Carusella Interview: SXSW 2010

Carusella is a very passionate heavy indie-rock duo from Tel Aviv, Israel. Although they have been prominent in the Israeli music scene for several years and have toured Europe extensively, their first trip to what they consider their musical home is quickly approaching. Spinner recently spoke with Carusella about their band and their upcoming venture to SXSW.

I understand the two of you previously played together in another band. What led you to Carusella?

We played together with two other people, and we always felt like we had a special chemistry together. So we just started jamming alone. We saw that it worked good. For an Israeli band to travel -- to tour outside of Israel, it's easier for two people.

What's the meaning of your band's name and how did you come up with it?

It comes from the word carousel, but usually we say Carusella. We found out the meaning of the word in Latin. It means "little war." That's also the origin of the game. The game with horses -- in the past, people used to practice before the war. So we like the meaning of it being a little war and also a game, because we feel that as an Israeli band, for us to spread our music through the world and get to the US and to Europe, it's like a little war. We have to fight ourselves just to be able to do that, because it's not so easy to step out and fly and play a show everyday.

How would you describe your sound, and what are your influences?

There's a big spectrum of influences. On one hand we like stuff like the Melvins and even heavier stuff like Meshuggah, and on the other hand we really enjoy stuff from the '70s like Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. We're more influenced by the American scene. For us to come to the US, it's like for us to come home musically! Whenever people see Guy, for instance, there are always comparisons to Dave Grohl and American drummers. It's really obvious for us that the US is where we wanted to do our music.

What specifically excites you about SXSW?

We've heard so much about SXSW since, like, 2006. For us it's an opportunity to meet a lot of bands all at once. We don't really get to see too many live acts in Israel. We don't have any events like SXSW near Israel, so for us, it's pretty magical. Also, a lot of bands that we met on our European tours we're also going to perform with, like Torche, Akimbo and Monotonix.

I saw Monotonix at SXSW last year and they were pretty wild!

Yeah, Monotonix are pretty wild! They are the wildest band (around) today. I [Guy] also toured with Monotonix for one tour as their drummer.

Wow! What were some of your craziest experiences with Monotonix?

Oh, this is a long answer. You get to be wet from beer for 34 days. You play in the crowds and have to deal with whatever comes at you, garbage from the cans and blood and fire. Blood from my cymbals. People biting you in the neck -- that happened. Basically, it's a lot of dirt and stench.

What kind of crazy experiences have you had with Carusella?

Our shows occur in the middle of the room and we mostly don't play on the stage. So once you get down to the audience, everything becomes much crazier. Many times people come with alcohol, and they try to give you sips out of their bottle of vodka while you're playing. I also remember we played in Spain in this small club, and this guy came and fell on his knees and started biting Tamar's skin while she was playing a solo. We've had shows where these really crazy people start to dance in the middle of the show, and after the show it turns out these people are Nazis. When you're on the stage, there is a distance between you and the audience. On the floor it feels like an experience that us and the audience are making together.


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