Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

How was the band formed? I was in a punk band called Whiskey Business and was having a hard time finding members, so I sold my half stack and bought an acoustic guitar and starting playing solo sets. After awhile I met up with Mickey who plays bass. Then I ran into Marco at a bar that hosts open mic's and we hit it off fast. Mickey worked at guitar center with Ben and Mickey told him we needed a drummer and.. Yeah. That's how that happened. 

Can you tell about your band? We're like a folky..punky-ish, American-ish type band from Chicago/Northwest Indiana 

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?

Me and Marco live in Northwest Indiana. The rest of the band lives in Chicago. The Jailhouse Poets are:

Jeff Shepherd- Vocals/Guitar Marco Sassman- Banjo/Vocals  Mickey T. Craft- Bass/Vocals Ben Standage- Drums/Vocals  Colleen Alvin- Fiddle

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Just to play. Travel. See the country. 

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? I get this question a lot, and always have a hard time answering it. But I guess Folk/Punk? I dunno.. Ha. 

Where was your first gig? Depends. When I started this band it was just me and Matt Patt, who was also in Whiskey Business. We played as a duo for awhile. And I honestly couldn't tell you the first place we actually played at under the name Jailhouse Poets. Probably somewhere in Indiana. Then when it was still just me and Mickey our first show was at Reggies in Chicago. But I guess for all intensive purposes our first show would technically be the Underground Lounge in Chicago last October. That was me Mickey and Marco. 

Where was the latest gig? Last night at the Westport Saloon in Kansas City, Missouri. Or technically tonight at The Elbow Room in Wichita, Kansas. 

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? I write the lyrics. Me and Marco work on melodies together a lot. 

Who has the best since of humor in the band? Probably Marco. He's a good sport. 

What's good/bad with the band? Bad-Money. Gas prices. Beer prices. Cigarette prices. Good- playing music with yo frandz.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I didn't really pick it.. I just kind of fell into I guess. I just write tunes. Our songs are just about life in general I guess. 

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? All original. We do a couple covers here and there. 

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Kind of. Working on getting the full length out. I recorded one song in 2013 "The Worst Withdrawal". It's on our website and stuff. We did a music video for it last year as well. It's on YouTube or our site, www.jailhousepoets.com

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yeah, there's some stuff up there. Our video and some live clips. 

How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am 25. I've been into music my whole life. 

At what age did you start playing? I started playing guitar whenever the movie "Fight Club" came out. The first song I ever learned how to play was "Where is my mind" by the Pixies. 

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 15. 

What year was the band started? Depends.. Haha. We'll say October 2013. 

Best/worst gig you've played? Best was this past April in Chicago. We played MoonRunners fest at Reggies and I got to play a song with one of my favorite songwriters ever, Roger Alan Wade. That definitely did not suck. Worst show I ever played was in this band Unsung Heros. We were in Savageville, OH. I was 16. Our drummer was driving our van and we were on some mountain and our van went sliding down this cliff. We were supposed to play some fest in the woods or something, I dunno, we never found it. The linkage in our van broke and we were stranded. I had to walk for miles in the rain and in the dark until I got cellphone service. Smart phones weren't a thing yet so I just had to dial 911 and call for a tow truck. We spent all of our tour money fixing the van and on a hotel room. So we had to cancel the rest of the tour.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? I'm doing a solo tour right now until Nov 10th I believe. Hooking up with one of my favorite humans Matt Woods who's based outta Knoxville, TN on Oct 21. We're playing some shows together down south. Then at the end of the month I'm gonna back out on the road with Rachel Kate, who is an amazing singer/songwriter outta Nashville, for another month or so. Tennessee pumps out good songwriters apparently ha. 

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? I'm not really sure. I've seen a lot of good ones. It's hard to pick. 

Is it always the same songs live? No. It's always different. I write a lot and we are always throwing in new stuff. 

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? I just recently quit my job on the railroad to tour and play full time. So the plan is to tour pretty extensively in the near future. 

How big crowds do you usually play for? All varies. Weekdays are haaard.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Finish these tours and get ready to make another record in 2015.

Where do you usually play? Bars. Any bar. Anytime. Haha. 

How do you get psyched up for a gig? Jim Beam. 

What are your goals with your music? Just to play. And travel. Meet humans. Humans kind of rule. 

When did you decide to go all in for the music? July 2014. 

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Either or. I like all kinds of music. 

What are your sources of inspiration? Just people I've met.. Or places I've been to. Or stories I've heard. 

What's the first step when making a new song? All depends. Sometimes I'll just sit down and write a song in 10 minutes, sometimes it'll take me months. 

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I think you should do both. Buy the digital and keep the records at home. Bands work their asses off to make those records. Give them all of the money. 

What would be your dreams for the band? Playing the Revival Tour would rule. You got Chuck Ragans number?

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? All kinds. Rock, Punk, Folk, Country, I can get down on anything. Except dub step. Well- maybe if I'm drunk I'll do that too. 

What do you hold most dear? My friends. 

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Being buried alive. 

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Nothing. Well- maybe breaking a string. I do that a lot. 

Have you been part of any other projects? Yeah. I've been playing in bands for about 10 years now. I've done Unsung Heros, Cruiser 57's, Whiskey Business, Wasps Masks, Goin Seady... 

What would you do if there was no music? Make it. 

How important are your fans? Vital.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? This one chick came up to me, grabbed me by the back of my head, kissed me and then smacked me in the face because I wasn't Jeremy. To whoever that was in Michigan, fuck you. 

How often do you rehearse? I play almost everyday. Although we haven't had a full band practice in probably 5 months. 

Where do you rehearse? Mickeys recording studio in Chicago. 

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? My favorite show was ZZ Top, Stray Cats, and the Pretenders in Indianapolis, IN. That ruled. Except my friend Kevin got busted for minor consumption. That didn't rule. 

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? Do what you love. Life's too short not to. If it makes you happy and you're passionate about it, that's what matter. But- that's just me. 

Do you have any webpages? www.jailhousepoets.com

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Keep on truckin'

Describe your show, visually and musically. All depends. Sometimes it's just me. Sometimes it's me and Marco. Sometimes it's the 4 of us, or 5 of us.. Sometimes it's a friend in another band in me. Sometimes it's me and some dude in Missouri who I met on the street right before the show. 

How do you view the musicindurty of today? There is none. 

What advice would you like to give other bands? Buy something that gets good gas mileage. 

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Money. The root of all evil. 

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Check out www.jailhousepoets.com

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? We all get along pretty well. 

Whats your Pre-show ritual? Jim Beam. 

Do you have anything to add? I'll see ya in Sweden one day! Haha. Maybe next year. Who knows.