Crimson Moon: How did the band get started?
Jocke: In 2006, when Love and me were the Swedish equivalent of high school seniors, we, along with two friends from school, were feeling a little restless. We decided to start a band, and since none of us could play anything, punk seemed like the way to go. Starting up we made music simultaneously as we were learning to play instruments. We were active for a couple of years, during which we lost some band members and gained some new ones, and in 2012 we broke up. We just recently got back together, earlier this year, and started playing together again.
Crimson Moon: What kind of music do you play?
Sebbe: Today I’d say it’s a mix-up between garage, punk, 60’s proto and hard rock – basically whatever influenced each of us in a blender. A little pinch of weed and some technical limitations on the top and you’re there. The music we’ve been playing over the years has changed as members of the band have come and gone though, but I guess we’ve always tried to play the stuff we feel comfortable with playing, and not overdo shit.
Crimson Moon: How has the band response been?
Love: It’s been overwhelming.
Crimson Moon: Where did the band name come from?
Love: It was communicated to us directly from our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Crimson Moon: Introduce the band members
Jocke: There’s me, I sing, then there’s Love, who plays the drums, Sebbe, who’s the bass player, and Robert and Robin who are guitarists.
Crimson Moon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Jocke: Since we got back together, Sebbe has been writing the music, and we pretty much arrange it together as a band, then I write the lyrics.
Crimson Moon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Jocke: I’m a big fan of old horror and sci-fi movies, as well as American youth culture films from the 1930’s to the 1960’s, and I tend to get a lot of inspiration from that.
Crimson Moon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Jocke: In 2008 and 2009 we released a couple of demos, that we simply self-released on CD-R. In 2011 we released a nine track EP on CD called If this one doesn’t scare you… You’re Already Dead! In 2012 we disbanded and we recently started playing together again. In celebration of this we just released a four track EP called Psycho Killer EP, which will probably only be released digitally online, as its purpose mainly is to let people know what we sound like nowadays.
Crimson Moon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Jocke: Psycho Killer EP contains four songs, and three of them are re-recordings of old songs. The first song, “Psycho Killer” was originally written in 2007 and released on our first demo in 2008. However, it’s been almost completely re-written musically. “I Reckon I’ll be Dead” and “A Bucket of Blood” were written in 2009 or 2010 and released on If this one doesn’t scare you… You’re Already Dead! in 2011. They haven’t really been re-written, but we play them better now. The last song, “I was a Teenage Stoner Werewolf” is brand new.
Crimson Moon: Do you have any side projects?
Jocke: Love and Sebbe play in a progressive rock band called Blå Eld. Sebbe also plays in a band called Owrions, they play some sort of hard rock psych. Robert and I are both part of two hardcore punk bands called Tramwreck and Otukt.
Crimson Moon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Sebbe: Misfits, Stooges, Black Sabbath, Hawkwind…
Robin: GG Allin, The Partisans, The Exploited, KSMB…
Jocke: Misfits, The Gruesomes, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages…
Love: Dino Sex, the naked drummer.
Crimson Moon: Which current bands?
Jocke: All current bands suck. No exceptions. Us included.
Crimson Moon: What is the band like when you play live?
Love: Like watching the birth of a baby seal. It’s beautiful.
Crimson Moon: What was the best band you played with?
Jocke: We’ve played with some good acts, like Texas Terri Bomb and Troublemakers, but my personal favorites are The Dahmers, who we played with in 2012, on what was supposed to be our last show ever. In April we’re opening for Poison Idea, when they’re playing in Gothenburg. It’s our first show in four years and it looks like it’s going to be a glorious comeback for us.
Crimson Moon: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Jocke: We’ve barely made it outside our hometown. Most of us don’t even leave our apartments.
Crimson Moon: How big of crowd shows up at shows usually?
Jocke: I think we’ve played for full houses as well as empty rooms. The latter is probably a little more common though.
Crimson Moon: How is the crowd response when you play?
Jocke: Today it’s a long time since we played live, but I recall us usually getting a pretty small, but enthusiastic crowd.
Crimson Moon: What is the scene like over in your country?
Jocke: I can’t speak for the whole country, but in Gothenburg it’s pretty good. There are some devotees putting up DIY-shows and stuff like that.
Crimson Moon: What made you want to be in this band? And if you weren’t in this band what would you being doing now?
Love: A series of bad decisions. I’d probably be a respected human being.
Robin: The main reason was that the punk scene in Gothenburg was missing something, and that our band could be that missing something that would make the scene great again. If I wasn’t playing in this band I would probably make music in some other form, or be dead.
Crimson Moon: What does the future hold for the band??
Robert: We just got chosen to join the Mars One project in the Netherlands. They needed a house band for a local pub they’re building. We are so pepp!
Contact them at:
http://www.facebook.com/biggerbetterbombs
http://biggerbetterbombs.bandcamp.com
