How would you classify your music? Tommy : Some sort of crossover metal. Heavy riffs with melodies, intensive. Lars : I think we are getting to the point where you should classify our music as Gooseflesh music - healthy hard rocking crossover music for the masses. Robert : Crossover with a lot of grooves and melodies without sacrificing any weight or rage. It's music for every fan in any kind of genre of Metal. Kristian : Crossover Metal. Do you all have day jobs and if so what do you do? Tommy : Yes, we all have day jobs. I am working as some kind of a promoter combined with teaching young kids to play rock & other things related to the music business. Lars : I have a day job, yes. I work as a pre-school teacher, preparing six-year-olds for school (and life, basically). Robert : I sell advertisements and subscriptions for a magazine, which embraces the mechanic industry. Kristian : I'm working as a pupil's assistant on a high school. I work with kids that are in trouble in one or another way. So I see some of the bad sides in society. How did the band get together? Tommy : Me and the original bassist Micael Larsson were at the time playing in Rat Salad and felt an urge to do something new. One day we got real drunk with our friend Kristian Lampila and decided to form Gooseflesh. We called up Lars Berger and that was that. Robert Hakemo replaced Micael after 1 year & just before that Rat Salad broke up as well. Lars : I knew of Tommy and Kristian from way back and always respected their work, so when they rang me up to ask if I wanted to join, I said yes right away. Robert : See the biography Kristian : I was looking for some people to play with because my earlier band had split up and I had some songs written. So one night when I got together with Tommy and Mike Larsson (who was playing in Rat Salad at the time) as we were drinking I mentioned that I had some music that I wanted to try out and they said "hey Okay" let's drink to that. Tommy also knew this bad MF drummer, we called him up and he said, "Fuck yeah" so that's how it got started. What are your musical backgrounds? Tommy : I'm educated in music in high school & I've played in different metalbands since I was 12 years old. Lars : I've been playing the drums for about 20 years now, playing different kinds of music; heavy metal, indie, covers. My aim is to play original without compromises. That's a freedom I feel I have within Gooseflesh. Robert : I wanted to be a drummer like Mick Tucker (The Sweet) or Bill Ward (Black Sabbath). But when we put the first band together we had no one playing the bass so I started to learn by the guitarist how to play some chords and the band was complete. It was one singer, one drummer a guitarist and me! A drumming guitarist trying to play some bass. Kristian : I started out in the community music school, playing piano, trumpet and clarinet. But when I got in the teens I started to listen to Metal. I thought I can't play "Metal Gods" on the clarinet. So my older brother bought me an electric guitar on which I started banging out riffs on. Wasn't to serious in the beginning I just thought it was cool.I've studied music on collage level, playing in lots of different bands, coverbands, different tribute bands, playing all from ABBA to Black Sabbath. What kind of music do you like to listen to when you're not playing? Tommy : I like almost every kind of music but most often I still listen to Metal. Lars : I like good music, and some of the bands I listen to are : * King Crimson *God Machine *Kyuss *Primus *Tool Robert : Slayer, Napalm Death, Sheryl Crow and The Police. Kristian : I have a really broad taste in music, so it might be everything in between Frank Sinatra through Suede and Morbid Angel. What do you do to relax? Tommy : Socialize with my friends, Watch movies, get drunk, have sex. Lars : *Spend time with my family. *Write. *Listen to music. *Watch movies. *Play tennis. Robert : Walk my dog, do drawings or just drink! Kristian : Watch a film, read a book, drink a bottle of wine and go fishing. If you had the chance to jam with any band, who would that be? Tommy : I've always wanted to jam with Testament. Chuck Billy is the King. Lars : I would have liked to play congas with The Jimi Hendrix Experence (Jimi, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding). Robert : Definitely Pantera. Kristian : I don't fucking know. Any cool band that rule. What's the best thing that has ever happened to you? Tommy : Gooseflesh is the first thing that comes to my mind. Lars : When my daughter was born. Robert : Joining Gooseflesh. Kristian : It's yet to come I hope What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Tommy : When the love of my life left me for another guy but on the other hand that taught me a lot for life. Somehow I think that made me a better person. Lars : When my father died. Robert : When my father died just before my 18th birthday Kristian : When my parents divorced. Who writes the songs? Tommy : Me, Kristian or Robert or the two of us or all three of us. Then we always arrange the songs in our rehearsing studio all four of us. Each member is very important for how the song will turn out in the end. Robert : Tommy, Kristian and me do the writing, then we arrange them with the great talent in Gooseflesh: Lars "Fibes" Berger. Kristian : It's different but we're three good songwriters in the band, Tommy, Robert and myself. Where do you get your inspiration