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MM -
Introduce the band members to us.
Johan: lead vocals and guitar
Niklas: lead vocals and guitar
Nilz: Bass and back vocals
Patte: Drums
MM - 'Cosmic Ballroom' - what a funky little name that is for a band,
where does it come from?
There ain't really no story behind the name.. (but everybodyŽs asking that
same question so I guess IŽll have to make one up) ... me and Johan tried
to come up with a name and he just said what about Cosmic Ballroom and I
said it stunk.. but it kinda grew on me and we took the name....
MM -When was the band formed and how did you all meet?
The band got this (hopefully) final line up in -97.
Me and Johan formed it and asked Niklas and Patte who we knew from before
if they wanted to join us...
MM -How would you describe your music and who would it most appeal to?
Like a kinda hardrockpunk cocktail best enjoyed among friends and a couple
of kegs of beer... I think that people who like Almighty, Wildhearts,
Supersuckers and similar bands would appreciate our music..
MM - Your fans are based all around the globe, do you think this has been
influenced by the way the internet gives bands the opportunity to reach
further than they might have done in the past?
Yeah sure, the internet has opened new doors for bands, websites like the
Mayfair Mall and similar portals has been a great help...
If it wasn't for the internet we probably wouldn't have this record
because we found our production & management company (Roasting House ) over
the net.
MM - Where do the band call home? Where
are you based exactly?
Eskilstuna in Sweden. Its about 10 Swedish miles west of Stockholm.
MM -
Do you have any gigs planned for the near future and will we get a chance
to see you play in the UK?
WeŽre going to Japan in April for promotion and gigs and this summer weŽll
tour Europe and hopefully come to the UK.. the gig dates aren't set yet...
MM -
Your new album 'Rock N Roll Overdose' is due out any day now. Tell us a
little bit about the songs off the new album.
The songs are kind of punkish hardrockish mix and straight from the
heart.. we just choose the best songs we had at that moment and didn't
think to much about what other people would think about them.. and I think
we chose the right ones cuz I just got the first review last week from the
biggest Japanese hardrock magazine called Burrn and we got 77/100 ... Im
real pleased with the score.. ( Backyard Babies got 73/100 for their album
Total 13)...
MM - Where will your fans be able to obtain a copy when it's released?
Album : RockŽN Roll Overdose - Release date: April 2001, through Kick
Music label, for the world except Japan. Release date for Japan is March
2001 through Toshiba/EMI.
MM - What is the rock scene like in Sweden at the moment? How does it
compare with other parts of the world?
In our line of music IŽd say that Sweden is world leading at the moment.
There are so many good rock bands it makes me wonder why we got the
chance.. :).
Of course there many good bands outside of Sweden but I don't think this
kind of rock n roll is as big worldwide as it is in Sweden....
MM - What was the last band you went to see in concert, other than your
own?
Marilyn Manson at Globen in Stockholm in
February.. great concert!!
MM - What to you makes a truly great performer?
To sum it up in one word IŽll have to say. Presence. Its an interesting
subject.. Some people just have that star quality that makes everybody in
a room listen when they speak and I don't think you can learn that, then
on the other hand you don't have to be Bono to be a great performer I think
that just having fun, be true to who you are and don't take your music to
seriously will take you a long way... cos at the end of the day its only
rock n roll.....
 MM - How has the
music media in general responded to the band and it's music?
More positively than I thought the would...so far... as I said or wrote
earlier the review in Burrn was a nice one. WeŽve done phone interviews
with almost every Japanese magazine and our video (made for Japan) is
getting a lot of tv time as well and our songs seems to played on radio
(based on the fan mail we get) quite a lot.
So far we mostly have concentrated our promotion on Japan because we got a
lot of support from our Japanese record company (Toshiba/EMI Ltd) over
there.
Europe will of course get its slice of the pie later this spring/summer!!
MM - How do you decide which songs to
perform live and which ones to put out on CD?
We go with our gut feeling, just asking ourselves what song would we like
to hear on a gig or a CD.
The thing is that we always seem to have too many songs since weŽre 3
songwriters (Johan, Niklas and Nilz) but that's a pretty pleasant problem
and weŽre pretty good on compromising.
MM - Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?
From life IŽll guess, situations weŽve been in stuff thatŽs happened, bad
relationships, as I said life in general.
MM - What have you done and regretted doing while being drunk?
Lots of things most of them we don't remember ... (or choose not to
remember :) ..
I guess the things we all do from time to time.. getting in to fights,
cheating on girlfriends, throwing up on people including
ourselves ... forgetting where we live ... spending all our money on booze -
you know.. the average drunken mistakes..
MM - What's the most important thing to the band right now?
The cd release and to get out on the roads, cuz at the end of the day a cd
is only a substitute for a live show.
MM - What's your favourite track off the new album and why?
I like the song "faster than me" because the it was written in a tough
period in my life and it kind of helped me to get on with my life.
MM - What's your most annoying habit?
My most annoying one is that I'm always right (in my opinion anyway and
since I'm always right I guess that's shuts the case)... :)
MM - If one day you woke up as a woman what would you do?
Finally an easy one!! play with myself of course!! (This must be the most
predictable answer so far)...
MM -Just how far would you sell your soul in the name of Rock N' Roll?
I don't know.. it totally depends on the situation but I can say that rock
n' roll isn't the most important thing in life.. its great fun but if it
stops being fun for any reason IŽll stop doing it.
I think that the thing about life is to feel good about yourself.. and I
don't think I would feel very good if I became a sell out, but we sure are
ready to put in a lot of hard work to get somewhere in this freaky
business!!
MM -How do the band like to chill out?
Crack open a cold one, and smoke 'em if we got 'em.
MM -What short phrase best describes the band and it's mood right now?
Stoned, broke and ready to rumble!!!
MM -Lastly, is there anything you would like to share with your fans out
there?
Keep an eye out for our CD and we hope to see ya all soon!!!!
..Stay cool
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