About a month ago, Graveyard received a Grammis, (Swedish music award), for best Hard Rock act 2012. The day before receiving the award, Graveyard played a gig in San Diego. I went there to talk to them about their band, what it’s like touring the US, and Swedish music export. Arriving to the classic San Diego rock venue “The Casbah”, their tour bus was parked outside and I met up with Axel Sjöberg, drummer in Graveyard.
You started out in Boston and have been touring the country driving from coast to coast with your tour bus. How is it? It is a lot better with the bus we have this time. We have been touring the US three or four times before with a van. So this is a great upswing. I’m like a thousand times less grumpy on this tour. You’ll always go to bed late but with a van you have to go up early as hell in the morning to drive to the next stop because of the distances here. Where is the best place to play in the US? For me, the venue is more important than the city itself. There are a lot of old theaters and cinemas here in the US, which are redesigned to venues and it gives a very different feel to the room. There are often balconies and the floors are in different levels so you can see the crowd and all who are at the show can see the band. I think this makes a great difference, in Sweden it is often just a room, I like Portland, San Francisco and Seattle; they are a bit like home in Gothenburg, pretty relaxed. In Portland, they have a lot of vegetarian food and things like that. I like that, and most of us in the band are vegetarians. But I think all cities have their charm. When we played in Detroit, I got a little tour. I had the opportunity check out all the abandoned areas. It was totally sick, you could go through block after block and you’ll see abandoned mansions that if they would have been close to Gothenburg city, they had surely gone for 6-10 million (SEK) easily. It's pretty damn fascinating. A lot of places in the middle of US have a doomsday feeling; there are a lot of abandoned industrial buildings and a lot of homeless and worn out people. It feels as if the coastlines manage a little bit better. When were you able to live on your music? We started to live on our music after we had released our previous album. But then, we lived like rats. Though that was no difference from how we lived before really, at that point we had to choose if we wanted to go all in or not. We used the money we had and got it to work even though there was very little at first, especially the first six months. But now we have an okay salary. It depends on if you count the years we have spent as an education, then it’s not that good * laughs *. But I do fine and can pay my rent. Has that always been the goal? I have not always been super focused but I have always wanted played music for a living. I think we got more serious about it when we started Graveyard. Thinking that we are really going to do it properly this time. We were not that determined in the bands we were in before. But it has always been my dream. Why do you think it worked out with Graveyard? Like most other things in this world, it is probably a thousand different things that had to run smoothly for us to make it or do well. The basic thing is perhaps the personal chemistry and musicality arising when we play together. Apart from that I think that you need to be hungry and have the drive. You shouldn’t wait for someone else to come and do it for you, although we obviously needed the help of many to get where we are today. In the beginning we organized our own gigs and sold beer to finance our tour bus, and stuff like that. And then it of course important to do well when playing shows. Is there any difference making it in the US compared to Sweden? Sweden is an extremely small country, if one is to be crass, or cynical, or bitter, you can make it in Sweden pretty much by knowing five people or something like that. But at the same time we've kept on playing no matter which people backed us. You need to be persistent, when we started touring and came down to Germany we were playing in front of 75 people the first time, the next time it was 150 and it has grown steadily. It's not just bands that like loyal fans, fans like loyal bands as well, bands that come back. I think you can notice that in every place we've been to. Are the fans any different? I don’t know, maybe they are a bit more wild here; it seems that a lot of skaters like us here. They usually like to have it a bit more livelily on concerts; it’s a bit more punk here. But otherwise, now when we start playing for 800 people or so, it seems that we attract people from very different subcultures. One can see a sixty-five year old cd collector and you can see one thirteen year old girl too. It is very gratifying that when we do better, the greater the spread we get on our audience. A lot of people have commented that you can see people from lots of different subcultures at our concerts, it's the same at home in Europe too. Coming from Gothenburg, have you got any help from the music scene there? I do not know, I think we started our own little part of a scene there, along with lots of other bands in Gothenburg also touring and playing around and stuff. I think that overall there is a very good music climate in Gothenburg, not so divided. You see people who are really into a certain genre, punk rockers who are at a hard rock gig and you see people who listen to death metal on a gig with people who listen to a totally different genre. It is not so damn important what music it is, although there is perhaps a certain style that is closer to the heart. People are curious and appreciate good music even if it is not a favorite genre or the genre that they identify themselves with, I think it's very healthy. But then again, it's expensive with rehearsal rooms and stuff like that in Gothenburg. Musically it is very good but you can always improve others things. Sweden export a lot of music, any theories of why? We often get that question, people ask: "What's in the water in Sweden? “. But I think that studieförbundssystemet (an organization that among other things helps with funding for bands and sometimes provides rehearsal space) is helping very much because it makes the threshold to start playing much lower than in other countries where you have to buy everything yourself to start and things like that. And when trying to get a rehearsal place when you're fifteen, it is not a soul who’ll let you rent. So I think that certainly makes it easier. I am also a believer of the good example; when you start to play in a band, you can watch the other bands from Sweden, touring