Kalistani Major History

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Kalistan to send Indie Rock Group Karen and the Karens to FOMAT
Song is filled with "passion and blistering guitars"
Kaliburg, Ananto
June 7, 5389


Karen and the Karens, featuring Karen Y on vocals, Karen J on Guitars and Karen M on Drums

An unusual indie rock trio from Addisjah Vrassa, named Karen and the Karens were selected to represent Kalistan at the upcoming FOMAT contest in Rabesburg Dundorf. The trio, consisting of three individuals named Karen won the KRTVN Radio 1 poll, which has historically been the vehicle for selecting the Republic's representatives to the concert. Their song "Wait" is from their independently released EP also called "Wait," which has seen a sudden surge in interest since the band won the poll.

"I suppose they picked our name out of a hat to enter the contest," said singer Karen Y. "I don't think we entered a contest, so you can imagine, while driving to work one day, I was so surprised to hear our song not only on the radio, but in consideration for FOMAT. I called off that day and went home and told everyone."

In fact, the song "Wait" was selected to enter the contest by an engineer for the Radio Station who heard the band perform it in the Spring in Addisjah. That engineer, Mike Douglas, bought a copy of the EP and had his friend call up to request the song, and since they had a copy of the EP on the desk in the studio, they were able to satisfy the request. Several days later, due to overwhelming demand for the song, it was entered into the FOMAT poll as a dark horse, and came out on top with a clear plurality.

Asked about the name of the band, Karen Y explained "Well, clearly only one of us is actually named Karen. My name is Molly actually..." Karen Y said the Band used to be called Bombsound but then one day an attendee of one of the shows the band was playing at said that the guys in the band all looked like girls. "And so it sort of became an injoke with the band. We selected a name, and all adopted this personna. I piked Karen Y, because you know, why not? I'm kind of an anything goes kinda lady. And Brad, the guitarist picked Karen J Because he always thought if he was a female, he'd be named Julia. And Mike, the drummer picked M because as he says, he lacks imagination."

Karen and the Karens is the first entry from Kalistan in a long time that is not supported by a Label. But Karen Y says the band is determined to attend the Contest. "Well, since we are independent, we are gonna be holding some bake sales," said Karen Y with a laugh. "KRTVN has pledged some money to help us get everything to Dundorf, and KalAir has come through with plane tickets for us and the crew, so maybe only three or four bake sales." Karen Y also said she would like her mom to see her play. "My mother is currently suffering from untreatable cancer. This might be the last opportunity for her to see us, so I am damn sure gonna get to that contest, so she can see me play for the whole world! Winning would be nice, but just the chance to play for an international audience is like bigger than any of us could have ever imagined."

You can listen to Karen and the Karens' song "Wait" right here, and no doubt it will be playing in heavy rotation on Radio 1 between now and FOMAT.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIIxlgcuQRU]