Scandinavian Indie Digest Sat May 20, 1995 Volume 2 : Issue 08 There are 15 messages totalling 1057 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Swedish Indie Band Gig List (950516) 2. Non-Swedish Indie Band Gig List (930516) 3. Green Interview (950504) 4. Forwarded: Whale EP 5. Stockholm 28/5 Happenings 6. Mouth - Live 7. Cinnamon 8. Stockholm 27/5 Happenings 9. WeCD 084 CD 94 Compilation Making New Friends (2) 10. Salt Interview (02-Feb-95) 11. Blue Interview (30-Mar-95) 12. May 27 Happenings in Stockholm? 13. Love Handles & Sweetheart live date! 14. Cloudberry Jam album title? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:14:11 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Swedish Indie Band Gig List (950516) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gig list for swedish "indie" bands 16-May-95 Corrections, additions or comments to: chief@lysator.liu.se Scandinavian Indie Mailing List: scan-indie-request@lysator.liu.se ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description ----------- This is a weekly updated tour date list for some swedish "indie" bands. The more the better, so if you have additional information, corrections, or bands you like to see in this list, please e-mail me (see address above). This information has been gathered from swedish newspapers Expressen, Aftonbladet and Corren, as these are the only papers I have access to (or can afford on a weekly basis). Key --- * Each new or added date since last update is marked with a '-' at the very left end of the screen. * Old dates are deleted. * Other countries are marked with (COUNTRY) after the date and place. * New bands are marked with (NEW) after their name in the list. Included in the list below -------------------------- Big Fish, Blue, Bob Hund, Brainpool, Broder Daniel, Cardigans, Cloudberry Jam, Electric Eskimoes, Fireside, Garmarna, Green, Hedningarna, Honey Is Cool, Kent, Mouth, Piggy In The Middle, Pinko Pinko, Planet Waves, Puffin, Refused, Salt, Shredhead, Sindy Kills Me, Souls, Whale, Yvonne. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Big Fish 16/6 Trollhattan 26/8 Uppsala, Metro * Blue 3/6 Malmoe, Krokodilen * Bob Hund 26/5 Umea 3/6 Handen 17/6 Karlshamn 29/6 Bollnas 7/7 Hedemora 8/7 Laholm 15/7 Skelleftea, Trastocksfestivalen * Brainpool 17/5 Stockholm, Grona Lund 18/5 Uppsala, Sten Sture 19/5 Falkoping 20/5 Virserum 26/5 Lund, Mejeriet 3/6 Timmele 9/6 Skinnskatteberg 10/6 Linkoping, Universitetet 14/6 Gothenburg, Liseberg 16/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 30/6 Hudiksvall 7/7 Sundsvall 8/7 Kristianstad 4/8 Gothenburg 5/8 Ahus 19/8 Vetlanda * Broder Daniel - 18/5 Gothenburg, Underground - 30/5 Lund, Elverket - 4/6 Handen - 9/6 Karlstad - 16/6 Koping, Raj Raj - 17/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig - 28/7 Stockholm, Lollipop - 29/7 Ostersund - 12/8 Hultsfred, Festival * Cardigans, The 23/5 Stockholm, Grona Lund 27/5 Umea 1/6 Gothenburg, Q Club 16/6 Trollhattan 17/6 Koping, Raj Raj 30/6 Roskilde, Festivalen (DENMARK) 10/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 11/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 12/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 16/8 Malmoe, Festivalen * Cloudberry Jam 22/5 Gothenburg, Valand 25/5 Varberg * Electric Eskimoes 17/6 Karlshamn, Festivalen * Fireside 24/5 Falun 25/5 Sandviken 27/5 Fagersta, Bergslagsrocken * Garmarna 20/5 Goteborg, Liseberg 3/6 Riddarhyttan 4/6 Stockholm 13/6 Falun 17/6 Koping, Raj Raj 1/7 Delsbo 22/7 Valadalen 9/8 Orebro 15/8 Stockholm, Vattenfestivalen 17/8 Malmoe * Green - 19/5 Norrkoping 20/5 Malmoe, Caf‚ Pandora 22/5 Gothenburg, Valand - 24/5 Kristianstad 26/5 Karlskrona 30/5 Stockholm, Kaf‚ 44 - 16/6 Lund * Hedningarna 10/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 11/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 12/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen * Honey Is Cool 10/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 11/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 12/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen * Kent 16/5 Lund 18/5 Malmoe 19/5 Karlskrona 20/5 Kalmar - 24/5 Stockholm, Gino 26/5 Varberg 27/5 Norrkoping, Tango (with The Gwen Stacys) - 10/6 Linkoping, Universitetet 10/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 11/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen 12/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen * Mouth (NEW) 18/5 Linkoping, Herrgar'n 19/5 Karlstad 26/5 Gothengurg, Underground 21/7 Arvika, Arvikafestivalen * Piggy In The Middle 25/5 Linkoping, Herrgar'n * Pinko Pinko 22/5 Gothenburg, Valand * Planet Waves 20/5 Ahus 26/5 Malmoe 2/6 Gothenburg 3/6 Stromstad 10/6 Linkoping, Universitetet 16/6 Karlshamn 24/6 Skelleftea 30/6 Mjolby, Folkets Park * Puffin 18/5 Karlstad 19/5 Helsingborg 28/5 Kristianstad * Refused 3/6 Riddarhyttan 8/6 Haparanda - 16/6 Koping + Kil 17/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig * Salt 18/5 Stockholm, Studion - 25/5 Falun - 26/5 Sandviken 1/6 Karlstad 16/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 17/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 2/7 Visby 14/7 Skelleftea, Trastocksfestivalen 15/7 Skelleftea, Trastocksfestivalen 21/7 Arvika, Arvikafestivalen 22/7 Arvika, Arvikafestivalen - 28/7 Ostersund, Storsjoyran * Shredhead 27/5 Umea - 12/? Lycksele 14/7 Skelleftea, Trastocksfestivalen 15/7 Skelleftea, Trastocksfestivalen * Sindy Kills Me 2/6 Motala * Souls 19/5 Lund, Blekinge nation 20/5 Gothenburg, Magasinet 3/6 Malmoe, Folkfesten 4/6 Handen 12/8 Hultsfred, Festivalen * Whale 1/7 Roskilde, Festivalen (DENMARK) * Whale (with Teddybears Sthlm) 16/5 Uppsala, Sten Sture 17/5 Gothenburg, Cue Club 19/5 Malmoe, KB 20/5 Lund, Mejeriet 22/5 Copenhagen, Eigens Ballroom (DENMARK) * Yvonne 3/6 Riddarhyttan 16/6 Koping, Raj Raj 17/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 1/7 Lulea ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Erik ---------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:14:50 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Non-Swedish Indie Band Gig List (930516) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gig list for Non-swedish "indie" bands 16-May-95 Corrections, additions or comments to: chief@lysator.liu.se Scandinavian Indie Mailing List: scan-indie-request@lysator.liu.se ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description ----------- This is a weekly updated tour date list for some non-swedish "indie" bands around Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. The more the better, so if you have additional information, corrections, or bands you like to see in this list, please e-mail me (see address above). This information has been gathered from swedish newspapers Expressen, Aftonbladet and Corren, as these are the only papers I have access to (or can afford on a weekly basis). Key --- * Each new or added date since last update is marked with a '-' at the very left end of the screen. * Old dates are deleted. * Countries other than Sweden are marked with (COUNTRY) after the date and place. * New bands are marked with (NEW) after their name in the list. Included in the list below -------------------------- Archers of Loaf, Bad Religion, Band of Susans, Black Crowes, Boo Radleys, Freak Power, Gene, Live, Monster Magnet, Teenage Fanclub, Weezer. Notable changes since last update --------------------------------- Bad Religion - wrong month (7) in last update. The real one is 6 (June) Boo Radleys - Place of gig changed in Gothenburg. TBA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Archers of Loaf 15/6 Stockholm, Studion 16/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 17/6 Emmaboda, Absurt Trevlig 11/8 Hultsfred, Festival * Bad Religion 11/6 Hultsfred 12/6 Uppsala, Fyrishov 14/6 Oslo, Sentrum (NORWAY) 16/6 Karlshamn * Band of Susans 17/5 Stockholm, Studion 18/5 Malmoe, KB 19/5 Copenhagen, Loppen (DENMARK) * Black Crowes 28/6 Stockholm, Sjohistoriska * Boo Radleys, The 25/5 Copenhagen, Gra Hall (DENMARK) 26/5 Lund, Mejeriet 27/5 Gothenburg 29/5 Oslo, Sentrum (NORWAY) 30/5 Uppsala, Sten Sture 31/5 Stockholm, Gino * Freak Power 23/5 Lund, Diary 24/5 Gothenburg, Park Lane 25/5 Stockholm, Gino 26/5 Oslo, Head On (NORWAY) 27/5 Copenhagen, Loppen (DENMARK) * Gene 16/5 Oslo, Sentrum (NORWAY) 17/5 Stockhom, Gino 18/5 Lund, Mejeriet 19/5 Copenhagen, Pumpehuset (DENMARK) 10/8 Hultsfred, Festival 11/8 Hultsfred, Festival 12/8 Hultsfred, Festival * Live (NEW) 9/6 Stockholm, Gino * Monster Magnet 10/8 Hultsfred, Festival 11/8 Hultsfred, Festival 12/8 Hultsfred, Festival * Teenage Fanclub 11/6 Stockholm, Gino * Weezer 8/7 Hedemora, Dalarocken 9/7 Stockholm, Gino ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Erik -------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:15:40 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Green Interview (950504) Short interview with "Green" 04-May-95 - by Erik Soderstrom (chief@lysator.liu.se) after a gig at "Herrgar'n", Linkoping, Sweden. (v1.0) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Green are: Fredrik Persson (drums) Bj|rn Palmberg (guitar) Henrik Langdal (bass) Lars Wirt‚n (guitar) Magnus Fridh (vocals) Helen Widmark (violin, keyboard) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (if the answer is "A." it was answered by someone. If the answer came from someone special, the initials are written.) Q. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE GIG TONIGHT? FP. It was really hot with that many people! A _lot_ of people actually. The sound equipment was great this time too, compared to last time we played here when it just stunk, but it was as fun as last time anyway. We always play 'My Special Applepie', our very first song really, and that was a stunner! Everyone seemed to know it! We never rehearse it, but we always play it. Q. ANY PROBLEMS? FP. The guards pushed down a bunch of stage-divers at first, but after a while they got more relaxed about it. Vitte's [Lars Wirt‚n] cord broke after the third song, so we had to play half a song ['Schlager'] which we never really play. Q. WHAT SONGS DID YOU PLAY? FP. 'Swanson vs. Spencer', 'Taxinight In New Dehli', 'I Like Mondays', then half of 'Schlager', after that 'Plasticlife', 'I Don't Mind', 'My Special Applepie', 'Sunday Sway', 'Weekend Trip' and 'Comaneci'. The extra number was 'Smudge' and 'Lucky Star'. Last time we were here we played all the songs from the EP (plus a few extra). Q. WHEN DID YOU START AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM? FP. The band actually started in january 1992 in Lund. We're all from Lund, and all of us were members from the start except for Helen, who joined about half a year later. She only played violin then. It was when we worked on our latest album, the full-length [Schlager] she started with keyboards as well. Q. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT PLAYING IN A BAND? FP. Magnus studies the Tibetan language in Stockholm (really!). I study economics, Bj|rn studies history, Lars runs his own company and is a freelance journalist, Helen studies music and film science in Stockholm and Henrik also studies economics. Q. ARE YOU TOURING RIGHT NOW? A. Well we're playing in V{stervik on the 5th [May], at a support gala for Bosnia, then we're not sure if we're going to play in Sundsvall on the 12th, but we hope so. After that we're hopefully in Katrineholm on the 13th. Norrkoping is booked on the 19th, Malmoe on the 20th, Gothenburg on the 22nd, Kristianstad on the 24th and Karlskrona on the 26th. In june, we're only sure of a gig in Lund on the 16th right now. Q. HOW ABOUT RELEASES? FP. In december 1993, we released "My Special Applepie", the single and the 7-track EP "Couldn't Bear To Be Special". And now recently, on the 9th of march this year we released the full-length "Schlager". [See below for details on review scores]. Q. ANY DEMOS OUT THERE? FP. "Wunderbaum" came first, then "April 1993" and the last one was "May 1993". [See below for details on review scores]. Q. HOW ABOUT INFLUENCES? FP. James Taylor Quartet. And that goes for Henrik, Helen and Lars as well. _Eggstone_, Smiths and early REM. Other than that, all of us have different taste in music. Q. ANY SWEDISH BANDS YOU LIKE? FP. If I have to mention a couple, On A West Side Fabrication, Puffin and The Bear Quartet. And yes, we like Brainpool as well. Q. HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR MUSIC? FP. Magnus writes the lyrics and the melodies, then all of us arrange it together, so most of the time, something comes out of what we do. We're very self-critical, so it usually comes out okay. We work on a song until we're all satisfied with it. Like 'Taxinight In New Dehli' which some of us didn't like first. We only had to work on it a little, and then it was okay. [Later during the interview] FP. Actually, three of us write songs. Which I think is great. It gives us so much to work on at once. For "Schlager", we had 22 songs in four weeks. But it wasn't easy to sort out 12 of them to put on the album. Like I said, all of us have different taste in music, so it wasn't a painless process. And sometimes such problems can create funny effects. Like the last one we decided on for "Schlager" was 'Taxinight In New Dehli', and the last song we decide on is sort of the song we all can say "okay, let's take that one then" about. It got on the "Best Right Now" list in N|jesguiden. [laughter]. Q. AS A KEYBOARD PLAYER MYSELF, WHAT KEYBOARD DO YOU USE AND WHAT SOUNDS? HW. I use a Korg M1 and I have Korg's own sound cards for it, though most sounds I use, I have edited and changed from those. Q. HAVE YOU BEEN FEATURED IN THE PRESS/TV/MEDIA? FP. When we released 'My Special Applepie', we got a lot of attention in the press. Especially Expressen. Actually, we got reactions from every music magazine and paper. "Schlager" got reviews in every music magazine and paper except for Aftonbladet. We've made a video that has been shown on Z-TV and we've been featured in Musikjournalen on the national radio (P3 channel). TV4 were in Lund last tuesday, to cover the Lund music life. It was supposed to be recorded in march, but the person who did the interviews was sick. They said they would show what came out of it sometime during may, so keep your eyes open! We're featured [on the cover + article/interview inside] in Svenska Dagbladet's City magazine tomorrow. Be sure to check that out as well! Q. YOU'RE SIGNED TO THE "RAINBOW MUSIC" LABEL. