Inge Johansson

Tell us a bit about yourself first , age, family , interests etc etc ?

-Hi, my name is Inge . Time of writing, 36 years and I live in a commune in Oslo, which may be counted as a family in any way. My interests are quite few .

 

How did you get into punks enchanted world from scratch?

- A fairly natural transition from hard rock and metal. I started jamming hard rock around 1984 a little light in the Kiss and Twisted Sister . Then it got a little tougher with Iron Maiden and Metallica and later around the same time with the wave of Swedish Death Metal , but just before Nirvara so I came by chance into bands like The Exploited , Ebba Grön and Misfits . I became a punk in 1991. I remember when I heard the fall of 1991 The Clash song "London Calling" the first time in P3 a late Tuesday night. A giant strong memory still today actually . And somewhere , I realized I could never play or sing like Morbid Angel and Entombed or Metallica, although I liked the music.

 

You have been featured in groups like INC, Totalt Jävla Mörker,  Knugen Faller, now you are with the Stilett, Alozna Fas 3, Against Me among others .... how did you get into Against me anyway?

- I met Against Me! through a mutual friend when they were here for a few Scandianiviagigs 2012, and me and Laura kept in touch . When I later read that their bassist defected so I simply asked , half in jest and half seriously , if I could start playing with them. And we decided to give it a try, and then I was in the group.

 

Will there be a lot of focus on them now, how are you doing with rehearsals etc?

- Against Me! takes a lot of my time right now , which is fantastic , but given that we all live in different cities and continents , it becomes not as if we rehearse every Thursday right .

 

Will there be a lot of focus on the Laura Jane Grace when you plays when we think about  his / her sex change ?

-Laura is the band's front person , so I do not think it is so strange that it gets a lot of focus on her, and I was not in the band before the sex change so I can not say if it has changed since .

 

You live in Norway now , right? How is it ?

-Has lived in Norway for two and a half years now. I moved here because I needed to get away and do something new in life. The last few years in Umeå was nothing like shit . I thought it would be Oslo six months max , but life is a little easier here for me than it was in Sweden so I stayed .

 

Has it always been the bass for you, never any other instruments ?

- Played the guitar in Knugen Faller, hear so nice it sounds!

 

You're born in 1977 , it's a golden year for many who like punk, so you could say that you are born into punk ?

- Haha , well ... I was born into dance bands and Svensktoppmusic- I'm from the country , you know.

 

You wrote a lot of music to Knugen Faller, how has it been in the other bands you've been in , have you written music?

- In Totalt Jävla Mörker, I wrote a lot, and the same thing in TINC . I learned enough to write songs there, and then it got easier and with Knugen Faller . Contributed to a few songs on Alonzo Phase 3 plate too. I see myself not as a songwriter really . Not yet.

 

Tell us a bit about the band Cryssis ?

- Cryssis is the band I played with most recent years (before I joined Against Me! ) after TINC . Cryssis is an English / German power pop band , based in Dusseldorf. We certainly did 40 gigs per year in Germany. A really cool band to play with - well written popsongs , fucking good singer and so is the drummer Vom ( as otherwise drums in Die Toten Hosen ) an old dear friend of mine , and to play with him is an absolute privilege.

 

You've played a lot of different music really but everything has well nigh been related to punk , .... what kind of music is most fun to play (this was difficult for Inge to answer as we move swiftly on to the next question)

What style of music would you like to try ?

- Electronic music - thus the EBM direction, would be fat to have testing to do a bit more seriously .

 

Can you count all the groups you been in?

- As I have been a member of be it then , do not expect bands that I've been touring musician or played on records with : Stand Still , Total Jävla Mörker, The Female Anchor of Sade , The ( International) Noise Conspiracy , Knugen Faller , The Most, Cryssis , Alonzo fas 3 , Stilett and Against Me! Has made appearances with bands and artists such as Imperial State Electric , Franky Lee, Adiam Dymott and Canse De Ser Sexy .

 

Can you list all the discs you been on ?

-No, I really can not now! Haha !

 

Do you have all records you been on ?

- Not quite sure ! Secure all records, but not all editions of all discs.

 

When we're on the discs, how do you see on mp3, Spotify and all that ... is not physical discs it most fun anyway?

-Yes, my vinyl collection, I am  proud and happ over ity, and nothing beats the sound experience. Playing an LP is an interactive experience, and not just passively listened as it quickly goes to digital music on your computer. But I must admit that I love to have with me 6000 songs in your pocket and a good pair of headphones too. Especially with my lifestyle.

