Thanks so much to Floyd Foreman for the interview! I wrote about Triple Blind some time ago on the blog, and one of the band members, Iain, got in touch with me. Then he passed my questions to Floyd, the guitarist and vocalist of the band, and he was up for answering all my questions! This is indeed great as there is very little information on the web about them. So sit back and discover this great High Wycombe obscure indiepop band!

++ Hi Floyd! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Hi Roque, it’s a pleasure to answer your questions, thanks for your interest. I’m doing ok thanks, it’s been a really strange year for everyone you know, live music’s completely stopped! I’m still very much involved in music and play in a reggae/ska band called Dubious Roots. We’re now in our 5th year, but lost a year last year, it’s been horrible. Before the UK went into lockdown I was doing some stuff with another indie band from back in the day, playing guitar and bass when needed and driving the tour van. Rolling back the years!

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

First music memories are listening to my mum and dad’s records on an old portable record player in my bedroom. I was really young, 5 or 6 years old. To be honest the records were pretty shit, but there was some Beatles, Stones and Buddy Holly in there, a few treasures.
My first instrument was a guitar, a little ¾ size nylon stringed thing which I still have. The tuning pegs have snapped and it’s unplayable but I can’t bring myself to chuck it away. My dad taught me the chords D G & A and I was off. I got a Beatles Music book and taught myself to play along with their records.
I didn’t really like my parents records when I was younger, except for the bands I’ve mentioned, so I listened to my own stuff from quite young….. The Ramones, The Clash, early U2, Queen, Bob Marley, The Cure…. And some uncool stuff you don’t need to know about, ha ha.

++ Had you been in other bands aside from Triple Blind? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

I think Triple Blind was my second band, the first was a school based one called Dream Of A Tree. I don’t think there are any recordings thank god, but it’s through that band that I got in with Triple Blind. I joined another band while I was playing with Triple Blind called Blossom. I play the saxophone and couldn’t fit it in with the Blind so got my kicks elsewhere. Blossom were a great band, I loved it, heavily influenced by Cardiacs and The Stupids. There is some live stuff on Youtube and I was around in the earlier recordings.

++ Where were you from originally?

High Wycombe born and bred, my parents made the short move from London just before I was born.

++ How was High Wycombe at the time of Triple Blind? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Wycombe was a fairly typical suburban town, just 25 miles from London so lots of commuters. It was very diverse culturally which was to Wycombe’s benefit, a melting pot of different races and religions. It had its rough areas and social issues at times, but it’s surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Just before Triple Blind formed and largely throughout the time we were together, Wycombe had an extra-ordinary live music scene. There were several bands locally who were an inspiration to us, the punk attitude of “anyone can do this” carried on for several years. I used to watch local bands every week and had seen loads of gigs before going to see the bigger more established bands in London. Particular favourites were Thee Hypnotics, Egon & the Worms, Sub Sound Thrash and Chainsaw Enema.
The best record shop was an independent store called Scorpion Records, run by Geoff and Steg, then joined by Cheryl. Scorpion had the biggest influence on me musically, I’m sure it did for others. It was a treasure trove of second hand and later on new independent records. They always championed the local bands, would sell your demo tapes if you asked them. Venue wise we had Pontons which became Heroes & Zeroes, The Nags Head which has a history of famous bands from the 60’s onwards, then later on the White Horse became the place to play. There were other pubs but these three were the main ones for music.

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

We met at local gigs, Iain & I met at Wycombe College when we were 16/17 years old, he had started playing bass in Triple Blind and asked if I wanted to join as a saxophone player. I did a few gigs with them but the set was mostly cover versions, pub rock type stuff so I left. A couple of other people left soon after and just Neil (drums), Iain (bass) and Birdie (guitar) were left. They wanted a singer and to change the direction of the band by writing original songs. They invited me to try out for them, I think we had one rehearsal where were wrote 3 songs, then my “trial” which was a gig at Heroes & Zeroes. After the gig the three of them asked me to join and that’s how it was for the next 5 or so years.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

I used to write the lyrics, the music I usually based around a riff that Birdie came up with. Then we’d all structure the song in rehearsal. We rehearsed in a few places, the back room of pubs, I think we rehearsed in a church hall for a while, then found a proper space at an industrial unit in Wycombe. It was by the Wycombe Wanderers football ground, so we would rehearse on Saturday mornings and go to the football match in the afternoon.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

I wish I could come up with an interesting & elaborate story about this, but the band name was in place before I joined. Iain once told me that he went in to a book shop in Wycombe (WH Smiths), randomly picked up a book, opened it at a random page and the title Triple Blind jumped out at him. I think it was a book about aeroplanes ….. pretty deep stuff.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

There were a couple of bands who we all liked and we each had our own favourites too. The bands who influenced us the most initially were The Cure, The Cult and The Alarm…. Then the Stone Roses happened! I remember driving back home together after recording our first demo tape, we were buzzing having just listened to it in the car. When the demo ended we turned the radio on and “She Bangs The Drums” came on…. We looked at each other and went “Ohhhh Fuck!”

++ As far as I know you didn’t release any records, is that right? How come? Was there any interest from labels at the time?

You’re right Roque, we didn’t release any records, I don’t think we were ever in the right place at the right time. We used to send our demos to record labels and were often told that an A&R person would be there, but none of them ever were. To be honest I don’t think we were good enough to be signed by a major label and the indie labels weren’t interested either. I do think that on our day, if the right person had been at one of our “good” gigs, it would have happened. Because when we were on it, we were on FIRE! We were always more of a live band than a studio band.

