QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- Tell me a little bit about the musical background of the members of JL trio? - I (John) started playing guitar when I was about ten years old. Joakim was early introduced to the music business by his father and started playing drums in an early age. Martin our bass player played in several other bands before he joined us in JLT.
- What are your main musical influences? - It started with Elvis and all the other great artists from the 50’s. Later on I discovered Stray Cats and Brian Setzer, who still is one of my largest sources of inspiration. But I listen to all kinds of music. Now I listen mostly to another great artist; Shooter Jennings.
- You have a modern approach to rockabilly than for example the Tail Records’ bands. How would you describe John Lindberg Trio’s sound and musical style? - We try to stay updated in our musical style. The final sound in a song depends on the song, but we like a “large” fat sound mostly. When we work in a studio we use analogue equipment. In our opinion it brings the music to life. As a musician you want to grow, both in technique and to explore “the other side of the fence”. Today we play some rockabilly with a modern touch of pop and rock. Still, it is the quality of the song that have a decisive influence on our decision choosing which songs to play and record.
- What is your favourite guitar and why? - My favourite guitar at the moment is a Gretsch model number: 6128-TVP. I like both the look and the sound. It sounds vintage with its TV-jones power’tron pickups at the same time as it sounds modern if you use the overdrive sound. It depends on how you play. Gretsch call it “A hard rocker in a classic package:”
- Are you into vintage instruments and gear or do you prefer more modern solutions? - Looking at my previous answer it’s clear that I like both vintage and a modern style instruments. In studio I like to use vintage instruments, but on tour I use modern equipment.
- Your biggest influences in the guitar field - past or present? I must say that it is Brian Setzer, and he is as many of you know very present in the music business today.
- You changed your name from John Lindberg Rockabilly Trio to John Lindberg Trio. What's the story behind that? - Our curiosity made us want to explore more music genres, and we wanted to expand ourselves to a broader audience. We found ourselves playing both rock’n roll and modern rock’n roll. We played a lot more than just rockabilly. That’s why we changed our band name, it sounded too narrow-minded.
- You have covered several well-known pop songs. What's the idea behind that and how do you choose the songs? - Most times it feels like there’s a “go” in the song that would work well with an upright bass! Imagine “I’m so exited” with an upright bass, a good song made better… =)
- You seem to write most of the songs. Where do you get ideas for your own songs? - Everyday life, once I wrote a song a bout a pair of shoes. It could be anything that triggers the inspiration. If I get stuck my girlfriend helps me with lyrics, and Martin is also a talented songwriter.
- What do you feel are your own limitations when it comes to creating/writing music? - I suck at writing songs in Swedish, (and Finnish).
-Tell me 3 of your favourite songs from your career and the inspiration behind them? -That’s a tough question…. There are many good songs to choose among.
- Who is moving you musically at the moment? As I mentioned before I listen much to Shooter Jennings at the time.
- How do you see yourself altering the band and your sound in the future? Is there anything you wish to attempt in the future that's inspiring you right now? - I want to keep up the good work we’re doing. Spread our music outside the borders.
- Your gig list seems to be quite full. Do you make a living out of it? - Yes we make a living out of rock’ a billy.
- What keeps you going night after night, gig after gig? Our love for the art of music and the money, you have got to eat man!
- Your bass man Martin Engström has released a solo album “Wanted”. How do your musical ambitions meet? -We try to push each other into writing better and better songs and “Wanted” is a bit different from our sound in JLT, which opened up the door for a solo album.
-Your previous bassist left in August 2006. What was the reason for that? - He didn’t want to be on the road, touring from north to south, as much as we did at the time. He thought about leaving us for a long time before he did, and it showed that he wasn’t happy with the situation.
>>> Martin has played in several bands. He started with a band called >>> Mad Rats later on Sleepy Hollow.. >>> a band he still plays a few gigs with every year is called Texas >>> Moonshine. >>> He played drums in Mad Rats, and now he does the same in Texas >>> Moonshine. >>> >>> Jocke have played in several Metal bands mostly trash metal and >>> very heavy stuff! >>> I was the one who showed him into Rock n..Roll Rockabilly. >>> Jocke's dad, Ingemar Dunker is one of the most famous drummers in >>> Sweden, and he has played drums with almost every big artist in >>> sweden. But nowdays he plays drums behind Dave Edmunds.. Steve >>> Gibbons..Linda Gail Lewis and many more..So theres been a lot of >>> music in Jocke's home! He was on his first tour when he was like 4 >>> years old (: >>> >>> I started play just me and my guitar... Later on i went into >>> Musical highschool and playd almost any kind of music.. >>> There i met Patrik our former bass player and Jocke we started John >>> Lindberg Rockabilly Trio in early 2004. >>> Iv'e Been doing several guitar jobs with diffrent artists..
Det är tråkigt att ni bor så långt borta, för jag skulle mer än gärna plåta er till mitt kommande rockabillyprojekt. Nåväl, take care n keep up the good work! /Sandra
