The Obelisk Questionnaire: Gøran Karlsvik of Damokles
Posted in Questionnaire on November 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Gøran Karlsvik of Damokles
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
That’s always a tough question. And there’s never a short answer for it. Just recently a friend firmly stated that I was “an artist”, and I had problems accepting that, but let’s just say I took it as a big compliment. I’ve always been very creative, while also extremely curious. Guess I’m a multimedial multitasker. I do a little bit of this, and a litte bit of that.
I’m the vocalist and lyricist in three bands; Damokles, This Sect and Endtimers, and have an electronic solo project where I play around with my analogue synths and drum machines; Contrarian. I’ve been in touring bands since I was 14, so the band life has always been my “backbone”, I guess it’s time to consider myself a musician.
I’m a published author, currently working on new books. I direct music videos for bands and labels, plus do illustration and graphic design. I translate comics and books for children and young adults. I do creative content for an arcade bar; Tilt. The place is packed with pinballs and arcade games, so to me it’s geek heaven, as I basically grew up in arcades. I’m the co-director/creator of a TV and web comedy series, ZAP, which debuted on the national TV channel back in 2014. The project has an upcoming album, over 30 tracks both old and new from the show. ZAP has basically turned into an art project for my co-creator and I. Also co-run a DIY record label; Sect Appeal Records.
So I keep busy. I’m fortunate in the sense that I get to exclusively do creative work. It’s helped me grow, learn and be unafraid, kept me on my toes, and also kept me humble even though I can be a complete bad cop if you rub me the wrong way. Lately, I’ve mostly worked on music. Mainly preparing for tours with Damokles and recording the 2nd album, as well as putting the finishing touches on Contrarian album four.
How did I come to do all of this? That’s not a short answer either, so bear with me.
I started out as a journalist in my early teens, for local newspapers. Mainly culture content. Had to cover the occasional soccer match, which I know zero about, so those articles turned out super weird yet I somehow got away with it. Always carried a camera while on jobs, that led to getting photographer gigs. At the time I was also in two active bands that did DIY tours, and usually got into trouble with the locals.
I did a year of film school, then moved to the capital in Norway; Oslo. Through being an avid comic book customer of a dude selling stuff out of his mom’s basement, I had somehow landed myself a job as the manager of the comic books department in a newly opened geek store. Was surrounded by comics, sci/fi, horror & fantasy literature, RPG games, cult movies, miniatures, collectible cards and a crazy amount of merch and toys. The shop was a success, and gradually turned into a national chain of stores.
While managing the store, I got a job as a writer, photographer and illustrator for a pop culture magazine. That led to similar gigs. These jobs eventually turned into permanent editorial roles. By then it got hard to combine the writing and the store, so I became a fulltime writer and editor. Music editor in some magazines, concert editor in others, covered soundtracks and cult movies in a film mag, had regular columns here and there, plus did feature articles that basically were gonzo travel journalism.
There were also many odd jobs, one-offs; like doing voiceovers for a cartoon series and singing on their jingle tracks, writing the script for an episode of a soap opera, running a short film festival or acting as a football hooligan in an ad for a gambling firm, ironically, since I as previously mentioned, know nothing about soccer. Or gambling.
I eventually got a job in publishing, as an editor for comic books. Stayed in that biz for a long time. Worked on properties such as The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert and other humor comics, Conan, various Scandinavian projects and my favourite; Marvel Comics. In that job I also worked on scripts, developed new titles and did translations, mainly for Marvel and certain comedy books. After over a decade in the comics business, the economy collapsed, the publishing industry got severely affected, and I just removed myself while I could. Cashed in a severance check.
That led to freelancing again. An editor job for an international film festival. Translated video games. Worked as an advisor in an author’s association, securing creative rights for non-fiction writers. Acted in a TV promo for a doomed reality talent show featuring Dee Snider trying to find the Scandinavian singer of Twisted Sister. Freelanced for publishing houses as a translator, script consultant and proof reader. Got small directorial gigs, like documentaries for another author’s guild. My music connections led into videos, promos, graphic design and illustration for labels and bands. Got text jobs in advertising. The show ZAP was accepted by a TV channel. I wrote my first book; “Grim Justis – Svartebok om dødsstraffens historie i Norge”, non-fiction about the history of capital punishment in Norway. Became a creative potato for an arcade. Parallel to this weird “career,” I kept on doing music, and gradually joined more and more bands, while also doing guest spots. And here I am, in 2022, basically working on whatever I want. You can safely say I’ve lived a rich life.
Sorry for the not-so-short answer.
Describe your first musical memory.