++ But you did make some demo tapes, right? I know at least of three songs, “Stoke”, “Bus Shelter Boy” and “Take Me Back”. Were they all in the same demo tape? Were there any other recordings by the band?

We made three demo tapes. Waste of Tape in 1989, 3 tracks – One Way Love, Locked Out & Waste of Time. The second demo tape was called Stories in 1991, 5 Tracks – Home, Story, Listen, Seven Day Domination and Spin My World. And third tape in 1993, the one you must have heard, Stoke ep, three tracks – Stoke, Bus Shelter Boy and Take Me Back. We did some other recordings around 1995, before we broke up but they never got put out. No one seems to have a copy of them either, although I just found a blank DAT tape in the loft….. maybe they’re on there!! The lost demos! Wish I had a DAT player!

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Stoke”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Thank you, nice to hear you have a favourite song. It’s just a love song really, and about getting all consumed with love for someone for the first time. Not knowing if this was how being in love felt, whether it was healthy or not. It was based on my experience and also my sister’s, she thought she was in love for the first time and this person lived in Stoke.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Triple Blind song, which one would that be and why?

It’s something that changes, depending on mood, circumstances, memories. “Bus Shelter Boy” I like, especially the ending which we nicked from the Buzzcocks. We had a song called “Dragonfly” that was pretty cool, it was one of the last songs we wrote and we recorded it but it must be on the lost demo tape. A song called “When You Die” was also recorded at the time, that was a cheerful little ditty.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Yes we did, we played many. If anyone ever questions whether we served our apprenticeship as musicians, we certainly did. Many nights sleeping in the back of vans, on people’s floors or pub benches.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

The gigs we played in the north of England were my favourite. We did a tour supporting Thousand Yard Stare and all those dates were in the north and were great. We had been playing lots of gigs in London, where if you weren’t in the NME or Melody Maker people didn’t bother watching or paying any attention. Too cool for school attitude. When we played up north the crowd went mad for it, they didn’t care who you were, what press you’d been in, if they liked your music they went for it.
Just after the tour I was at a big outdoor gig in Finsbury Park, The Cure were headlining. I was stood around with my mates and saw a couple of girls walking our way wearing Triple Blind T-shirts! I thought I’d hit the big time, my mates would think I was so cool getting recognised. They were good looking girls, I remembered selling them the tee-shirts at a recent gig. So I tried to look cool, put myself in their way and tried to make eye contact….. they glanced at me and walked on by without a hint of interest…. Didn’t have a clue who I was.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Not too many luckily, one in London where only our girlfriends turned up. Some early gigs in Wycombe where fights broke out, people throwing drink glasses at us…. But it was a rite of passage, I guess.

++ When and why did Triple Blind stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

I left the band in 1995, to go traveling round the world and as far as I know they didn’t do any more gigs. I kept writing songs, did a few little projects but wasn’t involved with any bands until 5 years ago when I joined Dubious Roots.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Neil and Birdie joined forces with the remnants of another Wycombe band and formed Subrosa/Subrosa 5. They were good and kicked around for quite a few years. Iain had a spell with Wycombe punk band The Xtraverts when they reformed.

++ Has there been any Triple Blind reunions?

Yes, just one on the back of the release of Small Town Glory LP we got asked to re-join our old friends Thousand Yard Stare and do a gig at the 100 Club in London. That was in June 2016.

++ Was there any interest from radio?

No

++ What about TV? I read you played in an episode of Eastenders. How was that experience? How did it happen?

We made a very brief appearance in November 1992 on Eastenders. The characters Michelle and Sharon went to see a band at Michelle’s uni and we were the band. I think we has about 6 seconds screen time then while our song played in the background of a scene the actors proceeded to slag us off. Twenty two million viewers watched as we got slated, a very public execution. I was told the script was written before we were chosen to appear, but who knows. It was a fun day, in real life the actors liked us and even came to see us at a real gig afterwards…. Only once though.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Local press was usually complimentary. They would review our gigs and demo tapes. I don’t think we ever got any national press.

++ What about from fanzines?

Funnily enough Neil and I used to write and produce a fanzine with another Wycombe band, Sub Sound, but it was a football fanzine, for Wycombe Wanderers. As it was written by mostly musicians there was a bit of a music theme in there now and then, but we never used it to promote our bands. I remember there was a Wycombe based music fanzine that did a couple of issues, they said I looked like Morrissey and Howard Jones. It was meant as an insult but I was quite flattered.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

The dates with Thousand Yard Stare on tour, we played at venues in towns we’d never been to before, the audiences were awesome. TYS were a great band to hang around with, they looked out for us, gave us food and petrol money. I used to sleep on their tour bus in a spare bunk, you’ll have to ask Neil, Ian & Birdie where they slept, I doubt they can remember. We ended up in a police station at the last gig, well Neil and I did….. heady days.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I like surfing and skateboarding. I’m getting a bit old now and have got myself a Stand Up Paddle Board, much easier to paddle in to the waves on. Also I like making short films, music videos mainly.

++ I’ve never been to High Wycombe, so I will take advantage ask a local for some recommendations! What are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

I haven’t lived there for many years now and only really go back to watch the odd Wycombe Wanderers match. The town centre has changed a lot, none of the music venues are there anymore. The best thing about Wycombe though was the people, I do miss my old pals. Wycombe has always had good curry restaurants and they are still open. My pick of the bunch are Mr India, Chutney and Bombay Palace.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Yes, its been so good looking back on the Triple Blind days, I can honestly say that my time with the band were the best days of my life! PLUS….there could be another reunion gig in the offing at the end of 2021. There’s a 90’s, indie, music festival in the planning, in Wycombe and we have been invited to play. I can’t give out any more details because it hasn’t been announced yet (it has been confirmed though). There are some big old bands from back in the day playing. I’ve reactivated the Triple Blind Facebook page. Check that out for further details. We’re not done yet!

