Hello Peter. My name is Micke Larsson and I'm the band's singer, and I'll answer the questions. This writes Micke who sings in E.A.T.E.R. this interview was done in May 2020

 

I interviewed you most recently in 2011, what has happened since last time? Many member changes?

-That has happened quite a lot since 2011. We actually closed the band in it´s then form in 2015. The band today consists of Mikael “Gröten” Karlsson and myself, as well as the new members Ludvig Kramenius on drums and Kalle Wejrum-Fielding on bass.

 

I think the new record is a fantastic thing and the sound makes me think of early crustpunk and that you should have all the cred for… what are you most satisfied with yourself on the new record?

-Thanks!  Fun that you like the disc. I'm probably most satisfied with the songmaterial itself. It's not that I'm dissatisfied with anything else. I have been with and produced the record and, like most musicians, I naturally listen very critically to my own recordings and mixes, and I can only say that you never get completely satisfied. But the songs are by far the best I've been done with E.A.T.E.R. Some of them may be among the best I've ever written.

 

How is it like to play this type of punk/hardcore in Sweden today?

-It is and has always been relatively easy to get gigs when playing hardcore or punk, because there is a DIY culture with people fixing gigs.

 

What kind of audience do you have live, are you just old fans or are there new abilities in the audience?

-It's probably pretty mixed in age nowadays. In the eighties it was basically only young people at the gigs, but now, as I said, the average age of the audience is higher. I think the average age of all types of rock events is quite high today.

 

The nickname Gröten(THe porrdige), where does it come from?

-I really do not know. He has been called so as long as I have known him, and I have never had any real clarity why.

 

What do you prefer to be called E.A.T.E.R. or Ernst and the Edsholm Rebels?

-The band is called Ernst And The Edsholm Rebels. E.A.T.E.R. is the abbreviation of the name.

 

Did you was named Eater from the beginning and took the name Ermnst...to separate you from English Eater or how was it when the name came up?

-No, as I said, E.A.T.E.R. the abbreviation, and it came in handy because the name is so long.

 

Tell us a little about the following records and what you think about it today ..

-The first record you bought or received?

Actually, Walt Disney's Jungle Book on vinyl, I think it was.

-The album that changed your life?

There are some records that I have listened to a lot in certain periods and that have been important to me, but I do not know if there is any special that I think stands out from the others. 

-Last album you bought?

I don't know, because it was quite a long time since I bought a record. I always just stream music.

-The album you're ashamed of?

I have no such thing.

-The album that makes E.A.T.E.R. sounds like you do?

It is impossible to answer because the band members listen to and are influenced by a variety of artists.

-The album that always has to be on the tour bus?

A Momentary Relapse for No Reason by Ernst And The Edholm Rebels must be in all bands tour buses.

-The album that you would have liked to have been on and played on?

It is always fun and exciting to record. It is especially fun if you take the time and experiment, so any of Phil Spector's productions from the 60's would have been exciting to have participated in.

 

Are there any other good bands in Sweden today that you think are worth mentioning?

-There are a lot of good bands and musicians in Sweden. Sweden is probably the most densely populated band country in the world, and the quality is consistently very high.

 

You publish your records yourself, why? Isn't a record label who wants you?

- That's how we work. Much of our music has been released as collections and reissues of various companies both in Sweden and abroad, but when it comes to our own official releases, we prefer to do as much as possible ourselves. There are a variety of reasons for that. Above all, it's because that's what we've always done. We have our roots in the DIY scene and when we started releasing music in the eighties, it was never the question of anything but that we would do it ourselves, and that is the way we have continued. In addition, it is always very educational and evolving to do all the work yourself.

 

What is the most expensive thing you have heard that your Doomsday Troops have been sold for?

-I am not a record collector so I do not keep track of that.

 

What does punk mean to you today when you compare to when you started?

-When I started playing with E.A.T.E.R. as a teenager, punk was a lifestyle for me. I am not a particularly nostalgic person, and I can certainly say that punk as a lifestyle is nothing that interests me the least today. I play in E.A.T.E.R. because I love music. Especially then to write and play your own music, and this no matter what type of music it is.

 

What is better nowadays when you play live and what is the big difference towards the beginning of your career?

-There is, in principle, always better sound and better equipment nowadays than it used to be.

 

Tell me something really crazy that happened during your years together?

-We lost a whole tour bus in Belgium in 1986. However, we finally found it. We forgot a band member at a gas station outside Detroit in 2011 and didn't discover that he was gone until he had managed to borrow a phone and called the drive /tour manager. Then we had been driven for an hour.

 

Are there any fans for you who have done something really dedicated, like a tattoo of your logo or something like that?

- Just that, an E.A.T.E.R. tattoo,I recently saw on a picture on Facebook that someone had done.

 

You never do any songs in Swedish nowadays? Why not?

-We haven't written lyrics in Swedish since I joined the band in 1983, and it probably depends a lot on me. I prefer to write lyrics and sing in English. For me, for some reason I haven't analyzed, it's easier, and it gets better.

 

What influences your lyrics?

-I am influenced by life and the world in general when I write lyrics. Things I feel I want to express.

 

How do you think it is to live in Sweden today with politics, corona, music, etc?

-It is in many ways an interesting time. The ongoing pandemic has forced society to rethink and re-evaluate a lot of things that were previously taken for granted. The music world seems to have adapted very quickly to the situation that arises. One can see, for example. that there are a lot of streamed gigs in social media, as the opportunity for artists to play live has basically ended.

 

Have you played a lot abroad over the years, if you have where has been the best?

-In the mid eighties we played Germany, Denmark and Belgium. It was quite chaotic travel with a lot of partying. Today we have done two longer tours. In 2011 we toured the US and in 2013 we toured Japan. Japan, in my opinion, is by far the best country to tour in of the places I have been to.

 

After all, the title of the album is "A momentary relapse for no reason" what was the idea behind the name?

-The title is a travesty of the title of the Pink Floyd album from 1987. The idea is most that we wanted a slightly screwed and unusual title on the record.

 

Is it important for you to release physical records, why or why not?

-There is no self-purpose for me to release physical records. But there are some benefits to making a physical release of a release. Reviewers like to have physical discs, so if you want the disc reviewed then you have to have physical discs for them. If you are touring or are out and playing often then physical records that you sell at the gigs are a good extra source of income for the band.

 

What bands are you being compared to when you get reviews? Which is the most odd thing you've been compared to and don't understand at all?

-Now most recently we were compared to Biohazard and Madball in a review. I have a hard time comparing music at all. For me, the diversity and differences between different artists are more interesting than the similarities, but on the other hand I understand that reviewers are happy to make comparisons when they paint a picture of how a record or artist sounds.

 

What three words describe your music?

-I pass the description to reviewers and others. I think our music speaks for itself.

 

Are there a lot of interviews nowadays? Boring or fun?

-This is actually the first since the new record was released. I think it's really fun to be interviewed.

 

Strangest question you ever got?

-This question.

 

Future plans for the band?

-We want to follow up the new release with another release in the near future. There are some song ideas that we would like to test to record.

 

For yourself?

-I will continue to write, record and release music. Partly with the bands I play with, and partly solo.

 

Today's words of wisdom?

- I'm not going to say anything, unfortunately. I leave it to your readers to try to formulate their key words in life themselves.

 

Something to add?

- Thanks for the interview Peter.