NAUGHTY BOYS
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 7th October 2009.
Naughty Boys is a Swedish sleaze rock band. They released their latest album Destiny Calls in 2009 to plenty of positive reviews.
Guitarist/vocalist Mikael answers questions on behalf of the band.
Hi Mikael, is life treating you well?
Mikael: Hi Jon, Yes everything is perfect in my life at the moment
How did you originally get into music, and have you always been ‘the singer’?
Mikael: Ever since I was a little boy, or as long as I remember, I wanted to play in a band, but at first I wanted to play the guitar, I was too shy to sing. However, when I joined a band for the first time I felt right away that I never could be that *great* guitar player I wanted, did not have the right talent, and as the band did not have a singer, I thought that I could try it! And I must say, I have never regretted that decision
How and when did Naughty Boys originally get together?
Mikael: Morgan and I started the band on our way home from school; in practice, we had a name before we had a band. The first lineup was formed in 1989, but Naughty Boys as it looks today was formed in 1992. It was when Hans and Jonas came into the band we started sound like a band, the chemistry was there from the beginning, we wanted to make and play the same sort of music, shared the same dreams
Naughty Boys existed for a few years at the start of the 90’s, then went off the radar for several years, only reappearing in 2002. What happened to cause the split, and what did you get up to in the mean time? Were you still recording?
Mikael: What happened was that we where so young at he time, inexperienced. We wanted to do so many different things, play with other bands and try different styles of music, all kinds of stuff. So after a while we just started to drift apart, no hard words spoken. However, we all more or less continued with music on our own. I recorded by myself, kinda like a solo career and released a single, also toured and played in a cover band. Hans went to music school and after that, he toured in a cover band. Jonas started play in a grunge band and released an album and Morgan started to get interested in theater along with touring in his own cover band. We all stayed friends during the time and from time to time we discussed doing a reunion, but that did not happen until late 2002 when we got a request to do a live show in 2003. After that show in 2003 we knew that this was what we wanted to do, and we all were willing to give it a second chance! And I know that this is one decision none in the band has regretted
Did anyone or anything inspire your style and sound, or has it developed naturally over the years?
Mikael: Our sound is one thing that just comes natural when the four of us play together. There is no use trying to sound like another band, it will like sound Naughty Boys anyway. Ok, it has developed over the years but this is more about the fact we have grown and become better at playing. I think the sound we have today is nearly the sound we wanted to have from the start.
How would you describe the Naughty Boys sound to someone who hadn’t heard you before?
Mikael: Fresh heavy Sleaze/melodic rock with an attitude!
How does Destiny Calls compare with previous album R U Naughty Enough?
Mikael: R U Naughty Enough has its moments where you can hear that the sound is on its way to Destiny Calls. But the producer at the time did not have the skills to make that album as heavy and raw as we wanted, the songs on that album were written over such a long time (1994-2005) so R U sounds more like we sounded 5-10 years ago. You can hear that the album reflects a band on their way, but they do not know the destination. We like the songs but think now that it could have sounded so much better with the right production. Therefore, when we started to make plans for Destiny Calls, the first thing we talked about was that we needed a good and skilled producer, who could make our visions come true. Ola Larsson who produced the album knew right away what we where looking for and the result was 100 times better than we ever could imagine it would sound. One other thing that is different this time was that we started to write the songs in September 2008 and in February 2009 we started records, so the songs feel fresh to us and reflects more where we are today!
What are your favourite moments on the album?
Mikael: There are many favourite moments; we had so much fun during the complete production. However, if I must chose the strongest moment it must have been when I got the final master, I opened up a cold beer, sat down by myself, put on headphones and cranked up the volume. I promise, I got such a kick! I felt so proud!
We love the orchestral sound on ‘Light Of The Day’. Is the symphonic style something you are interested in exploring more?
Mikael: The funny thing about this was that I had a complete different idea in my head when I wrote it. I gave Morgan the demo recording so he could test some ideas, and when he came back he played all these orchestral parts, this was a total surprise to me, I have not even considered thinking in that direction, but I loved it! And yes, this will be something we'll probably explore more.
Was the recording process work, pleasure or both?
Mikael: Both, but mostly it was a pleasure! We had such a great time recording Destiny Calls. To see how the songs grow as you dress them with different instruments and knowing that the end result will be fabulous was a real kick. Ok, when you doing the boring cutting and pasting it was more of a job, but 95% of the time was pure pleasure
Have you heard any of your songs on the radio yet? If so, did it feel good?
Mikael: Yes! Our new single *Endless Pain* has been played several times all ready all over Europe, even in the US. It feels kinda strange at first, that something you have done in little Sweden is played all over, boy I can ensure you, it feels REALLY good
Are you doing a tour on the back of this release? Any chance of you coming to the UK?
Mikael: We are working on that as we speak, probably it will be a smaller tour in Sweden later on. Coming over to UK would be a dream come true for us! We really hope this will happened. I know that our promotion company in UK (TSM/SLW Promotions) is looking into that now, let’s all keep our fingers crossed it will be so
What is it like being at a Naughty Boys show?
Mikael: Crazy and whole lot of fun! As Rock’n’roll is supposed to be!!! Always a professional performance but mixed with a whole lot of joy!
What is the best band you’ve ever seen live?
Mikael: I have a special concert I always will remember: 1990 Monsters Of Rock with Whitesnake on their Slip Of The Tongue Tour. Steve Vai on guitar! I don’t know why, but just that show has a special place in my heart.
What was the last album you bought?
Mikael: Mötley Crue Saints Of Los Angeles; and Hardcore Superstar Beg For It, two phenomenal albums!!
What’s the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done when drunk?
Mikael: Oops … what a question *smile* Let’s keep it short, whipped cream, 3 girls and too much whiskey ……
Any other artists you’d like to meet or work with one day?
Mikael: So many, The guys in Aerosmith, Crue, AC/DC well most of the rock elite (dreams never die)
What do you think of the present state of the world music industry?
Mikael: It is as it is, not too much to say about it. I think that we will never get rid of the illegal downloads, but I hope they will decrease. The problem is that smaller bands are the ones that get hurt, for them (like us) every penny is important, this to be able to invest more in your music, to get a little more to live for. Big artists like Madonna, Springsteen, AC/DC, Metallica sell so much more and they get millions for a tour, they don’t get hurt in the same way as smaller bands/artists do. I hope for us all they can manage to find a *bridge* between the artist and the consumer.
What’s next for Naughty Boys?
Mikael: We will continue to promote our new album, also we will play live and then we will probably do a video, not decided yet, but this is one thing we want to do. Then we hope there will be a bigger tour later on, maybe as a support act to a bigger band.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Mikael: Well in 10 years, I hope I am still making music with the best guys in the world, i.e. Morgan, Hans and Jonas! And if I can dream a little, I hope we have conquered the world by then *smile* and made lot’s of money!
What are you up to once you finish answering these questions?
Mikael: I will pick up my son at the day care centre.
THANKS! Mikael Sandvik
Naughty Boys' album Destiny Calls is out now. Check out the Rock Realms review here.
http://www.myspace.com/naughtyboys
http://www.youtube.com/naughtyboyssweden