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Listen
Triple Blind – Stoke

Thanks so much to Henrik Edberg for the interview! I wrote about Saliva some time ago on the blog and last week I heard from Henrik and he was up for an interview! And luckily he was also quick replying all my questions! Saliva released just one EP back in the 90s on Dorian Records, the label of the great Roger Gunnarsson. If you haven’t heard them yet, or heard about them yet, this is a nice way to discover this fine 90s Gothenburg band!

++ Hi Henrik! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Are you still involved with music?

Hi! Thank you for your interest! I’m fine, thanks. I never thought I’d be interviewed about a band that broke up 25 years ago. I still play guitar almost daily and I have lots of songs, but I’m not involved with any band unfortunately. I am currently working on music for a one man project called Quaadillac. I would describe the music as a cross between Screamadelica-era Primal Scream and 1970’s jazzfunk.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

My first musical memories are listening to my father’s records in the living room when I was a child. He had quite a record collection. Lots of American and British vinyl singles and LP:s from the Sixties. I particularly remember listening to Del Shannon. I loved his big hit Runaway, but I was even more fond of his songs Hats Off To Larry and Keep Searchin’. A few years later, when I was about seven or eight I got into KISS (this was about 1982). I saw KISS on their first tour without make-up in 1983, when I was nine. That made a huge impact on me. I knew then I wanted to play guitar and be in a band.

My first instrument was a used Hagström Corvette electric guitar from the 60’s, which I got for Christmas or possibly my birthday when I was about 11 or 12 years old. It was almost unplayable. But I took guitar lessons and learned songs by Black Sabbath and AC/DC in a cellar beneath a nearby school. In the early 90’s I took jazz-guitar lessons with Fredrik Berggren and Patrik Landgren who were also in Saliva, which had a great influence on our style and our songwriting.

++ Had you been in other bands aside from Saliva? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Yes, the first ”real” band I was in was called Jelly Roll in the late 80’s. We played 80’s style hard rock, I guess. At least initially. There might be some demo about somewhere, but not in my possession sadly… or perhaps luckily.

++ Where were you from originally?

I’m from Torslanda, a suburb of Gothenburg. All the members of Saliva were from Torslanda, except for our bass players (first Pekka Häkkinen, then later Erik Norinder) who were from other parts of Gothenburg.

++ How was Gothenburg at the time of Saliva? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

There were some great record stores in Gothenburg for sure, with lots of import albums and lots of different genres. In that aspect we were really lucky living in Gothenburg. The venues for up and coming bands on the other hand were not that many. Underground, Magasinet and Kåren were the main three venues and quite hard to get to play for local bands. Then there was a place called Valvet that was a bit easier to get to play but very scruffy. It seems to me now that the likelihood of a fight breaking out was constantly imminent at Valvet.

There were some good bands and some bands and artists that made it big. Me and Erik Norinder (bassist) went to school with Henrik Berggren and Håkan Hellström in Broder Daniel. Håkan went on to become Sweden’s biggest and most popular artist. Which feels a bit strange to me and at the same time totally unsurprising. He had quite a unique talent. He is probably the most gifted musician I ever encountered. Believe it or not – this is actually a controversial opinion in Sweden. We’re a horribly jealous people. *laughs*

++ How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The band that was Jelly Roll, but we were probably named something else by then, gradually turned into Saliva. The first version of Saliva had me, Erik Jacobsson (vocals) and Per Strömberg (drums) and added a friend named Fredrik Berggren (guitar) to it. Fredrik brought in his friend from school – Pekka Häkkinen. We still played some sort of rock music, I guess. It was a bit more experimental than the Jelly Roll stuff. We had begun developing a taste for jazz music and Frank Zappa, but also alternative bands like Jane’s Addiction and Mr. Bungle. This was probably around 1992.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

I wrote most of the lyrics for the band from early on. In the later days me and singer Patrik Landgren worked on songs separately for the most part, even though Fredrik Berggren and Erik Norinder also brought in song ideas occasionally. But all the songs were very much finished by the group collectively. We rehearsed in Torslanda on what used to be an old airport. We were kicked out of our first rehearsal room by the members of a horrible old bluesrock band who lied to the owners and said that we got drunk there regularly which was totally untrue. The old guys wanted the rehearsal room for themselves. Fortunately Patrik and Fredrik had kind of a small barrack close-by which they had made into a rehearsal space for their previous band. So we moved there.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

I saw some graffiti at a bus stop which said Saliv (which is the Swedish word for Saliva) and I thought it would be a good band name. The idea being that it’s intimate and a bit sexy, but also kind of disgusting! I still think it’s an okay name even though lots of people back then misspelled and mispronounced it as Salvia, which is the Swedish word for the herb sage. In 1998, two years after we split up, I saw a poster of another band called Saliva outside a venue in Memphis, when I was there on vacation. They became quite famous for a little while. They played some kind of Nu Metal… not my thing at all. We’re the Original Saliva.

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

We had too many different influences. That was always part of the problem. The jazz influence always stayed in the music but we shifted from rock band to a more poppy sound in 1994, partly because I discovered The Smiths and Morrissey and became obsessed with them. This also coincided with britpop becoming popular in Sweden. Suede was probably our biggest influence out of the britpop bands. We were also listening to a lot of 70’s Bowie and 60’s music like Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers which you can hear in Patrik’s vocal style on the EP.

