Swedish Classic Rockers Graveyard returned to the United Stages in January for their first ever headlining tour and was met with a string of sold out performances and rabid fans. On their recent stop here in Atlanta, I was excited to catch up with the calm and soft spoken guitarist Jonatan Ramm. Jonatan and I discussed his love of Peter Greene era Fleetwood Mac and the success that has come their way since releasing Hisingen Blues among other things. It was great talking to Jonatan and I hope you all will enjoy this interview. Crank up a Graveyard album and enjoy!
Welcome back to Atlanta Jonatan. It’s great to finally meet you in person.
Yeah, you too. Thank you very much.
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Last time we talked I promised you some Fleetwood Mac bootlegs so here ya go! Some great Peter Greene stuff for the van.
Oh man, thank you so much. I’m sure we’re going to enjoy these. Thank you very much.
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You guys really put out an amazing album with Hinsingen Blues and the last time we talked it had just been released. How has it been for you since it’s release?
The reaction has been pretty much overwhelming. I think that’s the right word for it [laughs]. We didn’t really know what to expect. We had this new label (Nuclear Blast) putting out the record and we didn’t really know how they would work with it but it’s been perfect. They did a great job promoting the record.
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Graveyard has been touring non-stop since the albums release last year. Have you guys had any time to work on new material at all?
Yeah, we had a month off to just write new stuff. The whole month of September we were at home practicing and trying to come up with new stuff. We’re planning to record in April or May but we have to finish up some more songs.
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Is there some pressure coming off the success of Hisingen Blues to try and replicate that formula or do you feel like the next album will just be a natural progression?
I think the next album will be a natural progression, but at the same time we had a lot of good reviews from this album so of course people are going to be a little more critical. Of course we feel a little pressure but we just do what we want to do and hopefully it will turn out even better this time.
Has the success of Hisingen Blues opened some doors to new opportunities for Graveyard?
Yes, I would say so. Compared to the first record this was a big step up for us. I know when we did our first album release show in Sweden for Hisingen Blues there was a big TV recording. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous before [laughs]. The first show for the new record was on TV and it was very stressful but we got better. We’ve been supporting some really big acts in Sweden this year so things have been really great for us this year. We supported Iron Maiden and that was really cool.
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The Iron Maiden gig must have been really cool but scary since Iron Maiden fans are so intense. How did you guys go over with a Maiden crowd?
We were really nervous. We were expecting some flying bottles and stuff like that [laughs]. They were really good to us and their fans really seemed to like us. I think we got some new fans at that show.
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Did playing at such a large venue (Ulevi Stadium) feel weird being that your music is a more intimate style? Do you like the large venues or do you prefer the smaller venues?
I think I like the middle sized venues the best. The arena shows like that one are a little scary [laughs]. When we played there was like 38,000 people there with more on their way in. I would look up and go, “Oh fuck!” [laughs]. Hopefully we can do it again sometime though. It was really fun.
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When touring in the US, what is the biggest culture clash for you is.
Oh man, I’d have to say it’s the guns. The border patrol guys and what not. That’s a little scary. I mean, we have borders where we’re from but they’re not as intense as they are here in America [laughs].
I’m curious to also know how the American audiences differ from your audiences in Europe.
I think the audiences are great here. We have more mixed ages with older people showing up to the shows. That’s one of my favorite things to see is people who have been around a long time coming out to our shows. It’s really a lot of fun.
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I can totally attest to that. Graveyard plays a really easy to grasp kind of music which really reaches out to that older generation.
Thank you. Yeah, I think so to. It’s nice to see a lot of beards and long hair [laughs].
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How about the set lists for the shows? Are you guys mixing it up every night or sticking to a fixed set list?
Well, we’ve been a little lazy lately [laughs]. We usually try to but now we’re just playing all of the songs we know from the records. We don’t play the instrumental “Longing.” We love that one but it’s a little hard to do live. There’s some songs that we haven’t practiced in a long time so we’re not playing those [laughs].
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Are you guys taking requests? I’d love to hear you guys do “Right Is Wrong.”
[Laughs] Uh, that might be a hard one. We don’t know that one really well [laughs].
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Ok. Well just remember to practice that one and when you guys come back to the states, play that one.
