Kjells
Bänk
is
a
young
punk
band
from
Skellefteå.
What
strikes
me
the
most
is
that
they
have
different
favorite
artists
than
I
had
thought.
April-2023
Tell
us
a
little
about you,
when you
started
playing,
age
and
do
you
have
any
other
bands
besides
Kjells
Bänk?
-We are
Kjells Bänk,
we are
a
band
of
4
people
who
are 16,
16, 17
and
17
years.
We
come
from
Skellefteå
and
have
been
playing
since
November
2021.
How
come
you
got
into
the
wonderful
world
of punk?
Parents,
friends
or
what?
-As
I
said, we
met in
November
2021 and
then we
were in
very
different
places
in
what
we
listened to
for
music,
but
punk
was
still a
common
genre and
a
relatively
easy and
fun
music
style
to
play
so it
suited
us
well,
and
on
that
path
it
continued!
The advantage and disadvantage of being such a
young
band?
-The advantage is that you get a lot of
attention as a young person and you drive all
the
way
to the
tiles and
a little more at gigs and the like without the
body
saying against too much. Disadvantages are that
it can be
a
challenge to
play in
certain
places such as pubs and bars. It is also
difficult to get around
at gigs as no one has a driver's license.
It can sometimes be difficult to assert yourself
and be taken seriously.
You have listened
a
lot to
USHC I think, other punk styles you like?
-We all like trallpunk, other hardcore of
various kinds, uk punk and lots of other things
You come from Skellefteå, better known as an
indie city
considering West Side Fabr, how
does
punk
live
there?
-Not
at
all,
we are
the
only
ones we
know who are
active,
however,
there
are
people
who
try
to
get
punk
bands
together,
which
is
fun
we
think
When you
make
songs,
how
does it
work, is
someone
doing
everything
or
is
it
something
you
jam
out
in
the
rehearsal
room?
-It's
very
mixed,
but we
almost always
write
everything together,
and
if we
don't,
we
always
do the
finishing touches
at
the
end
together
on
what
has been
written.
The texts seem quite important to you, don't
they? What is your most political song?
-Our songs may not be directly political, but we
write more what we feel and think about the
world and society today, at least in some songs,
such as Why I hate the world and Little mary
What do you think about living in Sweden today,
politically with SD-KD-M etc?
-We think that you should take care of the
environment
by reducing emissions and environmental
degradation etc, which we have not seen so far
from the government and we do not think that
feels
good.
I've noticed through all the years in punk that
when there are right-wing governments, there are
more and more punk bands? Is punk a good way to
express your contempt for them?
-Music in general is a very good
way to
express feelings and
dissatisfactions, and punk is one of the most
passionate genres to do this, so yes we think
there may be something in it, however, we would
not say that we belong to that
group of punks, we started with punk
just because we liked the music and the culture
What does the word punk mean to you, is it
just a word, music style or lifestyle?
-Punk is a bit of a mindset, punk is that you
are not so careful that things have to be
perfect from the beginning, but that you just do
it, it's like a little diy in it, that was our
mindset anyway when we started, we made the best
of what we had, however, punk can be so much
more, But then we would sit here all day if we
were to go into that
How did you get in touch with Grönpeppar
records?
-They contacted us one day and asked if we would
be interested
in collaborating, which of course we were!
Do you think it is important to get your disc
out in physical format?
-Yes, we think it's damn fun to be able to hold
your music physically
Do you buy records yourself or is it only
Spotify that applies to you?
-Yes we buy records, although not as many as we
wished we did, but if we get past a vinyl store
you usually pick one or two with you
If you had the chance to choose five bands (both
living and dead)
to have
a concert with you, what five would the dream
bands
be?
-We do so that we take one band each, we then
take
the
last
one
together.
Calle:
The
Stooges,
Anton:
Led
Zeppelin,
Gustav:
Nirvana,
Vidar:
Death,
together:
Misfits,
with
Danzig
of
course!
When you play outside, do you only draw young
audiences or do old guys like me come along?
-There are a lot of young people, but you still
see quite a few older people who also seem to
like our music!
Skellefteå, is there any good record store there
or is there nothing like that?
-No,
unfortunately there is nothing
Do you have any young new bands to recommend
otherwise?' Any old bands that you like a lot?
-No nothing in Skellefteå
Playing music, is it a good way to get out
frustration or what do you say?
-No, it's more a way to express all feelings and
thoughts, it's also for the community you feel
with like-minded.
Tell us a little about the following songs and
lyrics:
a) Drink piss or die
b) Why I hate the world
c) Love troubles
a)Drink piss or die is our first song we wrote
together, we found the name of a bench that will
come up later also in the interview, we always
end our concerts with it, it's a good sing along
song!
b)Why I hate the world is one of our first
songs, it was finished the day before our first
gig and we played it at the gig, which went very
well actually! It is about how man destroys the
environment and will exterminate himself and all
other life because of it, but that no one does
anything about it.
c) Kärleksbekymmer is a song about jealousy and
abuse, from the perspective of the person who
feels the jealousy and anger, and what they can
think for something in such a situation that
leads to such feelings
You never sing in Swedish. just the title I saw
so reformulates the question... Do you never
sing in Swedish?
-No, so far we only sing in English, we have a
Swedish title which is Kärlekstrubbel,
but also it is in English
Do you do any covers when playing out? If so,
which ones?
-Yes, sometimes we play covers, so far we have
played Hybrid moments by Misfits, Staten och
kapitalet by Ebba Grön and My Hometown by the
Wannadies
Who the hell is Kjell? And where is the bench?
-There is a bench at KF Mullberget, where we
rehearse that is filled with graffiti, and on
that bench it says Kjells Bänk and that's where
we got the name from, we first took it in jest,
but then came our first gig so then we rolled on
it, it was also where we got inspiration for the
title Drink piss or die.
Do you have anything to say to other young bands
who want to record an album etc, something they
should think about?
-Take your time, and do not rush, be prepared
before you enter the studio, it is important not
to have to rehearse when recording without it
going smoothly. And do not record in 34 plus
degrees, we did and we do not recommend!
Five favorite records right now?
-We do the same as before with artists: Vidar:
Sunbather by Deafheaven. Anton: The Wall Pink
Floyd. Gustav: Weapons for the hopeless by
Hurula. Calle: Paul
Stanley's solo album from 1978. Together: Songs
for the deaf by Queens of the stoneage
What was the first punk record you acquired?
-Vidar: Pengarna eller livet of Lastkaj 14.
Calle: Survival sickness by International Noise
Conspiracy. Gustav: Walk among us by Misfits.
Anton: Rocket to Russia by the Ramones.
Future plans for the band
-We are going around the country, we now have
gigs planned in Stockholm at Kafé 44 on April
13, Ungdomens hus in Uppsala on April 14. Then
we are also going to Kiruna April 1st at Tusen
toner and we always look around in other places
for gaming opportunities, so keep an eye on our
Instagram where we play next! @Kjells_bank.
We're also going to record an album, and
releasing vinyl is the plan
Anything to add?
-Sometimes you can rely on a bench