Artist:  The Poodles 

Date:  24 February 2007 

'Metal Will Stand Tall' is the debut release from Swedish rockers The Poodles, a band that have literally rocked the hard rock community with the sheer quality of their music.  After what turned out to be a long and stressful day for the band, we take time out to chill and chat with bass player Pontus Egberg.

MM - Hi Pontus, how's the tour been going so far and what's been the crowds reaction to The Poodles?
Pontus - The tour has been going very good over all our expectations actually.  The response from the crowds have been very good everywhere, even though when we started the tour the album wasn't even out in the stores in Europe.  It's been fantastic.  MM - Do you think there may be a chance that you will be headlining the tour next time you come? Pontus - That all depends on the record sales but we certainly hope so. 

MM - I believe you had a bit of trouble on the way here to the gig today? Pontus - Yes, today we had a broken trailer.  We barely made it but we were able to still do the show which was great.  We got here about 45 minutes before we were due to go on stage so everybody just helped out and got the gear in and rigged and we were on with just maybe 15 minutes later. 
                  
MM - Have you had a chance to speak to many of the fans after the gigs ?
Pontus - Yeh pretty much.  We usually go out and hang around for a little bit after the show and sign some autographs and stuff like that.  The fans have been very enthusiastic with us, it's been really good.  MM - I've definitely got the impression that all the fans think you are going to be a phenomenal success and are currently on the verge of explosion.  Pontus - Is that what they are saying?  MM - Yeh and I have to say I agree with them.  Pontus - Oh well let's hope so! 

MM - The tour itself hasn't been without incident, even before the events of today, I heard you were involved in some kind of crash with the tour bus ?
Pontus - After about the fourth gig I think it was, we had been playing Oslo in Norway and we were going down to Hamburg and it was really slippery on the roads.  Going through Denmark we actually crashed the tour bus.  It was kind of not so funny an experience.  We all got out of it ok and we got another ride down to Hamburg and another tour bus came and picked us up so we could continue.  MM - You must have been a bit shaken up after that had happened.  Pontus - Yes it's not the kind of experience you want to go through everyday.  Just the driver hurt his leg a little bit but none of the musicians or crew were hurt in any way. 

MM - After your entry into the Eurovision you were described as a spoof rock band.  Are you still that band or following on from your success, have you taken on a more serious side ?
Pontus – Maybe that is what people thought but I'd say that even from the very beginning it wasn't a joke.  It was a very serious decision to even enter the Eurovision because I don't know how it is over here in Britain, but back home in Sweden entering into Eurovision is a big deal.  It's a very big display, very important.  The final in Sweden where we competed was viewed by over half the Swedish population, so it does have a very big impact.  We are all musicians who have been doing this for many years and have had albums out and done touring before.  It's very serious, but still it's also about having fun. 

MM - Eurovision has always been seen as a bit of a joke over here in Britain, the entries never seem to make an effort and they really don't seem to like rock bands.  Why do you think the rest of Europe seems to take Eurovision more seriously than we do here in Britain?
Pontus – I don't know, perhaps maybe it's different in every country and my guess about the rock acts after Lordi's huge success is it's going to change.  There will probably be more bands entering.  In Sweden it is a very popular thing.

MM - After Lordi won, did you ever think that that could have/should have been you?
Pontus –  If we have been in the big final, one scenario is that we would have been stealing votes from each other, so none of us would have won.  We're very happy with the result that we got in the Eurovision and it's taken us to Bradford for example and we've been doing this big tour, so we're very happy.

MM – Your first 3 singles from your new album 'Metal Will Stand Tall' have hit Platinum and Gold sales in the Swedish charts.  Have you been surprised at the bands success?
Pontus - Yes, I think we all were actually and that it all would come so quickly.  I think the first single 'Night Of Passion' hit Gold after just 3 weeks or something like that, which is amazing in itself.  Even that was way over our expectations.  It's all good though!  MM - You could perhaps imagine people would latch on to the Eurovision entry, but to follow on with the other successes from that is a really positive sign.  Pontus - Yes, as you say it is perhaps not that surprising that people liked that first single 'Night Of Passion' and it went so well, but that we've been able to follow up with two successful singles after that is really nice and I guess it proves the listeners are really fans and don't just like us for that one song.   

MM - Have you started to think about your next album yet, or are you taking things one step at a time ?
Pontus  – Well we have definitely started to think about.  Actually just before Christmas we went into the studio and we recorded 5 songs for the new album and that's what we're going to do when we get back home to Sweden.  We have a few more gigs lined up back home in Sweden, but the main thing is to enter the studio again and continue the recordings for the next album.  

MM - Can you tell us anything about the songs that you've already done for the next album?  Pontus - Well actually you already heard one of them tonight.  The second off last song 'Seven Seas' is one of the new songs.  As far as it looks right now it's going to be a very good album I think, but still very much the same as the first album only better.  We've done so many shows since we recorded the first album and we're much more of a unit now than we were when we did the first one.