++ You only released one record, the “Hooligan at Heart” EP in 1996. I was wondering if before that perhaps you had made recordings? demo tapes?

There is the A Chance To Shine-compilation with one song (Tender Castration) which predates the EP and the Rockslaget compilation that has two songs on it. We made a couple of cassette demos that had several songs on them. In Between Smiles was a great song. There was another one called Lovely, Lovely which we later re-wrote for what was to be our last gig… I haven’t listened to those songs in years. Oh, and there’s a song called Making Annie Glad… And Swell and If I Only Knew (What I Know Now)..

++ The “Hooligan at Heart” EP came out on the fine Dorian Records. How did they hear about Saliva? How was the relationship with the label?

Our bassist Erik did his military service in Halmstad with Roger Gunnarsson (who started Dorian Records). Roger was heavily into britpop so I guess he approved of our music taking a poppier turn. Roger was a really enthusiastic guy. I have nothing but fond memories of him. Our EP was the first on Dorian and then we split up so we didn’t have much of a relationship after that. I did run into Roger in 2003 or 2004 when I lived in Stockholm. He was as affable as ever.

++ And speaking of labels, were there any other labels interested in putting your music out?

We sent out several demos to record labels in Sweden, the UK and probably the US too. We got some polite rejection letters and some not so nice rejection letters. So, no, unfortunately not.

++ The EP has a few photos, one on the front and another on the back of the sleeve. I was wondering who is on the photos? Is it one of you? Someone you know?

The man on the cover is Patrik’s father, Guy. If my memory serves me right the photo was taken on his honeymoon in Italy back in the 60’s. There’s another picture of him from the same vacation laying in a sun chair on the back of the sleeve. The photo of the huge boat engine was ”borrowed” from some book about the shipbuilding industry in Gothenburg.

++ How was working at studio Lare? Was it your first time at a professional recording studio?

We recorded several demo sessions at Studio Lane. For me personally as early as the Jelly Roll days in 1989. We were quite used to recording in that studio. I always felt terribly claustrofobic at Studio Lane. It was really small and situated in the cellar below the famous rock club Errols (later Magasinet) in the central part of Gothenburg. The air was stale down there and it smelled of garbage and exhaust fumes from a close by car garage. I was much more scared of being trapped down there and never seeing the light of day again than the actual recording process.

++ The third song on the EP is titled “Polyester Convention, (Des Moines)”.  I just have to ask it even if silly, have you ever visited Des Moines?

No, I haven’t. But there was an actual polyester convention in Des Moines. At least according to a news segment on ZTV (which was kind of the Swedish MTV). I remember that I saw the footage and thought that it would make a good title, since the song is about people I perceived as fake or phony. Where would fake people gather? At a polyester convention, of course. The comma in the title is a misprint by the way. But we had commas in most of our titles so it was an honest mistake.

++ And there was yet another compilation called “Rockslaget 1994” where your two rockiest songs “Twinsoul Lulu” and “Coming Home Being Good”. I noticed that this compilation featured more hard rock bands. Was this a natural evolution for the sound of the band, towards a harder sound?

That was earlier. Hooligan At Heart was recorded in the autumn of 1995 and released in January 1996.

++ Are there still many unreleased songs by Saliva?

There was one additional song that we left off the EP called Silicon Teens. I haven’t heard that one in years either. There was the new version of Lovely, Lovely (only the title was the same as an earlier demo song) and a song called Man in Uniform and possibly a late song called Young Women. But there are probably a few more from earlier on.

++ And how come there were no more releases by the band?

We split up a few months after the release of Hooligan At Heart. First our singer left to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer, then the drummer left as well. I guess it was down to musical differences. Me, Erik and Fredrik tried to audition new members, but Patrik’s distinctive voice was really hard to replace. We couldn’t find a new singer that fit, we tried a young female singer who really wanted to be in the band but she was so shy that she wouldn’t sing into the microphone. Then we wanted Christer Lundberg, who was later in Universal Poplab to join, but he turned us down after one audition. We auditioned a few drummers as well, but nothing fell into place so we eventually gave up.

++ At some point I noticed that the band lineup changed too, right? What happened? Who left and who came to be part of the band?

Me and Fredrik were in the band the whole time. Our first singer was Erik Jacobsson (who sang for Jelly Roll) and drummer Per Strömberg (who was also in Jelly Roll). Pekka Häkkinen played bass for a brief period. Then Patrik Landgren (vocals) and Erik Norinder (bass) joined, which was kind of when the band got more ambitious. Later on, Tobias Mattsson replaced Per Strömberg on drums.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Turn Off the Engine, Dear”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

It was probably an attempt at writing something that I thought could be played on the radio. The song has a disco feel to it, which was in part inspired by the band Blondie but probably also Girls and Boys by Blur and to some extent Pulp. The lyrics are about someone trying to convince his girlfriend not to commit suicide. But it’s a bit too irony-laden in a 90’s sort of way to be heartfelt, I think.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Saliva song, which one would that be and why?

Probably “Whoever You Are, I’m Your Neighbour”. I think that song captures what we, or at least I, wanted to achieve musically at the time. I remember being really proud of that song listening back to it in the studio monitors.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Not too many. We played Underground and Magasinet which were the two premier indie clubs in Gothenburg at the time and a couple of other venues in the city, as well as a city festival. I don’t think we ever played live outside of Gothenburg, although there were talks of gigs in Halmstad, Malmö and Stockholm that never happened.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

In 1994 we performed in front of a few thousand people at Liseberg amusement park. We had reached the final in the band competition Rockslaget and performed two songs live on the biggest stage. It was brief, but the closest I got to feel like a real rock star. I don’t think it was our best performance, but it was by far the most memorable as the crowd was so large. Even though we didn’t win the competition it seemed we made an impression on at least parts of the audience as well. 

