How would you classify your music? Jonas : Hybrid metal. I think that's the best way to describe the music of Treasure Land. It would be easier to call Treasure Land a progressive metal band, but the problem is that, when you say that, people say; oh, you mean like Dream Theater? I also like to call us a hybrid metal band because of the many diverse influences we have when we write the music to Treasure Land. Do you all have day jobs and if so what do you do? Jonas : I work at a media-center where I write movie music and stuff. Magnus L : I work as a housekeeper at a school. Magnus H : I work at the same media-center as Jonas but I'm doing graphical stuff, mostly in 3D. It seems though as Jonas and I are gonna work together doing movie music sometime in the near future. How did the band get together? Jonas : The band got together 1993, after I had recovered from a serious muscle inflammation I had in my picking arm that was caused by heavy duty guitar practicing. So, first we were a trio (me, my brother and Magnus L) we rehearsed like this almost a year, we later found Kaspar Dahlqvist after had auditioned a couple of keyboard players. Good singers is hard to find in Sweden so we had like 10 (or so) different singers rehearsing/playing live with us. By the end of 1995 I called a friend of mine called Zenny Gram and asked him if he was interested in singing on our demo. This would be the only demotape we would record before we got signed with Modern Music, he agreed and did the demo. 4 months later we had a couple of record company's interested in signing us, we went for the German company Modern Music. Our debut CD "Questions" was recorded Sep/96 and released Feb/97. A couple of months after that we got a call from Modern Music saying that Zenny was dragging us down, we didn't agree on that at all. Sure we got splendid reviews all over the world for the music and maybe not that good reviews for Zenny, but so what?? All the songs on "Questions" were written by me and my brother and we were planning on working hard together with Zenny for the upcoming Treasure Land CD, just to find what keys Zenny would prefer singing in. Modern Music didn't listen to that, they just said; get rid of the singer! So Zenny was in fact kicked out by Modern Music and not by us. A couple of months after that I got the phone umber to a singer me and my brother liked very much, he's name was Jacob Samuel. I called him and we talked about the plans for Treasure Land, so we agreed on sending him a tape with 3 new songs + an old one (Demons) We wanted to hear him sing the songs to see if he would fit in the style we had. So, he redid the vocal parts (I was the singer on the tape) and sent it to us. We listened and liked it very much, so we said; you got the spot if you want it! He liked it and went for it, this was in Nov-Dec/97 and we had began to plan the next record, once again we had a call from Modern Music. This time they said; if you record the CD in Jan/98 and send it to us, we promise you that you will tour Europe as an opening act to Virgin Steele. We said it would be really cool to do that but, Jacob hadn't heard all the songs cause we were by the end of finishing the new songs, so he hadn't even heard most of the songs. We didn't want to record in Jan cause it was too short of time for Jacob to learn like 5-6 songs in just a month. The only answer we got to that was; RECORD THE DAMN CD OR ELSE! So we recorded the CD and truly hoped that we would in fact get the tour with Virgin Steele in April 98. We didn't and we were not surprised at all, we were used to being fooled by them at this point. As a result of this shit, Kaspar left us in May, he was tired of the lies, so in the same month Modern Music and Treasure Land cancelled the recording contract. We did a couple of gigs to support this CD together with Lion's Share which were great gigs, we also did a video, which were filmed at our release party in Gothenburg. This video will be released by the end of October 98 by an Australian video company called "Metal Warriors" What are your musical backgrounds? Jonas : I'm from a KISS background, I heard KISS for the first time 1983 and I started to play guitar the same year, thanks to KISS (Ace Frehley). I'm also a sucker for classical music and Latin music. There are so many bands and guitar players I've heard over the years so it's a bit hard for me to say which one's who had the biggest impact on me as a musician. Maybe Yngwie Magnus L : I started to play the bass 12 years ago and along the way I have played everything from dance, show, metal and pop music. Magnus H : I think I was about 11-12 years old when I picked up drumming and started to jam to such bands as Whitesnake, Van Halen, Kiss, Mr. Mister and so on which I think made me more of a "rock/metal drummer" than a "solo drummer". What kind of music do you like to listen to when your not playing? Jonas : Classical music and Latin. I love the baroque music composers like J.S Bach, A. Vivaldi, G.F. Handel and so on. Latin music/rhythms just moves me into another world, which also inspires me to write some cool rhythm parts. Magnus L : Mainly metal but I also enjoy fusion, Latin and classical music. Magnus H : Mostly some old vinyl like Uriah Heep or E.L.O., but sometimes it's just nice to have a break from music and not listening to anything at all. What do you do to relax? Jonas : Study violin/harpsichord music by J.S Bach or G.F. Handel. Magnus L : I enjoy fishing and I also read a lot of fantasy literature. Magnus H : I'm into computer graphics so I spend a lot of time in front of my computer. I also enjoy spending quality time with my fiancé. What is the most satisfying thing about being in a band? Jonas : Write your own music and hopefully make people happy when they hear it. Share your love for music to the other guys in the band who also loves music is also very satisfying. Magnus L : The Treasure Land guys are also my best friends and I think to meet and create music together with this great players are very satisfying. And then to know that people all around the world can listen to the songs are really incredible. What words would best describe you (as an individual)? Jonas : Dedicated. No matter what I do, I always give 110 percent! Magnus L : lazy , impatient, humble Magnus H : A thinker, I think before I speak (mostly anyway). Jonas : yeah, right Did "Gateway" live up to your expectations? Jonas : In some ways yes, in some other ways no. There are a couple of things we could have done a lot better, but due to the circumstances we had, it's