Below you are going to read the interview that Mikael Carlsson gave to Heavy Paradise and talked about this really interesting new project . Enjoy!
Mr C : Hello Vasilhs. First of all …. Merry Christmas and a Metal new year to all you great people out there !!! It feels great to have been invited.
heavy paradise : Firstly, can you tell our readers a few words about yourself?
Mr C : Well .. I've been around for a couple of years. I started my first band in 1976 with some guys from school as a bass player. I have been playing in a couple of bands but it was first in 1982. When we get some attention worth to mention. I played in a band called Rain and we played in a battle of the band contest called “Rock SM”. You might have heard about the winners that year. A little indie band called “ Europe” !
After that I joined a band named “Gallery” in 1986. I got kicked out of Galley in 1988 because I could not put up so much time that was needed because my son was born and I thought that it should be priority one . But I kept in touch with the lead singer in Gallery and so we started the first version of Lover Under Cover around 1989-1990.
We were basicly a studio project and we only did 4-5 gigs during those years. After that comes a period from around 1996 over 8-9 years when me and a friend played hundreds of cover gigs on local pubs, partys all over the west of Sweden. That period drained me completely of energy to make my own music because we were out playing almost every weekend. That means About 80 gigs every year during that period.
We stopped playing when all our equipment were stolen 5 years ago and we could not find the motivation to continue. Ironicly that gave Me the energy back after about a year or so and I started to write some new music again.
heavy paradise : 'Lover Under Cover' is the brand new project which is consisted of you and Mikael Erlandsson on lead vocals! Could you tell me more about this, very interesting, project?
Mr C : Lover Under Cover recorded about 30-40 songs in the period 89-95 with Daniel Boscovic as lead singer. We decided to go separate ways after that so I took on the role as a lead singer. I made about 10-15 recordings with my own vocals and I realized that my voice was not good enough to make the project go any further. So I started a little campaigne to make the best singer I know be a part of Lover Under Cover. I know that I needed to shake his world to get his attention. I have always thought that Mikael Erlandsson's voice is more suitable for harder music than he was recording and writing, so I made a new recording of the song “ Who needs love” that Mr E ( Erlandsson) wrote for the album “ Dreamcatcher” with
“Last autumns dream” My version is much harder than the orginal one. And when I played it for him it was love at first sight J. The big fish was caught !!!! He He
Mr C : I think it all started with the generation when me and Mr E were kids. Most kids stated to play some kind of instrument in the first grade in school, and back in the early 70' es all schools in Sweden had a very strong will to let as many kids as possible learn to play a instrument with a good will from the government.
I started out with piano around 1972 and then changed to bass around 77-78 or so. That generation is now parents with good skills in music and of course they are great influences to their kids. So there is a lot of great amateur musicians in Sweden Who can make the step easier for their kids to became professional musicians. There is a lot of great young bands in Sweden in all genres today.
heavy paradise : You and Mikael Erlandsson are friends from high school! How so and didn't release an album earlier?
Mr C : Mikael Erlandsson has allways been more ambitious than me. He turned his career professional right from the beginning. We played in the band RAIN together back in 1982. Mr E was the little drummer boy in those days and he was way ahead of the rest of the band. He went pro from the start. The world had bigger plans for him. So it took me a couple of years to make it to his level .
He is also a very busy guy. He plays In a lot of other bands like: “ Last autumns dream” “ Salute” “Secret Service” “ Gala Entertainment”. He also does a lot of cover gigs with friends on the clubs, and on top of that he write a shitload of new songs in different styles for other artists. The big trick is to fit him in in a time scedual that work for both of us and that is not easy I tell you ….
heavy paradise : I know that it's a bit early but I have to ask if Lover Under Cover will continue to write music in the near future?
Mr C : ABSOLUTLEY !!!!! I have 8-10 songs recorded already . The only thing left is to record the vocals and I hope we can start some serious studio time at the end of January.
Mr C : We have not thougt so far ahead yet. First of all we have to finish the demo recordings before we decide how to go on. But a record deal is not the only options these days. New bands can can get a lot of attention on internet instead thanks to dedicated people like yourself that scans the web for new exciting music. So Cheers to you Vasilhs and Heavy Paradise for doing a great job !!!
heavy paradise : Can you give us a taste of how this album will sound?
Mr C : Of course!! Anyone who is interested can check us out at our myspace or reverbnation page:
http://www.myspace.com/loverundercovertheband%20,
www.reverbnation.com/loverundercover
heavy paradise : From the new Swedish bands, are there any bands that impressed you most?
Mr C : If i look back on the past year ( 2010) I have to say “ Grand Design” That is a great band with a fantastic feel of the 80 's. And I think that “Salute”s album “Toy Soldier” is a fantastic album. It´s a big SHAME that it´s not played more than it is.
heavy paradise : Yes, both albums are very good pieces of melodic hard rock stuff!! What are your influences Mikael?
Mr C : Well I have my roots in the late 70:s and early 80:s music. I love bands like Sweet, Slade, Nazareth. A lot of bands in the “Nwobhm” era. And in later years bands like TNT, Queensryche, EdGuy, but also bands like Journey, Foreigner, Bad company. Right now im a big fan of JORN.
heavy paradise : If you had to choose your five top albums ever, which will that be?
Mr C : That changes a little bit from time to time, but right now it is :
Operation Mindcrime / Queensryche, Tell No Tales / TNT, The Duke / Jorn Lande, On stage / Rainbow, Toy Soldier / Salute
heavy paradise : Some really great albums here Mikael!! Do you have any messages to your fans?
Mr C : First of all I would like to say thank you for all the messages and mails we receive on myspace or media. What you guys think is WERY important for us. And we read EVERYTHING and answer all that we can. If you like our music please help us spread the word around because we Need ALL of you to deliver the message of Lover Under Cover.
heavy paradise : I would like to thank you for sharing these things with Heavy Paradise!
Mr C : Thanks yourself. It has been a true pleasure for me. As soon that we have some news I will keep you guys up to date.
Cheers and welcome to the world of Lover Under Cover !!!
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