++ And were there any bad ones?

Early on we had a concert where only two or three people showed up, one of them was my then girlfriend. It was in a café. I do think we did go ahead and played even though we felt humiliated. Frail young male egos being tested. It was probably a good thing.

++ When and why did  Saliva stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We had one gig early in 1996 after the EP was released. We had a written a couple of songs after the EP but they were only played live once and we didn’t demo them before we broke up.

I was in a band called Housequake (before changing our name to Emission) a few years later. We had three female singers and played music inspired mainly by Phil Spector and the girlgroups of the 1960’s.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Fredrik Berggren was (or is, I’m not sure) in a band called The Elliots. They have released two albums to date – Bullet For Pretty Boy (2007) and Love/Decay (2011). Erik Norinder played with a shoegaze band called Shallow Soundwave (that are featured on the A Chance To Shine compilation) after Saliva split. Nowadays he’s making music on his own as St. Levene.  

++ Has there been any Saliva reunions?

No, not really.

++ Was there any interest from radio? TV?

A couple of our songs were played on national radio (P3) in Sweden in 1996 and we were interviewed by a college radio station that also played our songs.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

The local newspapers (Göteborgs-Posten and Göteborgs-Tidningen) wrote about us a few times. And we were featured in some fanzines, but we were hardly media darlings.

++ What about from fanzines?

A few fanzines, yes. I used to collect everything that was written about us, but I’ve not been able to find the collection of articles. Or the old demo tapes…

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Playing at Liseberg and recording and releasing Hooligan At Heart. But it was such a bitter ending soon after releasing the EP when everything broke down so quickly, which left me quite depressed for some time afterwards. What I miss nowadays is not that we never made it big, but rather going to rehearsal several times a week with my friends, making music together, being sort of a gang.   

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Music was always and will always be my number one hobby. Listening to music, reading about music, writing about music, visiting places of interest when it comes to music, going to gigs, going to record stores, buying physical albums, and to some extent playing guitar and writing songs. But I also like reading in general, I like watching football (soccer), I like craft beer, I like Larry David and I’m fascinated by American history, culture and politics.

++ I’ve been once to Gothenburg and I really enjoyed, still I will take advantage ask a local for some recommendations! What are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Or the traditional food or drinks that you love that I should try?

Oh. I’ve lived here for most of my life (except for a few years when I lived in Stockholm), but these are really tough questions. First of all you should visit Gothenburg in spring or summer time. Autumn and winter are a nightmare in all of Sweden, if you ask me. I’m not an outdoorsy type at all but I like strolling around the city when the weather’s nice. Nowadays there are lots of good restaurants and bars in lots of locations. I like the neighbourhood of Mariaplan in Majorna a lot. The craft beer scene in Gothenburg is also good, if you’re into that sort of thing. The best microbrewery in town being O/O Brewing.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Yes, our biggest fan was a friend called Björn Boman. He supported us from the beginning. Hung around at rehearsals and saw most of our shows. I’d like to give a shout out to him!

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Listen
Saliva – Turn Off the Engine, Dear

Thanks so much to Patrik, Johan, Carl-Johan and Benno for the interview! I wrote about Drums in Minor on the blog some time ago and it was great news that the band got in touch with me! This of course gave me the big opportunity to do this interview and find out more about this obscure -but superb sounding- Gothenburg band! Enjoy!

++ Hi Patrik, Johan, Carl-Johan and Benno!  Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? How have you been handling this pandemic? Tired of it as everyone I suppose?

Patrik: First of all we would like to thank you for writing about Drum In Minor and we are almost in chock that you found us! We would like to know how you found the song?

This situation that we are in is super boring and it feels like my whole world just stopped. No rehearsals, no touring, no gigs, no concerts, no pub visits and no friends for visit. For me, I have worked on new material for my band “Dun Ringill” so I am occupied.

++ It was really cool to get in touch, really liked what I heard from Drums in Minor. So let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?

Patrik: Growing up in the 70s listening to Elvis and then Sweet, Slade and Kiss gave me the wish to be able to make music and to maybe make a living out of it.

But the 2 artists that made me choose the bass was Lemmy, Motörhead (Coolest guy ever) and Geezer Butler, Black Sabbath (He showed me Penta scale and how to be swinging as a bass player).

Later Stuart Morrow of New Model Army formed and influenced my bass playing massively.

Benno: My first idols when I was around 13-14 were Sweet, Status Quo, Alice Cooper etc. A lot of glam-rock…and then came Thin Lizzy into my life. My first drum was a snare drum when I was around 13. I hit it hard in our storage room in the stairwell. I locked the door so no one could enter. The neighbors were not happy.

My mother showed an ad in the paper for a drum school at the local music store. I started there but was no fun cause only those who could already play a little got priority in the class. I stopped going there wasn’t fun anymore. I more or less quit drumming at that point.

Then punk music came along…everyone could and should play. My mother got me a drumkit when I was around 17. The music store was far away and my mother and me had to carry the whole kit on the bus home…we had to take two trips.

Carl-Johann: For me it started with learning to play the piano. But after discovering Kiss it was impossible not to play the guitar…because of Ace Frehely in Kiss. Best guitarist in the world ☺ But before Kiss it was as for many kids growing up in the seventies ABBA, Sweet, Slade, Kiss…but also lots of classical music and later hard progressive music King Crimson, Genesis, Yes and so on.

