Krashkarma
Interview conducted on April 27, 2023
By Dan Locke
KRASHKARMA is the only Metal Duo with a female drummer on the main vocals. Niki Skistimas creates the foundation for a one of a kind Guitar/Bass hybrid to come to life in the hands of co-lead vocalist Ralf Dietel. With a larger-than-life sound that makes you feel like 5 people are slapping you upside the head, KRASHKARMA is out to show the world what just 2 people can do.
What is your upbringing?
I am from New Jersey and split my time between there and Missouri for most of my childhood and school life.
How did you discover music?
Both my father and stepfather were very into music, all be it different types. My father played trumpet and would have me count out jazz tunes in the car and we would sing Frank Sinatra songs together. My stepfather played guitar and took me to my first concert which was Hank Williams Jr. He had an extensive record collection that I always got into after school and played albums from Queen, Led Zepplin, and Willy Nelson as loud as I could when no one was home.
Ralf, How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
My parents gave it to me when I was a kid instead of a drum kit and I still have it.
How did you go about to created your one of a kind guitar/bass hybrid called Frankenstein?
My father is a mad scientist/electrician and helped me bring my idea to have bass and guitar at the same time to life.
During a performance, if something goes wrong what is your backup axe you use?
I have built 2 guitars so far with the same specs. I am working on building 2 more right now.
Niki, how did you start playing drums?
I began on hand drums in drum circles at festivals. Once I sat behind a kit, it has been a nonstop learning and growing experience ever since.
How was it to be in a band with Kathy Valentine (The Blue Bonnets)?
Kathy is a super fine lady and the band was excellent!
How did the band get together?
I was actually asked by the bass player Dominique Davalos to sit in for some shows whenever they needed a fill-in drummer.
Describe your music.
KRASHKARMA is a combination of heavy riffs, pounding rhythms, haunting female vocals mixed with aggressive screams to make a unique and dynamic metal experience of sound.
What was your first performance like?
First ever??? Terrifying. Every show is full of adrenaline and high energy from the first note to the last.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
The first song Ralf and I wrote together was called “Set all Christmas trees on Fire”. We recorded it for fun one Christmas when we first started jamming together and it sparked the tradition of releasing a “Christmas Gone Wrong” song every year since. We didrecord that one, but can’t find it anymore.
What is the process of writing your music?
Our process varies. We usually start with a riff or a melody and maybe a tempo. Sometimes we already know the vibe that we are going for, but it can all change once we start messing around with vocal lines and who will sing what. We have a lot of options having a male and a female singer. It’s always an interesting ride to see where a song ends from its first conception.
On social media, your views range from a few hundred to millions. Tell me aobut your song Kill This Love (Blackpink).
We found Black Pink on youtube one day and just really thought that this song needed to be metal. It was so perfect for it, so we took a few days and learned how to sing in Korean and arrange the song and then had to play and sing it live in the rehearsal room for the video. It was a huge pain in the butt. We hated ourselves by the end, but it came out so cool. We love it.
Are you going to do anymore K-Pop metal music?
You never know
How was it to record Highway to Hell while in a moving car?
Tricky at best. Not getting pulled over was still our biggest accomplishment with that whole scenario.
Tell me about your new album “Falling to Pieces”?
It’s coming out on June 23rd. It’s the heaviest music we’ve ever written and we are super excited about it.
How was it to work with Metalliac drummer Lars Ulrich on your album?
We didn’t. That was just a tiktok duet
What are you feeling about streaming music?
It’s the wave of the future. Not stoked about the $ for artists, but it is something we all have to deal with.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
I’m guessing that unless people play music, that symbol only means “hashtag” to them
Digital vs. vinyl?
Vinyl all day
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Well, thanks to your previous question, “Kill this Love” is in my head right now. Oddly enough, that song actually reminds me how much diversity there is in music and how much I love finding Gems across genres. I’m inspired by so many different types of artists and music and am still amazed to find so much great music from the past and the now. It’s the reason I play music and the reason I will never stop.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Yes, it’s a thing. A terrible thing, but a thing nonetheless. If I had my way, I would stop it at once, but it would take every artist to be on board with that in order to make an impact. It’s usually not the artist who has any say in things like that.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas.
If the cost was down to the point, you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Sure! The cost of touring is pretty high right now and probably not getting better anytime soon.
In the past if a musician stopped doing music, they found a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
I would probably be on a little island somewhere selling coconuts filled with juice and or rum and renting out surfboards or other beach life-related things.
That’s my mood today anyway.
What is your happy place?
On stage playing and singing my little heart out or at the beach.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young sold 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artists based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs? Remember anything that you create forward will be 100% yours.
I would most definitely consider it.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the algorithm that generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
We really embrace tiktok and use it quite often. I think it’s great that they have created a space for new music to thrive and get heard. They are good about paying their partners and have made all of the other platforms step it up. I support them fully.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
I hope so! It sounds like a pretty good option!
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Go check us out on all social media platforms and follow us for all kinds of worldwide shenanagins!
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