A man far wiser than any of us once quipped, “You can’t sell that! Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos.” It’s an adage which neatly sums up the ethos behind the appropriately titled up-and-coming Melbourne pop-rockers Creatures Of Karma.
A man far wiser than any of us once quipped, “You can’t sell that! Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos.” It’s an adage which neatly sums up the ethos behind the appropriately titled up-and-coming Melbourne pop-rockers Creatures Of Karma. As the four-piece prepare to cap off an eventful maiden year of existence, frontman Liam and drummer Shane look back on the stellar run of shows around the bigger venues this town has to offer, “We’ve tried to do big shows where we can,” Liam explains. “We started off at The Northcote Social Club, so it’s a sort of ‘straight to the top’ mindset,” he laughs. “And we’ve just been gigging since then,” Shane adds.
It’s a mindset that the cosmos seems comfortable rewarding, with a karmic fruit of labour coming in the form of the band’s debut release, “Yeah we launched our first EP earlier in the year at The Espy front bar,” Liam explains. “We called it The Karma Sessions, which had three tracks on it. But we’ve gone through a lot of new material since then, I’d say Gen Y is the only track we still play live.” Those few tracks that are left off recent setlists aren’t necessarily culled for lack of quality it seems, but due to the band’s dedication to the live setting. “In terms of what you want to do live, these songs don’t really work in the same way,” Liam states. “I mean we put a lot of effort into how we plan each show, making sure it works for the people there rather than doing the same set each time.”
That approach has resulted in more than a few magic moments throughout the year, as Liam explains, “Well at our first show at the Northcote we played most of our set and everyone was up and dancing, then we decided to all sit down at the edge of the stage and play acoustic – fully unplugged.” “It was a miracle,” Shane laughs, “the whole crowd sat down in silence. You could have heard a pin drop,” he says. “I was just waiting for someone’s phone to go off,” he laughs.
The wealth of new material stems from a diligent work-ethic, tending to generate a geyser-like creative flow, “We sort of try to get a new song done for each show we do,” Shane recounts. “So far we’re doing alright,” he laughs. “I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a rule that we have to stick to,” adds Liam, “I’d say it’s more of a subconscious thing to try and do something new for each time.”
After such a big year, Creatures Of Karma will cap off 2010 in a suitably grand fashion with a massive Christmas Eve-eve celebration, “We’re doing our single launch, which is Head On and another track,” says Liam, “and as well as that we’re doing a live recording – and because it’s gonna be a big show, we’re also planning to have the whole thing filmed.”
So with all this recording and documenting of events, do the lads feel a heightened sense of pressure? “Yes!” Shane states resoundingly. “Well he’s the drummer, so there’s especially pressure for him,” Liam counters with a laughs. “Maybe we could just take the drums out in post?” Shane offers.
The launch of Head On also presents another opportunity for some cosmos-bating, “We’re actually giving the single away for a gold coin donation if you pick it up at the show,” Liam says. “It’s all going to charity. We’re living by the phrase ‘building the karma’,” he adds. “We’re trying to make it our good karma,” Shane laughs, “so hopefully it all comes back.”
The decision to give so much to charity isn’t merely for karmic gain, but stems from personal experience with a dear friend. “The charity we’ve picked is Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Liam elaborates. “The reason why we picked that is because of a friend of mine who went to school with me and Shane a long time ago.” “Not that long ago,” Shane interjects. “Well a while ago anyway,” Liam continues, “he had cystic fibrosis and in turn died from cystic fibrosis. He was just one of those inspiring, amazing people with a massive interest in music. The first gigs I ever did, he was the sound engineer, and recorded a song that was actually played at his funeral – it just captured how he lived his life,” Liam says with a great deal of reverence.
“So we just thought it was the perfect place to give money to in his memory. It’s a gold coin donation, but if people are feeling generous they can chuck in whatever they want, it’s all going to the charity,” Liam says. “Chuck in a few pineapples!” Shane adds, chuckling.
CREATURES OF KARMA launch their new single Head On at The East Brunswick Club this Thursday December 23 – the show will also act as a live recording. The night will also feature (and record) talented garage rock four piece The Solomons, psychedelic band of brothers The Red Aces and quirky alt-pop songstress Carly Milroy. Check out myspace.com/creaturesofkarma for more info.
