Nizze from Dead Pollys sent me their first album
and a small taster from the upcoming album.
Really good music as usual when Nizze is
involved. October-2018
A little story about the group?
-Dead Pollys started in 2012 and I wanted to
continue where Rummies (formerly Mansic) had
stopped. The goal was to do that with people I
did not know before. The first version of Dead
Pollys became more rock with a little
folk-feeling. It did not feel completely "me",
so after the first EP, when Juba stepped in as a
bassist, it started to be "punk" again.
Tell us a little about each member, age, job,
family, band before and band next to it? I know
you've had SIC, Mansic, and been in Sighstens
Grannar?
-Nizze (me): has played in Sighsten's Grannar,
SIC and Mansic, but also in some other small
bands such as Nepente. Sometimes I'm doing dirty
little punk singer/songwriter in a project
called Eldinger. I live with my partner Pernilla
and a son Loke who lives with me part time (also
he's Clash-crazy which is lovely) and I have
three grown daughters and a couple with
grandchildren. I work withIT and do a bit of
design and build web.
Juba: Age: Old enough to know better, young
enough to not care. Girlfriend+ daughter Band
before: Sir Reg, Darxtar, Pseudo Sun. Band on
the side: Banshee Rebels (Irish cover),
Achilleus (progressive, psychdelical rock,
etc.).
Martin: 50 years old, wife, three daughters and
a bonus son. Work as a consultant with
sustainability and social entrepreneurship. Has
most played in coverband in the last 15 years.
Before that, various short-lived rock bands.
Also plays drums in the soul-cover band The Main
Thing.
I can hear a lot of streetpunk, some folkrock
and some 77-punk, am I right?
Was it better sooner?
-I have to say no, it was not better before. But
I love the 77-punk and it simply appeals to me.
Like streetpunk. It's a bit of what I'm "and"
it's a good reflection in the music of course.
Dead Pollys, are you satisfied with the name?
Thinking about Monty Python, but where does it
come from ?! If the best band name had not been
taken,which would you have chosen? I mean which
is the best band name?
-Hehe, yes people usually connect to Monty
Python and that's okay, because I like their
craziness. The name comes from my mind that
there would be more kelt-punk from the beginning.
Polly, as a variant of Molly. There are so damn
many "Molly bands", so it went away. Death is
very definitive. If you're dead then you are ...
yes, dead. It's impossible to get away ... so
Dead Pollys. Yes, fan, I think the name works
well.
The Clash is the best name, but that's enough
because of what they meant to me and not for the
name itself. I liked SIC, but that was not me
who came up with that.
What's the best thing about playing live?
-"One can spit your frustration with beautiful
people, both those in the band and in the
audience.
Where is the best to play, where is the worst?
-Difficult. Sweden is difficult. It rarely come
people, but we may not attract the Swedish
audience. The best for me is the half-big club
in Poland or old East Germany. Damn how good it
will be.
How is it to play this kind of punk in Sweden
today ??
-Tricky. We get so much better response in both
Europe and the United States.
How would you describe your music in three words
??
-Classical real punk.
Vad betyder punk för er, är det bara ett ord
eller är det en livsstil?
-Det är ett mindset tycker jag. Attityd. Det var
nog mer en livsstil förr. Jag älskar att punken
är så tillåtande. Du kan lira som en kratta, men
ha kul som fan ändå. Efter tag kanske du lär
dig.
Hur ser ni på nedladdning, mp3 och liknande?
-Saker förändras. Det är ju guld för DIY-scenen
och man kan få chansen att höra skitcoola band
från länder man inte ens visste fanns.
How do you think it's to live in Sweden today,
politically? SD? KD? Did you vote?
-I'm
at the left as a hell! Hardly any SD or
KD, the new record contains a clear anti-SD song,
"Jimmie Jimmie". It seems to be shit with the
whole normalization of racism and nazification
that is taking place all over the world.
Are there any good bands in Sweden today? In
your home town?
-Yes, very good crap there. Belta53 is good and
fun to watch because they are sometimes
completely "off" and find on strange gadgets and
it is "punk", Smash It Up is really good and DLK
of course. I'm not much for trallpunk, but they
do their race and do it good. Systemkollaps is
really good, and so we have EPA, Psykbryt ...
and so on. So there are many good bands.
Do you play anything outside Sweden?
-We have been touring the United States on the
east coast with Down By Law and London. We are
planning a European tour with the help of
Schoelcke in Germany for 2019 right now.
Other good bands from abroad?
-Ohoo ... so much. There are so many. The Clash,
Stiff Little Fingers, Ramones, The Boys, Damned,
Rezillos, Vibrators, but also a little Dropkick
Murphy's or why not Pouges or Flogging Molly. I
know that the other boys listen to even more
music that spans far beyond punk. Good music is
good music, simply.
Your texts, what are you influenced by? Never in
Swedish? Marching Boots is about what?
-It calls it poster-punk and sometimes it
suffices. We are influenced enough by things we
dislike, and then it becomes political sometimes.
Marching Boots is about how the nazification
increases and how the brownies' opinions are
normalized and get more and more space. It is
also about ordinary people who, in frustration,
choose a racist / fascist alternative without
actually understand it.
Is there anything you will never write about?