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? FP. When we released our last demo, "Maj 1993", the Ceilidh label showed interest in us, but they had so much to do with Sonic Surf City and Suredo and all that, so we were signed to Delicious Goldfish instead. We released the single and the EP, and then when it was time for the full-length, which really became pretty expensive, Rainbow Music in Solna came in more and more. Payed for this and that and... So it was only natural that they took over. Those who are left on Delicious Goldfish are Sunshine and Crescent Venus (who now changed drummer for the 4th time). We were also the only three bands who got to release singles on that label. Q. I'VE HEARD RUMORS ABOUT RELEASES IN JAPAN? FP. Actually there are two companies there who are interested. We're hoping for the best, and that we will be able to release something. Can't say anything more at the moment though. Q. WHAT FESTIVALS WILL YOU BE PLAYING THIS YEAR? FP. Nothing is ready yet. We're first on the "reserve list" for Emmaboda though [Absurt Trevlig, Emmaboda, Sweden, 16-17 June, 1995]. We hope we get to play at the Hultsfred Festival this year. Last year we almost got to play, but nothing happened. So we think it's our turn this year. Q. WHAT FESTIVALS DID YOU PLAY LAST YEAR? FP. Emmaboda and Karlshamn (Sommarfestivalen). In Karlshamn, we were the only pop band except for Brainpool. Q. YOU'RE SOMETIMES COMPARED TO THIS PERFECT DAY AND WANNADIES? FP. Okay, during our "demo time", I'll admit we did sound somewhat like them, but not nowadays! Q. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE WAY YOU ARE COMPARED TO BRAINPOOL ALL THE TIME? FP. We started at the same time. We're all from Lund and we didn't know about them until "At School" [single with 'At School' and 'Popstar'. Released on the Ceilidh label in 1993] came out. When that happened we thought "Wow! Buzzcocks again!" Other than that, there's nothing similar. We're _not_ influenced by them, though we have listened to the same things before, like Jam, Clash and Sex Pistols. That may have had something to do with why both bands sound the way we do. Q. JENNIE MEDIN [from Cloudberry Jam] WAS FEATURED ON "SCHLAGER"... FP. Well, we both have the same guy getting our gigs, we play a lot together, and one day we came up with the idea to include her on our album, called her up, she said okay, came down here and we recorded two songs, 'Schlager' and 'Plasticlife'. She's really a fantastic singer. Q. I KNOW YOU HAVE PLAYED IN FINLAND. WHERE AND WHEN DID YOU PLAY? FP. It was at the end of may last year when we played in Finland at Tavastia Huset in Helsinki and a student place in Tammerfors. Q. ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO FINISH THIS INTERVIEW WITH? FP. One interesting thing; A Hip-Hop band from Stockholm sampled the chorus from 'My Special Applepie', though I don't remember their name. It was fun to hear though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Known Review Scores] Demo/Single/EP/Album Magazine/Paper Scored/Out of ------------------------------ ------------------------ ------------- Wunderbaum Demo Sound Affects #19 (1993) 3/5 April 1993 Demo Sound Affects #20 (1993) 3/5 ? Demo Pop #4 (1993) 6/10 Couldn't Bear To Be Special EP Pop #8 (1994) 7/10 Schlager Album Pop #12 (1995) 7/10 Schlager Album Svenska Dagbladet (1995) 4/6 Schlager Album Corren (10 march 1995) 4/5 Schlager was reviewed in Dagens Nyheter (22 march 1995), but they don't have a scoring system. It got a "so-so" review though. Compared to Brainpool again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Erik -------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:16:10 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Forwarded: Whale EP Forwarded message: > Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:35:54 +0200 > From: Mark Tazewell > Subject: Re: Whale > > G'day all- > > I have to add my voice to the multitudes (?) praising the whale EP, > especially buzz box babe (we