Difficult to pin down the very first memory, I’ve always listened to so much different stuff. But I guess my first musical phase was at a young age, glued to the TV set watching MTV and recording compilations of music videos onto VHS tapes. Sat through all the heavy rotation videos, at the time what was en vogue was synth pop and New Wavey things like Devo, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Gary Numan, Human League, Wall of Voodoo, Oingo Boingo and more. Got heavily into that style of music. Still am! Devo’s video for “Whip It” made a lasting impression, and left me a lifelong fan of the band. In a general way, music videos mesmerized me – the combination of abstract visuals set to catchy sounds, then ordered into a cryptic internal logic… Still feels like magic to me. Around the same time, I got “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie on cassette and I played that tape to shreds, literally.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Difficult to pin down also, but my best musical memories are connected to live shows and getting to see some of my heroes in a concert setting. Best show ever? DEVO, hands down. Twice, hehe. But I’ve had so many epic live experiences. Here are some. David Bowie, Fugazi, The Cure, Nomeansno, Anthrax, Converge, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Slayer, City of Caterpillar, Sebadoh, Dillinger Escape Plan, Kraftwerk, Built to Spill, Neurosis, Afghan Whigs, Einstürzende Neubauten, Motorpsycho, The Locust, Cursive, Modest Mouse, Today is the Day, Pavement, Shellac, PJ Harvey, Mr. Bungle, Unsanse,Tool, Melvins, Gary Numan, Eyehategod, New Model Army – those stand out to me, to name a few. And I’m sure I’ve forgotten tons. The discovery of bands in a live setting is also very appealing to me, like when I first saw Future of the Left, or Man or Astro-Man plus their side-project Servotron, or Modern Life is War supporting Converge in a tiny all-ages venue, then coming back next year to headline the same venue… That list of excellent memories is endless.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Uh, my faith in humanity is tested several times daily. I have to block out news outlets or social media for periods of time, it can bum me out heavily, and that’s something I don’t need. Sometimes I wonder if reality has shifted slightly, and we’ve ended up in a parallel Twilight Zone dimension. We are living in absurd times. A human cheeto served as the President for four years and egged up some morons to storm the Capitol at the end of his tenure. We just got done with a global pandemic that completely changed the fabric of society. We now have a war in Europe, complete with imperialistic genocidal tactics and the potential of a nuclear disaster. When I was a kid I used to have nightmares about utter complete nuclear holocaust, and that primal fear is certainly tingling at a very rapid pace these days. Also, hiding explosives in toys in order to blow up kids? Disgustingly evil. Give me an hour alone with Putin. Or less, I can work it into my schedule. Repeated school shootings, like the one in Texas recently, also severely tests my faith in humanity, get some gun laws goddammit. What else bums me out? The environment is collapsing. There’s an unsustainable food industry going on. We treat beautiful creatures as granted commodities. Hate crimes, no matter where it’s directed, whether it be towards race, gender, sexual orientation or creed, seems to be on the rise, even the cops are in on it. Teenage incels get terrorist training courses in toxic reddits; instant indoctrination into the next edgelord hate hype where child murderers are the heroes.
I don’t know, man. It seems to me that everyone is getting dumber and less educated in the facts of life. This is pretty close to the movie Idiocracy, and that was directed by the Beavis & Butthead creator – seems like a cosmic joke, right? A lousy one. We’re regressing rather than progressing. My favourite band Devo was right all along: de-evolution is real. We’ve reached peak mankind, it’s all downhill from here. We were promised jetpacks, hoverboards, astronaut superfood in toothpaste tubes, and now the space race is in the hands of a Richie Rich manchild, plus a bunch of warmongers.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Down a rabbit hole, probably? Us artistic types tend to go into some sort of hyperfocus for periods of time whenever we chase an idea. It will hopefully lead to a better place, both creatively and personally.
How do you define success?
That’s something I don’t spend much time thinking about. Who knows? Envy? Bitterness? False expectations? Fake friends and Yes People? It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I guess. One person’s success is another person’s failure. There’s so much pettiness going on, I wish we could lift one another up whenever fortune strikes rather than tear each other down. You won an award? Struck a new deal? Landed a neat gig? Great! Pats on the back and high-fives from me.
Maybe success means getting too comfortable and resting on your laurels. I wouldn’t know how that feels, don’t think I want to. I’ve always felt hungry and on the move, a mode that suits me fine.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
My brother’s stitched up corpse in a morgue. But on a less serious note: U2. I used to live near an outdoors stadium. Was able to see the stage and big screens from the balcony. Not that I love Bruce Springsteen or Michael Jackson, but it was nice to crack a cold one, put out a camping chair and see a show from the porch. There was also a hill near the flat where you could see most of the stage and screens. I was coming home from work one day, completely exhausted. Heard an ungodly racket and wondered what the fuck it could be. Went up the hill to see, and of course it was U2. They had these giant mechanical lemons that would transport the band members to the stage and open up. The lemons seemed to be malfunctioning, and opened in a completely jerky manner, making it difficult for these douchebags to exit from their yellow monstrosities. Total Spinal Tap vibe. Wish those lemons had remained closed forever, like plastic tombs.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Haha, #lifegoals style? Also, not a thing I spend much time thinking about. I’ve got enough projects. Right now I’m focusing on Damokles. Finishing album two, studio time recording, setting up plans for album three and some surprise releases. Plus, rehearsals for gigs and tours are time-consuming. In the small off-periods for Damokles, I’m playing around with analogue synths, drum machines and beatboxes in my Contrarian project. Album four TBA soon. My good old band of post-punk weirdos, This Sect, are having its 20-year anniversary next year. A new album is materializing, as well as a few shows and a retrospective collection of rarities; live tracks, remixes, demos, outtakes. We’ve always recorded our rehearsals and jams, there are harddrives and CD folders stacked with hidden lo/fi gems.
If there’s one thing I’d really like to do; is to write and illustrate my own comic book. I’ll certainly give it a try. I have a little motto: I never get bored. That’s kept me afloat thus far.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To be able to be elevated and transported into a different realm? Sometimes it’s nice to be able to escape from the reality you’re stuck in.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
My fave author, Bret Easton Ellis, is releasing a new novel early next year; The Shards. The blurb sounds awesome: “It’s 1981 and Bret Ellis is an aspiring writer beginning his senior year of high school in Los Angeles. A serial killer, The Trawler, begins targeting teenagers throughout the city – just as a mysterious new student joins Bret’s class.”
Hoping for a Patrick Bateman appearance!
https://www.facebook.com/therealdamokles/
https://www.instagram.com/damoklesband
https://therealdamokles.bandcamp.com/
bit.ly/damoklesspotify
bit.ly/damoklesyoutube
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/
