Interview with Gustav Haggren

I've been humming on Gustav Haggren's song Devil When You Cry for a good three months now. Gustav - solo or with his backing group The Seasick Sailors - has toured in almost enormous proportions last year when he launched the Indienational tour concept when a core of three artists shared a stage, occasionally with local acts for an in-the-round show. Whilst one artists play, the others is backing him up. In this very democratic and DIY-esque method Gustav last year made over 100 shows in US and Europe together with Helena Arlock and Christian Cuff. On the very last show Christian got to head back to the US, why yours truly got the chance to join Gustav and Helena on stage in Uppsala, Sweden. I had a great time, although it made it painfully obvious how weak a improvisation musician I am. Not the ordinary-fast-finger-finding-the-tune-in-no-time-artist there mister.

I know that Gustav is working on new material as well as working with his label Marilyn Records (with among others Rachelle Van Zanten and Shooting John on the roster). I took the opportunity to ask him a couple of questions to the blog.



Devil When You Cry - single, 2006


* My god, you made over 100 shows last year. Did it feel like a very long or very short year? Which show was the best, worst, strangest?

It was the longest year I have experienced since I started playing music. At the same time I feel I could have done 100 more. I have learned that it gets so much easier to play live when you play a lot. When you play the 5th gig on the 5th day it starts to feel like you go up on stage to spend some time with your friends. I noticed that I started to talk more and more with the audience. It felt sort of an exchange, if they were interested in hearing me play; I was as much interested in who they were and why they were there.

One of the best shows: Café Carnot, Kruibeke, Belgium. October 18

A great small dive bar outside of Antwerpen with the warmest atmosphere. It is run by a couple and they are there everyday until 5am. I’m going back in spring and I can’t wait. You sit there for a couple of hours and you get introduced to so much great music. This was the first show we booked for the European tour so it was nice it turned out to be one of the best.

Worst Experience: Scandinavian Folk Festival. Jamestown, NY. July 20

Don't get me wrong, this show was great, the people were brilliant and people were dancing. A great show but a bad experience. The problem was that we flew over with the seasick sailors to do a one week tour and this show was going to pay for our whole trip but the same morning I lost my voice. It turned out I had bronchitis and a good friend Desmond took me to a witch-doctor. After been drinking silver all day I was good to go…a miracle. I lasted for 50 minutes and so I was relieved I pulled it off. However when we are going down from stage a guy runs up to me and says that we are supposed to play for one more hour! So we did.

Strangest Show: IOTA, Washington DC. March 01

When we were travelling around in the US we paid for buses by selling cd’s mostly and one night we had a night of in DC and decided to play an open mic at this really cool place. I remember we were so broke that night and we were only allowed to play 2 songs. I don’t remember how many cd’s we sold that night night but it totally saved the financial issues for a while. That was very strange and very un-Scandinavian to me.


* You're working on your third album right now. What can you tell about it? After what I heard, it seems like the elements of European folk music is bigger than before.

The new album has been mean and turned its back on me many times. I think I finally got it now. Yes maybe there are some stronger influences from European folk, I have tried to move away from the Americana and focus on Folk as I see it…if that makes any sense. The album is also darker and more personal than anything I have done before. I have produced a lot myself and taken my time to throw away songs and write new ones. I think all of them have been written on last year’s tour. Since I toured a lot without band it might be less of a band-album than my previous ones.


* And now you're off for a new string of shows in Europe. Where do you play and what can the audience expect?

Well this tour is a follow-up from what we did last year. We call it Indienational Tour and it is a tour collaboration between musicians and songwriters. Anyway, this time Gustav and the Seasick Sailors and Helena Arlock and Shooting John will tour together but not with full bands. Me, Helena and Peder from Shooting John perform together with Patrik and Jon - the drummer and bass player from the seasick sailors. 3 shorter sets and the lead mic gets passed around.,.We will perform in Germany, Belgium and Netherlands.

THE SHOWS (29 MAR - 8 APR) GERMANY, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS: HERE