Carpathian

Finding information on any band can be a trial at the best of times, but when I was researching Melbournian hardcore punkers Carpathian it was a nightmare. I Googled and I Googled, until I finally found one piece of information. A big piece. Michael Crafter, notorious ex-frontman from Adelaide/international touring machine I Killed The Prom Queen had joined Carpathian to take over as vocalist. Seeing he hadn't been in the band for very long, I expected one of the other more experienced band members to do the interview, but no, Crafter was on the end of the line. Obviously, I had to ask how it all went down.

"Their guitarist quit because he didn't want to tour anymore and he just wanted to get a real job and have a bit more cash."

There is only one question on everybody's lips right now, well, mine anyway, and that is what was going to be the deal between Carpathian and I Killed The Prom Queen after Crafter's not-so-glamorous departure for the latter-mentioned band. Was there going to be a split in the scene, or was everything going to be cool?

'We're actually doing a tour with them, all up something like 35 dates. The first person that I have spoken to about it was Jonah [Weinhofen, IKTPQ guitarist). When Marty [Kirby] and I started talking about it I rang Jonah just to make sure there wouldn't be any bad blood between the bands. I had to also clear up a lot of stuff between him and myself because after I left the band we didn't really talk for a long time because it was such a bad break up, but it's been seven or eight months now so everything is cool."

A 35-date tour is pretty extreme by anyone's standards, so I ask Crafter how he thinks the band will cope with such a workload, seeing as how, besides Crafter, the rest of Carpathian haven't done anything on that sort of level.

"The band definitely haven't done massive tours like that. You just have to see how it goes, you never know how anyone's going to go on a tour like that. Someone could have been doing tours like that for years and then one time it just doesn't work for them. So I guess we'll just have to see how it goes, it's all we can do.'"

Singers are an integral part of a band, they rev the crowd up and the vocals are what people listen to. So has having Crafter take over the microphone changed the band very much?

"No I don't think so, I think it's still the same band. As long as it's still those same dudes playing up there. Marty writes all of the songs, so he's still going to write a lot of the phrasing to how the lyrics go because he writes most of the lyrics as well. He pretty much does everything. Because he's writing the riff, he knows how he wants the vocals to go, so that takes a lot of the weight off my back."

Having been in the band for a good couple of months now, Carpathian have had a chance to play a few live shows. Crafter tells me how they have gone down so far.

"They've gone down really well. Really, we're all still adapting to each other, because Marty's never really played guitar in a band before, maybe one, I'm not sure. He's still adapting to playing and not moving around on stage so much. It's also a bit different to me, singing in a different band after singing in IKTPQ for so long. But generally I think the shows have been really good, the response has been really good."

Carpathian are a type of hybrid, half straight-edge and half not. I could see this causing tension, but not according to Crafter who explains, "No, we all still hang out and go out together. Most of my friends drink and sometimes that can be more enjoyable, watching what everyone does when they're smashed and you can relax and have a good time yourself when everyone's a bit loose," Crafter laughs, as if remembering a specific past experience.

SAM VINALL

Carpathian play at Fowler's Live on Fri 25 August with 50 Lions and Break Even. 'Nothing To Lose' is out now through Resist.