interview with Red Tail
Have any of you played in other bands? Oh yes, some of us have been playing in a whole bunch of bands both before Red Tail and at the same time. Tryggve was in Scalare, Out of space and is currently also in Angelfish. Mathias has played in Backseat, Mazon and Glimmung, and together with Conny he is also in Golvad. Jocke is also in Mudwater.
What are your names? / Who plays what?
Tryggve Gustavsson - guitar
Robin Binnberg - vocals
Mathias Krizan - drums
Conny Gustafsson - bass
Jocke Collin - guitar
Have you had other previous members? Yes, in the start we had another bass player.
Where are you from? Most of us are from Lidköping, Sweden, and some from Skara and Götene.
What year did the band form? We actually formed via phone on December 31st of 2008.
What's your style of genre? Heavy rock with a little bit of everything thrown in. We call it "pretty shitty rock'n'roll".
What inspires you? Anything and everything. It can be music, the weather, something we see on the news. Basically anything.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? It's not something we actively work on, but if it happens, it happens.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Same as above. Actually we've been able to release an EP via Bad language records.
What are your songs about? All sorts of things. Broken relationships, party stuff, traveling, playing rock.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? At first, Tryggve wrote most of the music and Robin did the lyrics. Now it's very much a band effort, even if Jocke comes up with most of the ideas.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? It's mostly in the guitarists homes or in our rehearsal room.
Have you done any covers live? No, we only play our own material.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Don't really know. The least is probably around 15-20 or so, since we've done a few gigs in our own rehearsal room and on private parties in peoples homes. And the most is probably somewhere around 300 when we've done a few indoors festivals.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? That's difficult to answer, because we have played on quite different places. But maybe somewhere around 25-50 years or so.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Some of our songs are regularly played, and some get played more seldom. We try to vary that a bit, so the audience doesn't know exactly what to expect.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Yes, actually we do. The Suffercity in Rock festival in Lidköpings Stadsträdgård, and also Italiabaren and Pitchers (both also in Lidköping) are places we've played a couple of times, and also Fröjereds Picknickfestival outside Tidaholm.
What was your first gig like? It was in a basement under a cinema together with two other bands in May 2009. About 50-60 of our friends were invited and we had a really good time.
What was your latest gig? A few months back, in September, we got to play at a cool festival, Backstage Rockfest in Lidköpings Folkets Park, together with Lillasyster, Bullet, Liv Sin and a few more.
Where have you played live this year? A couple of times at different places in our hometown Lidköping, but also Fröjereds Picknickfestival, Vicious Rock Indoors in Trollhättan and Oscars Rockbar in Varberg.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Don't remember exactly when we started, it could have been after we had played together for a year or so. We have recorded a few CD's which we sell, and we have put out a few different t-shirts. The last thing we did was to print patches for your denim jackets.
Where can people buy your merchandise? Either at our gigs, or just by contacting someone in the band. We don't have a webshop or anything like that.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records nowadays? In a way it's a bit sad, 'cause the bands don't get paid for the work they have put in. On the other hand, that's just the way it is. Just deal with it.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Well, it definitely has changed. Almost anyone can record an album in their own home and release it online nowadays. It's an easy way to work, but at the same time, it's extremely easy to drown in the giant flood of music.
What do you think of my work? Actually I didn't know anything about you until you contacted me. Maybe it's the same way for you. There are so many blogs out there so it's hard to be seen. I looked around a bit and saw that you seem to go to a lot of gigs, and that's great!
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I can't know anything about that, but hopefully a few people will read this and become interested in Red Tail.
Do you have any role models or idols? Well, we all listen to different bands, so we don't share the exact same idols. All of us of course like the big ones like Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Motörhead and so on.
Why do you think that they exist? Because they do what they want to do, and they have stood their ground through the years. Musicianship, a love for music, and lots of hard work. And probably a little bit of luck.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Only because that's what we grew up with, and can relate to in a different way. Of course there are lots of fantastic bands out there that we can (and do) get inspiration from.
What have been your biggest obstacles? To find the time to rehearse properly. We all have jobs, families, houses, pets and an everyday life. Playing in an amateur band doesn't pay any bills.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Play the music you like, but don't be afraid to widen your horizons. Listen to the people who know what they're talking about, and if they give you any advice, take it.
Do you have any new material? A little over a year ago we released a 4-track EP called "Pretty shitty rock'n'roll". The cd is sold out, but it's on Spotify. Then we put out one song, "Anger and hate", only on Spotify. Right now we have just finished the recordings of an album that will come out in march or april 2020. ONLY ON VINYL!
What are your web sites? We don't have an official website, but you can find us on Instagram and Facebook.
Do you have something to add? We have a few gigs lined up for 2020. If you want to know where and when, follow us on Instagram and facebook, and you will find out as soon as we make it official.