MM - The album is still quite new here in Britain in particular, but it had in fact been released much earlier in other territories.  Pontus - Yes in Sweden and Finland it was actually released in May 2006.  I think in Japan and Russia it was released around about September 2006, but then the rest of Europe was not released until January 2007.  MM - Yeh, I think although it is still very much a new album to us, it is a little older to quite a few people.  Pontus - That is what is so great about the responses we've been getting on this tour, even though the album hasn't been out for very long a lot of people seem to know the songs.  Even by the people who don't normally seem to enjoy what we are doing onstage, so that is a very good sign. 

MM - I could imagine some festival appearances coming out as a result of your successes on this tour.  Pontus - Well we certainly hope so.  It's a little early to tell maybe, but that is our goal for the Summer, to try and hit some festivals in Europe.  MM - I don't know if you are aware but you have been voted quite high in a number of different categories in the Melodic Rock Awards.  Pontus - Yes actually I did hear about that.  MM - It seems your success is spreading all over the world, quite literally from top to bottom.  Pontus -  This is the wonders of the internet.  MM - Well it's certainly making your music more available to all different people.  Pontus - This is both a good and bad thing.  Just spreading the word about a new thing is fantastic, there was no comparison to it before.  

MM - How would you compare the music that you are creating now with The Poodles to the music that you were creating with your previous bands? Pontus - I would say that now there is perhaps more focus on the melodies in this band.  Not that the bands before were without melodies, but perhaps it is more focused now to have the really strong melodies and the good songs.  MM - Yes, but I would say that all your earlier bands were really good bands and had a lot of very good songs as well.  I am half expecting to see a stampede to re-release these old albums as a result of the success of The Poodles, from all your old labels. Pontus - Maybe, who knows.  I would say that most people in this business would say that no one is ever really sure what will work and what won't and I can't really tell you why this works, but I can tell you that in my opinion this is a very good band and we have very good songs so that's at least a part of it.  MM - I think sometimes it can be simply the right time and the right place.  People are looking for something different and exciting. Pontus - Yes exactly, it's all about the timing. 

MM - Was The Poodles intended to be just a one off affair with the Eurovision entry 'Night Of Passion' ?  Did you plan for this to be a long term band or did it just evolve into greater things?
Pontus – I guess we were certainly hoping that it would be more than just for Eurovision but we always took it just one step at a time.  At the time we entered we didn't even know that we were going to make a full length album and then we did that because it went so well.  Then it was just ok, let's do this album and see where it takes us.  It's been constantly moving along so I hope it will keep doing that.  MM - It must have been so exciting to have the fans embrace your music and for everything to go so well following on from that.  Pontus - Yes, it was madness, but it was all good and it was an exciting and very nice experience.  It has opened peoples minds to different styles of music. 

MM - How did Tess from Alcazar get involved on the track 'Metal Will Stand Tall'?
Pontus - Basically because the band she's in Alcazar, has the same management that we have back home in Sweden.  So that's how we first met and when the idea came up, we all thought it was a cool thing to do.  She's a brilliant girl, a good singer and it turned out really well.  She's actually joined us back home in Sweden for a few live performances as well.  MM - Cool. Is Alcazar a rock band? Pontus - No, it's more of a disco dance music band.  It's not really the thing that people know her for, but like a lot of people she's an old rock girl into AC/DC and stuff like that.  

MM - Who is the wonderful opera singer who features on the track 'Song For You'? Pontus – His name is Jonas Samuelsson-Nerbe and he's actually Jakob's older brother.  MM - Is he a professional opera singer?  Pontus - Yes, he is pretty much well known in Sweden.  I think he has his hands full of work.  MM - I think it really works well with the song.  Pontus - Yes it is beautiful, it works really well and that's one of the things we really enjoy doing, the mixing of the different styles.  MM - There's something for everybody on the album, all the songs work well together and compliment each other.  They all seem to work so well together.  Pontus - Exactly.    

MM – How did you come to hook up with AFM as a label, is it just for the one album or does it go further than that?  Pontus - Well actually Oscar Dronjak from Hammerfall was the first one to give the album to the A&R man at AFM Records, so thanks to them that we are now here!  I think he read about it in some magazine, in a Japanese magazine and couldn't get a hold of it, but since they are Swedish they helped him out with getting a copy.  That's pretty much how it came about and it's not just for this album, it's for at least one more album after this.

MM - How have you found them to work with so far and how do they compare to some of the labels you've been signed to in past bands? Pontus -  So far as far as I can tell, they have been doing a very good job and I'd say actually a bit better than labels I have worked with in the past.  When we've been on this tour we have gone out and checked the magazines in the stores and we've seen adds and reviews and that's very important that we get the material out to the people who can write about it and also like this, we have been doing interviews with the magazines and radio stations.  After, or preferably before the shows if you're not stuck with a broken trailer somewhere!  So that's very good.  That means a whole lot that they are helping us to get out word out to the media. 