[Laughs] Ok. We will try! We really try to please everyone as much as possible.
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There’s so many Graveyard songs that seem to hit a chord with me. What song in particular to you find a special connection with?
It’s hard because I can’t remember the last time I actually listened to the albums but playing live is when I get the favorite songs. I love playing “Thin Line” and “The Siren”. “The Siren” is one of my favorites. I also love playing “Hisingen Blues.” That one is always fun to play live. For the moment, those three are my main favorites to play live.
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Some bands have a sort of a pre-show ritual to get ready for a show and to get into that zone. Do you have your own little pre-show thing?
We don’t really have any kind of a ritual or something. We just try to warm up our fingers and try not to get over excited [laughs]. You got to keep the levels all right. A lot of coffee, some beers, ya know [laughs].
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It seems like Graveyard is coming out just at the right time. Why do you think this kind of organic, no frills music is striking a chord w/ people so much?
I think that people just might be tired of the extremely commercial pop songs that get played on the radio all day long. I hope that people might be searching for music that stands out and that is as honest as possible. You know? Songs that aren’t put together on a computer. I think people what that and I think it’s great. I think it’s really good. They want something a little more real.
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I agree 100%. I see so many bands going out on the road these days and they’re playing with backing tapes and vocal effects. I mean, what’s the point of even touring then?
Yeah, that makes me want to just go home [laughs]. I’ve seen a couple of shows this summer and there are some bands that you thought would do a real live appearance but then they’d have backing tracks and stuff. Just watching that is no fun and I think it’s bullshit. I don’t like it at all. There’s no reason to go out and do shows if you’re not playing and singing for real. Some bands think that they can get a way with that for some reason but in the end I think that people will realize that it’s not as awesome as they think it is.
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You guys have a lot of driving on this tour. How do you guys keep from going insane in a van together?
Uh… [makes smoking gesture with his hand] [laughs]. It’s the perfect thing to do in the van [laughs]. We listen to a lot of music and just try not to get on each others nerves too much. We usually have a lot of fun while we’re on tour but some days you kind of walk like you’re sitting down after a few days [laughs]. We love touring though so we’re not very picky about it. It’s just a pleasure to be touring over here.
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Do you guys find time to be creative and work on new songs while on the road?
We try to sometimes when we can. Right now we’re trying to write some lyrics for some songs we’ve been working on. Depending on how much time we have or when we get to a venue we can rehearse some new songs. We try to but some days we’re so tired from traveling.
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Do you find inspiration from touring and seeing all these different places?
Yeah, everything inspires us when we’re out traveling. When we’re at home and we’re trying to make new songs, it’s just everyday life that is the biggest influence on us. Some days are more intense and some days we just hang around.
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You told me last time that a lot of the inspiration behind Hisingen Blues was the town where you guys are from. Have you ever thought about going someplace else just to see if you get a different vibe for songwriting?
Sometimes. I think that long, dark, and grey winters effects our music writing a lot. Even if it’s not the perfect place to always be, it’s the perfect place for inspiration even though you wish you were somewhere else sometimes.
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In your opinion, what is the ultimate rock album that everyone should own?
Oh man. Just one [laughs]? That’s a hard one. I really love “Then Play On” by Fleetwood Mac. I think that is my favorite record. There are so many others but I really really like that one.
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What was the defining moment that made you know that you wanted to be a musician?
I knew I wanted to be a musician the first time I heard “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. I heard it on the radio. I was trying to play music but I was really into hardcore punk and Metal stuff but when I heard that song on the radio one late night, I said, “I’ve got to try to do this somehow!” It was the moment that I knew I wanted to be a guitarist.
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If you could spend an hour with any musician alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Oh man. I’d love to hang out with Peter Greene of Fleetwood Mac and just talk about guitars. That would be the coolest.
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What is in store for Graveyard for the rest of 2012?
After this tour we’re going to go home and try to finish these new songs and record them. We have some shows in Europe and then we’ll do some summer festivals. Maybe come back to the states in the fall but I’m not sure yet. We’ll see.
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Jonatan, thanks so much for taking the time to catch up with me again. It was really great meeting you.
Thank you very much Don and thank you for the CDs. We can’t wait to listen to them.
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