If you had told me I would meet a band..
-- a gang of kids from Sweden no less -- and they would write and play American music better than anyone you can hear in Los Angeles today, I'd've said you ought to get your dosage adjusted.
But that's what happened in the summer of 2008 when I found the boys of Southern Skyline sprawled across the living room floor of my friend Karen Nash's place in West Hollywood. They were recovering from the flight from Stockholm but were ready to set out on a short tour of California that would take them from L.A. to the desert to San Francisco and back again.
With each show, each time I heard them play their music -- at once raw and refined, infused with the freewheeling spirit of heartbroken country music but bristling with an electric awareness of the world as it was handed to them (coming of age as they did at the still-born start of the 21st century) -- I knew this was a band that could bend & transcend any 'genre' you thought you could trap them in.
If you need some sort of touchstone, something you already know to help you wrap your head around this group, think of Jerry Lee Lewis in his country years, think of Elvis and his hot band, think of Dallas Frazier and his best lyrics -- or better yet, think of them as the Swedish Beatles. Too far? Sacrilegious? Maybe. Maybe not. I think this is a group of musicians who could go off the road for a couple of months, hole up in a studio, and come out with a stack of songs completely different from what we've heard so far, and yet still sound like no one but them.
Jonas Öhlund (guitars, mandolin, & vocals) -- a/k/a 'Willie' -- the driving force of the operation, there are wheels within wheels inside that handsome head and they're always turning.
Henric Hammarback (guitar & vocals) -- it's pronounced 'Hank') -- He may have the best hair in the business but 'Hank' is more than a hair-do: He is quickly developing into one of the best songwriters around.
Johan Salomonsson (drums, percussion, & vocals) -- With a Cheshire cat smile, like he's enjoying a joke you just wouldn't understand, he can make a cardboard box sound like the best kit in the shop.
Alexander Skylvik (bass) -- musically, and just about every other way, the quiet, steady foundation.
Southern Skyline is just the shot in the arm (or kick in the ass) that country music needs right now. Something fresh, something new, something that you just don't want to live without. Like that marvelous songwriter Jim Ford sang: "You gotta go through it if you wanna get to it." Southern Skyline has gone through it and are only waiting for the world to welcome them in!
Alan Seymour, 2 October 2009
Reviews in Swedish:
"så mycket hjärta och nerv i sitt framförande"
- Catharina Sandström, Arbetarbladet
"Låter som de kom från den Kaliforniska öknen"
- Mikael Stenkvist, Sala Allehanda
"The best old-school country I've heard for a long time"
- Karen Nash, Amerikansk countrysångerska
If you want to purchase our EP, please write us a message here on myspace or use the link below to get to our gmail!
howdy johan, how ya been brother? i hope y'all been good...you been playing out lately?..when you coming back to the states again?..i really hopre to get to meet ya and then you can meet little jonah he will have his ass-kickin botts on and his cowboy shirt on for sure..lol....susan plays guitar so she's going to try and start teaching him early on...maybe the next gram parsons?...yeah right!!...lol..there will never be another gp.....anyway hope all is well with all of you... ttyl tommy
Hej Johan ! Självklart jag håller kollen på er sida då ;) Även om jag blivit lite lat också vad det gäller min Spejs .. Jäkla FB:s fel ha ha Håller tummarna för att det blir mer Kanada sen då ! :) Kunde ju tyvärr inte komma dom två första kvällarna ni spelade på Kolingen pga att det var vardag / jobb osv. Men nu i mellandagarna är man ju ledig och då tar jag och Annika en sväng upp till huvudstaden ihop som ni ser här nedan ;) Ska bli så kul att äntligen se / höra er live ! Det är underbart kul med musik då ja ! :)) Hörs och ses, må gott till dess ! / BizzeBuzz ;)
Hej! Vad roligt att se att ni ska ut i världen och spela igen Är ni tillsammans med Bob och Karen den här gången också? Jag dyker upp tillsammans med Birgitta den 29 december på Kolingen Ska bli härligt att få höra er spela live igen! Vi ses! Kram på er.
Almost time for you guys to thaw out and come back to sunny California! I think the states have recovered from your last adventure over here. Keep the party goin'... Music On!
Så ni ska spela i Canada och Norge ser jag ! Grattis, vad kul ! :) Själv tror jag vi kommer ses lite efter jul då ... Om mina planer går i lås ;) Hoppas allt är fint med er alla ! Kram / Birgitta
HelpCharity is a acronym for Handicapped, engagement, loyalty, protection. HelpCharity want to support organizations that pay attention to the needs of handicapped children in Germany and America. Would you like to help too? For more information please read the blog of HelpCharity.
HelpCharity steht für BeHinderten, engagement, loyalität und protektion. Mit HelpCharity sollen Organisationen unterstützt werden, die sich um die Belange von behinderten Kindern in Deutschland und den USA kümmern. Würdest Du auch gerne helfen? Informationen wie Du helfen kannst, findest Du im Blog von HelpCharity.
Nu kör vi igång vår HÖSTKAMPANJ 09 med riktigt bra priser på bland annat: tröjpaket och mössor med brodyr. Vi har ett mycket stort sortiment av merchandise till ert band eller bolag! Besök vår webbsida redan idag för mer info. www.vodrecords.se
Vi önskar alla våra vänner på MySpace en riktigt rockig höst! Vod Printings ------------- We print & supply t-shirts, merchandise & backdrops to the independent music scene, contact us for more info! www.vodrecords.se
Man, I thought you were pulling my leg about the blood. Now I'm worried about Mr Nelson. I guess I better check up on him. How does one bleed themselves dry whilst playing with brushes? Ha!
The 29th sounds good... yep, I'll see ya'll there then. --Nick
Är ni tillsammans med Bob och Karen den här gången också? Jag dyker upp tillsammans med Birgitta den 29 december på Kolingen 
Ska bli härligt att få höra er spela live igen! Vi ses!
