Stockholmbased FlowerPower Metallers Rise And Shine have returned with their best effort to date, Ghosts Of The Past unleashed by Plugged Records. After 7 years of silence since their period with Black Widow have they returned home to Sweden. Ghosts Of The Past have made its mark in my player, Rise And Shine have not only changed label, they have also established their soundpicture with a tight fuzzy riffing and progressive hooks. Its a interesting piece of disc to check out. Here is Jocke Knutsson, their guitarist with the magic beard who fills you in on a complete update.
Interview with Rise And Shine
Welcome back with the new cd, Ghosts Of The Past, how has the reactions been so far from media and fans ?
Well it has been out less than a month but so far so good. Most media has been very good with an exception but we didn’t expect anything else from those guys. The “fans” seem to think it is our best effort so far. I think it’s our best to.
I have been there since the beginning since your demoperiod, how did you form the band in the first place and looking back at that period of Rise And Shine, what are your memories and what is your reaction to your old demos ?
What can I say. I still like a lot of those old songs. But the demos where recorded on a four track portable live. We only did the vocals separate. We still record live but with lot of overdubs and stuff. Actually when we record Josa sings with us. Just like we would do rehearsing. Josa put the band together back then. She made a couple of songs and we did electrify them. Back then I hadn’t played guitar for a while. I’d been playing bass in a couple of bands and was really sick and tired of it. I’m a no good bass player. Guitar playing made me enjoy playing again. Memories from that period? We were younger and wilder and even more angry than today hahaha!!! I often lost my temper during rehearsals. I remember me thinking that finally I play in a band that I loved and I thought that everyone else would love us…. ..they didn’t hahaha!!!!!!!!!
You landed on Black Widow Records, a Italian underground label, looking back at that time, how did you hook up with them and how was the reactions to your 2 albums that came out there ?
They heard us through the guys at Doom Records. So one day we got an offer to release our music and so we did. We had a good time with Black Widow but there were of course very little money to do recordings, videos and record covers. It was a perfect step for us, leaving the demo stage and start doing proper records. Unfortunately they couldn’t do any tours for us. We love playing live and we are damn good at it so hopefully now it will be a different story.
Its been a terribly long silence since the second opus came out to this one, 7 years, what happened with the band in that time ?
We decided that we climb at least one step up the ladder label wise. Being a small band with no lawyer on your side reading the contract and stuff it takes a couple of line ups, years and tears to make it. Remember from starting the rehearsing for the new record to the release date it took 13 months and 5 days. Being in a band is like being in a relationship you know. Sometimes it’s up and sometimes it’s down. Even though you love the ones you have in your band it is not always the best thing to play together.
I have heard that Ghosts Of The Past, the title is kind of lookback to the early stages of Rise And Shine, some tunes dates back to that period, how pleased are you with the album, the production and the material ?
This is the best album we done. Everything is better than before after all we got the time to do something really good this time. I would have preferred a faster job from all of us during the mixing of the record but the recording went smooth at least considering the circumstances. Yes both “My day of Tomorrow” and “Mother” was written in 1995 I think. We rearranged them a bit but they must have been standing the test of time.
For this one you hooked up with Plugged Records who so far have released combos that are more into sleaze and more hardrockriffing, at least is that my reaction so far. How did you hook up with them and how pleased are you with the label ?
They heard the
demo we made after the Roadflower album and they
liked it a lot. Actually they said they didn’t think anyone did music this good
any longer. I’m very pleased that a Swedish label dares to put out Swedish hard
rock. I mean most talented bands from our country have deals with foreign
labels. The Swedish labels are too afraid to take on Swedish acts I guess. That
turned out to be quite stupid I guess considering how many bands that made it
outside
When I hear the cd, I hear this time a complete package, it has a progressive attitude to more clinical heavyrock riffing, this is to me your best work so far, previous I always felt it was something missing but this time, you have added that missing piece. How pleased are you with the variation and the outcome of the album ?
I never been fond of listening to the music I made myself before. This time I listen to it all the time. I guess it summons it all. There are quite different type of tunes and great variation on this one. But it is still a flow through the album. It is meant to be listening to from the first to the last tune. Not by purpose It just came out that way. I get the same feeling with some records I like. Appetite for Destruction for example. There are some real hits and also songs that are more complex. We never had a concept for how a song should be so it can turn out anyway. Which is cool but it is harder work to make the tunes interact with each other. To get the flow I’m talking about. I am already afraid I peaked as a songwriter on this one. I’m very proud of some songs but afraid I never do better in the future and I don’t want to copy myself,AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have made several lineup changes through the years, especially in the second guitardepartment, do you feel that this lineup 2006 of Rise And Shine is the most established you have had since you formed the band in the early 1990s ?
It depends on which 2006 line up you are talking about, hahaha!!!! When you have a certain idea about how your music shall be it is harder to work with people. I’m still friends with all the x-guitarist of Rise and Shine and they all taught me a lot. I owe them all a pint for putting up with my ideas about how they should play. The current line up is the one I like most cause we hang out with each other, not just when we are in the band, all the time actually.
Your first album had the title Flower Power Metal, a label that you used to call the metal you created, is it still the same label to it or do you have a different angle of it today ?
I guess it still works. In some ways it works even better today. But just because we don’t look angry all the time and don’t worship the lord below on a daily bases doesn’t mean we still can kick the ass of most suckers and journalists, hahaha!!!!
Talking about Rise And Shine – Live, how much tighter and how much have you progressed in that environment compare to lets say 6-7 years back ?
We are better. Josa sings better and we all are better on what we do in the band. I also think we are far more complete as songwriters now.
More on the style you play, you have always remained very consequent in your style since day one, this album certainly proves it, Josas distinctive originally vocals, the hammering twin guitarwork and the solid backing section, more on your soundpicture today, how do you view it ?
I think it turned out quite heavy and with an unclean distorted guitarsound. Rougher than before but more well played and more produced. But it was no easy ride to come to this result. We were really struggling with the mix. The only tune we were satisfied with at first was “In to the Fog” which of course is the least important as it is the extra track on the single. We had people like Janne (Grand Magus), Jugglo (Thåström/Fat Boy/Lisa Miskovsky), Gurra (Subvision) to listen to it and have en opinion. It actually helped us getting on in the mixing. As we didn’t mix 100% digital the mix was back to zero every time we weren’t satisfied. This costs very much time. But I think we made it in the end.
Now with the release of Ghosts Of The Past, its definitely your biggest record so far, since Black Widow was a small label, how is everything going to function this time, are you getting more press now, more attention this time around compare to previous releases ?
We are too
familiar with the business these days to have too much
expectations. But we really hope that this one can take us out on the
road and we are sure we’ve done what we can this time. Of course we get more
attention at least in
Whatelse is in the plans at the momemt, a single is out Break The Chains Of Time, how is that going ? what is the next plans, are you planning a tour ? How is the next album going to sound compare to this one ? Anything else, fill us in.
Actually I
think we could record an album later this year if we have to. We have a whole
bunch of new songs ready. We are a bit impatient I guess. But we are already
working hard with new songs. I hate when it is happening nothing. I can
understand that people think nothing happened with the band the last five
years. But that is not true we’ve been working our asses off to do this album.
It has in fact had affect on at least my personal life. Which
also can be heard in the lyrics on this one.
Break the Chains of Time is a really good tune and it is getting some attention. Theoretically it could be a hit but the only thing we do about it is write good songs the rest of the business is not in our hands. It is a bit like flying you put your life totally in to the hands of someone else and it is a bit scary. But it feels better after a few drinks, hahaha!As I said I don’t know anything about tours and stuff. But I really would like getting out on a proper tour. We only done short ones before. I think we deserve it after all those years.
Final question, you have probably been asked this one before a number of times, the name Rise And Shine, from where did that come from ?
The Clint Eastwood movie Heartbreak Ridge, He shouts “Rise and Shine” to his soldiers when they sleeping at the military base after a wet night out. Fat Freddy of the Fabulous Fury Freak brothers tells his Cat to “Rise and Shine” in a comic strip. We hate the Cardigans tune “Rise & Shine”. I don’t know how many times I had to tell people it has NOT to do with them. Cardigans made far greater things later which I Like. It is a name that describes the music in some way I think. More a seventies band name than a metal band name.
Rise and Shine web www.riseandshine.se
Rise and Shine email: danishdenim@hotmail.com
Label www.plugordie.com
Gabriel
Lilliehook