From the letter from Pelle in Snorting Maradonas/feb 06
Hello Peter!
I do so that I answer everything myself. This is my opinions and all in the band don´t agree. Please write this first in the interview.
History?
-It´s started with that swedish televisions tv-program Spinn and PS would be be filmed from Borås. Our old guitarist get a question about playing some music. John hadn´t a band at that time so was it so that some plans became reality because our singer Erik had plans to start a band together with John and that was a punk/HC-band. Behind the drums came David from Johns old band Cerumen and the band was completed when Erik took the bass. I was in the Tv-prgram too in another consistency and after the program I asked them if they wanted another guitarist. After some gigs I take over the bass from Erik because I played bass in my bands before. With this lineup we recorded a demo and we went on for a year and then John quit the band and only played with his other band, Then we found Skorpan which was an old schoolmate to me on drums. Harry we found through an ad on our website.
Bands before or on the side of Snorting?
-Before Snorting I played bass and singed in a grunge/trashpopband which was called Sleep Machine, we played Ebba Grön-covers in the beginning and then we went over to Nirvana-covers. In the end we went over to own material which can be compared with bands like Pixies. Before that I played in a duo which played really wild progressive music. We was called Nises Rockorkester. Have also played in a gothrockband and some more or less serious punkbands like Plasta katt and Jätte-Arja Saionmaa.
Erik played with a band together with the ex-drummer which was called Shoesize 44. Something rockmusic but they experimented really much with the musicstyules. Erik have also played in the crust/grind/HC-band Disprosium together with the ex-guitarist. Skorpan plays with a jazzband which I think have the name Gamla Metallica.
I think that Skorpan have played a lot with a band which haven´t played for a while. But he have played with a band Irrenhaus which played something like gothrock or something like that. Harry is the singer and guitarist in the emoband Silent Aggression which earlier was called Sågspån. In the beginning it was mostly "farmermetal" after what I have heard.
Please tell me a little about every member, age, family, interests and something bad about every one?
-Something terrible can be really hard to come up with but I will do my best.
Erik Sjöstrand 18 years, vocals and electric madnolin in Snorting. Lives in Borås with mother and little brother. Have a big brother and a big sister and a father which lives in the country. Erik have a big interests for folkmusic and can play funny instruments as mandolin. Harmonica, tubes, flutes and so on. Erik is a little bit of a gamenerd and likes figuregames after what I have understood. Pelle Andersson 18 years, El-bass in Snorting. I´m living in Ulricehamn with divorced parents and tow little sisters. I´m interested in punkmusic you can say. I arrange gigs together with some mates under the name Sjuhäradspunk. Have earlier been in musicparties as Rockborgen and Stage Club. I´m collecting records and try to collect 90´s punk in Swedish
Harry Chichon 17 years, Guitar in Snorting. Lives in Dalstorp in Tranemo with his mother. His father lives in Gibraltar. Harry plays mostly with his girlfriend or rehearse with the emoband or Snoring so I don´t know so much which interests he have. ..except music and to play with his girlfriend. Coca Cola is something that Mr Chichon appreciate also.
Skorpan Bern 18 years, drums in Snorting. Lives in Ulricehamn with mother and 3 brothers. Have a a father which lives in Ulricehamn and a siter in Gothenburg. He have read a lot of musictheory and he´s a devil at playing. Skorpan likes jazz and triphop, something that I never have understood. He plays a lot in different places. Have played drums in a musical and he have been hired as a studiomusican.
So was it the thing with something terrible about every member also"What the hell" Erik can be really odd and change himself to the 80 year old pedophile Gösta which likes everything which moves. It´s a thing which really makes people crazy. Harry is this bands girlmagnet and after the gigs is it always someone who says how good looking the guitarist was. But is it horrible? Skorpan can yell high sometimes anyhow and anywhere. One example is after we have played at Kafe 44 and we would take the train and then Skorpan shouts really high. An older gentlemen in the same train asks him loud what the hell he was doing. The most horrible with me is that I have easy to sweat. Something that really makes the other members angry.
You have a lot of attention of your song about swedish royal family and especially princess Madeleine, have it helped you much? Have it been msot positive feelings or what?
-The same day we were on Expressens news it was a lot of uproar and it was ringing from the left and from the right. Now it have been calmed downa little. The reactions was both positive and negative.
It was a long time since a punksong got so much attention, it must have been when Knugen Skuk and Kuken i styret was banned in the 80´s? Is it fun or?
-Of course it´s really fun. Now we have bee written ourselves into Swedish punkhistory which is a big honour for me
You mix politics and humour in a very nice way, is this the right way to get out your opinions?
-It´s a nice way anyway. Something we will do even if some of our other songs isn´t so much "satire" as Kungliga Jiggen. We´re not first with mixing politics and humour anyway.
Politicis and music, does it belong together?
-In the punkmovement it is so as I see it. It´s hard to mention some punksong which isn´t political
The best political band?
-Hard to say. And then I don´t know what the other members will answer on this. I think that Varnagel os a band which can get foreward their politics in the music in a good way even if their opinions is too radical for my taste. Cosa Nostra is a band which is warm to my hearth and then they egt out their opinions with lyrics very good.
Best swedish punkbands through all times?
-Skorpan would answer DLK. Harry should say Radioaktiva Räker. Erik would have said Ubba. I don´t know what to say but Cosa Nostra is high on my list. Lyrically it´s Charta 77. And Marts projects is warm to my heart even if it´s lesser than before.