-No, not what I'm can come up with. It's all
about HOW you write it rather than WHAT.
Personal pursuit of ordinary people is not our
thing, so it's not so much chance we write that
way.
Politics and music, do you always belong? You do
not seem to have much leftovers for religious
fanatics and leaders at all?
-No, it does not always belong and must not be
done. But to me personally, the music is
multicolored. First, it's only music that makes
me feel damn good, but it's also a platform
where I can say what I think is fucked up.
Best political band/artist?
-The Clash, again. As you understand they have
meant a lot to me.
Do you think music can change someone's life,
then I mean lyrics etc?
-To a very high degree. You are inspired by
well-written texts. Get pissed off. Happy. Good
and bad, maybe.
Your cover is really good on your CD, who has
done it. Is it important to have a cover so you
understand what kind of music you play? What is
your favoritecover all the time? ...
-Thanks, I'm (Nizze) did the cover. Yes, I think
it's important with all forms of graphical
communication. Cover, photos, logos, etc. It's a
bit like the first time you meet. But, it does
not always have to reflect the music, just the
feeling you want to awaken.
Is it important to get out physical discs? Vinyl
or CD or both ? Is there any good record store
in your vicinity?
-No, so important isn´t it. But á hell so much
more fun. Pet Sounds is in town and right near
me.
Please tell me something really fun that
happened during your career on stage or behind
stage etc?
-Uh-oh. Do not get me going. You could book an
entire week of anecdotes from our tours. Dead
Pollys in the US driving towards traffic in the
middle of the night after we lost a little bit
between two gig. Or how about Mansic who is
pulled on the rope of a crowded car of nuns in
Poland. The guitar I received (!) Of some
Americans on Long Island in the midst of our
gig. They came up on stage and gave me a Captain
America guitar (available as video on Youtube).
We'll probably stop here. You can get an entire
article with similar stories.
How is your audience looking like? Which type of
people comes? Do you miss any kind of people?
- A little older (not like us maybe) who like
old school. I would love to see more young
people on the gigs. Who have the energy to run
around in a really beautiful moshpit.
Please rank five favorite discs, five favorite
concerts?
-Juba's Favorite Discs: Hawkwind - Space Ritual,
Deep Purple - Made In Japan, Help Yourself - The
Return Of Ken Whaley, Pink Floyd - Wish You Were
Here From The Graaf Generator - Godbluff.
Juba's favorite concerts: Gillan - Draken
Stockholm 1982 ?, Hawkwind - Hammersmith Odeon
London 1984, UFO - Stockholm 1997 ?, Man -
Jönköping 1998, Bang - Geronimo Stockholm 2017.
Martin's five records: Ramones-Ramones, Queens
of the Stone Age-Songs for the Deaf, Refused-The
shape of punk to come, Radiohead-OK Computer,
Pink Floyd-Wish you were here
Martine's Fave Concerts: John Mellencamp 1987,
Massive Attack 2016, Jungle 2016, IAM 2016,
Radiohead 2017
Nizze's Favorite Records: The Clash - The Clash,
The Stiff Little Finger - Hanx, The Clash -
London Calling, The Ruts - The Peel Session
Album, 999 -999
Nizze's favorite concerts: Joe Strummer and The
Mescaleros - Hultsfred 99, Buzzcocks - Melody (Year?),
Stiff Little Fingers - Kraken 2018, GBH -
Jönköping sometime in the 90s, Dropkick Murphys
- Fryshuset Club (Year?)
Is it boring with interviews ??
-No, hell, that's pretty fun. Then I ccould
"talk". And so it's a way to appreciate what
you've been up to when answering a lot of shady
questions.
If you could choose five bands from history,
dead and alive to have a concert with your band,
what are the dreambands then?
-Juba had wanted to share Stage with Band I'd
liked to see: Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The
Clash, Captain Beyond, Pink Fairies.
Martin had wanted to share the scene with AND
see: Joy Division, Clash, T Rex, Nick Drake,
Radiohead.
Nizze had wanted to share with: The Clash, Stiff
Little Fingers, Ramones, Dropkick Murphy's and
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Is music a great way to get frustration and
become a nicer person?
Are you angrier today than you were young punks?
-Yes, it's a nice way to get out of frustration
and maybe you get a little bit better then. No,
not more angry, I'd say as angry as then. But, I
may not spit out everything in the same way
today
What is the strangest question you received in
an interview?
-It must be the question of the strangest
question I have received.
What is the question you never get, ask it and
answer it?
-How come that you are play so much throughout
the world? Yes, I do not know, maybe because we
think it's so damn fun to play live ...
Future plans for the band?
-Tour March 2019 and a new record - Strummerland
- on Too Loud Records. I hope we get the chance
to play a bit more often and that the Swedish
audience will discover us.
For yourself?
-To try to change some crap so I do not die
young.
Words of wisdom?
- "When it's cold, it's just cold!" Also a quote
from Not Alone on the upcoming record
Strummerland. People have become even more damn
self-centered, which is why all nazis have come.
We have to take care of each other, we are not
alone!
Something to add?
-Yes, a big damn thank you to all who stand up
for Dead Pollys and believe in us! Can I send
hellos to my family? Hi Loke! Hi Pernilla!
Mats has not responded to some of the questions
because now he is sadly downbed...cheer on you
brother