NEONDAZE
"You don’t have to download the album before you decide to buy it... "
(Interview with Lars, November 2008)
Hello
and Welcome to Medazzarock. Congratulation to your CD.
Thank
you!
How
did the band form?
Actually,
it was me and a bunch of song I wanted to record. I saw Marcus on TV doing Bon
Scott. I had a metal cover band and he was invited to sing. After a while I
showed him some of my songs. He liked them and he laid his voice on them and it
sounded so great that we decided to make an album on our own.
Later on Hampus and Jeppe joined the band.
How
long did this album take to finish?
Quite
a long time from that we decided to make it until it was finished. Surely a year
at least. There were no time to do it all in one period. I was working a regular
job and Marcus lived far from me. So it was like piece by piece recording. Then
we hand it over to a friend who mixed it and that took quite a while too.
Any
favourite tracks on the album and why?
Well,
I like all the songs otherwise they would not have landed on the album. My
favourites differs from day to day. But Million Miles has it all, I guess.
It’s very intense and right on target. It grabs you at once. For me that is
really a hit song. So is Caroline. It’s very simple but has a very strong
melody.
How
did you come up with your band name? Is there any meaning behind it?
I
brainstormed together with some of my friends. Somewhere the word Neon came up.
After a while I found Daze. I thought that was cooler than Days. So there it
was. It doesn’t mean anything but I think it reflects our music pretty good.
Do
you know why so many good Bands come from Sweden?
I
have my theories at least. To begin with we had some huge pop and rock exports
like ABBA. They were huge! And then we had Europe. I think they cleared the way
for Swedish hard rock/metal. Besides in music lesson in school today they get a
chance to try drums, electric guitar and so on. That was NOT the case when I
went to school L…..
Do
you remember the first album and the latest you bought?
I
remember that one of the first album was Grand Funk Railroad Live Album. I guess
that one led me into hard rock. From that I only bought hard rock/metal albums.
I think the last one was Superunknown with Soundgarden.
What
was the first concert you attended?
It was Kiss, 1976. Kiss were my gods! At that time all my posters in my boy room was with Kiss. I listened to a lot of other band but Kiss was something special. Not necessarily the best band but still. What I remember from that concert is that I got squeezed by the crowed and started to panic…..
Do
you have a favourite guitarist?
There
are so many good guitarists out there. But I guess those that have influenced me
most are Michael Schenker, Uli Roth and Eddie Van Halen. Every time I hear those
early Ufo, Scorpions and Van Halen albums I always get so impressed. Those guys
are so far ahead of me.
What
was the first band you were in?
I must have been 12 years when I started my first band. We were two guitarists and a drummer. And the first time we rehearsed at the drummers basement and we couldn’t stop. We went on the whole day. I was just fantastic! And that is what I still think. Playing together with a band is just fantastic. When I started studying around 1998 I had no band to rehearse with for a lot of years. It was a huge emptiness in my life at that time. It is so great to have Neondaze now.
Is
there any chance to see you guys in Switzerland sometime?
Absolutely! It all depends on how much the album sells, radio stations playing our songs and so on. If there just is a tiny little chance we’ll be there right away!
Tell
us any highlights or painful stories from your Tour/shows?
Well,
we are just in the beginning so we have to wait and see what comes up…
Tell
us for which band you would love to do the opening act?
Europe
would be great. At least for me
:-) They’re in my age and have the
same favourite bands as I have. But we can open for any band. Just as long we
get a chance to tour.
Let’s
talk a bit about the music biz… What do you think personally about the whole
download-thing?
I think it’s more bad than good when it comes to illegal downloading. If we as musicians are going to survive we really need all money we can get. And that includes the money that comes from selling cd:s. My dream is and has always been to make a living on playing my music. I don’t have to be rich or be a star or that bullshit. Just as long I can provide for my family I’m happy. Today we have MySpace and every band has a website where you can listen to their songs so you know what you’re buying. You don’t have to download the album before you decide to buy it, which is an argument from they who think that illegal downloading benefits the musicians or bands.
In
our QUESTION PIT section at medazzarock.ch we’re actually asking how important
myspace for a musician really is…. Your opinion?
I
think MySpace is great. You can listen to the songs there. And you can find new
talents there. Neondaze were discovered thereJ
What
are the future plans for Neondaze?
We’re
watching our progress on internet and see new and good reviews everyday.
Hopefully it continues that way so that more people get to know about us and
make it possible for us to come out and play live. And of course we will make
more albums. Neondaze belongs to the present and the future!
At
the end of our interview we sometimes have some kind of a game. I´ll give you
some words and you tell us what comes to your mind…
Switzerland: Toblerone :-)
Sweden: Home
Casting Shows: Don’t know what that is.
The Poodles: Eurovision Song Contest
Family: Besides music, my everything.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Poodles....
Internet: Greatest invention ever after guitar distortion and women ;)
Money: Good to have when bills fill my mailbox
Well
that´s it... Any final words to our readers?
(Interview by Patrick)