Interview: Catching Up with Ask Carol

It’s been a while since we spoke to grungy, alternative pop/rock act, Ask Carol. In this interview, we catch up with them and find out what’s been going on since.

1. Hello! Welcome back. It’s been a little while, so first things first, how are you and have there been any significant changes since we last spoke?

Hey, thank you so much for having us on again, it was great chatting with you last time! Oh yes, a lot has happened since last time! We did almost a full year of touring in the States last year, and this year we toured all over Europe, including one show in London. Oh, and we’ve made a new album, that we just released about a week ago. So, a lot’s been happening.

2. So, what’s new? What’s keeping you busy this time around? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

This week we just wrapped up our Arctic Tour, a series of shows north of the Arctic Circle, one almost at the North Pole, in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the northernmost town in the world. With our second album recently released, we’re about to start work on pushing that album. We received the vinyl edition of the album at our studio last week as well, it’s so exciting, it will be the first time we have a vinyl version of our album for release!

3. Describe what fans/listeners can expect.

The album is based around our song “Desert”, inspired by our road trips through the vast and majestic desert landscapes of the American South West, and a nostalgic feeling of freedom and hope. In addition we have couple of CowChella surprises: actual recordings from our jams in our backyard when the cows came running, which we have incorporated into the album. This album has a softer and more folksy sound than our last, reflecting the vibe of the desert and road trips we’ve been on.

4. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you to see it come to fruition?

The last three years we’ve been touring almost non stop, so this album was made in short sessions in between long tours. Like the Summer last year, then we had 1-2 months between two long US Tours set aside for studio work and composition. It’s been a long process, and feels really good to finally be able to present the result to the world! We’ve also put extra effort into the graphics, the artwork and the physical editions of the album, both CD and vinyl. We wanted it to be really special, so we have made a custom color effect combination for the vinyl record itself, which we are really happy with. Can’t wait to show it to y’all!

5. Sum up what this latest development says about you and where you find yourself at this moment in time?

We’re at another cross roads. Three years of intense touring is over, wrapped up with the release of our second album, an album that encapsulates our experiences and emotions over the last few years and how we feel about the current world. Now we’re delving into territory, we’re moving on to the next step. We have many ideas and many goals, but nobody knows exactly how it’s going to be. It’s exciting, and we can’t wait!

6. Has the time since we last spoke been a mostly positive period and has there been any one thing that stands out as being good?

Yes, absolutely. The US Tour last year really stands out, it is one of the best, most fun and most career changing things we have done in our lives. It was such an amazing experience, from all the concerts with such fantastic crowds, to all he nature jams we did and all the things we’ve seen. We feel very grateful to have been able to experience it.

7. How about something that has challenged you since we last spoke? Has there been any particular thing that tested you, and if so, how did you overcome it?

Well, there have been quite a few challenges. Just to mention one, the intense touring have really taken it’s toll on our health. Life on the road is definitely not healthy. We have had back issues, and other things, and you just have to realize that the kind of touring we’ve done cannot be continued over long periods. We’re doing everything ourselves, all driving, all playing, all video editing, all filming, all booking, all managing, all artwork, all planning and organizing, all promotion, everything. We did learn a lot by doing it this way, and have much more insights that we didn’t have last time. Next time we’ll have a different strategy. But again, we just finished the European, so this is something we’ll get into in the coming months, how to take what we have learned and do things better next time.

8. What is a realistic goal you’d like to achieve over the next 12 months?

Two things: We’re gonna release another album, and we’re gonna do a new US tour and play all the places we missed on our last trip!

Links

Website | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube