Tagged: SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL
Meet the GODZILLA – coming soon!
There are so many things happening now that I can’t keep up – so expect a bunch of blogs very soon. Still a few more from Sweden Rock Festival for instance – and also, keep an eye out for an interview with Madam X’ wild bassman, Chris “Godzilla” Doliber! One of the most interesting people I’ve talked to in a while. I love it when I think I know what to expect, and then get something completely different. Very cool guy.
So, while you’re waiting for that, here’s a little teaser from that conversation!
Let’s start with a Godzilla quote that would look great on a t-shirt:
Are you a good judge of character?
I would like to believe so, but my track record proves different. As many times as I’ve been screwed on deals, I’m surprised I haven’t gotten pregnant.
If you could go back in time to change one thing what would it be?
Only one thing? I would give Adolf Hitler’s father a condom.
Are you a good liar?
I don’t think I’m a good liar. I think I would like to be a better liar, but liars are not thought of in a good way, so disregard that 2nd comment. I was lying when I said that.
What’s the craziest thing Godzilla has ever done?
That is really hard to answer. To a crazy person nothing seems crazy. Things I might regret doing? Smashing a 1965 Fender P bass, value $10.000 plus. Pushing over a stack of Ampeg SVT’s, a total of 4 heads then not having anything to play through the next night. Breaking my bass techs jaw bone. Spitting on Sebastian.
How did the name Godzilla become your nick?
On stage I tend to have a short fuse, it doesn’t take much to set me off. Bret named me Godzilla because of my bad attitude. However the rumor is because my manhood is large, green and scale y.
What’s the biggest difference between Chris and Godzilla?
I am a Gemini, 2 people 1 skin. Chris will help an old lady cross the road, anonymously buy a elderly persons meal in a restaurant. Godzilla will set himself on fire to get attention!!
What makes you angry?
Wow. This is going to take a while. Someone driving the speed limit in the inside lane. In the U.S that’s the passing lane or the fast lane. Look, I’m in a hurry. It’s my ticket, I will pay it if they can catch me, so get the fuck out of my way. Abuse of animals, children and the elderly. All others “fair game”.
STICK AROUND FOR THE REST – coming soon!
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Sweden Rock Festival 2014 – Part 2
Thursday – June 4th……
It was hotter than hell – the absolute opposite of the rainy night we had endured the night before. I got there early, cause I was meeting up with Pontus Norgren, the guitarist of Talisman, to hand over his custom jacket from our own Swedish rock’n’roll designer Svanlund, who couldn’t make it to the festival himself. Pontus needed the jacket for his gig the next day.
There was nobody anywhere, it was almost two hours before any bands were due on stage. Walked with Pontus chit-chatting to the VIP-area where he went his way and I went to the press tent. That tent is my favorite place at Sweden Rock sometimes. I can get away from the noise, stress and drunk, annoying people, I can rest for a while. I can eat without being pushed and shoved. I can work and charge my camera batteries, cellphones, laptop…. It’s just my favorite place when everything else gets “too much”. :D
Anyway, an hour later, after getting breakfast at one of the many stands without dealing with long lines, I walked back to the Rock Stage and Jake E Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel. There’s been so much talk about these guys, and after all… IT’S JAKE E LEE…! :)
The band was on stage sound checking and some of the technical problems they had then, haunted Jake throughout his whole set. I felt bad for him, he had to cut the show in the middle of a song three or four times. He took it pretty well though, if he was annoyed he didn’t let it get the best of him. I can think of a few people who would have stormed off the stage for a lot less. Kudos to Jake and his band for handling the (bad) situation like real pros.
I went straight to the 4Sound-tent after the show to get in line for the Jake E Lee signing session. That place is another one of my favorites. Since they don’t announce the signings anywhere else but on a sign outside the tent, there aren’t that many people (there are, for some of the artists, but not like the “official” signing sessions a few steps further down).
I did manage to catch a bit of Pretty Maids gig at the Festival stage. One of the best live acts around, I had to at least try to see a bit of their set. Great performance – as always!
Was first in line for the Jake-signing but let another guy cut in cause he was definitely a bigger fan than me. He had a bunch of albums that he wanted signed. Jake showed up right on time, smiling. I briefly said “Bad luck with the gear today huh?“. He looked up, laughed and said: “Oh, you SAW that?”. Well yeah – me and a few thousand others. ;)
After the signing I ran off to the next gig I didn’t want to miss – Robin Beck. I love female rock’n’roll voices, and she’s g ot one of the best, for sure. There was a sound check going on there as well when I got there, and I could tell that she definitely still had her voice intact…!
I think that her show was the one I have most pics and videos from, she was brilliant! :)
Unfortunately. that’s pretty much where my festival-day ended. I think I just walked around the area, talked to some friends and colleagues at the VIP area and then went home. It was just in the nick of time too because just after Robin finished, the rain was pissing down – and I mean REALLY bad.
I was soaked by the time I got to my car. I had to leave early, eventhough it was absolutely KILLING me, cause I SO much wanted to see Rob Zombie. That would have been the highlight of the festival for me, but I had an interview with Rob Halford of Judas Priest that had to take place that evening so… It was an unusually short day for me. Luckily, there was more action the next day!
Sweden Rock Festival 2014 – Part 1
Sweden Rock Festival came and went, and I never really had a chance to blog about it at the time. Somehow things always pile up and you end up with a lot of “back log”. :)
Going back to the first day of the festival – Wednesday, June 3rd
That’s the laid back day of Sweden Rock. Few bands playing, an opportunity to get your pass without standing in line for an hour, to just check out the area, see if anything has changed since the year before. There’s always some little detail that’s different.
But ONE thing is always the same. The pain in the butt crew-parking… EVERY single year I get a message that the pass has been sent by snail mail, but funny enough, those never EVER reach my address. In all those 20-something years that I’ve been going to the festival, the parking hell has always been the same. If the parking pass had actually been posted and arrived at my address before the festival, there would BE no problem. But that would be too easy. :)
I got there, drove to the crew-parking, said that my parking pass was in the accreditation booth. “You need to get your parking permit before you can park!“, they said
So I went to the accreditation-entrance but I wasn’t allowed in there either, because I didn’t have my passes yet. OK, so I couldn’t park without a permit, but I couldn’t get my permit before I had the pass…… *sighhh*. I kept driving back and forth before calling the head of press to explain the situation. It wasn’t easy for him either and this circus went on for more than half an hour. He managed to fix it though – THANK GOD, but what a waste of time. Another good reason to get there on the “slow” day. :)
My plan for the day was to see Magnum and Queensryche. I didn’t try to get in the absolute front for Magnum, cause I’ve seen them so many times before. They have classic, epic songs, just amazing material. The problem though is that Bob Catley, the man with the Voice was struggling to sin those songs. I don’t know if it was just a temporary vocal problem or if it’s permanent, but it sounded so-so….
When Magnum were done, people left the area for beer, food and toilet visits, so I got in the front/middle for Queensryche. I was crazy curious about the new lineup with Todd La Torre. The weather was getting worse, dark clouds, rain was on its way… but there was no way I was moving. As I was standing there, two guys from the stage crew approached me with big smiles. I thought they looked familiar but couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.
– Do you recognize us? said one of the dudes.
I did actually, but didn’t know exactly where from…
– You wrote about us a while ago. We’re from the band Charlie & Fredrik.
BAM! I remembered! These guys were competing in a talent show (Emergenza) in Malmo a while ago and they were by far the best act. Musically, no one else came even close. If it had TRULY been about MUSIC, those guys would have been the given winners. Unfortunately, as the contest was about getting the audience to vote for you, it was almost impossible for a band that was from out of town, to compete with those who brought all their pals from school, work, families and so on…
They came in last and I thought it was absolutely scandalous. But that’s the way it works, it’s not a talent show as much as it is a popularity contest. Anyway, I heard that they had new projects in the making which I was really happy to hear. I do wish them the best, those were talented guys (and girls).
