About ten years later, from the last interview, a new record with Oldfashioned Ideas appears, and then it was time for a new interview. January-2019

It was about ten years since I last interviewed you, what has happened since last ... many member changes?

Niclas: No member changes! There have been 5 records, some singles and a lot of gigs in these years. We have experienced a lot with this band, more than any of us thought I think.

What is the difference do you like to play today if you compare with ten years back in time ...

Niclas: It's more politics, less cohesion and most things are a little more grim nowadays. We basically do the same thing then as now and try to bother us as little as possible about what others do and think.

How old have you come to be now? No thoughts about retiring from punk (I had it for about 45 years but it has passed)?

Per: Not very much that really changed. You do what you want and if you don't want to, you ignore it. Need not be harder than that, so it feels unnecessary to retire.

What does punk mean to you today and what did it mean to you at the beginning of your punk career?

Per: Music, Friendship and Lifestyle. The same now that even if the expressions and style change to and from, it is basically what it is about. Then it is clear that you have some needs when you are fifteen and some when you are 45, no strange things about it.

SD received 18.5% of the votes, comment on it? Comment on the state of politics in Sweden at all? A little bit messy? Per:Sad that people choose to sneak off to the extreme right and see it as a sensible option even though they have stumbled on that trap before. Otherwise totally uninterested.

I really like the songs on the latest album with saxophone, isn't it too little saxophone in the punk music these days? Do you have any other bands in  punk which you like who have saxophone in the songs?

Niclas: Fun to hear! Still think that there are some bands that use saxophones. It's David from Gatans Lag who plays saxophone on the record. Now I'm also in Gatans Lag nowadays, so I'm not completely impartial, but Gatans Lag is worth checking out if you want to hear more saxophones. Then there are some foreign bands of course, Stomper 98 and Bromure are some examples to check out if you haven't heard them.

Do you think it is important to make songs where it is easy to sing along in or does it only becomes this way?

Per: That's probably so that it come itself. That is the way we write music and the way it comes out.

Do you play any covers when you play live?

Per: No

What types of bands do you play together with on gigs? Is it just like-minded bands and what is the strangest thing you've shared with?

Niclas: It is, in principle, exclusively punk and oi, and that is well as it should be. Sometime we have played at some city festival where there were also other genres, but otherwise I do not know if there have been any really artful stuff right away. Or, once in Germany, in Oranienburg, they had a clown that also appeared. Proper fucking shit. It was pretty weird.

Some new good bands in Sweden you can tell me about?

Niclas: We all have three in the band also other bands we play with, so maybe some of them may be interesting to check out: Bomber, Northbound, Vindicate This !, Volver, Gatans Lag

Contra Records is it a good company? Isn't anyone in Sweden interested in giving you out?

Niclas: Contra is a good company and above all good people who have become good friends over the years. They have built up a pretty impressive catalog over the years, and they are enthusiasts who do what they believe in and enjoy themselves. In Sweden, we have cooperated with both Switchlight and PST, and we agree well with both. Above all, the guys in PST I meet relatively often and it is always just as nice. So in Sweden they would probably be the closest option in that case, if mutual interest were to exist, no doors are closed in this way. You never know what can come in the future. But right now it is Contra that applies to us!

What do you prefer most CD, cassette, vinyl or digital?

Per: All formats have their advantages. Cassette and vinyl for those who love physical products. CD is popular  in other countries and is perfect in the car. Since everyone is constantly working with their computers and phones, digital is a perfect way to listen to music. What is best is hard to say but it is that we have reached the most listeners digitally.

Many do not think that they have released something really if it is only digital, what do you think?

Per: It is like saying that you have not been on television if you have not been in Hylands Hörna. Times are changing and people are obviously releasing music digitally. Then it is of course fun to see a physical product but basically it is about listening to music.

Tell us a bit about the following songs and how the lyrics came to… ..

Disregarded Bones

Niclas: This is one (of three in total on the record) song that we wrote together with Coste Eriksson (Lowriders, Nasty Boys, Jet Black Gasoline etc.). The first time we collaborated with someone outside the band when it comes to songwriting. So this is a text by Coste that I made the music to, and it is fun that it was an opportunity to write a couple of songs with a good friend who is also a bastard on formulating and spraying out texts!

Punches from below

Per: A song about believing that you are very alternative and independent, but basically you are as independent as everyone else. But it feels good to say you made their independent choices

Let them know

Niclas: It's about the situation in the country, in large and small. You can say that it became even more relevant after it was written in view of the current government chaos, etc. Whoever comes to power in the end is not going to make it easy to do something good from it, the risk is good that it goes even more to hell instead. But it remains to be seen.

You have released records every two years, so then we can expect that there will be no record this year or?

Per: You never know that

Niclas: This is the 10th anniversary this year, so who knows?

Do you play a lot out there, abroad has it become a lot there?

Niclas: Yes, you have to say, much more gigs abroad over the years than in Sweden. Then we do not play too much live, no long tours or so. It does not work with jobs and families. But there will be a number per year, some years more and some years less.

Your cover is often adorned by a girl etc, why have you made covers of your different full-lengths that they are quite similar to each other? Is a little confusing, are you thinking that people buying duplicates 😉?

Niclas: Buying duplicates is not directly the idea, but that they should have a recurring graphic theme and that each disc should be as part of a series is of course the thought and conscious. Are there safe ones that think different, but I think they are good looking, especially together!

Last record you bought?

Niclas: Think it may have been the newest Braindance

I know last time you said that you do not think there will be any songs in Swedish, have you thought about or are you stuck in English?

Niclas: You can say that we are thinking about it. One should never say never etc.

Tell us about the worst gig you've ever had with Oldfashioned Ideas and the best? What makes a gig good?

Niclas: Worst I don´t know, one of the first in Germany perhaps with far too much booze and general misery at the venue. The best is also difficult, but PSK in Stockholm and Pogorausch in Munich are a couple of heights.

How does the usual Oldfashioned Ideas fan look like?

Niclas: They usually have white coat and stethoscope. Or is it the doctor I'm thinking of?

Do you read reviews on your records? What is the strangest thing you have ever received?

Niclas: Sure, it is clear you want to see what people think about what you have achieved. Can't remember anyone directly strange on the straight arm, someone who has not been so positive is, but not directly strange.

Per: Of course you do this when you stumble upon them

Do you have any favoritzines etc that you often come back to?

Per: Umezine and Non servium which it is always good to browse through even if they do not come out anymore.

If now none of the prime ministers can get together a government and one of you is asked to take the chance to form the government. What would you do then?

Niclas: In theory fix everything that needs fixing. In practice, probably put it more to chaos than ever, I can't  a shit about politics.

Future plans for the band?

Niclas: We have some small stuff going on, hopefully we can pay attention to the fact that we celebrate ten years this year in some way. But nothing is so clear that we can go out with it, so we'll see quite simply!

For yourself?

Niclas: The closest is Bratislava with Gatans Lag in early February, then it rolls well on the rest of the year as it usually is with gig and jobs every other. Hopefully it will be a good year!

Anything to add?

Thanks for the interview, we can make it a tradition to do one every ten years and we will do one more again 2029!