AARON BRYANS catches up with Joshua Garner ahead of King Cactus’ appearance at Wonderland on Saturday, December 20.
How did you guys form?
Pretty much exactly a year ago I met Edo (Ekic) at a friend’s house in Leederville and he was playing guitar in the kitchen. I didn’t really introduce myself I just grabbed another acoustic and we went at it for four hours.
How would you describe your sound to newbies?
Cactus music. The sound is coming out in heaps of different ways. It’s definitely got a Western, Australian, blues feel to it and then it’s got that psychedelic cactus vibe. We like to keep a bit of integrity behind the music and I think the blues has the most.
How has the year been?
It’s been a good year. It’s been quite busy, I travel quite a bit and everyone in the band is quite busy. Speaking on behalf of everyone it’s been a very eventful year.
What were your initial goals as a band?
We kind of gave ourselves a year to put out a release but we also wanted to find the band and get all of the music down. We knew the music was flowing out from both of us and now it’s at that stage where that’s happening one year from then exactly.
Do you guys write the predominant layers?
Yeah pretty much. We script most of it but there’s freedom for our bass player and drummer to take reign on most parts and give it their touch. Me and Edo will sit down with a song in mind and a vibe or an idea behind the music and then the melodies come with the writing process. A lot of it is storytelling.
What’s your craziest live show memory?
The house parties. They create a very interesting environment for everyone. We’ve done three so far. It’s more of an intimate scenario. Everyone’s dancing on the stage.
Will you guys have any releases coming up soon?
February 21 is when we’re planning our first release. Meanwhile we’re loving the live element so far. We’re finding our sound through that and I think pumping out an album will be easy.
Anything to add about Wonderland?
Come and taste the cactus sweat because we’re going to be grooving hard.
