1

Please tell me a little about yourself, age, family, interests and so on, earlier bands and so on?

    Jens Gustavson, 36, from Östersund, and I have a 2 year old son. attributemaker to the profession but nowdays I work parttime on my girlfriends restaurant- My musical history is really odd. It begins with bands which played Hendrix and Depp Purple covers and there I was with a big Gillancomplex but I hadn´t so much voice and it was hard to do Child in Time in the right way(think of it) I was so nervous before our first gig so I had a total blackout on our first three songs. And after that I was a bassist in  "Doggybag bluesband",  we played much english rhytm and blues.  Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall, Stones and those stuff , it was a fun and fucking crazy period. we played much on bikerclubs and other odd places and it could be maratongigs from ten in the evening to five o clock in the morning , bikers is a really odd public and they  always do their best( in that time I don´t know how it is nowadays)

Swedish progressive and political music I had listened for a while but when I heard  Stefan Sundströms "En bärs med Nefertite" so I understandf that it not only was good with swedish lyrics I understand that it was a must.I played harmonica in the bluesband "grumligt Vatten" and when I asked my musicans if they wanted to test my own songs on the side of it so was Andras Ungar a fact. That was about 96.

 

    Everything actually, but the most impoirtant is to get a really good lyrics which means something and have a history or so. I couldn´t stand for a shitrefrain with a nonsense text. I can admit that I sometimes try to do a political comment but I can´t do it good. Then I give up because it must be  a stream in my lyricwriting otherwise it´s not being so good.

    I haven´t got that look nowadays(smallchildrenparent you know) but there must be many good musicans and lyricwriters around and as usual they can´t come forewward. i think the old heroes is really good and there´s music to hear and i don´t have to hurry.

    The smae thing there; I´m going back in time. I have bought some of Tom Waits old records and it´s fucking good. Nick cave is good, P.J. Harvey, Iggy, Dylan, Neil Young, Patti Smith... Roy Harper he´s an outsider, not always good but never boring. And then there the rest of the no-english talking world as West Africa, Balcan, India and the arabic world, it swings like hell out there..

    All have their good things but that´s the old one´s which is good. Ola Magnell is a really good lyricwrtiter and he can makes really good lyrics. Cornelis he made a whole language, Anders F Rönblom and Plura sometimes, Lundell often and Lars Demian. But I must say that Stefan Sundström is the best one right now. He can write a lyric which it sounds precisly like he took it from the air. His lyrics float and he´s so good at his language.

2

Please tell me a little about the others?

    Tja,It´s four nice lads which two of them came into the band after a while. Håkan who plays bass I have played with for about ten years in different constellations, he talks so much , a little like Groucho Marx and he have so much logic so he can swep away anybody but not because that hes´talking truth. Uffe - guitar, have been with us from the beginning , he has the blues in him and plays with an acoustic bluesduo which is named Hot Tamales. John plays the piano and he´s a multinstrumentalist and he likes american 70´s music. Ronny is our(exheavy metal) drummer and he played music in the heavier style before.,

    I got chocked first but I understand very soon taht these thinsg ahppen once in a while but it got so big publicity because it striked "the free world". to sacrifice innocent people for a thing can never be right even if the things is good. But you must always try to understand why they do it.

    Not so much and not my view on USA.

    It´s much which is good with Sweden if you compare with other countries and we live a very good life and we have a country with a really nice nature. The boring side is the socialnet which is going to be worser, the hysterical privacything and it does the gap between rich and poor bigger. And it´s hard to be culturecraft nowadays and it will give us higher demands and that does that people burn out themselves.

3

Your music is a little different if you compare with other singer/songwritersm it feels heavier, what do you think yourself?

    Ueah, that´s true in a way and that depends on that we have so  many different musical backgrounds and ideals. It´s some obvious blues and rockinfluences in the bottom and Johns funky style to play and that I try to put in some ethnic things sometimes. It´s of course not so easy to do all this but when we do it together it´s a strength. Sometimes it´s a steamtrainfeeling over the whole thing, it´s sweaty, uncontrolled, and fucking fun but we can play beautiful songs when we´re in that mood.

    As long as we live in a democratics society and will do we must vote. It´s the only thing we have to have a talk about how the country will be and I will vote.i

 

    Yes, I do, it´s a good way to show what you stand but I don´t think is any use to infiltrate enemies lines and you often play for people who think as you are and I don´t think you can change any peoples mind.

4

How do you see on the fact that music is put in different styles, it is easier to people to understand what you´re doing then?

    Unfortunealy it seems to be so that you must play folk or jazz or trash metal or something specific otherwise people get confused and the people who arrange concerts nervous. It´s some tendence taht if you can´t put an eyiquette on music so can´t you know what to think about it.You have nothing to compare with. It´s dull but it´s reality. But as the other side if "folkrock" is good a s a compilationname for our music it´s good because it´s easier to get gigs so. But we must explain how we sound many times.

    Gustav heard us on Urkultfestivalen fsome years ago and he said he wanted to test something with us. We recorded in his studio and the whole thing was "Motnot" which is released this august. The folkmusic is dominating Home Records but it´s many other things there too, so I think that Gustav does things that he like...

    Absolutely, it was very good and interesting to get some new views on our music. Gustav said much what he thought and the result feels funny and good., det var otroligt nyttigt och intres

    We have done 1000 records first and that I think is good for a debutcd with an unknown band on a small label. I don´t make me any illusions but of course it would have been fun to sell a lot.