 

First, last and most expensive record you bought?

If we're talking vinyl:

First: Twisted Sister: Stay Hungry.

Latest: Big Audio Dynamite: No.10, Upping St..

Most expensive: Kriminella Gitarrer: Vårdad Klädsel

 

The record you would like to have on a tour and listen to on the bus?

-Kjell Höglund: Incognito

 

The record you bought for the cover and was so disappointed?

-Scorpions: Blackout

 

Which "dead" group would you like to see on stage and hear new music with?

-It feels like an ominous question at a time when ALL bands are alive! Thin Lizzy is on tour as of this writing, so I pass on this one.

 

Please rank your five favorite records, five favoriteconcerts you been to and the five most important things in life?

-Five favorite concerts (in no particular order)

Black Sabbath, Rosklide, Denmark 1998

The Cure, KROQ, Los Angeles 2003

Chumbawamba, Stockholm 1997

Einstürzende Neubauten, Vega, Copenhagen 2004

Kjell Höglund, Music Factory, Skelleftea .... was it 1991 or 1990?

 

Five important things in life:

music

friends

health

coffee

solidarity

 

Have you never "worked for real", have you only have been a musician all my life?

-I worked nine hours today. I have never lived on the music.

 

Do you think there is some great music in Sweden today?

-Plenty! But there is too much music almost, and too few places to play in and for some audiences. Swedes love festivals and when Bruce comes to Ullevi, but there are no rock club-culture or the opportunity to play around on the music societies anymore, as it did until the late 90s.

 

You have written a lot of music, is it more fun to write in English or Swedish?

-I can only write Swedish lyrics, in English, I would never be able to compete.

 

What is your writing about ,politics, love, or what you think is important to bring out?

-I do not think there can be too much politics in song lyrics, quite the opposite. BUT - it may be for some other stuff, and then fall even political flat.

 

Politics and music go together?

-Not necessarily!

 

Do you ever .... what the hell am I doing ... when will I become "normal"?

-Haha, yes .. at the same time over the years becoming more socially stigmatizing to be a punk - I'm alive after all may not really like most 36 year olds do - then it becomes almost more and more important to be punk the older I get.

 

What does punk mean to you, it's just a word or is it a lifestyle?

- For me, punk is an attitude to what I do with the music and my life. My "punk attitude " boils down to that I try to do good things with limited resources . I'm not the world's best bass player , not really , but I 'll fucking try to be there . I'm not the world's best songwriters, but when I write a song, I'll really try to make it as good as only I can . I'm no rock star , but when I stand on stage , I want to be there , to be like anybody else when I'm not on stage . It's punk for me.

 

What would you have been for a person without the punk do you think?

- If I ever been a person .... Hard to imagine , since punk came with an already established interest in music.

 

What do you think about elections in Sweden next time , do you think the Alliance(the right wing) can remain more ?

- Would not surprise me if they do it. Sorry . But one can hope that it turns around, and that if the opposition wins , I hope they actually dare to be social politically progressive . Can someone sell off hospitals , railways and pharmacies so can anyone actually buy them back , I think.

 

You will vote ? Is it a matter of course to vote or what do you think?

-I vote, of course I do. Although the options are fewer, although the parties have become more, you are a blank vote one way of saying that you think it is ok as it is, and those who fought for my general suffrage - that I would be allowed to vote, they deserve it returning the favor.

 

The future plans for each of your band? For yourself?

-Going on tour with Against Me! tomorrow, it's the closest.

 

Words of wisdom?

-Skip the first race in the day. Cut also the last race. Every day!

 

 

 

 

Inge själv

 

 

 


Against Me


Alonzo Fas 3


Knugen Faller

 

 

 


International Noise Conspiracy

 

 

 


Stilett

Lite länkar till Inges band

Stilett

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69wA1TKHAjc
http://open.spotify.com/artist/0XUnVZH89w9TtfZmaxnt6t

 
Cryssis

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHdyVQ_Auzg
http://open.spotify.com/artist/1ynsMGQqIHGpUd2BM6UNtp

 
Alonzo Fas 3

 
http://open.spotify.com/artist/6amxZFxzytUc3GVCsDHt0y

 
Against Me!

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1TyN3y36WA

 
The Most

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKlI_PLyRtE
http://open.spotify.com/artist/6I1GzqGPZfENBhdnAA1RI5