played it on student radio the other week- > I hope a bigger station picks it up too). Buy it if only for the cheesy > reflective cover. > > mark ---------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:16:36 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Re: Stockholm 28/5 Happenings On Mon, 15 May 1995, Albert Sigurdsson wrote: > Im comin to Stockholm on Sat. 28. May, and will have to spend > the night there. Can anybody tell me if there are any good > gigs that night or which bars, night clubs I should go ? Gigs that night (that I know of): None! Anyone else on the list who knows? //Erik ---------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:17:05 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Mouth - Live ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ M O U T H (from Stockholm) (are playing this year's Hultsfred Festival) - Live at Herrgar'n, Linkoping, Sweden - - Thursday 18 May 1995 - On stage at 10pm Friday I'm In Love?-Night with indie music all night long. 6pm -> 3am. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anyone on the list know anything about Mouth? I'll try to do an interview so some information, questions (if anyone got any?) and so on would be appreciated. Thanks! //Erik ---------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 04:17:21 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Cinnamon Did anyone see the interview (+ live performance) on TV4 yesterday morning (breakfast-TV) with Cinnamon? I missed half of it, but I heard the song. I don't know _anything_ about this band, and yet, they sound _really_ like The Cardigans (which they didn't want to hear during the interview). Anyone have the story on them, or at least some info? //Erik ----------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 13:31:20 +0300 (EET DST) From: Albert Sigurdsson Subject: Stockholm 27/5 Happenings So what about the 27th of May, if I move my trip forward to a Saturday night, there must be something to do in Stockholm on that particular night ! Albert -------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 14:15:56 +0200 (MET DST) From: Petter Tiilikainen Subject: WeCD 084 CD 94 Compilation Making New Friends WeCD 084 CD 94 Compilation Making New Friends Anyone know if this one contains a track from the Bear Quartet? ANd if that's the case what's the name of it? (I need it for the Bear Quartet discography and haven't yet seen the compilation in the shop.) petter Sami: If finding Liimanarina among the numerous releases of american bands on Drag City isn't surprising I don't know what isn't! :) Btw, I just thought of that swedish band the Brainbombs are on the american label blackjack, that's almost as cool. ----------------------- Date: Wed, 17 May 95 16:26:50 +0200 From: ludde@kore.lk.se (Ludvig Borgne) Subject: WeCD 084 CD 94 Compilation Making New Friends > WeCD 084 CD 94 Compilation Making New Friends > > Anyone know if this one contains a track from the Bear Quartet? > ANd if that's the case what's the name of it? > (I need it for the Bear Quartet discography and haven't yet > seen the compilation in the shop.) The reson you haven't seen it in the shop(s) (Is there only one record shop in Lule? :) is that it's promo only. I found a second hand copy at Doolittle in Lund, though, and yes, it has a BQ track. I don't remember which one, but I'll check next time I go home. I'm pretty sure it wasn't something exclusive to that compilation, though. /Ludde PS. Don't miss Band Of Susans tonight at Studion if you're anywhere near Stockholm. They know how to make noice! ---------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 02:25:09 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Salt Interview (02-Feb-95) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short interview with v1.0 S A L T 02-Feb-94 by Erik Soderstrom (chief@lysator.liu.se) after a gig at "Herrgar'n", Linkoping, Sweden Salt are: Jim Tegman (drums) Daniel Ewerman (bass) Nina Ramsby (vocals & guitar) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (if the answer is "A." it was answered by someone. If the answer came from someone special, the initials are written.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE GIG TONIGHT? NR. It was a good gig. Everything went pretty much okay. JT. I just lost the feeling in my arms! DE. A small stage though we're only three. I'd give the gig about 4 points out of 5. Q. WHAT SONGS DID YOU PLAY? JT. 