Erik Törnqvist was so kind that he answered my questions about his group The Agents in october 2000. 

History? 

-Ok, A very short history then. We started in the new year 97-98 and then it was as a sideproject to the punkband St Mary. Then was we only 5 in the band. But it went out good and was fun so we continued and we got some more members. After a while Agents took all our time so St Mary died a little. We won some competitions here and there and we got good reviews from papers and fans, Right now we´re a little low because many of us are out in the country and study and some of the members have quit. But we´re going to take us self together soon and get some new guys. So I can´t give you something dirty about every member this time.

Isn´t it a little hard work to be so many in a group ?

-It´s a little hard work to be 8 in a group because it´s many personalities which must be together and come in time to reherseals and things like that but the most of the time it´s very fun to be so many. We have very fun when we meet and do our reherseals and it´s always something funny which have happened we laugh at. The best thing is that so many people can do better things to the songs.

Do you have any groups on the side of Agents?

-The most in the band have bands on the side and it´s good I think because then you never lost the feeling of playing ska. We have so many different musictastes in the band which we like to play and then it´s very good that you have the chance to do that. I play in a streetpunkbband called Blisterhead.

You haven´t any labels and you give out Pitbull by yourself, wasn´t it any label which was interested? 

-We choosed to release Pitbull ourself because then could we do in excact the way we wanted to do that. But some labels have been interested like Mad Butcher from Germany, Bratville Records from Norway. Fakin Jamaican records from Norway and some other smaller labels. The latest whcih came out from us was a compilation from swedish Step aside Productions with ska bands from the whole world like  Duck Soup, Ciggares, Mark Foggo, Spitfire and so on.

Have you released something else except Pitbull? How can I get it if you have released something else?

-Pitbull is the first serious recording we have done. The first one came out 98 and it´s named Dave but we think it´s fucking bad and that we don´t sell anymore. We have put out a livedemo from the  Younomiafestival -98, but it sucks to.

You don´t mix your ska with any other styles, howcome?

-We don´t mix any other musicstyles in our music because we feel like it sounds best with only ska. we have sideprojects as we said and there you can play what the hell you want.

There is some skabands in Sweden,a ny favourites? Outside Sweden?

- I don´t listen so much on swedish ska because I don´t think it is so many good groups here, but Tic-Tox I like and Libereators first record is OK. I rather listen to  Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, Dr. Ring-Ding, Hepcat, The Pietasters and many more. And the 2-Tone bands is good they too.

When you do music, which is most important, the lyrics, the melody or a refrain that people can remember?

- The most important for us when we do a song is that we have a good swing, good meldoy and some good hornmelodies.

How do you do your songs?

- It´s so that one of us cames with an idea and then everybody helps out to make a song out of it.

What do you think about living in Sweden and Skövde? What do you do in Skövde a fridayevening?

- I think Sweden is a good country, but the dream is to live in London. A friday night in Skövde looks like this. I and my mates is meeting in the afternoon, we talks little shit and plays flipper or something like that. And then we go and buy som beer or wine and then we drink it at someone´s home and listen to some good records. When the evening is coming we go out to some pub to meet people. It´s the only thing we do when we don´t are on any gig or soemthing.

Is there any musiclife to talk about in Skövde?

- Musiclife in Skövde isn´t as I want it to be. Of course there´s some gigs sometimes but it isn´t anything to be proud of I think.

Is it many interview, is it boring??

- It´s never boring with interviews, it´s only fun if anybody wants to write about us. But some questions I have answered so many times it could be a little boring to answer them again.

Have you heard anything from any other country?

- We haven´t heard so much from outside sweden but there´s some labels which have contacted us. But we got an email from a radiochannel in Mexico which wanted to play us. They have heard us on a Mp3 site or something like that.

How is a good gig with Agents?

 - A good gig for us is a gig with a fucking swing from the beginning to the end. We don´t only play forthe audience because we play for ourself also and we think it´s fucking fun to play and we make the gig go aroudn so much as possible.

Do you know why it´s black and white on skarecords?

- I´m not really sure about this with black and white on skarecords. I think it was the label 2 Tone which started with it. It will show that balck and white are one, or something like that.

How does the average Agentsfan look like?

- The average Agents fan is a 17-19 year old girl who like to dance and it´s very much punks who are coming on ur shows.

Which other people want you to come on your concerts?

- It would be nice if some more boys could come and pogo. But otherwise we have a public which is all from Rudeboys and punks to disconerds.

It´s many documentsoapoperas on TV, why do you think and which do you want to be in if you could choose one?

-This thing with docusoapoperas is boring now, in the beginning it was fun when it was only a few, but now it´s too many. If I could be in one docusoappera I would choose Baren or Villa Medusa because I like to party a lot. In the other ones you must do many things and that would´t I wnna do and don´t have the will to do it.

Do you only like ska or is it many other musicstyles in your record collection?

- The most of my collection is punk and ska but I listen much to irish folkmusic and sometimes country. If we talk about punk I listen much to streetpunk and oi and if we talk about ska I like everything from jamaican 60´s ska to the newer bands but something I don´t like is the fucking skacore.

Idols when you were small?

- I have always been a big fan to Magnus Uggla, I think I have all his records.But my biggest idol isTim Armstrong in Rancid and I really look up to him. And Ramones have I listened very much to so they wil count also.

The first and the latest record you bought?

-The first record I bought I don´t remember but the latest was Bombshells Rocks new record.

Which is the question you never get but you want to have, please ask it and answer it?

- A question I never get is ”Pepsi  or Coca Cola?” and then I would shout out Pepsi for gods sake your fucking drugaddict!!!!!

You have an own website,, is it important you think, who does it?

- I think it´s important to have a website ,if it´s good and be updated often. Unfortunely isn´t our site so goodlooking as I wanted it to be. But I´m not so good in doing websites so we must have this one. It hasn´t been updated for a while but we have a break for a while so it´s nothing so much to write about right now. 

Do you have any favouritesite on the net?

- It´s many good sites on the net but there´s many shitsites too. One of my favouritesites is www.funplanet.com and there you can play many good games, best of all are Funolympics. An other good site is Ska Wars where you can read the most of what happening in swedish and foreign ska.

Do you read fanzines, do you have any to recommend on paper or on the net?

- I´m not a big zinereader ,it happens that I buy some on a gig or soemthing like that. Me and some mates have an own zine some years ago and it was called Pikkadåll and it was about sick humour and bad punk but we quit doing it after two issues.

Wisdomword?

-Wisdomword…..hm…hm….yeah, my mother once said to me ”It doesn´t matter how it tastes, it´s the spinning you want" that was a good thing.

Futureplans for you?

-My futureplans for the moment is to finish my education"how to find work" and to find work, fucking shit. Maybe moving to a bigger city than Skövde, I don´t really know.

Futureplans for the group?

- The groups futureplans is to play as long as people think it´s funny to play. But even if we´re putting Agents down are we going to play reunion gigs once in w hiel because it´s so fucking fun to play.

Something to add?

- I haven´t so much more to say but I must say that it´s fucking good that it exist fanzines like your which got the fire burning. Keep on the good work.