a good CD. If I may say so! Magnus L : I'm happy with the result when it comes to the music and the rest of the guys work. When it comes to the promotion and stuff I'm not all that satisfied... Would you rather stay independent and do things your way or would you rather have a recording contract with a record company? Jonas : The best would be, pay for the recording yourself and sell licenses to record company's but, you'll have to do a lot of promotion yourself which can be really devastating. We thought that, by being on a record company we wouldn't have to do that. We were wrong. How do you get your CD into the marketplace?, How much hassle is it to finance and distribute your own album? Jonas : Our 2 CD's are available through Modern Music, I know for sure that there are a couple of territory's Treasure Land is not available which makes me really pissed off. I don't think it would be too much hassle to distribute an album if you got the right connections. The biggest problem is the money to record a CD, it's hard if you don't have the money, so the only way to get a CD available is 1) take a loan at a bank or 2) find a record company that will pay for everything. Do you have your own studio? If so, what equipment is in it. Jonas : Not yet. If you had the chance to jam with any band, who would that be? Jonas : KISS 1977 on their Love gun tour. Magnus L : I think it would have been Toto, a great band with super musicians. Magnus H : Uriah Heep 1974 just to meet David Byron (the best singer ever, period!). What's the best thing that has ever happened to you? Jonas : The gift from God to be able to create music and of course meeting my girlfriend who's been by my side almost 8 years now. Also one of the biggest moments in my life was when I saw our debut CD "Questions" in a record store for the first time. That was powerful indeed. Sensitive as I am, I almost got a tear in my eye. NOT! Magnus L : Besides meeting the woman of my life I must say that when I was asked to join TL was a great moment. Another one was when I got the first copy of "Questions" in my hand. There are really happening great things all the time in your life, you just have to open your eyes and be happy for all the small things. Magnus H : Other than to get the opportunity to record a CD, my fiancé who recently gave birth to our first baby. It really made me realize that there is more to life than just material things. Life, a little human that I've created, it's just amazing. It's THE BEST and THE BIGGEST moment of my life. What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Jonas : 1993 when I couldn't play guitar for over 2 months because of my muscle inflammation. Magnus L : The death of someone really close Magnus H : I almost screwed up my hand, playing 14 hours using too heavy drumsticks during the recording of "Questions". But it never got that serious, I still can play but it hurt like hell when it happened. Who writes the songs? Jonas : Me and my brother but we're open for suggestions from the other band members if they have any musical ideas. Where do you get your inspiration from? Jonas : Both me and my brother write lyrics from daily things that we see/hear about, or it can be about something we read. Who thought of the band's name and how did you choose it? Jonas : Me. The reason why I wanted to call the band Treasure Land is, I see music as a treasure and if you add land to that, you've got Treasure Land. A bit short, but I'm sure you get the idea! Which are you personal favourite songs and why? Jonas : I don't know if you mean Treasure Land songs or my fave songs overall? Treasure Land songs; I don't know, I enjoy playing all songs and I'm proud of all the songs I've written. It's very difficult to choose just one song, so I say all of them. Not Treasure Land songs; There's too many songs I like so I can't say which one I like the most, something with Al Di Meola or Bach or KISS or Yngwie Malmsteen or... Magnus L : I really can't answer that one. I love all the songs and there are small things in every song that I like. I play the music that I love the most in this world with a great mix of musical styles, refrains, solos... you name it. I really wish I could go on forever just playing and release this great music. Do you play many gigs and if so where? Jonas : Treasure Land have done many many gigs here in Sweden, unfortunately not outside of Sweden which we were hoping to do with "Gateway" What is you view of the music scene in Sweden? Jonas : In Sweden it sux big time. It's unbelievable that techno music is still big in Sweden, but on the happier side, grunge music is almost dead here. What band/s would you say has had the most influence on you? Jonas : As a songwriter I would say Yngwie Malmsteen and Al Di Meola + Classical music. But as I said earlier, I've listened to many different music styles over the years and they all mean something to me musically, I mean, take a band like KISS, they're not the most musical band on the planet but they know how to write good music anyway. Same with Rainbow or Black Sabbath, I also listen to singers like Whitney Houston, I don't care if it's metal or not as long as there are melodies. Magnus H : I believe that Beggars Opera (late 60's folk/rock/classic band) has had a big impact on me as well as Kiss, Blue Murder and other various 80's bands which are just TOO many to mention. And then there's Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi and Beethoven for the classical feel. What are your plans for the future? Jonas : Find a new record company that believes in the music of Treasure Land and be able to tour all over the world where people wants to hear us. Any last words or remarks? Jonas : Thanks for this interview, it was a true pleasure doing this. Also thanks to all the people who continue to send us letters and gifts. You guys make it all worthwhile. Keep it up and take care. Jonas Hornqvist Guitarist/Songwriter Treasure Land jonas.hornqvist@swipnet.se <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Magnus Hornqvist Drums/Songwriter Treasure Land mankeyz@hotmail.com <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Andreas Postila Official WebMaster andreas.postila@swipnet.se <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Official HomePage Of Treasure Land http://home4.swipnet.se/~w-48707 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Unofficial BandPage In Holland Made By Rene Janssen http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl/bands/treasure/ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> |