Rob Oswald
Karma To Burn
It is always a pleasure to have the opportunity to ask a couple of questions to a band that you really like. So, I was happy when I was told me to do an interview with KARMA TO BURN, even via mail. During the last interviews I made, many times I was told who will answer, but at the end is another member of the band.This time it was Rich to answer my questions, but as you will see bellow, it was Rob Oswald (drums) that did the job. Not that this spoils something, on the contrary! So, let's see what he has to say about KARMA TO BURN last album "Appalachian Incantation", the reason they split up in 2002 and the future of the band. Oh! And are they going to release a non instrumental album?
By Harry Papadopoulos
•
July 19, 2010
Hi Rich. First of all thanks for that hell of a show you gave in Athens, a few weeks back.
My name is Rob, and you are welcome. Always a blast to play Athens.
I will get back to this show and your tour in general, but firstly let's talk about the band. You split up in 2002 and now you are back together. Have you left all those problems that made you call it quit, behind, or are they still in the back of your heads?
We have managed to leave them behind. The majority of our problems were narcotic based, so when we got rid of the narcotics, I think we got rid of the problems. We have been getting along well and getting a lot accomplished.
What were the reasons that made you take the decision to do a reunion in the first place?
Personally, I wanted to do it because I felt KARMA TO BURN ended too soon, I felt we had much more to say and do. Once again, our main reason for disbanding was due to drug abuse, my drug abuse to be specific. After I got clean in 2003, I realized what a shame it would be to not continue, as it was a good time for me when we were banging out songs before the hard drugs took over.
I think we all kinda felt this way, so we were able to put our past behind us and give it another go, it has been a blast so far.
Where you anxious about how this will go? Also was there any anxiety or were you nervous about how the recordings and the album will go?
I was a bit anxious at the very beginning, as some time had passed since we played together, or even spent time in the same room. After the first couple notes played, all the anxiety went out the window. I knew things were gonna be bad ass. As far as the album goes, the songs pretty much wrote them selves, it was pretty fluid.
So Rob your latest album "Appalachian Incantation" was produced by Scott Reeder. How are things working with him?
It was a blast working with Scott. Sometimes when you work with a producer, you feel like there is a communication barrier, like you and the producer are speaking a different language, it can be very challenging and exhausting. This was not the case at all with Scott. We were on the same page from day one, and he was a pleasure to work with…it made our job a lot easier.
Did it take you a lot of time to have the songs ready and record them?
No. We were on a short deadline to have everything complete. It was a bit trying at moments, but it worked out well, I think we do well when challenged.
There is an old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". Well I believe that "Appalachian Incantation" is an exception, since both the album and the artwork are magnificent. Who made the cover?
All the artwork for "Appalachian Incantation" was createdby Alexander von Wieding. He is a fan of our music and super talented at what he does. We were very fortunate to work with him. As with Scott, Alex was on the same page as us from day one, he really understood what we were going for and it shows in his work. Not to mention, he is a blast to hang out with.
One of the things that I like in your music is that, despite you are mostly an instrumental band, the way you are writing music is like if you had lyrics and it glows smoothly. What is the procedure, if there is any, in writing the songs and when do you decide if you are going to have vocals or not?
The procedure usually involves Will (William Mecum - Guitars, Vocals) coming up with a bit of a riff and then all of us building upon that.We don't usually think too much about what we are doing at the time, just jam on it until it falls into place. Maybe towards the end of the process we'll do a bit of arranging to tighten shit up. It's a pretty effortless and fluid process and it works well for us. We've written one song with vocals with Daniel on "Appalachian Incantation". We went into this from the beginning as creating a song with vocals. I think writing with vocals is easier, it fills in a lot of gaps.
In this album you have two "guest" musicians: Daniel Davies and John Garcia. Does the appearance of Garcia close a circle for KARMA TO BURN?
I guess in a way, as this had been recorded years ago and now finally got to be released. We talked with John about possibly collaborating in the near future, which would be fun. Only time will tell.
It's only a month that "Appalachian Incantation" has been out, but what is the feedback that you have until now from your fans? Do you think that this album is an opportunity for your fan base to get bigger and stronger?
So far, we have gotten very positive feed back. I think it can be very hard releasing a record after a 7-8 year break. All of the expected problems / anxieties, as well as living up to your own reputation and expectations as well as your fans. I think we did a good job, because we didn't think too much about it and wrote and recorded honestly. It's a KARMA TO BURN record and people seem to dig it, that's nice.
Is there any chance to listen to a non instrumental album from KARMA TO BURN?
We plan on recording more with Daniel, so I would say it's just a matter of time. We have shared the stage on the last 3 tours and look forward to some down time to write more.
How easy is for you to play in two bands, KARMA TO BURN and YEAR LONG DISASTER? Do you see them both as full time bands or not?
It's been pretty smooth performing as all four of us have been involved in both bands on the last 2 tours. Time has not particularly been on our side as we have been on tour performing quite regularly, so we haven't had the chance to collaborate as much as we'd like to. Both are full time bands at the moment, we will see what the future holds.
So Rob, let's talk a bit about the tour that ended with your shows in Greece. How did it go and are there one or two things that you will remember for a long time that want to share with us?
That tour was a lot of fun and went very well in my opinion. It was especially nice for me as Paul (our sound guy) and myself purchased bikes in the Netherlands. We got to bike around a lot on this tour and see a lot of the cities that we couldn't have seen on foot or auto. Also, this was our first visit to Thessaloniki , and that was nice.
Now that the European part of the tour is over, it's time for the U.S.A. part, right?
Well, we have done a short US tour with KARMA TO BURN and YEAR LONG DISASTER and 8 European shows with YEAR LONG DISASTER since that tour. We are rehearsing now, then 2 US shows, then back to Europe in July 2010. We are quite busy at the moment and that is nice.
Well Rob, that's all from me. If I forgot to ask you something, feel free to add it now. The last words of the interview belong to you.
Hope to see you real soon, and keep it rock.
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