Second
Class Kids Magazine Rille Bengtsson/Kenny Sörberg och Micke Ström |
Not at all confused when it comes to Rille/Kenny,
but here is an interview with those who write in
the Second Class Kids Records fanzine, which has
so far come out with four issues. Well written
and nice. May 2023
Most people in Punk Sweden probably know who you
are already, but not everyone is so enlightened.
Tell us a little about yourselves? Jobs
otherwise? Age, do you play in any band, former
fanzines etc etc?
Rille: My name is Rille Bengtsson but I'm just
as often called Kenny Sörberg. This summer I'm
turning 43 and I'm working as a primary school
at an elementary school in Bergsjön. My
interests are listening to trallpunk and
ballads, watching football and SHL, record
collecting and record multiplicing,
Galenskaparna & After Shave and Kalle Sändare,
reading books and fanzines, drinking coffee and
light beer, watching Beck films with scripts by
Rolf Börjlind, as well as shouting and making a
mess. I have antisocial traits (love to be by
myself) and appreciate a high measure of
personal freedom, but try to compensate for it
by always thinking collectively politically. Me
and a good friend have a band called Jag visade
släkten på kukmiddgaen. We do covers, as the
band name suggests. In addition to SCKM, me and
the guy named André make a fanzine called
Halvdan Permanent. Previous fanzines:
Trall-Metall, Trall-Medalj, Drömmen Om Min
Svågers Radhus, Din Mun Svarar Nej Men Dina Ögon
Svarar Jag, Stå Upp!, Krig, Slips, Kaffe,
Deutschland Deutschland, Gaycastle, and
Meningsfullt Skryt.
Micke: As a person, I like to be quite
incognito, so people are welcome to know about
me but not take a look at the city, it's fine as
long as my better half is not involved. Age has
crept up towards a football half, may well run
another but any overtime is not important. I
have played in various bands before but now I
only do different solo projects, including
Sjutti-sju which is Bajen-related, Depraverad is
my ska / punk project and Brigade 77 where I do
Irish with a focus on rebel music. On the
fanzine front, I've done Skynda Långsamt,
Tragedi Fanzine, Sprit and Schizo Fanzine. Now I
only do reviews on tragedypunk.home.blog in
addition to Second Class Kids Magazine ie. Yes,
I also write a lot about all kinds of music on
www.efolket.eu
So with more than 30 years in punk, it has
become a part both high and low.
I know you Micke likes Hammarby, do you have
Rille any favorite team in football too or do
you don´t give a damn about it?
Micke: Like Hammarby is an understatement, when
Bajen plays is the only time I leave my
introverted side. I think it is necessary.
Overall, I think Rille cares more about football
than I do. Sure, I follow Hammarby and Celtic
but he is an oracle on the subject. On the other
hand, I have damn good track of EM 88, but do
not remember who won either the European
Championship or the World Cup last.
How did you start writing for Second Class
Magazine, did Per pay you so well?
Rille: Like this: I've turned down both private
invitations abroad and professional career
services that would give me a 25% raise, but
when someone asks me to do something
scene-related, I find it extremely difficult to
say no. I know it means so much to so many and I
am well aware of how much it has meant to me.
Pelle was also a friend from the past (you know,
one of those idiit who sabotages and destroys)
and this was a way to further support his
charitable record release of Swedish melodic
punk. As cream on the cake, I myself had begun
to wonder if it was not high time to take up
writing again in at least some form.
Micke: I've been making fanzines since 1995 but
all my projects were on hold so when the train
came, I just jumped on. We have signed personal
contracts so compensation should not go into but
right now we are working hard for collective
agreements, holiday pay and since we (Rille and
I) do not have any kids, we will have to see if
it is possible to vabba in some other way. The
Bajen Party wants to introduce COHB Care Of
Hungover Bajare, something similar would have
been interesting.
Micke nu
In the beginning, it was really only SCK bands
that were in the magazine, but now in issue four
it has developed a little, will it continue to
be so or was it just a one-time event?
Rille: The idea is absolutely that it will
continue to be an unconditional intake of bands
to spin in depth, but personally I have had a
bit of a hard time letting go of the old track
because I interviewed Björnarna in #4 and will
interview Varnagel in #5.
