So it’s really quite sad that as I sit under a tiny blue tent in the middle of the sidewalk at the Detroit leg of this year’s Warped Tour, I don’t even recognize The Sounds’ bassist Johan Bengtsson or keyboardist Jesper Anderberg as they show up in the crowd of randomly placed chairs and journalists/reporters armed with notepads and tape recorders.
The day is blazing hot. I notice one guy has taken his shirt off and wrapped a cloth over his head in an attempt to combat the heat wave. Two guys as equally pale and miserable-looking as myself are plopped in front of me, and introduced as Johan and Jesper of The Sounds. I realize the miserable boy with the scarf on his head like a turban is Johan and immediately feel a kindred spirit toward him. Both he and Jesper lean back in their chairs with a sort-of oh-thank-goodness-we-didn’t-pass-out-before-our-interview look about them. After introducing ourselves, the three of us relax, forget about the heat and catch up on the tour, golf, and, uh, the weather…
HZ: What do you think of Warped Tour so far?
Jesper: It’s great; it’s one of the most fun tours to be on. It’s our second time doing Warped Tour and we’re enjoying it very much.
Johan: It’s like vacation for musicians.
Jesper: Like summer camp.
Johan: Yeah like summer camp!
Jesper: Like you just go with your friends and have fun.
Johan: Really relaxing as well. You play 30 minutes, you don’t drink so much, you eat very well, you get a tan. You look healthy.
HZ: It’s like Cancun without the bikinis.
Johan: Exactly.
Jesper: Kind of.
Johan: And a little bit younger people.
HZ: So what do you think of your fans?
Johan: They’re great. Warped Tour for us is mainly about gaining more fans ’cause we play so much [of a] different music style … we’re not an emo band or a screamo band. The people that come here usually like that kind of music, but we’re trying to over-win some of the fans. It’s good for us.
HZ: Do you find it hard, though, to find a fan base here when most of the bands are punk?
Johan: Sometimes. But you know …
Jesper: Sometimes, but not usually. People seem to appreciate what we’re doing on the tour. I mean, maybe [after] a whole day of like screaming, maybe we’re like a breath of like fresh air coming in, you know? I don’t know, but people seem to like it.
Johan: We usually tour with the bands that sound different than we do. And it’s—
Jesper: A good diversity.
Johan: Yeah, definitely.
HZ: Who have you toured with?
Johan: Everything from Strokes … Rooney … who else? …. Raveonettes ... you know, everything.
HZ: So, you’re from Sweden. Am I correct?
Both: Yes.
HZ: And I know obviously there is a difference, but what kind of difference is there between performing in America and performing over there?
Jesper: Especially [with] Warped Tour, there’s not really a scene like [there is] here. Like the emo, scream, hardcore—it’s not as huge as it is over here. So, obviously, we don’t have the touring festivals like Warped Tour in Sweden. [As far as performing,] I don’t think it’s that much of a difference, actually.
HZ: Can you pronounce your lead singer’s name for me because I know I’ll get it wrong.
Both: Maya
HZ: What does she do to get ready to perform?
Johan: I don’t know—I guess what every girl does. When she goes out, like a girl goes out to [a] club, she puts makeup on, puts her dress on. Then we, you know, sit down, have fun together, you know, warm up and stuff like that. It’s pretty normal.
HZ: What’s it like touring together? Is it hard being crammed into a bus?
Johan: Uh, not very.
Jesper: We’re pretty used to it, so …
HZ: How long have you been touring?
Jesper: On this album, since January.
Johan: But last album, we toured for three years.
HZ: Three years …
Jesper: It has its ups and downs, but it’s mostly fun.
HZ: Like what kinds of ups and downs?
Jesper: Like some days are better than others, obviously. Obviously if you are like 10 people in a bus, you sometimes get annoyed, but you just learn to live with it and get by pretty easy, you know.
HZ: What do you do on your days off?
Johan: Not much. Laundry.
Jesper: Sleep, laundry; if there’s a pool we might go swimming and sometimes, SOMETIMES, we play golf.
HZ: So you haven’t been able to play golf lately?
Johan: No, not on this tour. It’s too hot to play golf.
HZ: I know! How do you deal with this weather? What do you do when you’re performing to stay cool?
Johan: There’s nothing we really have to do. You just do it.
Jesper: We DON’T stay cool!
Johan: Yeah! (Chuckles.)
Jesper: You just sweat your a** off!
Johan: It’s kind of hard for us because we’re not used to this kind of heat in Sweden. Summer is only, like, 85 degrees—top. But here it’s like a hundred, and it’s like … (makes a nauseous sound).
For more info, please visit the-sounds.com |
Since the release, the band has earned itself several music awards and a roaring—if somewhat infatuated—fan base. For example, just check out the band’s MySpace 
