Die schwedische Band Johnossi hat einen Start hingelegt, von dem so manche Newcomer Band träumt. Nach gerade Mal vier gespielten Shows hatten die beiden Freunde John (Gesang & Gitarre) und Ossi (Schlagzeug) einen Plattenvertrag in der Tasche. Es folgte eine erfolgreiche Tour durch Skandinavien & Deutschland und ihr selbstbetiteltes Debutalbum. Und dann passiert das Unglaubliche. Mando Diao engagierten sie als Vorgruppe für ihre Europatour.
Und so schossen die beiden Jungs aus Stockholm direkt auf die richtig großen Bühnen. Auf die Frage, wie sie den Sprung von den kleinen Clubs in die großen Hallen finden, antwortet John mit skandinavischer Lässigkeit: I can't decide what's more fun. Ossi hingegen findet die großen Hallen toll: It's much more fun to play big crowds, like 6000 people. I don't know how we will react when we go back to our small clubs with like 400 people. Hopefully that will be a good thing too. But we are really enjoying these big venues.
Als ich die beiden langjährigen Freunde zum Interview im Zenith in München treffe, haben sie fast die gesamte Tour hinter sich gebracht. Sie sind im Stress, spät dran, John zieht gerade die Saiten seiner Gitarre auf, der Soundcheck steht noch aus und der Tormanager fragt nach Namen für die Gästeliste. Ossi beschreibt ihren aufreibenden Touralltag: we travel during the day, then we get here about in time for soundcheck, we soundcheck and then we eat. We have two hours after soundcheck until we go onstage. Then we go onstage and we go off, take a shower, maybe eat some more, maybe check out the other bands. But that's all we have time for basically. Most of the time we sit in the car.
Aber damit haben John und Ossi kein Problem. Denn schließlich ist Musik ihre Leidenschaft. Ossi hatte bereits im zarten Alter von drei Jahren seine erste drum session. I took old plastic icecream boxes and put them upside down. I found some sticks and started playing. Später bekam er dann von seinen Eltern ein Spielzeugschlagzeug und damit war sein musikalischer Instinkt geweckt. I enjoyed hitting on something and making a sound. John war schon immer ein Fan von Michael Jackson, bei den Dinnerparties seiner Eltern hat er deshalb auch gerne mal den Moonwalk für die Gäste getanzt. Vor allem das Michael Jackson Video Black and White hat John sehr beeindruckt. Wir erinnern uns: ein kleiner Junge schließt seine Gitarre an den Verstärker und dreht auf volle Lautstärke auf. Als er den ersten Akkord anschlägt, fliegt sein Vater durchs Dach. I remember seeing that video and I said to my father: give me a guitar. He gave me an acoustic guitar and I was really angry about that because I wanted an electric guitar. So I didn't play on the acoustic guitar for a couple of month but then slowly I started playing on it and I started to like it. Etwas später hat er dann doch eine E-Gitarre bekommen. Doch da machte ihm die Akustikgitarre bereits soviel Spaß, dass er ihr bis heute treu geblieben ist.
Die Texte für die energetischen Songs von Johnossi schreibt John am liebsten, wenn er alleine ist und seine Ruhe hat. Auf Tour findet er diese Ruhe kaum. When we play every night, I feel empty after a show. So it's really hard to come up with new ideas. Ein Lied entsteht bei ihm meistens zu Hause, in seiner Küche. I write songs when I have that feeling in my stomach. Then I sit down for two hours and play some chords and record them on my mobile phone. After a day I listen to it and when I think: this is pretty good, I keep working on it. After a while I bring it to Ossi and we take it to the rehersal studio. Für Ossi ist es ganz wichtig, dass die Beiden die Lieder zusammen entwickeln: you need to look into each others eyes when you communicate and especially when it comes to music.
Mittlerweile habe die beiden Jungs die Tour beendet und sind wieder zurück in Schweden. Bereits in München hat Ossi eine durchweg positive Bilanz gezogen. When you go on tours you sometimes have bad days, when you want to go home you're not longing to play the show tonight. I hadn't really had one of those days on this tour. Maybe I will have it tomorrow. But I had a kind of silly smile on my face throughout the whole tour. We are really having a good time. Nicht nur sie hatten einen tolle Zeit, auch das Publikum war begeistert. Und die vielen neuen Fans, die Johnossi gemacht haben, müssen gar nicht mehr solange warten. Für nächstes Frühjahr ist bereits eine neue Tour in Planung: for you and you and you and you ...denn a monkey needs to dance and so do you!
What is typical for Swedish music?
Ossi: You tell me!
John: If there is one thing about Swedish music it's melodies. A lot of Swedish bands have a lot of melodies. We like melodies. The most melodic band in the whole world ever is Abba. They only have melodies. And that is our main goal aswell: to have good melodies.
Do you feel yourself as a Swedish band or just a rock band?
John: Just a rock band. We don't feel that we are part of a Swedish scene or anything.
On your first German tour played small clubs. On the tour with Mando Diao you played big venues. What did you like better?
John: It depends. When we play the small clubs everybody who was there they came to see us. Now when we play the big venues, about 2% of the people come to see us and 98% come to see Mando Diao. But its really fun to convince a big crowd like this. Sort of say: fuck it - here we go. I can't decide what's more fun.