The most important swedish punksong?
-Difficult question but I want to give you two anwers and the first one is DLK - Ishockeyfrisyr. That song got punk out to media like TV and radio. DLK, a PUNKBAND which was modern to listen to. My second answer is Dia Psalma - Hon får. Even if I don´t like the song so much so had it marvellous amounts of selling for Birdnest and Diapsalma. A punkband on Track isn´t every day we have.
What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifetsyle?
-Punk is absolutely a lifetsyle. Punk for me is about doing something, not to sit at home and complain that it´s not happening anything in the little place you live in or that the latest issue of Okej is bad , it´s more about fixing gigs or to write in a fanzine as an opposite force to Okej. Punk isn´t clothes as many people maybe believe. I think that a guy that fix an own gig with good bands is more punk than Sverre 19 years which is sitting in the park and drinks folkbeer which ha have bought for his socialgrant.
You play punk but you seems to have influences from many other styles too, tell us?
-On the latest record we have influneces from Swedish and irish folkmusic, ska , hardcore and deathmetal.
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I compare you with an old band called Dagens Ungdom? Which other bands are you being compared to?
-I have difficulties to compare us with other bands. And it´s not fun to be compared with other bands. But we have heard that people compares us with bands like DLK, KSMB, Dia Psalma, Asta Kask och Troublemakers.
How do you think the swedish musicclimat is in Sweden today?
-I don´t kmow anything how the commercial music looks today. I checked out the Grammis some week ago and I understood there that I don´t even have heard anything about half the nominated before. But the Swedish punkclimat is on it´s way up. New bands on it´s way, record label is started and is out. It comes more and more people on the gigs. It looks bright
Is there any good bands?
-There´s a lot of good bands and there´s even more bad bands..
Good bands in Borås? You have really good ground in punk in Borås with bands like Råttorna, Mögel osv?
-Not only Råttorna and Mögel. We have also Vrävarna, Iguana Party, Guineapigs, Vaccum Borås and so on. Right now it´s not so many good punkbands in Borås. There´s a band with our old members Decimate which is OK. Mögel have done a reunion and released a new record which is fucking good.But it´s really fun that Guineapigs still is doing their thing.
It´s an experience to play with them. And I think that Asbest is Borås best punkband ever. And we can´t forget Ulricehamns best band ever. The wonderful melodic Mammas Jeltar.
Please rank your five favoriterecords, five favoriteconcerts and five most important things in life?
Records:
1. De lyckliga kompisarna - Le som en fotomodell
2. Cosa Nostra - Under ytan
3. Räserbajs - Noppriga tights och moonboots
4. Johan Johansson - och hans lilla svarta värld
5. Total Egon - Samling i det gröna
Concerts:
1. Gymnastiken on Augustibuller 2004
2. Pixies on Roskildefestivalen 2004
3. Total Egon in Skene 2005
4. Köttgrottorna on Hus1 in Jakobsberg
5. Rolands gosskör on Augustibuller 2005
(I must say a sixth also) 6. Bob Hund in Göteborg 1999
The most important things i cannot say baceuae I havent thought about it.
The first , last and moste xpensive record ever bought?
-The first record I bought for my own money was actually a Magnus Uggla-record but then I wasn´t so old. Fucking embarrassing . The most expensive record is Räserbajs- Hår på bröstet for 375 swedish krona. The latest record Skumdum - Det vi kan bäst.
Most embarrassing record in your collection?
-Must be some fucking Bryan Adams-record which I don´t know where I have bought.
How do you see on the political climat in Sweden, isn´t it shit that the oppposition take the tsuamicatastrophe and the afterwork there as a chance for them to get foreward?
-The socialists is as big joke as the rightwingparties so I let them do what they do. I don´t think that the rightwingparties succeed to get majority in the election. I´m in the leftwingparty and will spread propaganda as far as I can for a socialist government.
I read about your recordlabelsbosses and they thought and believed that a new punkwave could be big if the rightwings won the election? Do you agree?
-They have right. If you look back in time so came the punk to Sweden in a period of rightwinggovernment. In the beginning of the 90´s became Calle Bildt the primeminister and in the same time came a punkwave. A rightwing government would be good for the punk but bad for Sweden
Do we need a new punkwave?
-It´s one of my big dreams. It would be really wonderful if it happened. But it´s on it´s way. It´s proofed with 4 gigs in a row with sold out tickets for us.
Is it many interviews? Is it boring?
-It´s fun with interviews and it have become some now. But now I have been sitting with this interview for over an hour and Swedens womenhockeyteam have gone to Olympic Games-final.
The question you never get but you want to have? Please ask it and answr it
-I can maybe answer that some other time.
Futureplans for the band?
-Sell a lot of our new record. Hopefully record a fullength in the autumn and we hope that it sells good and can be the start for a new punkwave.
And for yourself?
-Go through the school. Have really high absence and bad marks. I will read more and be a engineer after high school
Wisdomword?
-I say as Per Granberg: "You get no chances, you take them "
Something to add?
-It´s fun with music.
You must tell us how your name came foreward?
-A question qhich always comes which I will answer short. Before the ”TV-recording” the band talked with the musican Klas Qvist which said if he would have a punkband it will be named Snorting Maradonas. He felt that he was too old to have a punkband so we got this name. A funny thing with Klas Qvist is that he sang Staten & Kapitalet in the rehearsalroom once.
Thanks for a good interview with funny and good questions!