One for the birds

Oftb: How did you form? Wherefrom came the influences, name and wherefrom did you come? Had you played with other bands before Trevolt? Have you had any lineup changes?

Erik: -To be in a band is great fun, playing live is such a laugh. It’s a really nice hobby to meet in the rehearsal room and have some fun.
That attitude had led us to compromise ever since the late 90′s and when we finally sat down, we realised that we had the same focus, same motivation and come to simillar insights. We really wanted to play punk, we wanted to write good music, not cool music that fitted in with a too narrow genré. We wanted to get gigs, but we knew that they wouldn’t come served on a silver plate and we really didn’t want to play on the local youth club two times a year. We realised that we were bloody good at what we were doing if we only allowed ourselves to do it.

After having played with all kinds of people and played all kinds of music, every rehearsal with Trevolt feels so liberating. Nearly everything is allowed, the conflicts are few and all lead to constructive solutions. We take incredibly little mickey and are really serious, but at the same time, we have ourselves a real laugh. It feels bloody good that all the experience we have accumulated over the years to come to such a good use in such a nice way.

As we come from such simillar backgrounds, frictions remain at a low level and the differences that do exist are really more complimentary than troublesome. If anyone gets too eager and get a few nutty ideas, someone else will soon, at the blink of an eye, be there with a respectful reality check. We haven’t had any changes in the line-up, but since I (Erik) moved to Stockholm, we have now got a standing replacement, who can jump in if needed.

Us in the band agree on the following:

* Bad religion, Dia Psalma, Skumdum, Strebers, Asta Kask, Nofx, DoMi and Rise Against are fucking good acts.

* Fast music is good music.

* Melody comes first.

David: I mean, if you don’t have a good melody to sing, then it doesn’t really matter how good the tune is otherwise.

Erik continues: – * No idea is bad before it has been tested.

* Faking it and prestige are bad things.

* Jantelagen (sorry, a typical Scandinavian thing that our international readers will have to have unexplained) should be ignored. 

* There is no reason for being an arshole.

* Bands are colleagues, not competitors.

* The main thing is what we think ourselves and that we have a really good time.

Oftb: I know that at least one of you come from the city of Lund. Lund was, as you might remember, a Mecca for pop punk during the 90′s, with Bad Taste Records and that basement store what flogged punk records, but what is the scene there like today? Strengths? Weaknesses?

Erik: -None of us come from Lund. David is, however, a migrant from the city of Staffanstorp, who in his tour of south Sweden made a stop in Lund.

David: -When the band started, all of the three members lived and worked in Malmö.  Lund has got very good music and a punk scene that is well more vital than Malmö’s if one looks to ”per Capita”. 

Oftb: You give thanks to the “cartoonist pals” in your sleevenotes to “I all hast”  and Adam has made all the artwork, so one has to ask, does he draw cartoons? In that case, which? Anything published?

Erik: -Yeah, Adam is a cartoonist and draws ”Bamse” (popular swedish kids cartoon). he’s well skilled at what he’s doing and is also responsible for all the Trevolt artwork.

David: -Rumour has it that he’s the best among the new generation of Bamse-cartoonists.

Oftb: You have obviously got left wing values and despite the fact that I consider myself more right wing than left wing, I cannot but to love the lyrics to “Pank”. Are you active in any political party, or is it just ideals?

Erik: -Party politics… I think everyone better answer for themselves at this one. I am an anarchist and I mean really ideological, not just pretense. I am totally convinced that organised religion and capitalism are the two biggest threats to mankind and the direct reason to why things look as miserable as they do. I deny decidedly that relations of power are something unavoidable. At the core of it, I do believe that us humans are good creatures and that the medieval times have come to an end.

Adam: -I do believe, as Erik, that at the core of it, we are good, but our fear for being close to each other and open up have given us the capitalist culture that we have got. But the closer we get to each other with time, the less egocentrical we will become.

David: -If there was a party what does the things I would want it to do, then there would be no reason to write a tune like ”Pank”. Sure, one can say that I am more left than right wing, but I don’t think any party of the two blocs are radical at all.

Oftb: How has trallpunk (the name of the swedish kind of pop punk Trevolt plays according to some) Sweden greeted your songs in Scanian accent? Have you been slagged off for your accents?

Erik: -I ain’t got a clue, people seem to like us. We do work hard as fuck with writing good tunes and on performing them live as good as possible and if you only do that, then people will, unavoidedly, take a liking to you sooner or later. What is  ”trallpunk Sweden” really? We know many regular swedes who like our music, it’s not as hard to get as HC, for an example. It is really a bit wrong to call Trevolt a trallpunk band, we have more in common with Bad Religion and Asta Kask. It is my guess that “trallpunk” is a label used by young people with low self esteem and who believe they are a hoax, so they work really hard on getting a macho attitude until they realise they are worth to be loved for whom they are. You can play punk without being a parody. Yes really.

If punk means choosing your own path, living your life after your own heart and refuse to be controlled by fear, capital or expectations…

…then why is the punk police so bloody active? Bloody fifth colons. EVERY WANKER WHO TAKES ON THE ROLE TO DECIDE WHO IS PUNK AND WHO IS NOT IS A FUCKING TRAITOR!

David: -The punk police are, as we play so “happy” and “melodic” music. Out of 40 tunes, we probably have 2 in major. If you listen to the lyrics, then you will pretty soon realise that we do not play happy music. We do punk rock in a scanian accents. No more no less. 

Oftb: Lunds BK (a local football club) has climbed up to division one, what do you who live in Lund think of that? Will they stay up? Which other (if any) football clubs are you fans of?

Erik: -LDB FC.

David: -As LDB was our reply on the Conshitas interview a few years ago, I have to say the blues (Malmö FF).

Oftb: What do you think mr Hamrén has to do for Sweden to qualify for the footie World Cup of 2014?

Erik: -Booking the flight in time.
David: -Betting on new players in stead of playing 36 year old “safe cards”…