That Radio 69 is one of the best streetpunkbandsa nowadays wake me up and give me a clear thought when I heard their debutfulllength CDf Hearts Minds and Memories. Anders talks about now, future and then back in time and that´s the other time thier in my zine. 

History?

-We started with the same pople as now in 1997 and took the name Radio69.We hade been without a drummer for while, but we found Erik who is a brother to one of our mates. Our first gig was my own 20 years party but it was a good place to show us up to all mates and so on. we really soon noticed that this was the music we wanted to play but we understand that we couldn´t come far with this music only playing in Gothenburg because the interest for this sort of music hadn´t been so big. We recorded our first demon in september 98 in our rehersal studio with help of a mixertable and two borrowed minidiscsrecorders. After that we recorded two more songs for our release on Final Vinyl Records with a single. It came out the spring 99 and in the summer 99 Outsider records asked us if we wanted to be on their "Scenekiller II". We sent them two sonmgs which should have been on the Sidkekicks Oi-.compilation but which never came out. The song Denied came on the compilation which have bands like  999, Dropkick Murphys, Menace and The Authority. In the same time we wrote a contract with Bratville Records to do a fullength CD and a compilation there and the record is just relased and there we are now.

What have happened since your first demo and the new CD?

-We´re better on writing songs and the livegigs have been better and better. The influences is still the same.

Please tell me a litle about every member?

-Erik Alexandersson – Drums, 18 years and he works at Rusta and will be cak in school in the autumn. Erik is mostly into jamaican music ,reggae,ska,ragga and that things.

Christian Berggren – Bass, 22 years and he works this summer on a company which do treethings and he´´s going to go back to school he too. He listenings to the most in punk and some irish music as the Pogues.

Anders Hjortsberg –Guitar,vocals 22 years.Worked on a school  but when it became summervacation I´m out of job. I´m going to study in the autumn. I´m listening mostly to streetpunk and 77´s punk and some reggae,ska and some irish music.

Christian Fransson – Vocals, guitar 21 years is out of work for the moment but he has been as a stand-in singer in Voice of A generation this summer. He listening much to rock n roll music as Ramones and similar things and he listens to street and 77´s punk.

How is it to play this music in Sweden which isn´t so trendy at the moment.?

-You can say that is going better and better all the time, it´s a little more interest and that thanks to Burning Heart with their releases with bands like Business and Dropkick Murphys. "Kids Wanna Riot" tour last year was a big successs and we hope that it´s going to be more of that. It seems like the wider punkpublic or we can say the Epitaphpublic have been listening more and more to streetpunk. We played with Voodoo Glow Skulls this winter and it wasn´t so many in the audience which have been heard us before but it was fucking fun. It´s not vereybody which like this sort of development but so long as everybody have fuin and we accept each other we don´t bother if the public have shaved heads or baggy trousers.

Where have you got the most response from?

-We have got good response from after that the  Scenekiller II  was released but in Sweden we have got good reviews all over.

Why Bratville Records?

-They were interested and they were to first to offer us a contract, and it´s a small label and they seem to be serious so we didn´t thought we had anything to loose because we only wrote on for a record.

Are they good?

-We have had some discussions through the recording and the releasing of the record and our opinions isn´t always the same but now´s the record out and it sounds as we wanted so we cannot complain.

How is the punklife in Sweden right now, any good bands?

-I have never been so keen of swedish punk but Voice of A Generation’s latest record is really good and Bombshell Rocks is good but here in Gothenburg I have been given upwhen it´s about good gigs.  

Is there any good bands outside Sweden?

-Drokick Murphys is favourites and  The Business, german Oxymoron is also good. A band which is underrated in Europe is  US.Bombs which I think it´s really good , as good as Dropkick, but which haven´t got the advertisment enough. I can say GC5 also which is a new band on Outsider Records and their fullength "Kisses from hanoi" is really promising.

Is it sometimes that people get the stupid idea that you are rascists?

-It haven´t been many times,but if it happens you have to be calm and explain that we don´t give a sgit about politics and that we´re against rascism. It´s more that have thought that we´re communists just because that we isn´t nazis.

What shall we do to rascism?

-I think it got too much space in media and in TV-programs and that sort of things. To let neonazists/rascists talk in that sort of TV-program is meaningless, the people who was against rascism can´t be more agaisnt it but in the other way some people maybe get interested of the shit he says and became a rascist.They should have more time and show other positive things as music or football or something. It´s so that everybody knows that people who became rascists doing it because they then belong to a group. If you pick up these people early you can be without a problem.

What do you think about living in Sweden?