Johan: I come from a sort of ”music family” on my fathers side. My grandfather was a multi instrumentalist in Jazz music and his father was a priest and ”local herbalist” who had a local ”Big band” in Dalarna, Sweden during the end of the 1800’s.

I have some really nice photos from this era up until the 60’s with them playing all kinds of instruments.

Myself, I started with piano and slowly moved towards guitar in my early teens.

I learned the basics of music theory and simple scales very early on.

It all started when got a small cassette recorder from my grandfather. He had just been to Germany to buy new jazz records and new music gear, so he brought this Cassette Recorder with him, along with some tapes he did not like too much, so he showed me how to make my own recordings ”re-using” these cassettes.

Among these tapes were fantastic 60’s pop bands and a strange ”Liberty Label cassette” titled Deutsche Progressive Rock. This was probably where it all started for me. This is early 70’s.

++ Had you been in other bands before Drums in Minor? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?

Patrik: I played in some bands before but nothing to talk about and I am so happy that there is no recordings from that era. D.I.M was my first major try to make a living out of music (I still don´t make money out of music after 40 years and 12 albums).

Benno: My first band was called Antabuz. We had our rehearsal room in a shelter. This band only excisted for a couple of years with only a few gigs. After that it was a band called Interrail. We had an awesome guitarist. His way of playing made me change my way of drumming into a more heavy and dynamic way.

After Interrail I was in a band called Bellair. We won a rock band competition and got the opportunity to record a demo in a professional studio, Bohus Studio were many famous bands like Status Quo have recorded.

After Bellair there was a band called Curtain Call. We got a lot of credit cause our live performances. Some famous faces in that band with members from both Stonefunkers and Union Carbide. We also made a demo with 13 songs…think I still have it.

There have been many different styles of music over the years. That made it easy for me to play most things in music. Drums In Minor later Simpkins was my last band that I played music with my own material. After that it’s been mostly cover bands at weddings and parties.

Carl-Johan: I played in some bands before D. I. M. Great variety of styles. Lots of progressive music with long songs and strange beats. But the band right before Drums In Minor was a AC/DC cover band called Chain Gang.

++ Where were you from originally?

Patrik: I am from a small village called Larv, with a population of maybe 500 persons, so imagine me walking around there 16 years old looking like Robert Smith, ha ha….

It was then a natural step for me to move to Gothenburg -88, the music scene there was superb at that time.

Benno: Born in Gothenburg 1963

Carl-Johan: I’m from Gothenburg but actually born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but that is another story ☺

Johan: I was born in Gothenburg

++ How was Gothenburg at the time of Drums in Minor? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Patrik: Yes, Whipped Cream, friends of ours, was a great band and an inspiration. Jörgen Cremonese, gutar and vovals, produced the first album with Simpkins (The name of the band after D.I.M). Blue for two, Cortex, Sonic Walters, Easy, Sator…. Just to name a few of all the good bands from Gothenburg at that time.

The best record store was in my opinion Pet Sounds! Specialised in Alternative music and where you could find albums with bands like Neon Judgement, New Model Army etc.

Another great record store was Skivhugget, where Johan used to work, a bigger and nice environment to find new music at.

Carl-Johan: We were all well around in different constellations in Gothenburg’s music world. And there were some that you looked up to…who had succeeded. But as always when you do something…in the end you get to know most of them and even play with many of them.

Sator, Stonefunkers, Union Carbide and Whipped Cream just to mention a few…those guys had at least a record deal. And think we got to be know and play with some of them.

Three record stores that mattered…where the cool kids bought their records Bengans, Skivhugget and Pet Sounds as I remember.

It was actually hard to get gigs at that time. For unknown bands at least. We often ended up in obscure clubs that may have only existed for a short time. But we got a few gigs at established venues and drew a lot of audiences. So the rumor went well that we were worth checking out.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

Johan: I pinned a ”looking for musicians for a new band” at the local Music store in december 1986. I did have synth-band projects earlier during highschool (”Hybrizine”, ”Statement”), but I was interested in trying out more guitar based rock/pop-oriented music, and also to meet new musicians who actually could play. I received a few answers and Patrik (who turned out to be great bass player and a friend of my elder brother) plus a singer/keyboardist named Jerker met up with Benno and me for our first jam in february 1987. I had never rehearsed with a good drummer before this occasion, so I thought straight away this may become something solid to build on.

We auditioned 3 guitarists during the first spring months and made some simple recordings, but it did not sound quite right and Jerker left after a few rehearsals. Patrik, Benno and I took the decision to skip keyboards completely and instead find a good guitarist or guitarist/singer and focus on a 4 piece band with 2 guitars.

I called my childhood friend Carleboo from ”The Chain Gang”, and it turned out their band had just quit.

With Carleboo we started to sound ok straight away. The only problem now was we did not have a good singer, so me and Benno started to share this task, and with Carl-Johan being a great guitarist, I could focus more and more on the vocal part.

Carl-Johan: Speaking for myself I had just quit the AC/DC cover band and didn’t play with anyone. I worked with Johan’s big brother and ask him if he knew what Johan was up to. We know each other from school and I knew Johan was a talented musician. So heard a rumor he was up to something interesting.

So Johan was kind enough to introduce me to Patrik and Benno and another. We jammed together and for me…and I loved it. Think we clicked right away.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

Johan: On some few occasions a song was presented with chords and melodies, but usually someone had an idea we started jamming on. The songwriting-process often happened during rehearsals and on many occasions lyrics was not written down. This meant we often had to come up with words just before recording.

