The band actually started as a thought in the back of my mind in 2011 or 2012. I had been playing in different bands for a long time but nothing ever took off in a serious way. It’s hard to find a group of people who share a vision and want things to go in the same direction. I mean, you always have a good time and lots of laughs but after a while just seeing the inside of a rehearsal studio and doing small club gigs gets old. I knew I was ready to take my music to a more professional level but wasn’t sure how to go about it, but I knew I had to do something.

And then just by chance I ran into Erik at a concert. I had worked with him briefly laying down vocals on a song of his a couple of years back but I didn’t really know him at all. We got to talking and decided to meet up and see if we could do some serious work together.

Erik is an incredibly talented guy - he’s a songwriter, a musician and a producer. I don’t think there’s anything in music he can’t do well. Plus he’s a genuinely nice person. And as it turned out he totally understood what I was looking for musically and everything fell into place. Ideas just kept coming and after a short while we had a bunch of tracks that were exactly the way I wanted – good melodies, great riffs and very energetic and live oriented songs with a modern production but still with one foot in the 80’s.

I knew I wanted to play the songs live, it’s the main reason I’m even in the business at all. It’s always been about the show and performance for me, the connection with the audience. I love bands like Hanoi Rocks and Van Halen – really tight bands that can give a crazy front man a solid foundation to stand on so they can focus on getting the party going and entertaining the crowd. I will always try to be the circus monkey and give the people their money’s worth. If you want to hear me focus on singing you have to get the album.

I’ve always seen myself as part of a band, being solo just isn’t that much fun. So when the album was ready I started looking for people that would fit both visually and musically. It might sound like a made-up story, but I couldn’t find the right guys at first so I actually went online and read classifieds. And one of the first ads I found was Ludde and Marre looking for a lead singer for their latest project. I knew Ludde from school and Marre from other bands around Stockholm, so I knew they were right for what I had in mind. They wanted a guy but I said “screw that” and called them up anyway. And as it turned out they liked the songs and were also fans of Erik, so we they were in.

We needed someone on bass and Marre suggested his long-time friend Soffe, who I also knew from other bands. Hagge was the last one to join. I didn’t know him but liked him right away. We made him audition but it was just to mess with him, as far as I was concerned he was already in the band. And together we’re Adrenaline Rush. I think the name really sums up how we sound and what we’re trying to do live. The guys are really great and I’m so happy to have them with me.  

ADRENALINE RUSH
“Adrenaline Rush”
Frontiers Records/Soulfood (LC: 13305)