from? Tommy : Real life. It can be something I have read in a newspaper or it can be an ordinary little thing that happened around the corner. Sometimes I don't have any inspiration for months and then suddenly I'm full of inspiration almost without any reason. I can't explain it; it's just the way it is. Lars : From other creative people! Robert : Life experiences, things I read and watch on the fucked up box called television. Kristian : It's different but mostly when I see something on the news or read something that upsets me. Musically it's bands like Prong, Sabbath, C.O.C., and Led Zeppelin. Any good song too. Who thought of the band's name and how did you choose it? Tommy : It was I and Micael (the original bassist) who read a book about Salvador Dali and Gooseflesh is a part of a name for one of his paintings. We never cared about the meaning of it we just thought it sounded good. Robert : Tommy and Micael (GF's 1st bass player) picked it up from a painting with the late Salvador Dali. Kristian : It was mainly Tommy and Mike. Mike was a great fan of Salvador Dali. He had this book about him and he=92s made a picture or something like that has the name Gooseflesh in it. We thought it was nice and adapted it to our band. Which are you personal favorite songs and why? Tommy : "Cut that never heals" and "Controller" Why? It combines different styles and grooves in a typical Gooseflesh way. They will most certainly appear on our first full-length album. Lars : CONTROLLER and GODBREED are my two favourites at the moment. They both have a nice combination of machine-like heaviness and a very human groove. Robert : It would be the whole repertoire of Gooseflesh but if I had to choose a few; Cut that never heals, Godbreed and Eyes sewn shut. They surely kicks Gooseflesh into a new dimension and a wider range. Kristian : That's a hard one, in Gooseflesh you mean? Probably "Cut that never heals" or "Godbreed". Why? I think Cut's got strong chorus and great dynamics and no compromises. Godbreed, it's got a great beat that you can stomp to and really catchy chorus. Do you play many gigs and if so where? Tommy : Have done quite a few in the western parts of Sweden. Will do a 10-date tour in Nov. Together with Lost Souls. The tour will again take place in Sweden. Robert : Actually we're going on tour with Lost Souls in November to promote our mini-CD Welcome To Suffer Age. Before that we've played with Dismember, In Flames and Transport League (To name a few). Kristian : No, the scene in Sweden is not to good, Metal music been washed out. It's just dance music that gets the media but I hope that it might change. We're going on a tour in Sweden in the winter so we'll know by then if the audience is out there still. What is you view of the music scene in Sweden? Tommy : There are a hell of a lot with good bands and good musicians but way to little places that dares to let bands who play original material play. Lars : There are some very good heavy bands in Sweden, B-Thong being one of the best examples. Their latest effort "From Strength to Strength" is a killer. The there's just too many crappy death metal bands around that we unfortunately are being compared to from time to time. I'm not into that shit at all. Robert : It's very Black/Death oriented and also a lot of Stoner music like Fu Manchu and Kyuss style going on. So I think we got something to prove with Gooseflesh, we have something for all! Something different! Kristian : As an opposition of the rest of Sweden Gothenburg got the best rock/Metal scene in Sweden. It=92s growing with new young kids that like Metal music. What band would you say has had most influence on you? Tommy : On a professional level I must say KISS. I grew up with them and I have always had a lot of respect for Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. On a musical level I think Black Sabbath has made a great impact on me as well as some newer bands like C.O.C. and Testament. Lars : Growing up I listened a lot to bands like Deep Purple, Rush and Led Zeppelin, and that of course has made an impact. But if I were to name one band though, it would have to be KING CRIMSON. For their uncompromising way through the years, and their ability to find own ways to create totally original music. Robert : Everyone in the band got their favorites so it can't be just one. For me it's Pantera or Prong or maybe Tool or just Neurosis. You see it can't just be one! Kristian : When I started playing I'd say Priest, Halen, Accept, nowadays I'd say Prong and Sepultura. What are your plans for the future? Tommy : Record a full-length album and bring out Gooseflesh music to every metal interested dude in the universe. Lars : Making records our own way, playing live a lot and earning a shitload of money! Robert : To record our first album "Chemical Garden" and then tour to promote it. Kristian : We're about ready to start recording our first full length album in September the 14th at Oral Majority with Roberto Laghi and sometime in the start of the winter we're going on a small tour with Lost Souls. It's 16 cities in Sweden. Any last words or remarks? Tommy : I just hope that we'll be able to see as many of you people out there on the road as possible. Come to see us, you won't regret it. Robert : Don't believe the hype, believe in yourself, and Kill the master! Kristian : God's bee and let metal rule. Gooseflesh website : http://hem2.passagen.se/gooseflesh/ |