Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Karma Creak
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My mom sang and played piano, so it was probably religious music, hymns and things like that.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I have been playing music since I was 12. All of us in the band have a pretty similar story of starting music at a young age and continuously being involved with it.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Our band formed when I got hired to teach English at a high school called Woodgrove. There I met Chris Looney, who plays mandolin and teaches science. He convinced me to get a banjo (at the time I only played guitar), and we started jamming. I got my wife to play with us, we met our bass player Will a few months later, and we’ve been at it ever since.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
We are a traditional bluegrass group with an emphasis on lush vocals. Jackie has a really beautiful voice and we build a lot of our songs around her talents as a singer.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
The more I perform and watch live music, the more I appreciate the art of stagecraft. You can have all the technical prowess in the world, but it takes a lot of careful work to make an audience care about you and feel invested in the show. We perform our vocals around one microphone, which makes for a more social atmosphere on stage. I try to make my emcee work as fun and inviting as possible, getting the audience involved and engaged. It’s not easy, especially when you’re playing at bars and breweries. But I love that obligation and I try my best to emcee our shows in an engaging way that leaves the audience wanting to follow our trajectory as a band.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
The usual bluegrass instrumentation. As mentioned above, we use a condenser microphone for our vocals, which is pretty essential to our sound.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Aubrey Hobert
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
All four of us have experience playing in more “refined” genres, whether it’s classical or jazz or post-punk. We try not to take ourselves too seriously and create a fun time for the audience.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
We hope they are entertained and want to follow us and come see us again. We are not a touring band, so we rely on a local following. Creating an entertaining show is important.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music has taught me a great deal of humility. You can practice and practice and practice and then get on stage and sound awful.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Bright Box Theater in Winchester, Virginia.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
I would love to play banjo with the late Jimmy Martin, who was famously exacting in his expectations for his band. If I met his approval I would feel truly gratified.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Spotify: Karma Creak
Insta: @karma.creak
Youtube: karma.creaky
Facebook: Karma Creak
Tik Tok: Karma Creak
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Our goal is to have a professional sound and create a fervent local following that we are able to grow into something larger that may allow for some touring. We have enjoyed growing our online presence and hope to continue that as well. A dream would be to play at some summer bluegrass festivals like Del Fest and Watermelon Pickers Fest.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
If listeners watch some of our stuff on social media they will get a sense of our personalities, and I think they would be intrigued by us. We get along pretty well and have a strong rapport. There’s no definitive leader of the band, and our ability to shift roles from song to song is something that I’m proud of.
