One of our most wellknown bands outside Sweden isn´t ABBA, Ace of Base because it´s another band on A:  Anti Cimex. They maybe isn´t so wellknown for people outside the undergroundscene but many punks have this name written on their jackets and listens to their records. Charlie who was drumming as a maniac in the band is a nice guy and I took the chance to interview him sometimes in april-may and this is the interview.  

The I start to ask…how did you meet and when did you meet to start Anticimex if you say so and which people was it?

-Wow, We met for the first time 1979. But we didn´t start talking about it before 1980. Me, Jonsson, Jocke and Nillen. Everyone except me played in a Mariestadsband called Avfall. I was in their rehearsalroom and then it started. I played in a band in Skövde called Piller but it was the end of that band in that time I think. .

But then was groups like Discharge and that type of bands really new and you took this style at once?  

- Yeah, Discharge had only released the two first singles what I remember. And also Exploited have released their first one and Anti-Pasti. We started with the faster harder at once. It was their we were thinking of coming to. And then wasn´t faster harder in that time the same things as today....

No, actually you can get shocked when you listen to early Discharge today and notice that there is so much harder things today…But did you were named Anticimex from the beginning?  

- No, before we decided to be called AC so did we were named The Skit and De Missanpassade. But when we went to our first studiorecording so had Anticimex was around there and put out poison to kill rats around our rehearsal room/my little guesthouse. An yellow warningsign gave us the idea. I was carrying my drums when we decided to change name.  

But how is it spelled…do you spell it Anti-Cimex or Anticimex in one word?

- Yeah, it´s a good question...

In the beginning we spelled with – anyway…never as one word anyway because the original is spelled that way. Anti Cimex is the most used now…now I must check out the records. Two words!

!

But didn´t the company Anticmex compalin on your name?

-Many times. Every time we must tell them that we was an orchestra just to make them understand that we wasn´t any samestyled company. And he have been into their office and talked to them and they said that we could have the name before we took the name and then it wasn´t any problems at all.

Did you played a lot outside Sweden?

-Not so much. We went four times to Finland and one to England. Maybe 20 gigs.

But you have anyway become a cultband or what to call you out in the world, How does it feels to see the bands name on leatherjackets etc? Does it feels ridiculous or does it feels good that you have inspired people and bands?  

- Yeah, but don´t ask me how it become this way. We had around 50 persons on our gigs. It feels of course really good. Somewhere we did things right. But that we have inspired bands is the best thing. That you have put some traces in the musichistory. Haha.

You sang in swedish in the beginning? Why didn´t you continue with that?

- Because we didn´t think it sounded good and we wanted people to understand the lyrics everywhere. It wasn´t any documents we had precisely. It could have been that in swedish.

Did you ever do any songs?

- In the beginning we did the songs together, both music and lyrics. Often came Jocke with a riff and then we jammed it together to a song which I or Jonsson often had done a lyric to.. Later ít was not so much work together and people had lyrics which suited into our songs. But we jammed together the new songs all the time and often from the ground and beginning.

Your best song?

-Raped Ass....

LP –format didn´t suit AC or what do you think about your LP´s?  

- Nothing that I am ashamed for but it´s hard to do a fullength which 100% all the way. And that I think today too even if you try to find those 100%.  

Which is the most expensive record you have seen with AC on Tradera or Ebay? How much did it cost?

- A testpress on Raped Ass was sold for 5000. Have also got some bids on my for 7500. But I take that easy. But will it be so that I´m out of cash so maybe it is going to be sold!

But you have all your own records?

- Nope...I miss some we never got. And then there is records which I never have seen, bootlegs and shit.

It have been some bootlegs haven´t it?

- Millions. That people don´t be tired of them. Half the earths population must own one or another Cimex-record. But any royalties to be talking about haven´t it been. We´re surely thankful to bootleg I think....

You could have get one record of those….why did you quit?  

- We were really tired of the shit. Jonsson started to be having too much trouble with his drugabuse and it happened not so much for us. We wasn´t a cultband then, only a band among all other bands.

Reunion…have you done that? Or do you want to do it?