'Witty', 'Flutter', 'Honour Me', 'Lids', 'Bluster' 'Beauty', 'Frust' 'Undressed', 'You', 'God Damn Carneval' and 'Occasions' (the extra number). Q. ARE YOU TOURING RIGHT NOW? A. No, not really. We're playing in Gothenburg on the 9th, Sk|vde on the 18th and Lund on the 13th of april. We play a lot around Stockholm though we've played everywhere from Ume} to Gothenburg. This is our 27th gig actually. We'll plan more of a tour when we release our full-length album. Q. WHY SALT, WHEN DID SALT START AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM? A. We started about 2 1/2 years ago. At first we were called God Damn Carneval but we changed it because it was so hard for people to catch. We were called a lot of different things back then. Miry Bliss (dirty luxury) was our name before Salt. Well, we tried to play most things just to find out what we could play together that sounded good as well. Salt was the best name we could think of that could describe what came out of it. Back then, we had a fourth member who painted on the stage while we were playing. We're from Stockholm, met at an art school, moved together on a houseboat, and here we are. This is our first "real" band by the way. Q. HOW ABOUT RELEASES? A. We've released an EP called Salt, just last week. Other than that only demos, but we've never released them. They exist somewhere, but they're not available. There are about 2 to 10 songs on each of them. NR. You never get enough time to make a demo "ok" so it's no fun to release them. A. On the 9th (or something like that) march, out full-length CD will be released. It's called "Auscultate". DE. I was sitting at a lecture, and suddenly this word popped up. Bam! That's the title! It means "Educated apprehension through listening". A hint to journalists perhaps... Q. WHO ARE ON THE COVER OF THE SALT EP? A. We are! No, but you must see that there are similarities! JT. The picture is from a movie poster, and the surrounding graphics are from a cuban cigar-label. Q. HOW ABOUT INFLUENCES / SONGWRITING? A. We've listened to everything. All of us have a wide taste in music and that's why we sound like we do. When we write our songs, we all say "this sounds like that song" at the same time, but never quite the same anyway, so you could never say we've stolen anything from someone else. We're influenced by most things on the indie/alternative scene though. When one of us likes the sound of something we're working on, the others automatically do too, but nothing sounds the same from when we start working on a song to what comes out of it in the end. Q. WHAT DO YOU LISTEN TO RIGHT NOW? NR. Fireside, Deus, Dinosaur Jr... A. Afghan Whigs, Sonic Youth. Q. HAVE YOU BEEN FEATURED IN MAGAZINES/PAPERS/MEDIA? A. We've been in N|jesguiden - a review and also with an interview/ presentation of the band. In R|d Press we had the whole middle pages last winter. A big picture but not that much text. (laugh) and we had long hair. When we played with Kajsa Grytt we were mentioned in Westerbottens Kuriren. That's when we changed our name to Salt. On the demo-pages in Pop #4, october 1993 we got 6 points (out of 10?), and was the second best demo in that issue. Beetroots (now Pinko Pinko) beat us with 1 point. Terry (the reviewer) had a strange label for our sound. ["Led Zeppelin-goes-baggy-land"]. Q. YOU'RE SIGNED TO MVG. IS THAT GOOD? A. Yes, it's fantastic. Completely. It feels like a small company but it's big. There are three people working there (and secretaries) and it's impossible not to know all of them personally. They give us free hands and we're not pushed in any directions. Our contract is written that way anyway. What we like to do, we can do. If MVG wants us to do something, we don't have to, because it's in our contract. They spend a lot of money on studio time because they want it to sound good - not "you have three days, do what you can". It's a good concept! And we felt our producer fit us perfectly from the first time we met. Q. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE BRITISH/AMERICAN/WHATEVER INDIE SCENE? A. The American scene is the most interesting one, though there are interesting bands from the UK as well. Green Day, they're good. Offspring? Good music. We're happy that they sell records. If they're doing something good, on a big or small label doesn't matter. If they're good, they're good. Though we're all for the Pearl Jam boycott [TicketMaster]. It's a good initiative, but it was probably pretty hard in the beginning for them. Q. HOW ABOUT SWEDISH INDIE GROUPS? A. We like Puffin and Ray Wonder and Shredhead and Souls and Blithe. Stina Nordenstam. Mazarine Street, if you've heard about them, will release something on a small U.S. label. They sound like a mix of Rolling Stones and Beck. They're going to be big. Q. WHO WRITES THE