Podcast: Summer jam '07

New updated tourdates for Swedish punks Sista Sekunden:

06/01 - Köpi, Berlin (GER) w/Leadershit
06/02 - help!
06/03 - Künstverin, Nürnberg (GER)
06/04 - Archiv, Potsdam w/Asshole Parade, ANS, Cold War
06/05 - Subway To Peter, Chemnitz (GER)
06/06 - AZ, Mülheim (GER) w/Bratpack
06/07 - Quicksilver Bowl Riders, Malmö (SWE) w/Enemy Alliance, Randy, HFOS, Franky Lee, more
06/08 - tbc, Göteborg (SWE)
06/09 - Krafthuset, København (DK) w/Asshole Parade, Ghost Mice, Ripping Headache
09/20 - ERA, Shimokitazawa, Tokyo (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers, DSB, Encroached
09/21 - Blue Forest, Kumagaya, Saitama (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/22 - Pumpkin, Yokosuka, Kanagawa (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/23 - Zion, Nagoya, Aichi (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/24 - tba, Kyoto, Kyoto (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/26 - Pepperland, Okayama (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/27 - Pipe 69, Osaka (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/28 - tba
09/29 - Blue Port, Kobe, Hyogo (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers
09/30 - ACB Hall, Shinjuku, Tokyo (JAP) w/I Scream 7 Showers

As promised, the first of the Johndoe outtakes series is now posted for your listening pleasure on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jhnd
"Skarpe kanter" is the name and it sounds a lot like Randy. Not that I'm complaining.

Check out the microsite for the new comp "Ge Fan I Våra Vatten", a benefit to raise money for fish/water restoration: http://www.sportfiskarna.se/gefan/
Many of the contributing acts such as Erik Ohlsson from Millencolin and Kimmo Kirvesmäki of Voice Of A Generation/The Accidents are sport fishermen themselves, so consider this a labor of love. Other contributing acts include The Hives, The Hellacopters, Millencolin, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Backyard Babies, Moneybrother, Weeping Willows and Randy. It comes out on May 18.

Bummer news: Randy has been dropped by Burning Heart. Actually, it's not a huge surprise as the label has been through some rough times recently and I imagine those guys will do fine wherever they end up.

Murder by Guitar
On parade
Human Audio

Swedish rock and rollers Murder By Guitar sound like The Ramones, Kings of Leon, Randy and The Clash, albeit not all at the same time. Most of these tracks are pretty decent, although I can't stand the bluesy "See it in your eyes". There are about three songs on "On parade" that are of very high quality, "Ain't no surfer" being the best one with a chorus that sounds very much like The Ramones and goes "I ain't no surfer, but I hope you can love me anyway". Ahh - how sweet! It's not rocket science but it works very well for me (I'm pretty much a sucker for anything that sounds like The Ramones). You can purchase the album from the band's website for the cheap price of €8, and if you're into sweet and simple rock'n'roll it might be worth doing just that.
- Simon Tagestam

Pssst! Randy will be a surprise opening act at the Isolation Years releasefest on January 26 in their hometown of Umeå.

Johndoe
Dødvinkel
JHND

All of a sudden my life is revolving around things Norwegian; I'm currently obsessed with author Knut Hamsun, I've been listening to Johndoe constantly the last week and yesterday I even bought something Norwegian for my girlfriend for Christmas (can't say what, in case she reads this). Johndoe is very much my cup of tea - melodic punkrock that's highly infectious and it sounds like a mix between Håkan Hellström, Randy, and a less "spikier" Mattias Alkberg BD, but sung in Norwegian. Can it get any better? Not sure what the lyrics are about, but they seem pretty normal to me. I'm definitely going to try and catch these guys live if I ever get the chance, I'm sure it's a riot.
- Simon Tagestam

Moneybrother
Pengabrorsan
Hacka Skivindustri

Not really sure why Burning Heart Records didn't want to release Moneybrother's Swedish album. It seems idiotic to me, but who am I to judge, huh? Maybe they didn't think it would sell enough or something. The album consists of ten covers, all interpreted by Anders Wedin (aka Moneybrother) in Swedish, and one original song that features the Swedish rock legend Jerry Williams. It's an interesting premise and Moneybrother manages to keep it exciting most of the way through. Being a fan of Operation Ivy, "Jag skriver inte på nåt", with The Hives' own Howlin' Pelle, appeals to me a lot and so does "Under bordet" which is a cover of My Morning Jacket's "Off the record" (one of my favourite songs of 2005), even though these are not the strongest songs on here per se. Most of the tracks have got that Bruce Springsteen vibe that Wendin has embraced and plugged away at since his first single "Reconsider me". Now, I'd like for Broder Daniel's Henrik, Randy's Stefan, etc, to step up and release their own Swedish cover albums. Preferably within the next 3 weeks. PS: The album's title is a Swedish translation of "the moneybrother".
- Simon Tagestam

Top 10s for 2006: Jonas Skybakmoen (Johndoe)

MP3: Randy - You are what you fight for

It's Friday again and I'm feeling overworked, so Simon Tagestam gets this week's classic post:

The infectious poppy punk stuff that Randy played on their first couple of EPs was what made me love this Swedish band in the first place, but their angry and political lyrics helped to cement my total devotion to them. "You are what you fight for" is from Randy's third album "You can't keep a good band down" that was released in 1998 and probably my favourite album of that year. Stefan Granberg might not have perfected his American accent at this stage (and he might not have done so as of yet), but I don't care since I'm a very strong advocate that this is nothing that really matters - foreign accents in music are charming and should never be frowned upon! The lyrics to this song always make me want to shape up and fully embrace my half-forgotten pseudo-ideals, perhaps after another 1,000 listens this will finally happen. Here we go...

Randy - You are what you fight for

Ny Våg reports that Knugen Faller's new album "Lugna favoriter" is done and set for a late November release. Also on the way is The Vicious' new album "Alienated" which should be out in mid-November. Further in the future look for new 7" releases from Randy sideproject Stefan and the Problematix (this was supposed to be out years ago) and The Most, a "super retro mod band from Umeå." Samples of the latter here: http://www.myspace.com/themostsweden

Randy invades the French-speaking part of Canada:

10/13 - Spectrum, Montreal w/Les Vulgaire Machin
10/14 - Centre Recreatif, Thetford
10/15 - Nord Ouest, Trois Rivieres
10/16 - tba, Fredericton
10/17 - The Attics, Halifax
10/18 - Paramount, Moncton
10/19 - La Coudée, Rimouski
10/20 - Cégep, Sept-Iles
10/21 - Secret Show, Chicoutimi
10/23 - Dagobert, Québec
10/25 - Le Richelieu Metric, St-Jean Sur
10/26 - Le Vestiaire, Montreal

All dates with Hope and PMX except the first and the last three which include Mute, but no Hope on the last two. Got it? Good.

Profile: Franky Lee

Read a reposted punkmeup.com interview with Randy at the band's website: http://www.randytheband.com/?NODE=225