Micke: Number four felt like a real development
and we continue on the same track now. We are
probably more or less already clear about what
the next issue will look like in terms of
content and it will be awesome.
You have been in the wonderful world of punk for
a long time, when and how did you start with
punk and how did it come about?
Rille: I think I was nine years old when we
visited my father's youth friend's family in
Växjö. The son in the family who was five or six
years older than me played Ebba Grön's "Samlade
singlar" and I was of course fascinated by song
titles like "Tyst för fan", but I didn't find
the music itself that interesting. The same
year, Magnus Uggla released his monumentally
fantastic album "35-åringen" where he heckled
absolutely everything and everyone, swore fresh
and wrote about "expensive aunts who fucked up
diamonds". I loved the music and thought the
lyrics felt wonderfully rebellious. And a little
forbidden; I remember that my mom came into my
boy's room a few times and admonished that the
songs were certainly very musically well-made,
but that I really shouldn't listen to lyrics
like that, haha. Two years later I was mature
enough to start listening to Ebba Grön and also
appreciate the music itself. In sixth grade,
someone told me about KSMB and then when I
started high school in 1993, it was teeming with
people listening to Asta Kask and Strebers, and
thus the snowball was in full swing. However,
one memory stands out. One day, a classmate
played a recorded cassette tape given to him by
one of the school's uniformed punks. What I was
told completely knocked me out. Fast rattling
drums, melodies that immediately sat down, real
sing-along choruses to rattle along to, lyrics
that were both smart and funny – spiced with a
playfulness that I never thought could be
combined with cool punk. That record changed my
life and I still think it's the best thing
that's ever been made. De lyckliga Kompisarnas'
"Le som en fotomodell" is not a record, it's
more like a religion. Pretty quickly I also came
in contact with fanzines and then I started
buying cassette demos at a fast pace. I was
attracted by both punk's cool expression and the
underground scene's warm community. Punk helped
me understand how society works and the Do It
Yourself culture helped me understand how to
relate to it.
Micke: My first gig was Mera Hitlåtar i Handen
in 1992. Like so many others, I got into it
through my older brother, or yes, maybe not so
many people found punk through my brother, but I
think many can relate to an older sibling. In
the autumn of 93, me and some friends formed the
band Pass Out and in 95 we started Skynda
Långsamt Mag then it has just rolled on.
How do you think punk has changed over the
years?
Rille: Difficult question. The most noticeable
difference is that the Internet has made it
easier – but also more boring – to find new
bands. Call me an old filly, but I fucking miss
the chance purchases that you made in the 90s.
You know, Kamel-Stephan wrote up some spiteful
description in the Birdnest catalogue of how the
band sounded – and then they ordered the record
and hoped for the best. We need to get back to
this, but I haven't really sketched out exactly
how we're going to go about it.
Micke: Trallpunk has gotten better, the average
age higher, the hairs fewer and grayer (except
on the editor-in-chief). It is clear that the
digital development has done a lot for better or
worse. Bands and audiences have become closer to
each other, which is fun.
This with dividing punk into different styles
with crustpunk, 77-punk, trallpunk etc etc is a
way for us who write about the music to get
people to understand approximately what style it
is on what we review, do you see a lot of
contradictions when you are out between these
different styles?
Rille: I think the genre division is good and
represents an admittedly small but oh so
important component in making the world a little
more understandable. The contradictions were
probably pretty much a fanzine thing at the
time. Some of the crustfanzines wrote
contemptuously about the wimpy trallpunk that
was not tough enough to be worthy of being part
of the hard punk family and we trallpunks
unfortunately reacted emotionally instead of
doing the dry psychological analysis that the
mash punks needed a pink pillow and some candy.
And let the TV down, as they said at the time.
Micke: As you say, when you review, it's quite
nice to be able to write what it's actually
about. I don't think these old contradictions
exist anymore, if they ever existed. It's
probably mostly sometimes like some tired types
who were in 77 and who haven't been active since
then who pop up from time to time and will tell
you what "real" punk is. On the other hand, I
would like a little more Bollnäspunken, a little
more Augustibuller, so a little more mix of
bands. Now it feels like the different genres
are on their own edge. Although Fragile Mountain
does something really cool, I must say.