LYRICS? NR. I do. Most of the time. Sometimes we all write them. They're about love, relationships, experiences. Mostly own thoughts and emotions based on things that have happened. The important thing is to recognize oneself in the lyrics. They're not for/to someone special at all. Just a product of feelings at the moment I write them. Q. YOU PLAYED AT THE HULTSFREDSFESTIVALEN. HOW WAS THAT? A. Wild but fun. We were really nervous though. We played the last day on the StoraDans Scenen at the same time as Maria McKee. It was packed with people. Loaded. JT. I loved the Verve gig. We all sat on a VIP bench sort of, and was there and gone at the same time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Erik ---------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 02:24:22 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Blue Interview (30-Mar-95) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short interview with v1.0 B L U E 30-Mar-95 by Erik Soderstrom (chief@lysator.liu.se) after a gig at "Herrg}r'n", Link|ping, Sweden. Blue are: Mikael Nordgren (vocals, guitar) Michael Ohlsson (bass) Robert Persson (drums) Claes Olofsson (guitar) Magnus Palmquist (guitar) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (if the answer is "A." it was answered by someone. If the answer came from someone special, the initials are written.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE GIG TONIGHT? A. It was okay really, though the sound on stage was a bit low. We never did a sound check though. And there weren't many people here tonight? [I told them there was a huge party at the university the same night]. A. Okay. There's always _something_ going on somewhere else when we play! Q. DID YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PROBLEMS? A. Well, the stage swayed a bit and the drums kept moving forward all the time! They should get a carpet or something back there. Q. WHAT SONGS DID YOU PLAY? A. 'Tin Soldier' (a Small Faces cover), 'Calling', 'Holliday', 'Lazy', 'Dancing All Night Long' and 'Hold On My Heart'. Then the extra number, 'Can't Explain' (a Who cover), 'Beatboy', 'Hearts', 'Hey Cissy', 'Atomic Tommy 'and 'Be There'. Q. WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN A BAND? A. We're all from |rebro, and all of us study except for Claes who works in a music/record store. Q. YOU HAVE PLAYED IN LINK\PING BEFORE. WHERE AND WHEN WAS THAT? A. Yeah, we've played here twice before. Both times in december last year. The first one at J's Place and the other at Skylten. Q. ARE YOU TOURING RIGHT NOW? A. We've played a lot after "Sitting On The Sofa" came out. We're going down to Sk}ne now. In Lund with Mufflon 5 on the 27th of april at Lunds Nation, Kristianstad on the 28th and Malmoe on the 29th. Q. HOW ABOUT RELEASES? A. A mini-CD "Blue" 1993 on West Side and Telegram, two CD singles, "Popsong EP" 1993 and "Calling" 1994 on West Side and "Sitting On The Sofa" a full-length CD at the end of 1994 on West Side. All of them have sold okay really. Oh, we've also made a full-length demo which we sent to Sound Affects called "Soon" in 1992. Q. ANY STORIES BEHIND THE RECORDING OF "SITTING ON THE SOFA"? A. First, the day before we were to go to Skellefte} to record it, Robert dived straight into the bottom of a pool. They wanted to keep him at the hospital, but he decided to go anyway. Well there, now this was in july. You remember how hot it was! And we thought they had air conditioning, but it almost didn't work. It took us three weeks to record the whole thing. Then, the cover. We really wanted a group picture on the cover, but the pictures they took were lousy, so all we got was a red background with yellow text. It's the worst cover we've seen! Q. HOW ABOUT INFLUENCES? A. Motown, Soul. The Jam, Small Faces, Portishead, Blur. Actually most things between Soul and Rock Music. Q. YOU'RE SIGNED TO THE WEST SIDE FABRICATION LABEL. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? A. We just sent a demo to Jocke, and suddenly we were recording our mini-CD. Actually Pioneer in Japan likes us a lot, so the full-length will be released there on the 27th of april. West Side released a compilation there a while ago, and now there's a new one to be released with The Bear Quartet and Blithe for example. The cover on the CD looks fantastic! [West Side reported last week (may 1995) that the new compilation have sold 10.000 copies, and the other bands on West Side who have released something in Japan have sold 15.000 copies so far]. Q. HAVE YOU BEEN FEATURED IN THE PRESS/TV/MEDIA? A. A lot in Slitz magazine, though we only got a "2" from Eva Kvanta for the