Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Collective Karma. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Collective, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have any key partners or vendors – if so, how’d you find them and start working with them?

We’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by creatives, professionals, business owners and the like who have supported and believed in us. Most recently, we partnered with Bon House, a local Atlanta DIY music venue, to film and promote our upcoming debut music video. We had already been fortunate enough to play a show at Bon House nearly a year prior and had maintained a close working relationship with the owner of Bon House, Gretta Wallace. We knew that Bon House would be perfect for the video concept we had in mind and reached out to Gretta to talk about booking the space. After meeting with Gretta and talking through what we were looking for, we became inspired with additional promotional ideas that would be mutually beneficial for both our band and for Bon House and quickly started brainstorming.

Collaborating with Bon House has been a true partnership and we’re so grateful to not only work with Gretta and Bon House, but to help promote a local music venue in the DIY music scene – the existence of venues like Bon House that create and foster community is so rare and increasingly important to the local ATL music scene.

At the time that this interview is being conducted, we still have a lot of exciting things related to the video that are coming and we don’t want to spoil the surprises on the way. Stay tuned to our Instagram, @collectivekarmaatl, and to Bon House’s instagram, @the.bon.house, to see how it all plays out!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For those who don’t know us yet, thank you so much for being here. We are five musicians who love creating and sharing our art – Connor (lead vocalist), Kennedi (rhythm guitarist, vocalist), Lee (lead guitarist), Justin (bassist, vocalist), and Trevor (drummer) – and we make up post-emo band, Collective Karma.

We all came into musicianship at different times in our lives – some of us being band kids, some of us being self-taught, and some of us (gracefully) stumbling into it all. The most incredible thing about this is that despite our very different journeys to today, we all somehow found each other and have been able to create something really special within our band. The inception of our band started on Reddit where our original founding members Trevor, Madi and Lee had posted seeking out a vocalist. When Connor saw the post, he quickly responded and submit a sample of his work, which would later become our debut single, “Your Name”. The band invited Connor to their next practice and asked that his bring his guitar…and instead he showed up with Kennedi who brought their guitar. From there, we all formed true friendships with each other and bonded over writing and playing music together. After writing, rehearsing, and playing songs together as a group for nearly a year, Madi departed from the band to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor (and we are SO proud of her!) A few months later, Trevor introduced us to Justin (a lifelong friend of his) and thus the current iteration of Collective Karma was born.

It’s important to us that you know our background story, because we genuinely all have such a love for music and for each other and hope that that shows in every show that we play. We like to have fun together and bring art into a space of people who are looking to enjoy themselves just as much as we are. We hope that everyone walks away from a Collective Karma show feeling free, energized, safe, and most importantly – sweaty.

We are so proud of the progress that we’ve made so far as a band and stoked for all that we have ahead of us. We are currently working on recording our debut EP, gearing up to release our debut music video and constantly looking to play shows in and around Atlanta. Be sure to keep up with us on all social platforms @collectivekarmaatl.

We’d also like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has supported us in our journey to bring more music to the scene: Madi Butler, Matthew Crenshaw, Glenn Zekser, Zach Rickett, Franklin Moody, José Nava, Gretta Wallace, Kate Kastelic, Rebekah Achinger, and Steven Henderson.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Truthfully, we believe our sound, our camaraderie as bandmates, and our ingratiation in the local DIY music scene has allowed us to build a great reputation. We’re extremely thankful for all of the support we’ve received thus far and all of the connections that we’ve made along the way.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Trevor: Doing what I love to do. If people get enjoyment from it, that makes it even more rewarding.

Kennedi: I think my favorite thing about being an artist is seeing other people enjoy our art and connect to it in different ways – whether that be through their interpretation of the lyrics, the way they mosh to the drums, or how they connect with us as band members.

Lee: The most rewarding part is playing music with other people. When I write stuff by myself, a lot of times I’m self critical about it. But playing it with other people who can add to what I’ve made, makes me like anything I’ve written a little bit more.

Connor: Seeing an idea come to life. Getting everyone’s input on something and having that “oh shit” moment when it comes together is an awesome feeling. Collaboration and love are two of the most powerful qualities that make being a creative so special.

Justin: The most rewarding aspect for me is being able to have an outlet that is not only healthy for myself, but also allows me to have an opportunity and space to connect with others who may need connection. Music heals so many things and to be a part of that process, whether you’re making music or just listening to it, is reward enough. To see others present in your self expression is a powerful thing. That’s why I personally love our music scene so much. Everyone understands that it’s an escape from reality when you get to experience a show or get lost in listening to music that your friends had a hand in creating. It grounds you. And to find something that can do that in a healthy way is super rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.collectivekarma.bandzoogle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collectivekarmaatl
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/collectivekatl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CollectiveKarmaATL
• Other: Spotify Artist page: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Fj8DOW4kDGVN5iefKv9Jg

Image Credits

Matthew Crenshaw