Interview
with Lars Holmboe - Deed In Karma
September, 2014
PoM:Tell our readers
shortly the history of 'Deed in Karma' and a brief
presentation of the members in the band?
Lars:
Deed In Karma was put together six years ago by Jonas
Holmberg (Lead Vocals) and Christian O. Nielsen (Lead
Guitars). Initially, the band had another line-up, but
within the next couple of years, the current line-up
materialised with Lars Vilmar on drums, and me, Lars
Holmboe on bass. A little known fact is that the band’s
first gig was played in Vejle under the moniker Dusty
Rifle Band... A name that fortunately didn’t stick...
Jonas used to be the vocalist of the legendary Danish
death-metal outfit, Maceration, with whom he performed a
host of live-gigs some 20-25 years ago. Fortunately,
Jonas has since swapped his growling-voice for a more
true rock’n’roll singing style. Lars Vilmar used to play
the drums in Savage Affair, a Danish rock-act which
enjoyed tremendous main-stream success in the nineties
touring the world and releasing a number of hit singles.
PoM:
Is there one songwriter,
or how is the work divided in the band?
Lars:The entire
band takes part in the creative process, but the tracks
usually materialize around an idea generated by Jonas
and Christian. The dynamic duo of Jonas and Christian
has been a songwriting team for more than a decade,
spending most Thursday evenings with a couple of
acoustic guitars and a nice pot of tea writing tunes. I
basically handle the business side of Deed In Karma
while Vilmar’s busy taking care of the thunder..
PoM :How media has responded
to 'Good Dog' so far?
Lars:
The media have been very kind to Deed In Karma. We’ve
received predominantly positive reviews from domestic as
well as international magazines and websites. The only
downright negative review was posted by a Norwegian
Black Metal site... We’re still wondering why...
PoM:I read
something about Tomas Gravesen's role in the
creation of the band, can you tell us something
about that?
Lars:Thomas is more or less Deed In
Karma’s biggest fan. He’s been very fond of Jonas’
singing voice and offered him a shot at making an
album of his material. His involvement secured Deed
In Karma a few weeks of recording at Hansen Studios
in Ribe with notable producer Jacob Hansen behind
the wheel. Since then, Thomas has been a
motivational force driving the band to perfect our
act. He’s been an invaluable help. He’s got such a
deep felt love of rock music, and he’s always been
willing to listen to our ideas and sketches. Long
before the album Good Dog became a reality, Thomas
would have our demo version of the album in heavy
rotation in his car, so when he would show up at our
local gigs in Vejle, he would be right there at the
front singing his heart out, as the very only person
in the crowd that would know each and every lyric by
heart!.
PoM:I especially likes the
opening song ‘I ain't crawling’. Can you tell us more
about that track?
Lars: 'I ain’t
Crawling' is one of our biggest live-favourites. It’s
all about overcoming the various blows that life gives
you and sticking it to the expectations that everybody
have to you. Its block-rocking main riff is always
guaranteed to leave the crowd bouncing. Since the
recording of the track we’ve been adding some vocal
harmonies to different parts of the song. Somehow it’s
living its own life, ever developing.?
PoM:The
calm closing track ‘Release' is also one of my personal
favourite tracks, what can you tell us about that song?
Lars:Release is a very
personal song about Jonas’ relationship with his
parents. It’s about a sometimes frustrating search for
recognition and a need to try to live up to the
expectations of your surroundings. The album title “Good
Dog” is a summary of the recurring theme of living up to
other people’s expectations which somehow shape the
lives of all of us. Release is soothing but also with a
note of inner frustration.!
PoM:'The track
‘Communication‘ is one of the top songs on ‘Good Dog’.
Can you tell us something specific about the work with
that track?
Lars:The main riff in
Communication started out as a rather ballsy,
hard-rocking riff, but during the course of the
recording at Hansen Studios it developed into a poppier
sounding little tune. We also wanted to explore the
vocal range and abilities of Jonas, leading to each
verse being built up differently with regards to the
song’s melody. We’re actually quite pleased with
Communication. It’s also developed into a bonafide fan
favourite..
PoM:Are there any other track
that means something extraordinary or mean anything
unique and special for you on the album??
Lars:There’s no
doubt that Stray Dog means a lot to us. It’s our first
single off the album and we think it represents the
essentials of what got Deed In Karma going. It’s bluesy
and riff-driven in a very basic, primal way. It’s
actually the very first track Deed In Karma.
PoM: How does the future
look for Deed In Karma? Are there any shows planned in
or outside Denmark?
Lars:
We’re working on a number of tour dates in Denmark in
the near future, but we’re also looking to hit the
European stages. We have primarily set our eyes on
Germany, but we all like driving, so we’re ready to go
out there. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes
right now that I can’t go public with at this time.
PoM:Which bands or persons
has been the biggest musical inspiration for Deed in
Karma??
Lars:Most of us
come from a background where the grunge rock of the
nineties hit us like a ton of bricks. Metal is in our
blood, but the raw, naked sounds and subject matter of
Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pearl Jam
really struck a chord with the younger versions of the
bands members. We’ve also paid tribute to David Bowie in
our live set. He’s an inspiration, ever reinventing
himself, never losing relevance..
PoM:Please tell us something
about the nice artwork - who made it and is it important
to you with a cool artwork?
Lars:
Artwork is essential to us. It underlines the message of
the music and allows the listener to get in the mood
that we aim to create without us imposing it on them.
The artwork is created by my wife, Anne Dorthe Buur
Holmboe who’s actually a fashion designer. The dog is
our stupid French Bulldog, Olfert... His tongue is 5
centimetres too long and simply doesn’t fit in his
mouth....
PoM:Thanks a lot for your
time and good luck. Do you have any last words to our
readers on powerofmetal.dk?
Lars:
Thanks for your review and friendship! We hope you’ll
hook up with Deed In Karma out there at our upcoming
shows.