abroad. You get the feeling of “If they can do it, so can I”. When many bands are touring, networks are built up, and if it starts to go well for one band, you quickly get to know people who might help with both practical and strategic issues, how to think or where you should play and who you should talk to and stuff like that. It's something that can be lost as well, the connections have to be maintained or else the networks quite easily die. Say there is a generation in which nobody wants to play music, then all contacts might disappear. I also think that a-kassa (Swedish unemployment insurance) is important as well, so that one is able to cope at times. People usually talk about Swedish folk music, that it has very nice melancholic melodies. Melodies that seem to strike, that we have some kind of melancholically melody heritage that strikes most people whatever type of music it is. I do not know if it's true, but it’s probably a combination of lot of those things I think. Many critics have praised you; is that something you notice at gigs? I don't know, maybe. We won a Grammis and we got a P3 Guld last year (Swedish music awards), it helps a lot at festival gigs and stuff like that, because then people can put a small label on you. It might also help reaching people who like music in general, but who might not be that active looking for new music. People who like to go to festivals and like rock music but might not be that super informed, who listen to what they get served, you can probably reach those people better then. Then maybe they’ll notice you and realize that they like your music, but as with the chicken and the egg, it's hard to tell what came first. Visit http://graveyardmusic.com/s/ for videos, music, tour dates and more! This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily the views of SACC San Diego. The interview was conducted in Swedish and was freely translated into English by the author. David Svensson, SACC San Diego (Photo: Joel Lundell) In early February I saw that The Hives, one of Sweden’s biggest rock bands, were coming to town to play a show in San Diego. Interviewing The Hives for our newsletter was a no-brainer, so I sent them an e-mail. Days turned into weeks and I heard nothing, until the day before the concert when I got a call offering me a telephone interview with Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, lead vocalist of the Hives, the following day. Obviously, I didn’t miss out on the chance to interview Howlin’ Pelle.
The Hives were formed in 1993, making this their 20th year together, and they have toured the US many times. The Hives are considered, among international and Swedish critics alike, one of the world’s best live bands; it’s not just the music, it’s an experience. In the fall of 2012 The Hives released their 5th album “Lex Hives”, and are now touring the US in support of it. What is it like being on tour? The Hives are not the only big Swedish rock band, so how come such a small country like Sweden has been able to export so much music? How do you become a rockstar? These were some of the questions that I asked Pelle. I was sitting by my phone waiting and as the minutes passed I started to get nervous that there was no interview after all, but suddenly it rang and Pelle was on the line. He was really relaxed and was walking around in Solana Beach, planning to catch some waves the day before the show. The Hives got their breakthrough in the US before Sweden. Why do you think you appeal to the American audience? I think it has to do with our style, which in some aspects is very American. It’s hard to become a ‘prophet’ in your own country. In Sweden you need to be accepted by critics before you can get your breakthrough. People are not as open to new music as the Americans. What is the difference between making it in the US and making it in Sweden? In the US, you can tour your way to success, just keep on touring and playing gigs. Here people go out with their friends to see bands more than people do in Sweden. It’s more common for Americans than Swedish people to go see an unknown band. It’s hard to tour your way to success in Sweden and you can’t really play every day. Usually you will need the press and critics to back you Still, Sweden exports a lot of music. Yeah, it’s fantastic music, I think it has to do with the fact many Swedish bands are very serious about their music, and you have to put a lot of effort into it. I think that Swedish unemployment benefits, “A-Kassa”, are also a great contributor to Swedish music exports, as a lot Swedish bands are using or have been using them from time to time. (Pelle identifies Kent as one of those bands). Another big contributor is Kommunala Musikskolan, which is a government-funded musical school for youths. What do you think about California? There is no better place than here to have a gig. It’s a fantastic state with good weather and nice people. California was one of the first places The Hives got popular and this is the part of every US tour that I really look forward to. Good Mexican food, weather, and surf. The Hives usually try to go surfing while in California, and because they are touring by bus they have a lot of spare time. I have to admit that I got pretty jealous when Pelle told me that being on tour is like being on vacation with your best friends, while getting paid. During the day, they can go hiking or surfing, and by night they do what they love the most, play music. Is it important to have rules in a band? Yes, I think it is important to decide what you are. There are a lot of bands that just play different styles and never really figure out who they are. We have chosen to be The Hives. At this point I’d gotten some good answers out of Pelle, but I still didn’t feel like I’d discovered the Hives’ key to success. And now the question you’ve been waiting for: How do you become a rockstar? We have always gone with our guts, and we’ve been touring a lot. It isn’t something you can just learn. It is hard to teach a talent. What you can do is follow your instincts. This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily the views of SACC San Diego. The interview was conducted in Swedish and was freely translated into English by the author. UPDATE: This article was published in our newsletter in April. Since then, Swedish House Mafia has decided to split up. We have had a lot of requests to publish the full interview so keep an eye out in the future! ABBA is arguably Sweden's biggest music export ever with over 400 million records sold of which most was bought in a time when the music industry was flourishing. Since then, the conditions of the industry