Fuck Off and Die ! Well, that could be an invitation… or not ! It’s up to you, but this shouldn't prevent you from listening to this album called Backyard Babies, which has thirteen hard rock/glam metal pieces of choice. Dregen tells us more about it...


"Backyard Babies" : the last record of...Backyard Babies!

Interview by Anne-Gaëlle

Date : 2008-09-15
City: Paris

Radio Metal : This album is full of melodies, riffs, choruses : we can’t wait to see you live ! How did you compose it ?

Dregen (Guitar/Vocals) : Next year, it’ll be twenty years that Backyard Babies has the same line-up. When we started, we were fifteen, now thirty five, but I think that the idea of the band is pretty much the same that when we were fifteen. We still love the albums we released when we were fifteen, we haven't really changed our music, but of course, during all these years, our music tastes have changed. For example, I am the only one in the band who has a few hip hop albums, and I don't know how many country western albums has Nicke. As regards Backyard Babies, if you take our last five albums and squeeze out the best stuff we can do, you get… Backyard Babies ! It’s like a 360° view : we can do a ballad with only one guitar and one voice like Saved by the bell, a really punky song like Zoe is a weirdo, or a song based on riffs like Degenerated. There are different songs, but it sounds like Backyard Babies.

That's why you called it Backyard Babies, am I right ?

Yeah.

You recorded it in only ninety days : it’s pretty fast…

During our carrier, we spent sometimes five months in a studio, but also recorded an album in two weeks… All in all, I think we started to get really serious about this album during Christmas / New Year Eve 2007. We finished the writing process five or six months before entering the studio, so we were really well prepared : we were not just sitting in the studio and saying “so, what should we do now ?” We were pretty focused on our thing.



And how was the atmosphere in the studio ?

It was a cool recording this time. We worked again with Jacob Hellner, a really good producer. It’s the first time that we work with the same producer for more than an album, so I think we’ll work with him in the future.

Do you think that this album could be a good introduction for someone who does not know you ?

Yeah, that's also why we’ve called it Backyard Babies. If you're a new fan and you want to check out the band, but you don't like Backyard Babies, I don't think you should even care about the old stuff, because you certainly won’t be a fan !




So how could you describe this album compared to the previous ones ?

It's like the burger you buy five minutes before five a.m after a long night out. You want extras of everything : you want cheese on it ? Yes ! You want mayonnaise ? Yes ! You want ketchup ? Yes ! We wanted the best ingredients. If I had to compare it to the other albums, I’d say that it’s slightly more oriented on guitar riffs.

And you like it, I suppose...

Yeah, I’m a guitarist!

Sure, but did you intend to do so from the start ?

Yes, in a certain way. We've always focused ourselves on the song writing in this band over the years, and I think we’re doing pretty good. But we've also toured a lot, became better musicians in a better band, so we logically composed songs based on riffs.

I'd like to focus on the song Fuck Off and Die : what kind of rebellion is it ? Is it personal or just general feelings ?

Yes, it’s personal. Actually, it's not that aggressive. I wrote the lyrics and I talk about my feelings. Every human being on this planet has a nice and polite side, but also has a dark and evil side as well : that's the yin and the yang. When my dark side takes control of me, I’d like to say to him : “Fuck Off And Die”. I don't know if you’ve seen the video, but the shadows in it represent your dark side making you do things that you don't really like, but you finally do them.

You wrote the lyrics.

D : Yes and I also wrote the song.

Why did you share the vocals with Nicke?

Well, I think that it sounds good. I've always like bands that have more than one vocalist. I grew up with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, but I also liked Ace Frehley. It's the same with Rolling Stones : I love when Keith sings.

Talking about rebellion in general, do you think there is still a spirit of rebellion in hard rock nowadays ?

It's a good question because a lot of people make a fuss about that. Everybody is dressed more like the same, use the same drums, guitars and basses. It is in a way rebellion, but it's hard nowadays to define it...During the last five years, the record business just came a cropper, and it’s a positive thing. For example, in Europe, the “rebellion attitude” is stronger than in the States. I'm talking about the big major companies which control the artists so much. They create boy bands and tell them how to sing and how to dress : there is no rebellion in that. We felt a little bit the same when we left in BMG : that's why we released our album on our own label (Billion Dollar Babies). You can easily release a single called Fuck off and die : we are the bosses, we do we want.

So this is your way to keep this spirit of rebellion alive ?

We are a schizophrenic band because we have a foot in the underground scene, we're kind of punk. On the other hand, we want to take this band as far as we can. As soon as you release a CD, it’s business, you've got to sell it. In hell, there are different levels, different degrees of heat. If ©McDonalds asked me if I want to do commercial for a Big Mac, I would say no, because it's not really me, but on the other hand, I’ve been wearing Shock Talers since I’m twelve, so if ©Converse asked me to do a song… You may think “ok, it's a big label”, but these shoes are part of my identity. It's a thin line . I don’t think it's good that people on the street recognize you as the guy that does the ©McDonalds commercial. It slowly kills your artistic personality.