Carl-Johan: Was a really nice process when we created music, I think. Often someone had an idea, a riff or a melody loop…so we jammed up something fun from that. Although Johan had many good songs in his head.

In the beginning we rehearsed in a shelter were Benno lived. Was built to protect the residents of that residential area if there was a war and bombs would fall.

It smelled like mould and the air ran out pretty quickly. Then you had to go and crank on a large crank so that some new air could come in. But we could play as loud as we wanted…no one would hear us scream ☺ So if we die soon…it’s because of all the time we spent in that mold infested shelter ☺

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?

Johan: I don’t remember really. I think we thought it sounded good and one of the musical visions from the beginning was to make it all sound ”organic” at least in contrast to the electronic music I had done before.

I remember also being quite fond of weird names of some 60’s psych bands.

Carl-Johan: To be honest…I don’t know ☺

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

Johan: So many! At the time it was The Chameleons, The Sound, Wire, Echo & the Bunnymen, Killing Joke, XTC & Dukes, Psychedelic Furs, House of love, Stranglers and so on.. When I was younger also Krautrock bands like Neu! & Can influenced my musical thinking early on.

Carl-Johan: We are four very different people when you think about it. Therefore, the influences varied very much. That’s probably why it was so much fun, I think. But of course we had common music we liked…we simply liked good music. Didn’t really matter what music it was.

++ One thing I am always impressed by is the amount of quality Swedish indiepop bands through the years. Why do you think your country is always producing so many good bands? And if you were to name a few favourites, who would they be?

Johan: Some Gothenburg favorites were: ViVA!, Twice A Man, Kai Martin & Stick & Camouflage. Also Thirteen Moons from Stockholm and Garbochock from Malmö were great bands. These were not Indiepop bands though.

I do not think there were any(?) when we started. Patrik probably knows..

Carl-Johan: Speaking for myself I’d say the classic answer, the municipal music schools all over our country. But I wasn’t that hard into indiepop myself. But lots of great bands in Gothenburg.

++ As far as I know you only released one 7″ record. It came out on Reazone to Release Records. I had never heard of this label before and was wondering if you could tell me any details about it? And of course, how did you end up signing with them?

Johan: One of my earlier bandmates (Mats Blysing) was into sort of ”MUTE type” – Synth Music. He was signed to Reazone in 1987 when this label started.

Reazone was a Gothenburg based record store with a focus on alternative, electronic and industrial genres of music plus anarchist literature.

In 1987-88 they asked us if we wanted to press any vinyl, since they had good deals with a European vinyl pressing plant.

We thought this could be fun and gave them the pressing cost money for a single and a full length LP.

It turned out Reazone had fallen behind in rents and bills, so our single was not pressed until over 2 years later and the full-length was never released as Reazone went bankrupt in 1990.

Carl-Johan: I think Johan has the best answer for that ☺

++ This 7″ was recorded at RRL Studios. Was this your first time in a professional studio? And how was that experience? How long did it take to record the songs?

Johan: RRL studios started as a collective of musicians from my childhood area

who had equipment like multitrack Reel to Reel Machines, mixing consoles, Tape echoes, mics etc. We started borrowing stuff from each other when we were to make recordings. This was during high school and up until 1987-88.

It turned out Benno also had equipment, so I contacted my old friends and in combination with Benno’s equipment we managed to arrange a pretty good recording situation.

The Single was mixed by the band on Bennos mixing console and the unreleased full length LP was later mixed in Urania. This was a reputable studio in down town Gothenburg where Twice a Man had made recordings and later Easy were to make their studio recording debut. This was actually the first time for me working in a fully equipped studio.

Carl-Johan: For me it was not the first time. Done some recording in professional studios before that. Can’t remember the amount of time we put in on that LP.

++ Tell me about the photo on the cover of the record, I see some grapes and a stone I think? What was it about? And who took the picture?

Carl-Johan: Benno took the picture…just think he thought it was a nice picture. Not sure ☺

++ I read that an album worth of songs were recorded later on but this album never got released. What happened?

Johan: The unreleased album was recorded throughout summer 1988, and as mentioned earlier. Reazone went bankrupt.

Carl-Johan: I guess money issues as usual. Think the record company went broke before the released.

++ How many songs had been recorded for the album? Did the album had a name already?

Johan: We had recorded 12 songs. I believe 10 were to be included on the album.

Carl-Johan: I remember a name but not sure I’m right; Great Scenery?

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “You Would be Sorry”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Johan: It was the first pop-style song idea I had. I was into Killing Joke at the time and had just discovered that The Smiths were actually great. This was during my school days around 1984-85. The guitar-picking style was originally meant to sound a bit like Geordies guitars and the vocals in line with Morrissey or Lloyd Cole. Since I was neither a singer at that time nor a good guitarist, I was never able to make any decent presentation of it.

When Patrik, Carleboo and Benno heard it, the whole song was rearranged and realized. The first recording of it is the one on the vinyl single.

We made more recordings of it, with different sound and lyrics, and I think all should be released in one way or another

Carl-Johan: It’s a very catchy tune but don’t know the story behind it. Think Johan can explain better.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Drums in Minor song, which one would that be and why?

Johan: Maybe ”Drowning in the Pool of life”. It was originally a song idea from Patrik in 1988, and I remember us really enjoying the parts where major chords tangle up with the minor scale bass lines.

I remember being into Echo and the Bunnymen at the time. It brings up great memories.

It was also a great moment when it was played on the radio show ”Bommen” in 1989.

Carl-Johan: As for Drums In Minor I’d say “You would be sorry” But then for Simpkins…loads of great songs ☺

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

Patrik: If we include Simpkins we maybe did about 100  gigs and a small tour in the northern parts of Sweden.