Ossi: I find it's much more fun to play big crowds, like 6000 people. I don't know how we will react when we go back to our small clubs with 400 people. Hopefully that will be a good thing too. But we are really enjoying these big venues. Such great fun.
The stage is bigger now, does that change the position in which you stand on stage?
Ossi: We are standing exactly the same way as we always stand. Its a bigger stage but we don't stand like 10 meters apart.
John: There are three bands on stage and because of that there is a lot of equipment on stage. So it becomes quite small when we play. It is Mando Diao's backline, the Razorlight backline and then it's us. So we have this little spot and it is perfect for us.
Do you feel that you are playing different on the bigger stage?
John: No
Ossi: No. How we play will never be a diference. If we play small clubs or big venues like this we play with exactly the same energy. We always try to do the best show. That's our main goal to do the best show ever, whether we are playing for two people or 6000.
John: It's not a bigger rush to play in front of 6000 people. There's no difference in the rush.
What was the coolest gig on this tour?
Ossi: Vienna was really cool.
John: My favourite venue on this tour was Cologne, the Palladium. There were this balconies on the side and you could see the other bands. It was really cool, old factory style.
Do you have time to look around the places where you play?
Ossi: The cities? Not that much actually. Because we travel in a van and sleep in hotels. We travel during the day, then we get to a venue about in time for soundcheck, we soundcheck and then we eat. We have two hours after soundcheck until we go onstage. Then we go onstage and we go off, take a shower maybe eat some more, maybe check out the other bands. But that's all we have time for basically. Mostly we sit in the car. If you travel by bus, you travel by night and then maybe you have some more time.
John: We're tired all the time. We had a day off in Zurich and that was good. We got to see the whole city. We have a day off in Berlin. That's going to be a really nice one. It's the days off when you get to see the cities
Do you prefer to sleep on the bus or sleep in hotel?
Ossi: Sleeping in a hotel is so much better than sleeping on a bus. The ultimate thing would be to travel one day by bus and then sleep one day in a hotel.
On your Internet page you asked the fans to give you sightseeing tips for the cities you played. Did you check some sights out?
Ossi: That's only possible when you finally have the time to go out. Sometimes it's nice to just stroll around by yourself with no specific goal. But sometimes it's better if you know where to go or where you can find a great bar. Mando Diao has a German crew. There is always somebody who knows somewhere to go.
Tell me something about your first musical experience?
Ossi: The first time I remember me playing the drums was when I was three years old. I took old plastic icecream boxes and I put them upside down and I had some sticks and I started playing. I have a picture of that, that's why I remeber that so well. Later that year, on my birthday, I got my first little play drumkit. That was the first time, well, I wasn't really starting to play drums but I enjoyed hitting on something and making a sound. I only had older brother & sisters. So I had to hit the drums (instead of them)
John: When I was a kid I really liked Michael Jackson. I was dancing around like him. When my parents had dinner parties I was dancing for everybody. When I was 10 years old I saw the Michael Jackson video Black or White. It begins with Malcom Macaulcin and he has this huge amplifier and a guitar. He turns up the volume to full power then he strikes a chord and his father is flying away through the roof. I remember seeing that and saying to my father: give me a guitar. He gave me an acoustic guitar and I was really angry about that because I wanted an electric guitar. So I didn't play on the acoustic guitar for a couple of month but then slowly I started playing on it and I started to liked it. Then after two years I had an electric guitar but then I never really got into the electric guitar because I liked the acoustic guitar more. So I kept on playing acoustic AND electric. But after a while I realised that I didn't want to play electric guitar at all. So I kept to the acoustic guitar and played it ever since I was twelve.
You have a song called Press Hold. Would you want to press the hold button right now?
John: No! At this moment I want to press play and forward all the time, I just want to move on. But at the time I wrote that song I didn't want to get any older. I wanted to be nineteen and figure out what I should do with my life. I didn't want to be thirty-two not knowing what I should do with my life.
Ossi: Maybe we want to press the hold button when we get home.
Where & How do you write your songs?
John: I don't write songs when we tour. But that's just mainly because there is no time. When we play every night, I feel empty after a show. So it's really hard to come up with new ideas. During the next day we travel and than there is soundcheck, than there is another show and I'm empty again. So there's not really the time to do it. Plus I need to be totally alone to write new music. I don't consider writing music as work. When I am at home I do it when I have that feeling in my stomach. And then I sit down in the kitchen and sit there for two hours. I play some chords and record it on my mobile phone. And I listen to it after a day and when I think: this is pretty good I keep working on it. After a while I bring it to Ossi and we take it to the rehersal studio.
Ossi: You need to look into each others eyes when you communicate and especially when it comes to music.
What brings a silly kind of smile to your face?
John: Yesterday when I found out that we sold a lot of T-Shirts I had this silly smile on.
Ossi: This tour has been really nice. When you go on tours you sometimes have bad days, when you want to go home and you're not longing to play the show tonight. I hadn't really had one of those days on this tour. Maybe I will have it tomorrow. But I had a kind of silly smile on my face throughout the whole tour. We are really having a good time.