Do you think so after 20 years, or was it always the case ?

I think I’m a little more horny about money nowadays than ten years ago ! No, I’m joking : the good thing with getting older is that you get more confidence. Ten years ago, we wondered about what the fans or journalists would say about our new album, but now it 100% us, it's like “fuck you”. I’m proud of this, it’s “take it or leave it”, which is a good thing. We've been doing this for 20 years now, so I think that we can sell ourselves a little bit. I shouldn't say that, but if we get the chance to get a lot of money, we’ll use it to do whatever we want.




So I don't know if there's a link with this conversation, but who are the Idiots you’re talking about ?

Nicke wrote that one. I don't know if you have that kind of show in France, but in the USA, it's called American Idol. Young people come and sing, get a producer, make an album, become big stars, sell a lot of CD’s and 4 weeks later, nobody remembers them. They didn't leave their mark in the music’s history. Sorry for ©McDonalds, but it's the same when you eat a ©Big Mac : it's tasty, but two hours after, you're hungry and feel stupid. Idiots is about that. Nowadays, many bands, I shouldn't say spoil, but they start on Monday, then record a demo on Friday, and if they don't have a record deal or success within two weeks, they quit. Starting a band is a lot of hard work.

Do you understand this state of mind ? They want everything at once.

Well, I want everything, but not now. To reach the top, you’ve got to face many challenges.

If you start a band today, would you do the same ?

No.

You would understand that you have to wait for a reward ?

I guess so, but I think that in general, everything nowadays gets faster. When it comes to culture for example, if you take a painting, it takes two weeks before it's really dry, so you can't just paint and then sell it. The same with wine. Everything takes time. So actually, Idiots is about that, the business industry and the “fast-food” way of thinking in music.

The lyrics in general aren't very positive. There is disappointment in love, and also a feeling of revenge...

We are four happy guys enjoying life. When I am happy and enjoying myself, I could think of a thousand ways to express myself than actually sitting down and writing a song about how happy I am. We write better songs when we are angry about something, or frustrated or even sad. Personally, I like songs that deal about being angry or even sad, than “oh it's sunny today, I am so happy”. It’s difficult for me to express something, if Iam happy, Iwant to keep that for myself… but if I’m pissed off, I want to write about it.

Do you want to make people think with your lyrics or do you just want to bring some fun with your music ?

More fun : music first, you know. The day I’ll have an idea that I want to write about, I don't think I’ll call a record company : I’ll call a book publicist instead. I don’t think it’s hard to understand. Of course, we have an opinion about the invasion of Iraq and global warming, it’s total shit, but it’s not our role to speak about that. We leave Bono and U2 to talk about pop or the Pope. We rather hang out with the Rolling Stones !




We’ve talked about it previously, but it’s been 20 years that you are together. How do you react when your hear that BB has reached an established status, is a reference or even an influence for new bands ?

It’s ... It’s funny, I’m proud of it and I hope it’ll last.

Is this your feeling or do you think the whole band thinks the same ?

The whole band thinks the same. We’ve worked hard, and it’s not great everyday. When you survive those bad days, it’s positive.

After all these years in the music scene, aren’t there any dreams you haven’t reached yet ?

This album went straight to number one in the swedish charts, and Abba with their musical Mamamia went on second place, so that’s really cool. It’s a big thing because we are not the kind of typical number one band. For the next album, maybe we can be number one in France. We play at la Locomotive on the 6th of October : that would be a dream for me if we’re sold out. Next time we come here, we’ll play a bigger venue, also sold out. We do it step by step.

Ok, so it's maybe too early to talk about the new album...

Yes, I don't want to talk about it!

You just want to focus on the promotion ?

Yes. Maybe what’s missing in the BB catalogue is a good live DVD, so it’s something we should think of.

The very last question is about the cover : I wonder why you chose this famous picture for BB?

I've been seeing that picture since I was a little kid in every restaurant in Stockholm... I was sitting with this guy, Micke Eriksson, who does our artwork, takes photos and stuff for years. We were like : why hasn’t anybody done a pastiche of this ? It symbolizes rock n roll in a way. Actually, on the original picture, the Indians were building the RCA building… and RCA was our previous record company ! So it was a little bit funny. You're up there on the top of the world, if you take like one step forward, you fall, like we all do in the end.

Ok, do you want to add something ?

Book your 6th Of October and come over, even if you come from Toulouse or Rennes. There are cars, planes, bicycles, friend’s friends to drive you there or hitch hiking !