What punk style is your favorite style?
Rille: Trallpunk. I thank higher powers that
Mart Hällgren was born into this world and that
he happened to become who he is. I also like
some Swedish skate punk from the 90s (Adhesive,
Satanic Surfers, Venerea, Randy, It's No Juice,
Fudge Wax and Passage 4) and a handful of
four-stroke bands (Hyrda Knektar, En Svensk
Tiger, Strindbergs, Ebba Grön and early KSMB).
Micke: When it comes to punk, I'm probably
broader than Rille and probably can't choose a
particular style as a favorite. I get started
just as much on feel as on trallpunk, or skapunk
and skate punk as much as on Oi and grindcore.
But what spins the most here at home is probably
trallpunk and street punk as well as various
hardcore.
Which bands in Sweden do you think are most
interesting right now?
Rille: 1. Katten Skogman's Orchestra.
Singer/songwriter from Stockholm with twisted
and thoughtfully funny lyrics. A bit like a more
musical Ola Aurell with fewer immediate comic
points (however, I want to point out that I also
love Ola Aurell).
2. Euskefeurat. Is and remains one of the
country's best and most important bands. Never
forget that if a wall were built around the
customs in Stockholm, there would be
significantly more scratch marks on the inside
than on the outside.
3. Björnarna. Brutally good trallpunk.
Micke: Kardinal Synd and Norra Hospitalet.
Micke då
What is the oddest thing that you like and
listen to and that no one thinks you listen to?
Rille: People who got to know me as an adult may
not know that I still listen a lot to music that
I loved when I was a child. 1988-1989 my
interest in music listening really took off and
then a bunch of albums were released that I
still think are really good:
Freda´ – Tusen eldar
Micke: Outside of punk? In that case, it will
have to be Russian eurodisco, like Tatu, their
debut album when they sing in Russian is
terribly good. Another Russian group from the
early 00's is Propaganda, their song Melom is
crazy good, listen themselves
https://youtu.be/vcjYxaX8YgY
Making the Second Class magazine is a favor I
can think considering that it is so nicely made
with A4 and in colour. Is it something you've
always dreamed of doing?
Rille: No, the design itself leaves me cold. But
it's always a blast to make fanzines.
Micke: I can't say it's something I've dreamed
of, but it's great that the fanizne reaches out
well, I think anyway. Had Second Class Magazine
been cut and paste and copied surreptitiously at
someone's workplace, it would have been just as
satisfying. But sure, it's always interesting to
do something completely new.
What is the dream interview to do, with anyone
and anywhere?
Rille: I would have liked to interview Peter
Rangmar in Galenskaparna & After Shave. He sadly
died of cancer in 1997 and was my personal
favorite of the bunch. By far the most talented
actor of them and he had a personal expression
that resonated in every conceivable circle. He
rests in peace at Nya Varvet's cemetery here in
Gothenburg and is forever missed.
Micke: It would have been interesting to hang
out for a weekend with Fat Mike in Nofx and
document it. It's definitely a favorite band
that just keeps getting better and better. I
think it could be a crazy weekend, he really
ages in style, which is he doesn't give a damn
what other people think of him.
If you think about all the interviews you've
done, which one do you rank as the best?
Rille: The Erik Niva interview in Din Mun svarar
nej men dina ögon svarar jag #10. Admittedly, I
had spent many hours looking for old handwritten
letters from Erik and reading all the issues of
Benzine, but what made it so successful was of
course the interviewe himself. He is unique and
possesses the rare ability to mix a genuine
interest in geekery with an enthusiastic
light-hearted tone of voice that makes you just
want to listen or read on. The content itself is
always taken very seriously, but the
self-distancing of the execution is constantly
present. The timing was also optimal, I realize
in retrospect. He remembered enough about his
punk and fanzine period, the Farm thing was
history and he was on his way into what had
become his hallmark for the general public – an
established sports journalist at Sportbladet
(and later also Viasat).
Micke: I've quite recently done my 201st
interview, yes I've actually managed to put
together a list of all the interviews I've done.