- NO!

We have got a lot of questions to do that but it wouldn´t go . Too much problem-children.

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Do you have any real scandalous gigs to tell us about?

-No, 80% of all originalgigs was scandals. Jonsson disappeared from the stage, I was falling from my drumchair. Conrad playing the wrong song, Jocke which did his solosongs simultaneously when we other was rocking.

What do the other members do today: Jean Louis Huhta, Bonta, Cliff, Conrad, Joker, Nillen, Robert, Jonsson, Sixten??

- Jean Louis lives in Stockholm and is still involved in the musicscene, primary the experimental. Bonta have his Asta Kask and Johnny Kask. Cliff have his Driller Killer, which right now have a break, but the live sin Malmoe and don´t do anything. Conrad is fighting with his demons and practising on his trumpet. Jocke is also living in Stockholm but what he does I don´t know..

Nillen live sin Gothenburg with children and family and seems to be some intellectual guy. Robert? Who the fuck is Robert? Jonsson is fighting with his lever and live sin Skövde and try to calm down. He have some sort of project which is maybe is going to be worth to write home about. Sixten is a tabletennis trainer in Gothenburg.  

Robert? Lefty?? Yeah he died in some sort of accident on his work 10 years ago.  

Is people asking about interview much today?

- Yeah, you did for example. It happens all the time. Now is the most of Cimex said ….but people don´t be tired of it.  

How did your parents react when you once became a punk?

- Haha, yeah I have been homeless three times. They weren´t happy but not judging. My dad and I have some controversies until I moved away from my home but otherwise it have been calm. They know that I´m a normal, hrm…yeah…human being.

What must a punk today do to chock their parents? All seems to have been done..

- Become a  brat! That did my son

How old is he now?

- 19 and metalhead...but I am not been provoked so easy..

What does punk mean to you?

- It means everything, it´s my lifetsyle.

What do you think about punk today ?

- It have become so fucking broad so it´s impossible to check out everything…but it lives for god´s sake!

Good bands right now?

- Aggrenation, Slaktattack and Fredagen den trettonde. Also Trubbel, Baboon Show and Slöa knivar is fresh winds.

And that´s only swedish bands. And except from two are they from Gothenburg.

Have you always been playing drums or do you have tried to play other instruments?  

- I was playing bass one gig in Cimex but it ended with a skinheadfight. At home I have begun to play 5-stringed banjo. It´s nice to sit in the sofa and do music....

Bands after Anticimex for you?
No bands right now?

- yes, Death Dealers together with people from Extreme Noise Terror and Raw Noise. Ipswich-based so it doesn´t become so many rehearses. And then I play with The Great German Re-Research...or do I do that? You´ll never know. And then I have some more projects, nameless, so we wait with them. ...

Have you done any records?

- Death Dealers debut-fullength did came out recently, Files of atrocity is the name Do you like hard punk so do you must buy that album.!

TGGRR:s debut-seven inch is around the corner and wait.  

I go around the corner and find it then…Where do you stand when we´re talking about mp3 and downloading?

- Download, it´s not the artists which is been robbed, it´s the record comapnys. But buy the things you like. Support the bands, they need it!

You told me that you´re away in the weeks..what do you work with?

- I´m working with glass. Builder with special interest on facades and glass. Then you must go where they build houses and they are often in Norway.And there we have the oilmoney too. ,

What was the best and what was the worst of being in a group like AC?
-the best thing is that we had a lot of fun when we played and that we have make some traces in the punkhistory. The worst is that no one liked us when we were playing and they waited until we had quit playing…  

I know that you like Frölunda in icehockey, but how is it with favourite team in Football..please say GAIS please…?  

-Football? Nooo, fuck of. I`m supproting Gothenburgteams. If I care about football at all. It´s SOOO boring. And swedish team are even more boring. I´d rather see the kids playing in the schoolyard than the proffessionals in the Swedish league. No, it must we world championship to get me interested.

Something to add?

-Njae, what will it be? Stay punk and take care! Think about that the flying birds to comes in fried in your mouth on you.