interview with Gudars Skymning
What made you call the band "Gudars Skymning"? It was sorted out of a bunch of cool band titles just because it got a certain ring to it. It sounds quite proggy, a nod to the Swedish 70’s prog scene that is. It also has a connection to Norse mythology as well. Something that we are very interested in.
How was the band formed? The band was formed in 2005 as a project of our singer/guitarist Kenny-O and the first demo and gig in 2006. The setting was a bit different in the beginning with our current drummer Dennis as organ player and Kenny as the only guitarist. That changed when Knut Hassel Joined the band. Nowadays we have a meaner dual guitar driven sound.
Can you tell about your band? We play heavy rock with blues, folk, jazz, and even some doom elements at times.The lyrics is sung in Swedish which curiously enough has not been a hindrance for us to get great response on our albums in European countries like Germany, Italy and Greece. We are suckers for dual guitar harmonies and have a bad habit of throwing in ¾ time signatures every time we got the chance. Probably because we are bred on a great amount of Swedish folk music!
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? From the cold north of sweden - Jämtland, Ångermanland, Dorotea. A lot of fir pines for everyone!
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? When we started out we had only heard of a few current bands playing classic heavy rock with Swedish lyrics. Inspired by Svarte Pan, Abramis Brama and of course the almighty November, we wanted to be a part of that thing! After just a few years this scene exploded, especially after the big breakthrough of the retro rockers Graveyard. Now you can find a bunch of great bands in our genre which is fun! We play heavy rock with blues, folk, jazz, and fusion sometimes .We are heavily influenced by the ‘60s and ‘70s. The albums are mostly recorded live in the studio with song and some overdubs made afterwards, what you get on the albums is very true to what you get on a live performance with us, only 120db louder!
Where was your first gig? A small outdoors festival in the hometown of Kenny-O and Dennis. It was a blood red sun sinking over the river and the gig was a very good one.
Where was the latest gig? Plaza Östersund, we supported In Solitude, an upcoming doomy band
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Kenny-O is the main writer nowadays, Knut is throwing in a riff or two and the odd song here and there.
Why did you pick that particular style? We grew up on those influences and were immersed in a thick doomy dope cloud of ‘60s and ‘70s heavy rock music.
What are your songs about? Mythological themes, strange characters and reflections of everyday life embedded in some quite surrealistic lyrics.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We of course write our own songs, but we have recorded a few covers as well on our first and second albums.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We have 3 albums out at the moment, and there’s also an old demo from 2006. Our latest Album is the very well recieved Höj Era Glas, which was released in november 2013 on Transubstans Records.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? There are a few around, not of any significant sound quality though. Alas! All these crappy smartphones!
What got you started in music? Women, booze and, ultimately, money of course.. Unfortunately we have seen none of either! Well, there was a woman at our gig in Östersund last month, but she only stayed for five minutes!
At what age did you start playing? In our early teens, the whole bunch.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? We were teenagers, with the hunger that only young dreaming teens with guitars can muster!
Best/worst gig you've played? We had a blast playing at Scharinska Villan in Umeå a few years back, as well as the great club Liljan in Borlänge. But the coolest gig ever was at the great club Underjorden in Gothenburg with Magnolia and LugnOro – that was a fantastic night! All bands do some crap gigs along the road, not so much worth mentioning. The trick is to get to a level where a bad gig still is above par.
What places will you be playing in in the immedate future? Dundermarknaden in Strömsund, we’ll also play at the hard rock club in Gävle. But first and foremost we’ll record yet another album in august.
Which band is the best you´ve seen? Michael Schenker did a killer concert in Sundsvall last year, otherwise I hold the concert with Magnolia in Gothenburg a few years back as one of the best gigs I’ve seen a band do, awesome!!!!!
Is it always the same songs live? Of course not. Some songs are mandatory, but otherwise we always try to find something new to put in the set.
How big crowds do you usually play for? We’ve played for 20-30 people at partys, up to 300-400 at clubs.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Above all we’re recording a new album, that’s the top priority right now. We’ve written a boatload of songs that we’re rehearsing and edition right now, so we’re up to our necks in work at the moment!
Where do you usually play? The northern parts of Sweden
How do you get psyched up for a gig? We don’t do anything special before, we just hang out, toss down a brew and take it easy.
What are your goals with your music? Primarily to make people dig as hell and connect with us live on stage as well in being excited listening to our albums.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? We didn’t actually – very few bands in sweden can do that, so we all have day jobs. Sweden is a small country and even artists that are considered to be acclaimed and quite successful are forced to work their asses of for bread. We are fortunate to have the possibility to hand pick gigs we find interesting. Quite a luxury actually.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? We take inspiration from everything we hear, but there are always things from the old days of rock that seep through….
What's the first step when making a new song? A good riff, and jamming together with no safety belts, full throttle! That is the key!
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I buy the albums I think are great, digital music is crap sound qualitywise compared to an LP for example!
What would be your dreams for the band? Expand our fan base and be able to continue make music that keep on inspiring people.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Everything from jazz to Stoner rock! As long as it’s genuine handcrafted music and not over produced, mechanical bullshit!
What do you hold most dear? Our precious jars of Danish pipe tobacco, and Maker’s Mark whiskey of course!
What would be your greatest fears for the future? To be dumped in a ditch, covered in petrol.. On fire..
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? That the sound guy isn’t doing the band justice.
Have you been in any other bands?
Knut – Destiny, Seventh Planet.
Kenny, Dennis & Magnus – the progressive rockband “Hatt”.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Teaching, kindergarten, personal assistant, and a factory worker.
What would you do if there was no music? Reading a lot of books and watching to many crappy sci-fi and horror movies
How important are your fans? Very important! They Are the wood that keeps this fire burning!
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Well… let’s talk about something else…..
How often do you rehearse? About once every second week.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Gåtor I Mörkret och Den Långa Vägen Hem.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? A burning Passion for music!
Do you have any webpages? We have a facebook page of course, and also an official Gudars Skymning site, as well as a Myspace site:
www.facebook.com/gudarsskymning
www.myspace.com/gudarsskymning
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Don’t eat the yellow snow!!!
Describe your show, visually and musically Intense, loud, beardy, bohemic and great fun!
How do you view the musicindustry of today? There is no music industry any more. It was fucked up by the internet years ago, for good and bad.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Money.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? The best is the close contact with the audience, the worst thing is our lack of roadies!
Tell us about upcoming gigs and why we should be at them? We do quite a few gigs a year so be sure not to miss us when we come your way, you will have a great time for sure. We will give it our very best to rock you to kingdome come!
How would you describe your sound in one sentence.A sticky, thick, and heavy fog of fat guitars oozing out of the speakers, drowning the audience in a divine blizzard of guitar riffage from hell!