A favorite was the one I did with Avantgardet a
few years ago. It became more of a conversation
about drugs, mental illness and that whole
thing. Then it's always fuzzy to talk to Jahna
in Dead By Horse.
There are some Swedish record companies now like
SCK, Grönpeppar, Sockiplast etc... Are there any
other things you would like to highlight?
Rille: The heroes of Beat Butchers. Still the
cheapest prices in the industry and a personal
approach that breathes true genuineness. Also
want to highlight Skatt Records who I hope
continue with their business. First they pressed
the underrated and sadly forgotten band Sten &
Stalin's two full-length albums on vinyl and
then came Björnarna's phenomenal "Det sämsta".
May they not end up with the flag at the top.
Micke: . Johan really only releases quality on
Flyktsoda Records, his work in the diy world
must never be forgotten or taken for granted. By
the way, what is Bodenmalm doing nowadays? I
often and gladly always want to return to the
90s, it feels like there were more record
companies then, both big and small. The new
generations are running their own now and seem
content to end up on Spotify and similar
streaming services. Of course, they should do
what they want, but I still think they should...
oh I don´t know.
What is your favorite format when it comes to
music... vinyl, CD, cassette or digital, justify
the pros/cons of any format?
Rille: I like all physical formats, but I love
cassette and CD a little extra.
Vinyl: Advantages are the size (a lot to hold,
as Kurt Olvars-Martin put it) and that there is
something special about dropping the needle. The
disadvantage is the size (that it is useless to
buy with you at gigs due to big goods).
CD: Advantages are the ease of changing songs
and the efficient storage on the shelves. Don't
see any downsides.
Cassette: Advantages are that it is a format
that always associates with Punk demos with
Mental Härdsmälta and that you can keep them in
your pocket. Don't see any downsides.
Digital: The advantage is that bands that can't
afford to release physically can spread their
music. The downsides are that it is so
impersonal and easily forgotten because of all
the vinyl and CDs and cassettes that one has to
listen to.
Micke: I probably play mostly vinyl but hang out
a lot on Spotify. There are certainly both
advantages and disadvantages to everything, I do
not have the energy to dissect, the thing is
that I rarely hear the difference in sound, I
can not name myself audiophile of the year.
Those who say that the sound is much worse on
Spotify are, in my opinion, just trying to be
remarkable. There's some elitism poked into that
too. That's my opinion anyway.
Micke och Rille nu.
The way the world looks nowadays with war,
inflation, racism etc etc, what are you doing so
that it can feel like a better world... At least
for a while?
Rille: For yourself or for the many? For my
part, anger over a rotten world does not usually
affect my personal well-being to any great
extent, but music is by far the best catalyst
for unbridled rage. For the many, I have
actively intensified my political and trade
union involvement in my workplace. Otherwise, my
concrete political commitment is marked by
intervals. Sometimes I feel that I have to
escalate it and then visit political meetings
and/or support struggles on individual issues.
Micke: Cats and snuff.
How else do you think it is to live in Sweden
with the new government?
Rille: I think it was nice that the previous
disastrous government disappeared. Ministers who
act like the worst kind of Twitter trolls
(Morgan Johansson and Annika Strandhäll). A
prime minister (Magdalena Andersson) who reacts
like a grumpy kindergarten child when Riksdagen
brings a motion of no confidence in one of the
worst ministers in modern times. I am also both
deeply concerned and holy angry about the
growing parallel and shadow society that is now
finally beginning to be discussed in public.
System-threatening clan structures that bring
both a reign of terror and a culture of silence.
I work in the municipal sector here in
Gothenburg and although I have not been
personally affected yet, professional colleagues
have been threatened and even kidnapped by
scrapes from the active actors in the gang wars.
It's easy to spout platitudes that we are safer
than ever when you live in your isolated little
bubble and never have to confront the sometimes
brutal reality. It is no secret that I have long
been highly critical of large parts of the
Swedish left. The two most outspoken feminist
parties – the Left Party and the Feminist
Initiative – long denied that honour culture
exists at all, and both parties still suffer
from being forced to speak out on the issue.