MM - Well I don't know what it has been like in the rest of Europe but over here in Britain it has been pushed hard.  Pontus - That's nice.  It's hard when you have been out on the road for 5 weeks to get a grip of what's going on around you while you are in this tour bubble, but what we have seen seems like they have been doing a very good job. 

MM - The whole rock community as a whole seems very excited about The Poodles at the moment.  All the feedback I've seen has been very, very positive.  Everyone thinks that you will be going all the way and are here for the long term and not just a one off album.  Pontus - That's very good to hear.  We certainly hope so and we get that question all of the time in all the places we have been playing.  Everyone has been asking us when we will be coming back and if we will be playing any of the festivals this Summer.  The main criticism is ... " oh you played too short!" ... which is good.  We certainly hope to be back soon to play another round.  MM - Well this tour has given everyone a taste as to what you're all about and so maybe next time you can come back and headline and play some festivals.     

MM - How long did the album take to create from initial idea to the final conception?  Pontus - This album was actually very pressed for time, mainly because of the success we had in the Eurovision that once we were done with that competition, basically the record label said ok, you have 4 weeks to do the whole thing.  So we starting collecting songs from all over the place and recording and mixing the album.  I think the final mixing was perhaps in the beginning of April and the album was released on May 10th!  So it was very pressed for time, but we had already done a little bit of work with the songs and pre-producing and things like that.  It was tough, but it turned out very well.  MM - 4 weeks!  That is phenomenal!  Some bands take 4 years to do an album never mind 4 weeks!  Pontus - Yes it was something like 4 or maybe 5 weeks max to do the whole thing, it was amazing.  

MM - How long have you as an individual been performing and can you remember the first time you ever played to a live audience ?
Pontus – I think the very first time was very early when I was maybe 11 years old.  I had a band with some mates in school and we played in front of my class.  I think more seriously than that perhaps when I was maybe 14 or 15, I started to play more seriously and around then was probably when I had some more serious live performances.  I've been doing this for a while now. 

MM - Can you remember what was the first band that you saw perform live as a fan? Pontus - Motorhead.  MM - What are your memories of that gig?  Pontus - I remember it was very loud.  I was only like 13 or something and I was amazed by the level of the sound and all these people.  It was huge.

 MM - Did you ever think that one day you would be that person up on stage and everybody would be rocking and screaming and cheering at you?  Pontus - Not really.  I guess that dream has always been there and it's really awesome for people these days to be able to go around the whole of Europe playing in front of people.  It is such a great kick to be able to do it.    

MM - I've noticed on your official website that you have this Poodles 'Backstage Area' fan club thing going on.  What made you decide to start the fan club and do you perhaps see yourselves as some sort of hard rock boy band with a poster on the back of everyone's bedroom door?  Pontus - I don't know, I had never thought of it that way!  It's not unusual for bands to have a fan club and we just maybe do it a little different to other bands.  It's all basically online and you pay a small fee to become a member and basically what you do is pay for a special t-shirt and badge and you get access to this special page on our website which gives you a little more of the goodies, stories behind the scenes and stuff like that. 

MM - Every musician at some point in their life decides to pick up an instrument and learn how to play.  What was it that made you decide to do so in the first place?  Pontus - I started playing the bass when I was about 14.  The reason was basically because a friend of mine wanted to start a band and needed a bass player, so I said ok I'll try that.  Even before that I always had the dream to become a musician and to play in front of people.  I've been going to some music schools and stuff like that, but most of the things I've learned, I must say I have either learned at home sitting in my room practising, or the best school of all is just doing it.  Playing it together with a band and preferably live on stage in front of people.  That's the best school you can ever have.  MM - Can you play any other instruments or is it purely the bass?  Pontus - Not really.  I can strum a few chords on the guitar and maybe do some piano, really easy piano playing, but I wouldn't say I was a guitar player.  It's pretty much just the bass guitar.  

MM - At the moment you are out on tour with Hammerfall.  Is there any other bands you would like to go out on tour with, either as support acts or as headliner?  Pontus -  There are plenty.  We always try to do our own thing and go out every night and give a really good energetic show to the crowd and I think it doesn't really matter who we play before or after.  There's lots of bands I would like to go out and play with, but no one in particular. 

MM - What bands did you grow up with?  Pontus - My first introduction to this kind of music was Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and then later I got into liking Led Zeppelin a whole lot and Deep Purple.  Then I went on to Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.  I started with 70's hard rock bands and then on to the 80's heavy metal bands.  MM - What sort of music do you listen to at the moment?  Pontus - Currently I am very much into Audioslave and a band called Kings X.  Audioslave is the most recent band that I have got into.

MM - Finally is there anything we haven't already covered that you would like to say to all our readers out there?
Pontus - Just check out our music and come see us live in concert if you get the chance, you won't be disappointed.  

MM - I'd like to second that.  This band certainly do not disappoint with their live show and their debut album 'Metal Will Stand Tall' will definitely be featuring in our top album releases of 2007.  I'd like to thank Pontus for taking the time out to chat with us tonight after what must have been a very long and stressful occasion.  We look forward to seeing them return to our shores in the near future and wish them every success with the new album.

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