Following the success of their last album, 'Sound Awake' Lauren headed off to Rock City to catch up with Ian Kenny to find out where Karnivool came from, where they plan on going and whether we'll be seeing them at any festivals in the near future...

You've been a band for going on 13 years now, could you give us a brief idea of how did that come about and where you got your name from?
I've known Drew since high school and after that we formed a band called Karnivool, it doesn't really mean anything it's a bit juvenile I think. We did what all bands do you know, played your first handful of gigs, record demos and E.Ps and in about 2004 we had a line up change and the actual sound of the band changed dramatically. It was a new lease on life and we've been like that ever since.

Karnivool have quite a unique sound and stage presence, who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
Erm.......the last 20 years of rock and roll I guess. I listen to all kinds of music, I like good music I don't like shit music. I'm attracted to melody and rhythm. We all are, we listen to everything from cannibal corpse to the cranberries like whatever. Inspiration comes from challenging things, I like people that push the boundaries on certain things, I think that's really attractive.

You released your second studio album ‘Sound Awake’ back in June 2009, are you happy with the response the album has had from your fans and the press because obviously you only released it back in February in America?
Yes, it's been great it really has. It went gold in 3 weeks in Australia, so then after that it's now out in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, UK, America, North America, Canada, we're looking to getting something happening in Japan and it's out in abundance now. It's spreading and hence we're touring and backing it up.

How did you find writing and recording ‘Sound Awake’ and how did the process differ from your debut album ‘Themata’?
Yeah it was quite a different process. Themata was myself and Drew and John having a go at our first full length record and the idea of an album was very new to us. It was an explosive record, kind of shot that out fairly, not quick, it took a couple of years to make but for us the cogs were moving. Sound Awake was very different, there's a lot more space on this record, we took our time with it. We were still cutting our teeth as song writers but it was a massive learning curve. I don't think we'll ever make another record again like Sound awake.

I don't think you will either, ‘Sound Awake’ is quite epic in length running for well over 70minutes, is this something that you planned from the start or did it randomly just end up happening in the end?
No, it was just how it worked out with the combined songs on the record. We never thought about certain lengths have being involved, just whatever works.

So you are currently in the UK for a short tour, how have the shows been so far? And what can we expect from tonight’s show?
Well we played Scotland last night and it was killer, it was like a party. It was what, Friday? Yeah, like a Friday night party.

As soon as your UK tour finishes you head off to Texas to play the infamous SXSW Festival, how many shows are you playing at the festival and how excited are you to be apart of it?
Yeah by SXSW is a great time to play music and get involved. We've got like 2 shows a day for 5 days, it's brutal. Good fun though – good ribs and beer. The important things, fuel!

Speaking of festivals, do you think we can expect to see Karnivool gracing the stage at any UK festivals in coming years?
Yeah we intend on coming back as soon as we can, maybe towards the end of this year. To what effect I don't know, the most logical thing to do is to kind of recap on the introduction and then come back and put ourselves in front of as many people as we can and see what takes and what doesn't.

Being a band from Australia how would you say the crowd at your Australian shows compares to the crowd at shows over seas?
I don't think the crowds are different,I think we're different. Like at home you're playing to a crowd you're like familiar with to a degree. You don't know them but....you come another part of the world its the same people, the same music lovers they're still passionate and amazing as anyone else but it's us that's different. We love coming to places where no one knows us and we have to earn it again and you go to small clubs where the beer makes it on stage and splashes on your feet you know it's cool.

MySpace seems to be a big tool in the music industry these days with bands communicating with their fans over it and some even ditching their own website and having just a MySpace site, what are your opinions on MySpace as a tool in the music industry? Do you think it's helped you?
Oh yeah yeah for sure its a great platform, its a great platform for communicating with punters or fans...do you guys call them punters? [Yeah, sometimes, I've heard it] Doesn't sound that nice does it? But fans or people whatever. I think it's a really good way for bands at any level, up and coming or whatever it's great anyway. It's a lot of bullshit, so full of bullshit with stupid ads no one cares about but there is info there that's totally useful.

Where would you like to see Karnivool in a years time?
I think we just all wanna see the band grow creatively, each record be something quite enticing and intriguing to ourselves and so far so good you know people seem to be reacting. You know that whole thing bringing music to people and seeing what happens

One random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a Zebra and a Giraffe which one would you be and why?
I'd probably wanna be the giraffe cos I reckon the giraffe would get himself into some pretty unusual positions with his neck like I'd imagine he'd be able to lean in the window and steal apple pie but then the zebra barks and I'd like to bark at people. I'd like to be the zebra hanging out the window in the back of the car barking like a dog and then seeing someone drive past like 'what the fuck is that a zebra?!' I think that'd be pretty cool.

Thanks for taking the time to sit down and chat with us, do you have any parting words for your fans?
Search, search for what you consider challenging. There's got to be more out there. Look for music don't just fucking accept it and take it.

Interview By Lauren Dauny