from Ian Kenny’s mouth, “I would love to be in the crowd watching a Karnivool gig just to hear that choral effect. You can kind of hear from stage when they’re singing ‘vool songs. I’d love to be amongst it for just two minutes to hear that.” Hos was quick to agree that this made playing their shows that little bit more special, “I get goose bumps every time I hear it. It’s a pretty unbeatable feeling.”

Karnivool’s loyal following has come about through the band’s fierce determination, catchy tunes and an unwavering belief in artistic integrity. But as is always the case you still need someone with the network to distribute your product, and the truck to drop it off. Signing a distribution deal with DIY gurus MGM gives Karnivool a means to spread their message, and build some bidding power without compromising their ideals. As Hos pointed out being indie allows you a greater degree of creative control. On the flip side he sees some advantages to a major label signing. “Being independent is an awesome feeling because it means you’re backing yourself, backing your own music and you’re saying to everybody that you’re prepared to put your heart and your soul and dollars behind that project. Music’s a bit different because it’s got an emotional value. So you’ve gotta say that if I’m gonna do this by myself and with myself it’s all good independently, but if your gonna go out and get someone to back you you’ve gotta do it for all the right reasons. If it’s just to sell another thousand records then there’s no point. If it’s just a profit thing then no. But if it’s about pushing it to a larger audience which a major label would be able to do then sure it’s viable.”

Having won the last three WAMi awards in the best Hard Rock/Metal category, Karnivool has also caught the attention of their industry peers. Awards and accolades are rarely what musicians get into music for but they do provide a purpose, they enable us to applaud achievements by the artists and the industry as a whole. Drew and Ian also saw receiving the awards as a way of giving the band an edge. “It looks good on the resume. We’ve been nominated again this year so we could make it number four (Editor’s note: They did). That’s one of the big things we’re pushing at the moment.” Karnivool’s assault on your senses is definitely in the realms of heavy, but like bands such as Soundgarden they carry a three pack of low, mid and high wherever they go. As Ian was quick to add, “One of the things that sets us apart is that we dig melody, every one of us as writers really loves melody.” While the band offer spontaneous melodic offerings (they even harmonised with the band playing beneath us) their acoustic song ‘Headcase’ is actually a stripped down version of the original song. As Hos and Drew pointed out, “It was basically taking a song out of its element, stripping it down so it’s naked and you can’t hide behind a wall of sound with the song as it is.”

Outside the Lookout in the salty Scarborough air the punters were calling “next big thing” and it’s hard not to agree, as Karnivool’s infectious ways have reached an epidemic in Perth. Through their hard work and dedication they have attracted a loyal following, and have created an aura akin to their namesake. As they pondered what they were giving up on their way to The Big Top Ian, Drew and Hos had few regrets. It was great to see that while they saw what this life was taking away, they have never lost sight of the pure thrill that playing music can give you. Ian summed it all up with enthusiastic agreement from Drew and Hos. “I agree with Drew, we are making sacrifices every day. Hey but I’m having fun. It’s rock and roll. It’s wicked.”

www.karnivool.com.au