When did you decide to make a career/focus of music?
Actually I remember going to a friend's house one day after school hours when his mom was still at work. He cranked up a distorted fender amp, plugged in his electric guitar and busted out 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
I then asked him to show me how to play it, so he handed me his guitar and showed me how to play the first chord. I must have made my choice at some point over strumming that F chord. I didn't decide it all by myself really though. God spoke to me in one of my dreams once. I heard her say to me that's my calling. I woke up late at night with a random date in mind, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and glued it to the inside of my nightstand. That date was 16/5/2006. When the actual date came I locked myself in my room the entire day and composed a piece. I think my sister is the only person I've ever told this story to up until now. Anyways, music to me is something sacred, a special gift I'm grateful to be able to communicate.
What’s the best gig you ever played?
Reeperbahn Festival in Germany, that place is untamed. We really dug the vibes. Felt like Amsterdam meets Vegas - that's all I can say.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about what being an “indie” artist really means today. Some say the term is becoming obsolete. What does “indie” mean to you, and do you think there will be a different word we use in the next 10 years?
To me, girls wearing skinny jeans, oversized eyeglasses and a fake moustache is "Indie". At first, this term used to stand for Independent, like when a band wasn't under a label, but I guess nowadays they use it as a new music genre. Mainly for about anything that is different or overly tries to be so, and isn't Lady Gaga. Not only that, but I feel this term is being totally misused. Ironically, many artists that started off being labeled as 'indie' eventually became 'mainstream' themselves. How Indie is Gotye on 'Glee'? And what about bands like Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon, Florence And The Machine or The Killers to name a few? At least that's how Wikipedia defines them.
You’ve also got tons of bands and artists nowadays that tend to emphasis the overly artsy hang of 'Indie music' for whatever that is, instead of putting more attention to writing great music good songs and compositions. I just find this kind of music is boring to listen to. Guess this term is here to stay for a while. At least until they come up with something better - It serves too well the human need for having trendy "boxes".
What’s your favorite way/tool/site for you to interact with your fans in the digital age? Do you recommend anything to other artists?
Facebook and Twitter for the most, and we also get some fan mail to the Waterknotube, our YouTube channel. I personally like using Twitter. I feel it enables me to reach out to our fans in a more direct fashion, allowing me to share experiences, news, pics and random useless thoughts whether we're on the road, in the studio or just chillin'. Water Knot has recently joined Soundcloud and I recommend others in doing so too if they haven't yet. It's a great tool to have when pitching music out to labels because of the upload sound quality.
What’s your next big gig coming up? When/Where?
Our next big gig is at Bonnaroo Festival June 7-10. We got the slot thanks to winning Sonicbids' The Road To Roo contest. The band is very excited and honored to be part of this year's amazing lineup with some of our favorite bands on the roster.
Check out more on Water Knot here.
