A little while ago, during an interview I did with Zack from Blues Pills he mentioned SPIDERS as being one of the major bands in Sweden. So I immediately checked these guys out on the internet and I was amazed to discovered this 4 piece from Gothenburg.
1) For the viewers of this blog who would not know you, What would you tell about SPIDERS to introduce yourselves? How long are you guys together as a band? Who is playing what instrument in the band nowadays?
John: We are a Swedish rock band based in Gothenburg and have been around almost ten years. The group consists of Ann-Sofie Hoyles on vocals, John Hoyles on guitar, Rickard Hellgren guitar, Olle Griphammar bass and Ricard Harryson on drums. We have released three albums over the years and done a bunch of tours in Europe and the States.
We recorded the album in Gothenburg at the studio Music A Matic with Chips Kiesby as producer. Hes a bit of a legend here in sweden and has produced loads of bands like The Hellacopters and Graveyard so it was really interesting and educational working with him. He had a lot of good references when it came to guitar and drum sounds and understood what we wanted to achieve. On Killer Machine we worked track by track and took our time with overdubs on each song. On our previous albums we have recorded live using analog tape machines with just a few overdubs so it was cool trying something new.
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you guys only work with analog machines in analog studios?
Both, our latest album was recorded digital but our other albums were analog. I think computers are so good nowadays that one cant hear the difference anymore but I prefer recording analog because you don't look at a computer screen all the time and just uses ones ears.
4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
Previously I used to write most of the songs but now it's more of a joint effort. Someone in the band comes up with a riff or idea for a song and then we jam on it in the rehearsal room until we find a structure for a song. We usually record a pre production of the song so we can work out details and stuff before going into the studio.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?
I don't know. I like songs to be simple and I suppose most of our songs are about love, being mistreated, doom and gloom and a little bit of politics. I find it difficult to write lyrics so they don't sound stupid or pretentious.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have an influence on your own work today.
I grew up listening to my parents records. A Lot of The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. When I was 11 I was looking through an old photo album of my mum's and found some photos she had taken of the band Cream back in 1967 when they played in her hometown. They really blew me away, Eric Clapton's early stuff influenced me a lot. When I became a teenager I started listening to Black Sabbath , Led Zeppelin and going to record fairs buying obscure records with 70's bands like Bang, Dust and Sir Lord Baltimore. Three bands that have influenced us as a band could be Black Sabbath, Heart and The Runaways.
7) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the LP?
Yes, we did a video for Dead Or Alive, you can find it on youtube. We also have some other videos from our previous albums.
8) What can concert goers expect at a SPIDERS gig? Are you playing any famous cover songs during the gig?
Our singer Ann-Sofie is a mix of Iggy pop and Mick Jagger on stage so its always a good show to watch. We also have one of the best drummers around and lots of guitar riffs and solos. So if your into hard rock I don't think you'll be disappointed.
9) Are there any bands in Sweden today you consider yourself close to musically speaking?
I think we are usually associated with bands like Graveyard, Blues Pills and Horisont. We have done a lot of tours together and are good friends. There is a big rock scene in Sweden with lots of good bands like Lucifer, Dead Lord and Hot Breath to name a few.
10) How would You describe the music you're playing? Is this "vintage rock'n'roll" or do you consider there is way more than that?
That's a difficult question. I used to play in a band called Witchcraft that was quite heavy 70's rock sounding back around 2004. People at the time called our music doom rock and then we went to the US people called us hipster metal and then a few years after that we were called retro rock. And now all the bands that played similar music was categorized as retro rock including us. I prefer just saying we play classic rock.
11) What are the plans for the rest of 2020 as far as SPIDERS is concerned? When can we expect a new SPIDERS full-length?
We had a few tours booked in Germany and Spain that have been postponed to 2021 and we had some festival gigs that were cancelled. It's been tough for everybody this year and I hope the music venues are going to survive. There's going to be a lot of bands touring when this Corona situation passes. We have been recording demos of some new songs and I hope we have enough songs soon to record an album.
12) A special question for you John: You were born in London, UK and Moved to Sweden in your teens. Do you believe that the kind of music SPIDERS is playing could much easier come to life in Sweden rather that in the UK where everything is either indie rock or dance music?
Probably. I lived in a town called Örebro in the middle of Sweden and was fortunate to meet a lot of musicians that liked the same music. There was a a lot of tape trading among friends and an obsession of finding albums of old 70's bands that sounded like Black Sabbath. The US group Pentagram was really big in Örebro before many people had heard of them. There were many bands from Örebro that were inspired by 60's and 70's rock like Witchcraft, Norrsken, The Strollers,Dead Man, Great Mammoth, Troubled Horse, and Asteroid. Music and style comes round in circles and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.
13) Anything you wanna add?
Stay safe out there and I hope we can meet up and have a few beers at a rock n roll show soon
Purchase the previous releases HERE: https://www.facebook.com/wearespiders/shop/?ref_code=mini_shop_page_card_cta&ref_surface=page