-It´s OK, the things that we care about in life isn´t national things, we only want to earn money in the weeks so we have the chance to go to the pub on fridays, buy records on saturdays and rehearsal on sundays. Unfortunealy you can´t get a work nowadays without highschool but on the other side it´s difficult to get a work which you can work on as long as you don´t go on tour.

What´s the best and what´s the worst of living in Sweden?

-The best thing is the social secure we all have. But it get foreward bureaucracy which isn´t like anything else. Unfortunealy is many who is use the system which do that it works worser taht it should do.

An other good things is all the studyfederations which is renting out rehersalstudios cheap. There we rehersal we pay 75 crowns a month. We have own things to play on but for the people who haven´t it´s going into the prize too.

What shall we do against the bad things?

-Had I known that I have been a politican

Is it many gigs? Where have youe your best so far?

-It seens like bratville booking agency is doing to make us a Europetour and we hope that is going to be one. Our best gigs this far is Augustibuller 2000 in Lindesberg, we did a good gig and the audience gave us so much response.

Outside Sweden, where´s best?

-We haven´t been outside Sweden andplayed yet, but Germany seems to be good and what I heard Boston´s scene is unbeatable.

What is the most peculiar things which have happened during a Radio 69-concert?

-The most peculiar things was when we played in Floda Lada spring 99,  during our gig took Fransson of his guitar and jumped down from the scene and ran towars the outside. We didn´t know what´s happening. What happened was that EAK´s guards have took a skinheads which have been drinking to much booze and put him in the shower in our room. When he walked from there he was so drunk so his mates had to dress him and they thought that Franssons Harringtonjacket was his and put it on him and drag him out. So when Fransson saw someone going off with his jacket he ran after. We met the guy the day after and he feeled really bad but he had no memory of the evening before.

Where did the name cam from?

-It´s many things behind it like ”Spirit of ’69”and Sham 69 and so in the bottom we took the name because we thought it sounded good and it´s easy to remember.

When you do songs, do you do them together or how is it?

-I write the lyrics and I do the the hroundthings on my guitar and then the other put thier things when we rehersal.J

What are most important a good lyric, good music or a good refrain?

-Our goal is to have something in every song which is pecial so the songs not going to be a song as any other songs. It can be guitarthing or a change of tempo or a choir or something else.

Why this sort of music?

-We are young and when we grew up we haven´t heard so mucg Oi and streetpunk. and it was with Hellcats Give em boot we firts heard Business. When their fullength CD”The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” came we feeled that we was right out there.

How do you want people to take your music?

-We want people to be open and take it for what is it and don´t try to categorize it. We call our music for streetpunk or 77-punk but whatever you call your music is it always someone who says that you don´t play that sort of music, so we want pople to listen to the music and don´t give a shit what it is.

What are your advices to young band who haven´t any contract?  

-reherse m,uch and please try to keep together – you must be good mates if you must take things which is against you. Show respect to older bands even if they don´t play the same style of music. In the beginning you could play your band to respect and success but with todays scene it must be a demo or something to get out of your town.  Youmust be patient too and write some good songs before you run away and record a demo. Do you feel that a song sin´t really good, please forget the song and do new songs. And try to have so much own songs as possible.

Idols when you were small? 

-I listened to much shit but I remeber that Bill Haley was a favourite, Erikis grown up with Jimmy Cliff and Elvisbut otherwise I don´t know.

First and last record you bought? 

-First record I don´t remember what it was but the latest I bought was The Business – Suburban Rebels

Do you buy many records? 

-yeah,it´s alot,but I don´t think that I buy so many but I have to buy new things to put the Cd´s in all the time.

Do you have any favourites on the net or on the paper in the zineworld?

-I have a mate which have a webzine called ”Viewpoint Webzine” which is really good, Patrik Kenths new zine ”Streetmusic FC” seems to be good.

What shall a good fanzine contain?

-A mix of known and unknown bands so many poeple get interested of the zine and many new bands get the chance to be seen. And then it´s good if the zine is concetrated on a musicstyle becuase I don´t want to read trhoguh many heavymetalreviews to see a punkreview.

Which futureplans have the band?

In the near future we plan a promotour in some way but excactly when it´s going to be we don´t knwo. After that we´ll hope that somebody is interested to release a second fullength after Hearts Minds and Memories .Because we don´t going to quit now.

Your own futureplans?

-I´m going to study this fall, but it´s going to be what is going to be because if it´s a tour going on we have talked about get everything loose and get away. Therefore it´s good to study to something happens because it´s not so easy to get a job with the permission to get free when it´s a tour.

Wisdomword?

-We don´t take things so serious but a true thing is ”be alwaus påessimistic so you never get disappointed"  

Something to add?

-After 33questons you don´t have so much to say…

We thanks for your interest and thanks everyone who have helped us on the way.