have greatly changed and such a feat now seems incredibly hard to reach if not impossible. When we say ABBA is our biggest music export ever, how can we apply that same measure in today's climate? For each generation, there have always been certain music genres that have attracted the biggest crowds and fans. With the explosion of electronic dance music (EDM in short) in the last couple of years, it would be fair to say that EDM is what rock was to people in the seventies. As with rock, there are always those artists who truly define the genre and pioneer in producing new sounds and styles. If you were to ask us, we would have to say Swedish House Mafia is one of those artists that currently dominate the house music scene (house music is a subgenre of EDM). Imagine how excited we became when we managed to arrange a meeting with Axwell (Axel Hedfors), one of the three members of Swedish House Mafia (the other two: Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso). We met with Axwell at his hotel on a sunny day in Los Angeles. Still not entirely convinced the meeting would become reality, we were nervous out of our minds until the very last minute when he came in to greet us with a smile. After some general chit-chat (and Axwell generously offering us an invitation to their secret gig the same night!) we dove into the interview and let Axwell tell us how it all started. Music was something that interested Axwell at young age. He liked the music that his parents listened to and after being introduced to instruments at school, he started bugging his parents for a drum set. "I remember not eating candy for a year, and at the age of ten I finally got a drum set" says Axwell. A couple of years later he first laid his hands on the computer Amiga 500. "Most people in my age loved playing computer games on those things, and I did too, but what captivated me the most was the application on which you could produce music. It was very primitive, just a couple of tones or so, but it got me hooked". The years that followed he went through high school, military service, a college degree in "Systems Sciences" from Lund University and a job at Ericsson. "Even though music was my passion, it made sense to take that path". We jokingly insinuate that he could have been working at Ericsson today and Axwell laughs and continues on what made him go for the music. "I was crazily passionate about producing music, I didn't want to do anything else than being in the studio, so I moved up to Stockholm to pursue my dream. People questioned my decision and I never really thought I would ever become anything, but I just had this crazy dream and passion that it made no sense doing anything else". At this point, both of us could not help thinking about great inventors and entrepreneurs who are crazy about a dream and have the guts to pursue it. "In Stockholm, I had some smaller jobs here and there to get around, and it wasn't the nicest life, but producing music made me happy. Around 1999 or so, I had made some remixes that record labels bought, it was not very much money, and sometimes they did not even pay, but it was nice getting some recognition for your work". At this point, the music career had picked up a little bit, so Axwell started receiving bookings at clubs. "I was mainly a music producer, I had never DJed before, and quite frankly, I did not really have an interest for it at that time. I decided to perform at those gigs anyway so in the beginning I was probably a bad DJ since I did not know how to do it but I kind of learned as I went on". In 2004, Axwell released the song "Feel The Vibe" which became a major hit that boosted his career. "After releasing Feel The Vibe, I started to feel that music could become my living, and that is when things picked up". In 2006, he produced a track with fellow swede Steve Angello called "Tell Me Why" under the artist alias "Supermode". They also produced two tracks with Sebastian Ingrosso and Laidback Luke called "Get Dumb" and "Leave The World Behind" and after this the trio Axwell, Angello and Ingrosso started to get referred to as the Swedish House Mafia in forums and on radio shows. In 2010, the trio produced the first official track under the name "Swedish House Mafia" called "One". From there on out, the trio has enjoyed great success both individually and together releasing hit after hit. Fast-forwarding to today, we are speaking with a person who can be considered one of the most talented music producers in the industry. He has not only produced mega hits in the genre of house music but many famous pop songs as well. Grouped with Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso who are also on the same level, it is really not that hard to see why Swedish House Mafia is such a popular group right now. They were the first DJ act to ever play in the classical grounds of Madison Square Garden in New York, a concert which sold out in a matter of minutes and this summer they are also playing in the Milton Keynes Bowl in the UK for around 65 000 fans. Top that off with their very own show "Masquerade Motel" that they did in Miami in March and two weekends of the California-based festival Coachella as well as a couple of bigger festivals yet to be revealed and you could say that the group has a lot on it's plate. Individually they also have sold out gigs in the hundreds booked for 2012 and with over 150 travel days it is hard to understand how the trio have the time to produce mega hit after mega hit together, not even taking personal time into account. "Producing music makes me happy" - this is probably the mindset you need to have to be able to accomplish all of the above. So how can we talk about today's Swedish artists the same way we talk about the success of ABBA? To us, we truly believe that one needs to look at a much broader picture. With the amount of sold out concerts that Swedish House Mafia does as a group and individually along with topping the charts with many of their tracks, we feel it could be a good indication of greatness comparable to ABBA. Nonetheless, it is of no doubt that the Swedish House Mafia does a great job representing Sweden as a place that gives birth to fantastic artists and music producers. Who knows, in thirty years from now we might look back and remember Swedish House Mafia the way we remember ABBA - if Swedish House Mafia isn't still playing then that is...
This article represents the views of the authors (Jonathan & Jonathan) and not necessarily the views of SACC San Diego. There are no actual quotes as the interview was conducted in Swedish and as such, the quotes you see were freely translated by the authors. |