Instead, it has wholeheartedly pursued a
domestic — and horrible — variant of American
identity politics in which issues are
subordinated to innate attributes and
superficial characteristics. I will be a
socialist until the day I am cremated and my
ashes are scattered over some appropriate
geographical trallpunk reference – but the
established Swedish left is so clapping that I
get cramps just thinking about it. But having
said that, I don't imagine for a microsecond
that our current government will be any less
substandard. Rather, it is certain that the
economic gaps will increase further, not least
through tax breaks and other benefits for the
wealthy elite – a group whose purposeful
bourgeoisie always ensures is licked clean to
the last square millimeter. They are also a
guarantee that our school system continues to be
the world's most deviant and unequal. My only
hope is that they will be able to make some
important one-off contributions to justice
policy. Otherwise, there is a lot of focus right
now on cultural policy and migration policy.
When it comes to cultural policy, I obviously
want culture to be free and independent.
However, I must in fact agree with some
right-wing debaters that there is a measure of
hypocrisy in the criticism. Of course, the
payments of cultural grants have been
characterised by a certain amount of political
control even before the Tidö agreement came into
being. With the right kind of value-laden
concepts baked into your application, the thing
was ready haha. When it comes to migration
policy, I do not like that they want to reduce
the number of quota refugees, people with the
greatest need of protection we will forever
continue to help and receive, but I think it is
good that they want to limit migration in
general. The latter is, of course, an issue on
which the left has taken a new stance in recent
years. Probably so as not to ally themselves
with the enemy (SD and brownshirts). But what
they don't seem to understand is that they are
instead hooking arms with another enemy
(neoliberals). Historically, the left has always
stood for a strictly regulated migration policy
and I do not understand why they have embraced
the liberal idea of having almost unlimited
migration. No matter how much the security
system massacreer Fredrik Reinfeldt asked us to
'open our hearts' and the Margaret Thatcher copy
Annie Lööf chanted about 'humanity', we all know
that it is not about some genuine craze for
people in need, but about importing cheap labour
and lowering real wage levels. That large parts
of the left are playing along with this
transparent and dilettantely directed spectacle
is just tragic. I have worked in Bergsjön for
seventeen years and even though I have met
thousands of wonderful children and adults over
the years and love to work there, you have to be
extremely ideologically one-eyed to think that
it is an optimal community building. Segregation
is economic, residential and ethnic, and there
are a thousand and one things that should have
been done differently.
Micke: Personally, I haven't noticed anything
yet, but I'm afraid of the day when they start
poking around in health insurance. In the end,
the Alliance made life hell, it took just over a
year to get back financially. But if I look at
the whole, it feels pretty scary like 30s
Germany. There is talk of culture wars, there is
talk of reporting systems by teachers and
doctors, while many here swallow everything that
Trump and his supporters are ranting about.
People are brainwashed and hate speech is
becoming the norm, ordinary people are becoming
more extreme and get back thumps from
like-minded people and just move further and
further out on the hate scale.
The only positive thing is that there are more
punk groups, it feels like when it is a
right-wing regiment, is that something that you
notice?
Rille: No, I would have been lying if I claimed
to have noticed an explosion of fledgling punk
orchestras since September 11, 2022. On the
other hand, it was probably quite a few years
ago that Sweden had a left-wing government, so
in that way... But on the other hand, I am
extremely pleased that there seems to be a
fourth punk wave going on in the country and
that both old bands from the 90s and new bands
from the last decade contribute to a greater and
more activity than in a good long time. Things
are looking bright in terms of regrowth and we
know from experience that tough social and
economic times give birth to both political
commitment and plenty of protest music.
Micke: Oh, I don't know if more bonds are
formed, but maybe those that are formed and
those that already exist are getting angrier?
Five favorite records...
Swedish....foreign....five best concerts you've
been to?
Rille:
Rille:
Swedish:
De Lyckliga Kompisarna – Le som en fotomodell
Micke: I probably can't do any top-5 so I only
pick five that are damn good.
Swedish: : Björnarna - Det sämsta, Planet Trash
- 2020, Socialstyrelsen - I krossade speglars
skärvor, Left Hand Black - Lower Than Satan,
Sardo Numspa - Spöket i maskinen.