5

I see and I hear some lieknings with Lars Demina, maybe you have heard it before and what other artist are you being compared to?

    Lasse Berghagen as you say in your review,hahaha..Otherwise it´s Stefan Sundström seems to come up many times and often Cornlis. I have heard name like  Bo Kaspers, Lars Winnerbäck, Thåström, Dan Berglund, Totta...

    To come out of my downperiod of writing which have been since Lucas was born( it hasn´t been so much calm on the last two years) and then write better songs, do more records and play more more more.

 

    To grow up and dare to choose what to do, exercise , fix the car, fix peace on the earth and some things.

 

    Don´t have any, it never works. I don´t think you can learn from other people you must do the mistakes yourself(there came a wisdomword)

6

Do you care about reviews? Have you never changed something because of the fact of that someone have told you to do it?

    I have always been nervous what about they shall write about me in the paper or before a release of a record. Reviews are important becauise they show that you´re around.All the people that didn´t came on the concert or don´t know that the band exist can read about us in the paper. I´m more sad about

    Thanks for me, it was nice mailing. Have a good time and everyone says heloo.Jens

7

Which is the most peculiar review you ever got?

    A really odd review have I never got but they wrote about me in a artchronicle. I was sitting a corner on an artehxibition and had a low profile and I played my songs as backgroundmusic(the audience was there to see the ehxibition). And the day after i could read that the best of the exhibition was to hear Jens Gustavsson do his songs in the cafe. It was really fun and I read it wtih a little curious thought.

8

How does your audience look like, is there some typical style which are coming on your concerts?

    It´s difficult to say, we have no special audience. Both with the band and when I play alone it comes everything from children to old people. Of course it depends when and where I play but it don´t feels like we´re in a special style or so.

9

How is a good concert with you by yourself(with the band?

    A good concert is when the band is sweaty and people have danced and give us all and I´m cannot talk afterwards and then its feels like we have been best- It´s always easier to play for a bigger audience but a little enthusiastic audince can give us the same feeling, it´s much give and take. It´s difficult to work when people don´t like us from the beginning and that give us the same feelings afterwards. When I´m by myself it´s a little bit different , then it feels best when the public is with me and they laugh or comment between the songs and are quiet when I play. That they accept me as an entertainer and poet and get something out of my songs.

It´s very good when I have managed to do a concert without any big wrong things because it´s easier to see those things when you don´t have a band behind you.

10

Which is most fun, to play with a band or by yourself? Does the audience act different depending on that?

    It´s two different things and it gives me two different satisfactions. You can´t compare it. With the band you´re a team, boys do things together...and the auidience wants rock n roll. alone it´s more like jumping bungyjump, you can´t be sure that the line is going to hold me. The contact is more naked and I can feel really scary feelings before I go on stage myself. l And because of the fact that it´s a differnt style is the audience in a different way. Many concentrate theirselves on my lyrics and then there is people who never can be quiet and talk all the time. My advive to the pubs is to never let those people in again in their whole life.

11

Please rank your five best record, five best concerts and five most important things in life?

    This week it´s like this:

records

Anders F. Rönnblom - Krig & fred & countrymusic

Roy Harper - Heavy crazy (which is a bootleg ?)

Bob Dylan - Desire

Stefan Sundström - Vitabergspredikan

P.J. Harvey - Rid of me

 

concerts (I guess the year because I don´t remember)

Ulf Lundell - Östersund -98

Stefan Sundström - Skellefteå -91

Sabbath hela veckan - Urkultfestivalen -97

Hansson & Karlsson - Mosebacke -98

Jimmy Ågren band w. Freddie Wadling - Urkultfestivalen -97

 

most importand things in life

Selfdistance

Love

Respect (for yourself and to other people)

Curious

Some new things to the familys car

Next week I think something else... 

12

First, lasta nd most expensive record ever bough?

    First: Slade "Slayed"

    Latest: Ulf Lundell "12 sånger"

    Most esxpensive: Stooges "Funhouse" originalvinyl

13

Idols when you were small?

    It depends what you mean with being small, one of my first idols must be mum and dad, I don´t think I had any concrete idols it was more like I identify myself with people, some sort of people, underdogs. The people who wasn´t so perfect seemed to be so much more interesting than the ideals. I remember a sequence from a bikermovie with Marlon Brando, I thought the longhaired hooligan on the old HD seemed to be more exciting than Brandos beuatiful hero.

14

Dick Lundberg released a record only for the net, is it something for you to do?

    I don´t think so, it doesn´t feel like you do it on real.

15

What do you think about mp3 and that sort of things, is it killing music or can it help artists?

    It´s difficult to say but for not so known artists they can get out their music but for the big artists who don´t get their royalties. A thing which is sure is that it never can be controlled, piracycopies can you always do , in one way or another. I think the artist must ne paid because it´s so many other people who makes so much money out of the artist. But what can we do about it?

16

What do you like internet and mail otherwise, the best and the worse with it?

    That you can find anythbing is good, look at Dick site to see what I mean. it´s a really good place and meeting place for people to meet which cannot give their music out elsewhere. You can do networks and contacts which is good for everyone. The bad things is too obvious, big open network is easy to use with violentporono or what the shit they do. And then we have virus which not is a problem of that dignity but it´s irritating.