Randy "The Band" (Fat Wreck Chords)
By Tim Den
Monday. Feb 06, 12:22 AM
An interview with guitarist/backup vocalist Johan Brändström.

(read the review of The Band here)

You have been around a long, long time... exactly when did the band start and where did you grow up?

We started out in 1992, I think... way up north in Sweden where we all lived. We were best friends even before the band. Since there is nothing to do up there, you have to find a way to get away from dark winters and unemployment. Randy was our way out.

Your musical identity has changed quite a lot since your beginnings. If I'm not mistaken, you started out more skate-punk, then dabbled with ska before turning into more of a power pop band, no? And now it seems like you've finally grown into something unique: a mixture of garage, vintage punk, and pop melodies. Can you elaborate on all these changes?

We started as a skateband, that's true. We still have a piece of that in us, I guess. We were never a ska band. We did one single just for fun. Since three records back, I guess, we found our way and our “Randy sound.” Every record tends to fall out a bit different than the other, though. We have to explore new things otherwise we get bored. Probably a bad thing for business, but who cares. We're fucked anyway.

Seems like every Swedish band is amazing. You once released a split with the infamous Refused: can you talk a bit about your friendship and influence on each other?

There're a lot of crappy bands in Sweden, I can tell you. You just hear of the good ones. Refused and Randy were really good friends and played a lot together in the big punk/HC scene that Sweden had in mid ‘90s. We always competed in being the best on stage, and I think it turned both bands into great live acts. After a tour, we did that split just for fun. It's actually pretty bad.

You have moved labels in the U.S. a few times... why?

We released on G7 first because we liked the politics and the people working for that company. Later on Burning Heart, our European company, sold half of their shit to Epitaph, so we were more or less forced to release our stuff there. It didn't work out very well. I didn't receive one single Epitaph mail during our time with them. We are really good friend with Fat’s people and have toured with their bands, so now they release our newest album. They should have released every one of our records.

Leftist politics was the main focus on You Can't Keep a Good Band Down. And although you also talk about the spirit of independence and rebellion on your other records, they don't feel as political or urgent. Has the politics taken a back seat to rocking out?

No, I don't think so. Maybe we mix up political lyrics with other issues now more. The lyrics on early records are pretty hard, radical political lyrics without knowing exactly what we were talking about. But I kind of like that naive, angry style too. We lost some of that, to be honest. Kind of sad, in a way.

What do you think of the buzz around Swedish metal? Are you a fan?

I like metal, but not the new stuff. I like stuff like early Anthrax and Metallica. I like Van Halen a lot.

How come you haven't toured North America much?

We toured Canada like three times and America twice. Actually just once, since the first tour got cancelled after angry men with beards crashed planes into some high buildings in New York. It's pretty expensive to tour America, but if anyone wants us to come, book shows and we’ll show up!

What are your main musical influences these days?

Everything from the hardest punk and metal to the softest country and other sweet sounding stuff.

Do you still believe that punk rock has the power to illicit social change? Cuz, as pointed out in Propagandhi's new album, the genre seems to have been completely co-opted by the mainstream as a means to sell disposable identity...

I don't know, really. If you really wanna make a change, I suggest you do it in a way other than through music. I guess I agree with Propagandhi there... overall, I tend to see things much more cynical than I did when I was younger. I don't like that fact, but I can't help it.
www.randytheband.com
www.fatwreck.com

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Tim Den

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