Think we did about a hundred gigs in all. Not sure but we played a lot in times. Some timeas as opening act and sometimes by ourselves. Think there was a tour in north Sweden and lots of gigs in Stockholm.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

Carl-Johan: In the beginning we got some offers to play “at the door” at some bigger clubs. They would only pay if there were people coming. First time at a club called “Magasinet” we filled the place. They wasn’t so happy having to pay us big that night. That happened a few times until they realized it wasn’t a good deal to do with our band ☺

As many bands we’ve had our share of “Spinal Tap moments” Benno and Johan getting stuck with all our gear  in an old elevator just before a gig. Some strange bookings…we showed up for a TV talent show for example. In the makeup room they were wondering why we were there…cause there was a big article in the paper about us the same day.

But we took every chance to play and it made that you could end up in very strange situations sometimes.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Patrik: The worst must have been in a town called Sundsvall, the promoter had forgotten to promote the gig so 0 people turned up… But we played in front of the Promoter and some staff. Ha ha Crazy memory.

Some gigs were alcohol was involved…they are usually bad…but funny sometimes ☺  We usually manage to do a good performance. But there’s a rumor about a recording from a small town in Sweden where we played…very intoxicated. Johan usually said something between songs. But this time no one understood a word he said ☺

++ When and why did Drums in Minor stop making music?  You mainly changed names to Simpkins, right? Is that what happened?

Johan: The reason was probably we felt we had made lots of strange gigs under that name and the unreleased album felt outdated. I remember us sitting in a tour-van 1989 discussing how to proceed. We wanted to take our music into a more rock-oriented territory and the band name did not really fit into this new concept. Carleboo had a copy of Canterbury Tales and simply put his finger into it; It landed on ”mr Simpkin”…

The name switch happened later while we were in Musicamatic studios Christmas 1990 until the first week of January 1991. We had hired Jörgen Cremonese from Whipped Cream and other Delights as a producer and had some more riff-based rock songs. ”The Miss Thingamagic – Coming Down For Me Sessions” This was the time of the switch towards a new direction.

Thus a new name. The 2” tapes and track-sheets were still marked as ”Drums in Minor” though.

Carl-Johan: True I think it was a way to get a new start. Same band but different name. Not sure it was a smart idea but we thought so at the time.

++ And in general, had all of you been in other bands afterwards? Which bands?

Johan: I started a short lived project together with Jonas Sonesson from Whipped Cream. We recorded some songs. Otherwise I mainly became a producer and studio musician. My wife and I started the band Tapefly in 1999 where also Carleboo joined for some recording sessions.

Carl-Johan: I’ve done some musical projects with friends. Mostly recordings but there has been band constellations and cover bands and all kind of things. But nothing as serious as Simpkins for me. Even some fun stuff with Johan.

++ Has there been any Drums in Minor reunions?

Patrik: We did a reunion as Simpkins a couple of years ago but we realized that we didn´t have the time to do it justice so we left it there.

Carl-Johan: We had a reunion to celebrate 25 years since first Simpkins album. But at that time we couldn’t get it to work cause of different things. But was great fun to play with the guys I say. It was as time had stood still.

++ Was there any interest from radio?

Patrik: There was a great Program called Bommen that played D.I.M and the host really loved us.

Carl-Johan: Yeah we had a big fan in a radio host who always played our songs. Think the name of the show was “Bommen”. We also went on some radio playlists when we released our first Simpkins album with the song Miss-Thing-a-Magic. And interviews and stuff.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

Johan: Not very much. It was then as it is now. Especially if you don’t play for the big labels or if you don’t sound like any Swedish hyped big label bands.

You had to get a ”green pass” from the tastemakers, even if these tastemakers were way out of date musically.

I remember us sitting in Urania Studios when Jörgen Sangsta, the studio owner told us a big label was very interested in signing us. For real!

Short after, we received some calls. (EMI ?)They wanted us to start singing in Swedish. It would probably have been a clever move and given us the much needed press. We never did however. All our references were in English, so the conversion felt very awkward.

Carl-Johan: They did…later on. Both in morning and evening papers and event magazines and things.

++ What about from fanzines?

Johan: Yes there were some fanzines, weren’t there? ”Arrg!” and some other local fanzines. Ultrahusets (?). I remember us getting good reviews in ”Nöjesguiden”and on the Radioshow ”Bommen”. The reviews in the bigger papers were always kind of lukewarm.

Carl-Johan: Not that I know of ☺

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

Johan: The last gig 1995. A fully packed classic place that burnt to the ground a few years later. Don’t remember the name now..

Carl-Johan: I think it was when we released our second album. Even though it was tough and we didn’t always get along. The quality of our work was good and we inspired the younger generation to do what would later be the famous “Gothenburg Sound”.

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

Johan: Gardening, plants, nature, birds and butterflies. I think butterflies are perhaps the most psychedelic living things in all creation. Some even have supernatural compounds in their chemistry. Research Telepathine….

I don’t eat them though. Only photography ☺

Carl-Johan: I’m a sport guy so a lot of that for me. Sailing, golf and tennis all the posh sports ☺

++ Been once to Gothenburg but would love to hear from a local. What are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Are there any food or drinks one should also try?

Carl-Johan: If you have the opportunity you should go out and visit the archipelago during summer. That’s just magical. And you should eat something Patrik cook. He’s now one of the best chef’s we have in this town.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Always fun with interviews and talk about old memories ☺

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Listen
Drums in Minor – You Would Be Sorry