Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Skew Siskin

What made you call the band "Skew Siskin"? Nina looked out for a bird name and found that strange word “Siskin” and added the “Skew”. It means something like “Weird Bird”

How was the band formed? It was formed in Berlin. I met Nina in a club and we exchanged musical ideas in a loose way for about a year. She had the same 60’s and 70’s background as I did, because her parents were hippies. After a while we thought that it might be fun to look out for a bass player and a drummer. The rest is history. Ya’see, very stress free.

Can you tell about your band? We wanted to play Rock’n’Roll, Classic Rock, Hardrock. No matter if it was in “fashion” or not. And that’s exactly what we do ‘till today because that’s what we do best.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? Nina C. Alice – Vocals / Conner Rapp = Bass / Mathias Brendel = Drums / Jim Voxx = Guitar. Nina is the only one born in Berlin. 

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? If your musical background goes from the late 60’s till early 70’s you might like us. If you like heavy riffs with a bumping groove and an edgy rough vocal sound, you go for it!

Where was your first gig? In a club in Berlin. Around 300 people were there … only musicians in the audience, eager to check us out. Very strange. But very effective, as we became word of mouth in town!

Where was the latest gig? At Brixton Academy in London supporting Motörhead.

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? Normally I write the songs together with Nina. Nina writes the lyrics. Sometimes she writes lyrics with Lemmy from Motörhead together. We also sometimes work with other musicians, like Ivan Kral (Patti Smith / Iggy Pop).

Who has the best sense of humor in the band? We all do have a unique humor which mixes well together.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? Good = Nobody plays a zillion notes per second. Bad = we’re too lazy to rehearse. But Rock’n’Roll is not supposed to be perfect, which is good again. Rock’n’Roll

Why did you pick that particular style? I’ve found “The Who – Live At Leeds” at the Berlin flea market. That changed my life.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers?  We write our own material. Sometimes we pick covers, for the fun of it.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?

You find our albums on CDBaby:  http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SkewSiskin

Our albums are also on Amazon: www.amazon.de/gp/shops/skew_siskin_shop

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/de/artist/skew-siskin/id178985810

Do you have any clips on YouTube? When you go to youtube and search for “Skew Siskin” or “Monongo” you’ll find lots of stuff. If you don’t know us at all, check “Skew Siskin live in Munich Part 1 + Part 2”. http://www.youtube.com/user/Monongo

What got you started in music? It was easier to get a girlfriend when you played in a band.

At what age did you start playing? I was 10 when I got my first guitar but I wasn’t interested in music. I played football instead. Nevertheless I was in a band at age 13. The girlfriend factor, y’know.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Age 13 supporting The Who. The promoter thought it was funny to have us kids on stage and then he was knocked out when he found out that we actually could play. The gig was a success and I realized that it was most important to get lots of Marshall cabinets.

What year was the band started? Skew Siskin started in 1992.

What places will you be playing in the immediate future? We will play with Motörhead in Feb and March in France, Belgium and Germany. Those are big gigs.

Where have you played from then till now? Our first tour was around the USA together with Black Sabbath. Other than that we play the European countries.

Which band is the best you´ve seen? The Who, ACDC, Motörhead.

Is it always the same songs live? I guess that would be quite boring.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Hard to say. I guess the ones without the occasionally desasters (equipment breakdown a.s.o.). You never know.

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Our support tours were always quite big.

How big crowds do you usually play for? 400 – 800 people or even 9000 people (support). It really doesn’t matter. Once we played a gig in a very small club (100 people) and it turned into an endless party. I think we’ve played the whole set-list twice because the audience didn’t let us go.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Doing the Motörhead tour and recording a new CD. Then back to live shows. 2014 should be alright.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? That happens during the first 2 minutes of the show.

What are your goals with your music? Enjoy myself.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? When I got a call from Berlins most famous punk band PVC. That band had the same hard live sound as Slayer has today. Nobody could have copied us.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I only get my inspirations from older bands. Most modern bands are boring to me.

What are your sources of inspiration? Blues oriented music. Even Metallica says that without Led Zeppelin there would’t be Metallica. That might surprise a lot of people.

What's the first step when making a new song? Having a good rhythm or a good melody.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Downloading takes a lot of fun and exitement out of the music. When you got an album you had the feeling holding something special in your hands. But it’s useless to talk about it, because you cannot turn back time. On the other side, paid downloading gives new bands the possibility to sell their music worldwide. Illegal downloading simply kills everything.

What would be your dreams for the band? Looking forward to having lots of fun with our fans. 

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to?

99% of the bands I listen to are from the late 60’s and early 70’s. The rest you can have.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Run out of cigarettes.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? I do not fear anything on stage. 

Have you been part of any other projects? Currently I am co-producing with Lemmy (Kilmister- Motorhead) his first solo album.

Have you been in any other bands? Since Skew Siskin started, no. I am not a session player. Never will be.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Sometimes producing other bands or writing songs for other people like Udo Lindenberg (famous legendary German rock star).

What would you do if there was no music? I would be an astronaut flying in a spaceship.

How important are your fans? They are what makes a concert, it would be quite useless without fans.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I was taking a shower after the show and somebody came in for an autograph. Thing is, I rarely have a pen with me when I take a shower.

Where do you rehearse? In the rehearsal room.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? “In Another World” (on or first album “Skew Siskin”) and “Riding With The Devil” (current album “Peace Breaker”). But that can change any moment.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Motörhead.

Do you have any webpages? http://www.skewsiskin.net

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Never take your wifes and girlfriends with you on tour. If you do, the band is not a band anymore.

Would you like to add anything else? Don’t do the things we would do.

How do you view the music-industry of today? When the big record companies joined the stock market they killed the music. Now they have to report every 3 month’s to their stock holders. All the big mega bands from the past took longer than 3 month’s to develop. Today you get fired after 4 weeks if you fail. The result is that you won’t have any charismatic big bands anymore very soon. You future is in the best case Justin Biber. Have fun but you will never know what you’ve missed. That’s a shame.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Do not spend a lot of money recording your demos. Work on the live show instead.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Do not make music just for the money. If you do it just for fun the money will likely come to you eventually.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? There is no best / worst. Instead, play always the best show you can. That’s all.

Tell us about upcoming gigs and why we should be at them? If you’re into Rock’n’Roll you won’t be disappointed. If you’re into thrash metal, you shouldn’t go to our shows.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence A B52 landing in your back garden.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? I have only good instruments.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? Smoking a cigarette.

What won't you spend money on? I won’t spend money on a brand new car. I have 1979 back Chevi Malibu.

What do you feel a band should spend their money on? Getting good analog equipment to be able to create a great sound for your live shows.

Do you have any thing to add? Actually yes, I really hope that we will play in Sweden this year.