The guy standing right next to me was super excited about everything, it was his first Sweden Rock and he was a big fan of good VOICES. So he was curious to hear what Todd La Torre would bring to the table with Queensryche. He was abit of a sceptic but still had an open mind.
It started raining when it was time for Queensryche to hit the stage, but that pretty much goes with the territory. No festival without rain! :)
And when the band entered the stage…. it was just totally worth the wait AND the rain!
I’ve been a fan of Queensryche since the Rage for Order album. I’ve thought that Geoff Tate was one of the best in the business, and let’s face it: He was! Nothing can take that away from him, he left his mark on Queensryche and dispite all the crap and the whining between him and the rest of the band the past few years, that didn’t do anyone any good, he’s had a long career being on top with that amazing voice.
But – there’s a new kid in town. The last time Queensryche played Sweden Rock festival with Geoff, I couldn’t even stand listening to it. It was horrible. I left after three songs because it was so embarrassing that I just had to go find some other band to watch.
Now they were back with another singer. Would it be like a cheap karaoke-version of Queensryche, would it be a sad reminder of what used to be, or what would the verdict be?
I don’t have to think long or hard to answer that. It was clear from the word go that Queensryche is one of the very few bands in metal that has managed to replace their singer and get away with it. Not only get away with it – but actually WIN doing just that. I can’t think of too many bands that have been as lucky.
Todd is amazing. Nothing short of a-mazing. His voice can do everything Geoff could do – and more. And better. He’s got so much energy on stage, a presence that makes people watch him and follow every move he makes.
There were times when he sang like such a GOD that I just wanted to HUG the guy! Oh my GOD! What a gift – what a TALENT! And to think that he’s actually…. originally….a DRUMMER! Multi-talent, indeed!!
That gig was fantastic. I loved hearing all the classics, all the new songs, hell, I would have been happy hearing Twinkle, twinkle little star, as long as Todd was singing it!
The guy next to me even CRIED to some songs, he was so moved. Yes. Queensryche knew what they were doing when they hired Todd. He’s given them new life – there’s absolutely nothing stopping them now!
Here are a few glimpses from that show! Enjoy – and crank it up!
PHOTOS FROM THE QUEENSRYCHE SHOW:
http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/InTheRearviewMirror/library/QUEENSRYCHE%20-%20SRF%202014
Sweden Rock Festival – where people never age!
Four days of LOUD! Sweden Rock Festival is now over and this is when work begins for me (and many others). Reviews to hand in. Articles to write. Videos and photos to upload. Blogs to write.
All of that, just not enough hours in a day to do it!
But I will be back as soon as I’m done with the Priority One assignments. Mainly the Rob Halford interviews that I did recently – face to face in London and by phone during the festival, that I really want to do my best with.
One of the most lasting impressions of the festival this year, is that ROCKERS NEVER seem to AGE!
I guess one can always speculate in what the reasons might be that a 50-year old rocker usually looks way younger and cooler than a 50-yeear old non-rocker.
My guess is that when you have a passion for something, when you have something that you love to do – you forget to grow old. The grandfathers of metal, Black Sabbath, dispite living tougher lives than most (drug- and alcohol abuse, deadly diseases and what have you…) they look cool as hell and they’ve all still got their HAIR!
Tony Iommi is 66 years old, it’s hard to believe. Very classy, still looking good.
Billy Idol is easily the sexiest 58-year old dude I’ve ever seen…! And I don’t even like blonde guys (or guys older than me for that matter!). But come – ON…! Are you kidding? Most people his age look older – Billy Idol never got the memo.
Last year the festival had Rick Springfield visiting. He is 64! Yes. Sixty-fucking-FOUR!!!
Madam X reunited after 30 years and I remember their “outrageous” look from way back when. That tall, monster-looking bassplayer guy Godzilla was, in my teenage mind, a metal version of Chewbacca with that crazy “fingers in the socket”-do.
