Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Bonefish

How was the band formed? The others were friends from school and I got to know them from mutual friends.

Can you tell about your band? Sure. We’re kind of an Americana inspired rock band but we’re not using banjo or anything.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? We’re all from Stockholm in Sweden. Rasmus plays the drums, Nylle bass and me and Lasse plays guitar. We all sing but Rasmus only sings backing vocals, so far.

What was the ambition of the band when you started? Well, we just wanted some gigs because we love to perform. Then we started to record songs and release to get better and bigger gigs and went on tour.

Could you explain your music to someone that hasn’t heard you? Yes, Americana inspired rock music without banjo!

Where was your first gig? We played at a small place in Stockholm called Stampen together with 5 other bands in a kind of a beginner’s evening.

Where was the latest gig? A Rock and Blues festival in south of Sweden.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? I write all songs and all the lyrics but we all arrange the music together.

Who has the best sense of humour in the band? Haha, we all have good sense of humour I believe, but since Lasse Nilsen also is a stand up comedian I have to say him.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? We’re good at making it sound good with all instruments and vocals. On the down side: we could perhaps be more experimental, I guess… Genre would be Rock with a touch of Blues and Country and Southern Style music.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? Well, I guess we play the music we like and match our ability. The songs are about all kinds of stuff, like North-South conflicts, poverty, war, animals, pollution and love.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? I write all the material for the band but the others are starting to write some stuff now. Occasionally we play a cover or two at gigs but not very often.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Yes, one self titled full length album and one 4 songs EP.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes. Check our channel Bonefishswe

How old are you?/What got you started in music? We’re all well over 30… J I started playing the guitar when I was 14. Before that I played drums for 3 years.

At what age did you start playing? Guitar at 14 but drums at 11. And accordion at 9!

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? We all started playing with bands in our late teens.

What year was the band started? 2010.

Best/worst gig you've played? Best for Bonefish our latest gig at a Rock- and blues festival. Worst probably some small town where no one had heard of us.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? We have only one gig booked and that’s at a private party.

Where have you played from then till now? We have toured in UK, Belgium and Sweden.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Seen a lot of good bands but recently the best are probably North Mississippi All Stars and Valery June.

Is it always the same songs live? No, we change a lot.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? When we played in Wales this spring.

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Last year we played in London, Wales and Brussels, Belgium.

How big crowds do you usually play for? From 50 up to a couple of hundreds.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? We will rehearse some new material for our next album.

Where do you usually play? Wherever they want us! But since we’re from Stockholm, Sweden we do a lot of gigs there.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? A good sound check and then we try to eat together in the band. Maybe a beer or two, but not more! If you drink before a gig it affects your performance.

What are your goals with your music? We love to play and to perform so we want to do it as much as possible and at as big venues as possible.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? When I was perhaps 11 years old!

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Mostly older…

What are your sources of inspiration? Americana artists like Neil Young, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. But also British bands like The Clash and Led Zeppelin.

What's the first step when making a new song? It could be a melody or a phrase just popping up in my head. Or a cool rhythm.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Downloading kills music, but its understandable people want to have it for free. Who doesn’t want things for free? But at least those who can afford it should pay, I believe.

What would be your dreams for the band? 

Haha, some good gigs and some recognition would do fine!

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I listen to all kinds of music, but right now I’m into North Mississippi All Stars, 16 Horsepower/Wovenhand, Timber Timbre and Valery June. Waiting for an album from Reignwolf.

What do you hold most dear? My children!

What would be your greatest fears for the future? That Mankind doesn’t take on the problem with the devastation of the Earth in time.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Electrical failure!

What songs and what years were they released? All songs on Bonefish album are released 2013. The four on EP 2014.

Have you been part of any other projects? Yes many, most notably Swedish top 10 selling Rock band Docenterna.

Have you been in any other bands? Yes, Docenterna, T-Shirts, Gang B, Zeta, Giant Steppers, Scream and Ritz Titz Sensation.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I’m self employed in IT.

What would you do if there were no music? Write!

How important are your fans? We are playing for them!

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Well, showing up at remote places where we have gigs, I guess… J

How often do you rehearse? Depends. If we have a gig we rehearse more often. If not, maybe once a week.

Where do you rehearse? We have a place we share with two other bands.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Well, there are two new ones not released yet: Jimmy! and Potential loss of faith.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Seen a lot of good live bands but recently I would say North Mississippi All Stars.

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? For us: the love of music and performance.

Would you like to add anything else? Haha, sure! But this interview is long as it is.

Describe your show, visually and musically Well, we go out there and do our songs. It’s pretty straightforward. For next tour we might start to develop it a little towards a more full experience. But these things take time; you don’t want to sell yourself out either…

How do you view the music industry of today? It seems very controlled I would say. TV and radio and traditional media seem to totally be in the hands of the major companies. Perhaps it’s not possible to have it any other way since the number of bands and small record companies have exploded. It’s too much for them to go through everything so they rely on the marketing departments of the majors. And I mean: they usually have some great stuff along with all the crap they have contracted…

But also the channels for alternative music have exploded so the good stuff is out there, you might not look for it in traditional media.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Hang in there…

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? After the obvious: now how to play, have decent songs, doesn’t sound like everything else I would say reach through the cacophony.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs?

Best: you get really close to your audience.

Worst: if people are really drunk.

Tell us about upcoming gigs and why we should be at them? We have just finished touring and will now start working on our next album. We might do occasional gigs but nothing is booked just yet.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence Electrified Americana (no banjo!).

What is your favourite crappy instrument Diddley bow.

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Well, we have our quarrels, as in all bands.

Whats your Pre-show ritual?We try to get together and maybe eat something, but it depends on the situation. No set ritual.