Foreign:
Propagandhi - How to clean everything,
Cause A Riot - Final Broadcast, Blanks 77 -
Killer Blanks, Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill,
Shane Macgowan & The Popes - The Crock Of Gold.
Concerts are damn difficult as my memory is not
as it should be, but Millencolin and No Fun At
All at Kafé 44 1994, Pennywise at Hultsfred
1996, Rancid at Gino 1995, Wild Rover at
Hultsfred 1995, Plus Mons at Huddagis type 1994.
In any case, there are five gigs that are
etched.
Per is interested in beer and so am I, what is
your favorite variety when it comes to beer or
do you not drink?
Rille: I'm not "interested" in beer in that way,
but I love to drink light beers and ingest them
as often as possible. My favorites are Red
Stripe, Carlsberg Hof, Heineken, Grön Tuborg,
Norrlands Guld and Corona (without lime).
Micke: I had a break of 8 years when I had
filled my quota. I don't drink beer very often
but I like Guinness, McEwan's and similar
things.
Five quick questions
Stockholm or Gothenburg?
Rille: Gothenburg. Has lived in the city for
eighteen years and thrives very well in the
northeastern parts (Kortedala). But I could
definitely imagine living in Stockholm. In the
summer of 2006, I was at a job interview in
Sollentuna and was then mentally set on becoming
a capital city resident, but fate wanted
otherwise (read: another charm was more
qualified than yours truly).
Micke: Stockholm
Punk: Lifestyle or style of music?
Rille: Both, but the lifestyle presupposes the
style of music and not the other way around.
Micke: Musiclifestyle
Go to a concert or listen to music at home?
Rille: What the hell. I need unlimited both to
feel good. Refuse to choose.
Micke: Go to a concert
NATO or not NATO?
Rille: I don't think Sweden should join NATO,
but I can understand if people think it was
easier to take a stand before Putin's full-scale
invasion. As the war draws closer, concern for
one's own security naturally increases, and for
many it outweighs political principles and
ideological positions. But I remain opposed.
Micke: Not NATO
Buy records or sell records?
Rille: Buying and collecting records has been a
big part of my life since I was a little couple.
Selling records is fun, but it is in many ways
an inevitable consequence of many years of
uncontrolled record buying...
Micke: Buying records
Who is your favorite lyricist?
Micke: Stefan Sundström is in a good position,
but the best is Rasmus in Avantgardet, not punk
certainly, but there are probably some point
themes there with exclusion and such. Really
strong lyrics.
Playing punk and being apolitical, can you be?
Best example of bands that are apolitical?
Rille: You can of course play punk music
musically, without even hinting at any opinions
or stances in the lyrics. I don't have any moral
biscuits to hand out about it, but welcome
anyone who wants to play melodic punk. The best
non-political punk bands were Hydrogenium from
Västerås and Kurt-Urban Karlsson from
Katrineholm. Hydrogenium had noisy lyrics while
Kurt-Urban drove on the more silly pubertal
track.
Micke: Sardo Numspa may not be super political,
they have chosen a different path that I still
think works well for punk. But apolitical punk
seems to have become more synonymous with those
sitting on the fence with preponderance to the
right.
Ask yourself a question that you want but never
get, answer it too?
Rille: Do you still have the bit of grass from
Örjans Vall that you brought with you as a
souvenir from Kalmar FF's Swedish Championship
gold celebration in 2008?
Micke: Can you not tell us all the nasty details
about that time you played with Pass Out in that
house in Björsared? Answer: What happens in
Björsared stays in Björsared!
What's the best question you've asked yourself
to any band, one that you've felt lonely and so
happy with?
Rille: Honestly, I don't think I've ever been
enthused by a self-posed question to the point
where I've been tempted to scratch my back, but
I like to ask my interviewees narrow and nerdy
questions. I spend a lot of time researching and
trying to find initiated and internal approaches
to the questions. An optimal reaction from the
questioner is: "How the hell do you know about
that?" Thanks for the interview and have a good
time. Support the stage, fight power and refuse
consensus. And I would very much like to say
hello to Rüdiger Falke.
Micke: Probably someone who came spontaneously
during a live interview, I probably can't think
of anyone specific right now. |