Now, all these years later, when he’s passed 50 with one, two or six years, he looks like THIS:
Doesn’t look like a “fifty-something” to me.
Some people seem to age in the opposite direction and just look better and better as the years go by.
These dudes are more fit than some guys in their freaking twenties! Man…!
And it’s not only the MALE rockers. The FEMALE ones are not getting a day older either. Since we’re on the subject Madam X – this is drummer Roxy Petrucci, 52 – and cooler than ever! Her sister Maxine never let herself go either.
And last but not least, for now – Robin Beck, 59 (!!!!) years old. Yeah right?!
They sold their souls to rock’n’roll… For eternal youth!
Welcome To Tour Twilight Zone….
The Guitar Universe Tour 2014, with Marty Friedman and Gus G ended in Nuneaton two days ago. My last destination on that tour was London, the day before.
It hasn’t even been as intense for me this time as it was two years ago when I did one date after another for two weeks in a row. This time, I chose to pick a few shows here and there. But now that it’s over – there’s an empty feeling.
It’s ALWAYS like that. It sounds strange, I’m sure, cause this is something that you hear from the musicians usually. That it’s a weird feeling coming home after being out for weeks. But it’s the same for me.
The only difference is that I choose other ways of transportation and I’m on the OTHER side of the stage (as opposed to being ON it) but other than that, I’d say that my reality is pretty similar to theirs.
And I often feel that my life is divided in different realities. A total Twilight Zone.
There is what I think of as my REAL life – which is the music. Just all the situations where I’m in an environment where there are musicians, fans, crews….Simply people who share a passion for music. THAT is my home and my true reality, the place where I belong.
Then, there’s that other reality, the life we all have to live, surrounded by people who don’t understand this at all. And I suddenly feel like a stranger.
When I came back to Copenhagen and Malmo after the London “Metal God trip”, people asked me who I went to see. And I was still like an enthusiastic teenager wanting to share that amazing feeling of having met Rob Halford again (doesn’t matter it’s been many times, EVERY time is special to me).
But that enthusiasm just dies instantly when somebody goes: “Oh okay. Well, I don’t know who that IS but I’m sure you had a good time.” It’s not their fault, they want to hear about my trip and they are genuinely curious, but it always reminds me that there are places where I feel right at home, and there are places where I feel like an alien sometimes.
When I come back from a tour, my head is spinning, it’s filled with memories, I’m processing all the faces, places, feelings, experiences… It just makes me feel so alive…!
And it’s not even necessarily the musicians that I remember the most, it can be anything or anyone. I remember specific faces/people that left an impression, maybe at the front desk in some hotel, or maybe a cool cab driver, or someone I met outside the venue or whatever…. So many different people, different countries, yet so similar.
It just makes me more aware of my own place in this world. It gives me the right perspective on life.
Music is what’s running through my veins, I couldn’t live without it. So, for me, staying at home is like taking away my oxygen.
A friend of mine asked me a while ago, how I could even keep up with the constant travelling and then going straight back to work after landing at the airport, only to go work late and go back to being “a slave to the grind”. Don’t you get tired?
The thing is, I would get tired if I WASN’T doing this. :) This is my energy, my passion, my love in life. I would be extremely unhappy if my life was spent in front of a TV watching other people live their lives. I want to live my OWN – my way. And this is it.
Next up is Sweden Rock Festival – my second home. It even helped me getting through the shock and the grief after losing my father last year. As weird as it was at first, to be there so soon after his passing, it was the only right place to be, and it really gave me the comfort I needed.
After that, Rob Zombie in Rome, Italy. I had been looking forward to seeing Megadeth as well, as those two bands were touring together but they just cancelled all their June-dates so I don’t know who’s filling in.
Either way, I can’t wait.
Being back from a tour is good for five minutes, cause I get to catch up on my sleep and with my friends. But it also feels empty somehow. I’m not into being “static”. I hope that some band or artist that I like, announces a tour soon so I can start planning. Life is just way too short to be doing nothing…!
New post coming up, from the Guitar Universe gig in London!
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 