full-length. She gave everyone 2's in that issue though, so maybe she had a bad day. We've been featured in a lot of local papers, Pop, where we got a 7 [out of 10] for the full-length, and N|jesguiden, where we got a "happy face" review. A lot of fanzines want to do interviews as well. We plan to do a video, but we haven't found someone to do it for the money we can offer yet. Maybe in may... Q. WHAT FESTIVALS WILL YOU BE PLAYING THIS YEAR? A. Tr{stocksfestivalen [in Skellefte} 14-15 July] and Raj Raj [in K|ping 16-17 June]. Q. WHAT FESTIVALS DID YOU PLAY LAST YEAR? A. We've played at Tr{stocksfestivalen both years. It was great the first year but nothing worked for us last year. It got too late, we didn't have any drums, and no-one knew we were supposed to play! That was because it got too late really. We played at Dalarock last year too. Q. OTHER SWEDISH BANDS YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION? A. Waring Corn (now signed to the Roadrunner label). They have a Clawfinger sound sort of. Their have 20.000 pre-hand orders for in Germany for their release! Be sure to check them out. Millencolin. Cripple, who are not that soft [laugh]. Q. ANY PLACES YOU'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND? A. Caf‚ Creole in Karlstad. That's a great place. We saw Popsicle when they played there. Q. I KNOW YOU HAD A DEAL WITH PLEASUREHOUSE. HOW DID THAT GO? A. Yeah, we were supposed to play in Norrkoping and they were supposed to play in |rebro a couple of times, but nothing ever happened. They're all in Stockholm now, under a new name, by the way. Q. ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO FINISH THIS INTERVIEW WITH? A. Yeah. Claes here isn't really a member of the band [is he now?]. He usually plays in a soul band called "Cold Sweat", but they have put it on ice right now. We all knew he was good, you know, people talk a lot, so we asked him if he wanted to play with us, and... CO. It's only fun to jump into such things, and that's why I decided to go for it. I had listened to "Sittin On The Sofa" a lot before they asked, so it was nothing I would have turned down [laugh]. We've only rehearsed three times, but everything has worked really well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Erik -------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 03:35:33 +0200 From: Erik S|derstr|m Subject: Re: May 27 Happenings in Stockholm? On Wed, 17 May 1995, Albert Sigurdsson wrote: > So what about the 27th of May, if I move my trip forward to > a Saturday night, there must be something to do in Stockholm > on that particular night ! Actually, nothing that I know of on that night either. I know it looks dumb to post replies when I don't know something, but the reason I do this is so that you'll know I'm not just ignoring them. //Erik --------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 13:13:54 +0300 (EET DST) From: trkisa@uta.fi (Kimmo Saaskilahti) Subject: Love Handles & Sweetheart live date! Hello! The monthly Pop Friday night at the YO-talo club in Tampere will take place on the forthcoming *Saturday* (!), that is May 20th. The bands performing will be Love Handles and Sweetheart. Love Handles could be described as 'guitar wall pop' and are worth seeing for the excellent guitar work of Ilkka Mattila and Tommi Pietil{inen (hmm...I'm not 100% sure of his last name?). They released a CDEP about a year or so ago. Sweetheart have released a lot of stuff on Bad Vugum, and that should tell you already that they are quite aggressive and like to make a big noise, both live and on records. Lately they have developed into less straightforward and a little bit less heavy (I wouldn't call it lightweight by any means though) direction. Some of their newer songs reminded me even about Captain Beefheart with their cryptic rhythms. And the vocalist sounds just like a paranoid and neurotic version of 22-Pistepirkko's P-K. I hope neither band will cancel their gig this time - I was very disappointed when Candy Darling didn't show up last month... Kimmo trkisa@uta.fi ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 14:27:00 +0300 (EET DST) From: trkisa@uta.fi (Kimmo Saaskilahti) Subject: Cloudberry Jam album title? Hello folks! I've got a simple question for you: I can't remember the name of the Cloudberry Jam album which was released some time ago, so somebody who knows might like to share the information with me. I'm sure I would find it from the digests, but I'm too lazy to dig it up, besides I am not sure if I want to re-read all my silly postings :-) Thanks in advance, Kimmo End of SI Digest #2.08 **********************