Kiss kiss bang bang!

We are doing some work on our apartment. A lot of bang bang actually. Smashing a wall and raising another. When all is said and done we will have an extra guest room, which means that we will have two proper guest rooms which is why we moved to this place in the first place from the old place.

While waiting for pictures of the new place we might as well show you the old place which was an incredible place to live. And cheap, like the new place.

Remembering: Sleepwalk (2001)

When we both lived in Halmstad on the west coast, me and Martin Prahl founded a band called Pride of Mine that eventually became Sleepwalk. That was in 2001. As I remember he wrote two songs and I wrote two, but probably he did a bit more. Also, without him the recordings would never have been completed at all. I then destroyed the band by moving home to Veddige which I really shouldn’t have done.

So today we remember Sleepwalk as me and Elin get ready to create gingerbread bodyparts and gingerbread metal band logos and gingerbread non-correct political symbols.

Sleepwalk “In My Heart” (demo)

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Sleepwalk “Capture Life” (demo)

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A good friend gone

On saturday morning I was very sad to learn that good friend, former employer and village entrepreneur Hans Olsson passed away. I don’t really know the hows and whys but I do know that Hans will be dearly missed in my home town of Veddige.

Hans and his wife Lena were running the Esso gas station in Veddige where I got my first job. We spent countless hours together serving customers and cars, talking ice hockey and joking around.

Many a good thing can be said about Hans, but one thing stands out: He was a man of his word. If he promised you something then he would walk through hellfire to deliver. Also, he was probably the biggest supporter of our metal cover band Cruel Covers. In january of 2005 a storm hit the west coast of Sweden in the middle of the night blacking out the whole village of Veddige. Me and Sandor were not late in heading out there. We ended up at the gas station were Hans and Lena were looking after things, waiting for the electricity to return.

Sandor took a picture. We had a couple of laughs and then returned out into the cold and found our way home were we lit some candles. A mighty fine memory I will say.

Good friend Martin “Compadre” Thomander called me up last night to let me know that before last nights’ game the Veddige Vipers held a silent minute for the late Hans Olsson. Hats off for that. Hans was always a through-the-ice-and-snow supporter of the local ice hockey team. The Vipers then kicked the crap out of Hovås Hockey winning 4-1.

So, on this day we raise our glasses high for Esso-Hans who is probably allready shifting gears in the Formula 1 race across the high plains of heaven. Salute!

The need for casual blogging…

Hey deadheads,

If it used to be every day, it is more twice a year now. Blogging that is. Not lots of it. While I don’t wake up from police raids (like in Chicago) or from crazy middle easterners (Israel) stuff still happens. And I’ve travelled more since so, I just suck at writing about it. Thought I would just throw some things out there and try to write more frequent after that. Ready roosters?

1) Me and Elin celebrated six months of being married this monday.

2) I went to see Aimee Mann live in Stockholm about two weeks ago.

3) I visited Pilgrim Bestiarius of black metal band Crimson Moonlight about six weeks back – took a lot of pictures and conducted an interview that was published over four pages in Swedish newspaper Dagen. A simliar article will be published in HM Magazine which is great fun.

4) I’m watching the Vancouver Canucks play the New York Rangers right now. NYR just reduced to 1-4. It’s a re-run though from last night. The game started at 2 in the morning. The Canucks are crushing!

5) Held a economy seminare at the local University.

6) Me and Elin got identical marriage tattoos! Really sweet ones. Butterflies with skulls for bodies.

7) I started a new part-time job today. It’s for the municipality and a great job I think. I’m the controller for this collaboration between five different municipalities trying to help some hundred youngsters who’ve had a hard time getting jobs.

8) I bought a season ticket for the Örebro Vipers‘ home games. Haven’t missed a game so far. We’re aiming for advancement to the second highest division this year. Go Vipers!

9) We hosted a Halloween party… on Halloween and we had a blast. About 25 people showed up. Elin was dressed up like a dead nun (much like Freddy Kruger’s mom Amanda from A Nightmare on Elm Street). I was a skinhead. Others showed up as Napoleon Dynamite, the Devil and a Bee.

Lot of stories for you. Not enough to make up for lost time, but a good effort. I could leave you with a top three too I guess;

- Marillion “Happiness is the Road” (2008)
- Robert Earl Keen “Marfa after Dark” (2008)
- Novembre “Materia” (2006)

That’s all kids. If you are gonna chew dirt, don’t swallow.

/ Rattlehead

Out shooting

So the annual Frizon took place pretty close to Örebro. I went over to shoot some pics for upcoming interviews. The Blindside show was pretty stale (their last one ever? Who knows…).

I spent a couple of hours with Jani Stefanovic (The Weakening, Miseration, Essence of Sorrow etc) talking about his current and upcoming projects. I think I’ll try and do an article about him this fall. That show was really cool but the sound inside that tent sucked ass.

Also, the awemighty Crimson Moonlight played. A great show and their vocalist Pilgrim Bestiarius is the nicest bloke in the northern realms of the hemisphere. We decided I should come visit him in a couple of weeks and spend some time together in his un-wired cottage with no running water! Should be a blast. That is also an idea for an article that is allready sold.

Now I just need to write it.

Pictures from Belgium (2008)

We thought Elin had lost her little camera but today we found it and much to our delight and surprise it held a few pictures from Belgium this summer.

Pictures from Tijs’ and Hanne’s wedding and from the grand opening of Bart’s piano store.

Bad boys

Just got back from Belgium. I’m sick as a dog like always after travelling. I’ve been listening to Radio For Peace International at work today and they are bashing Obama for not being progressive enough and I got home at around six. Started cooking pasta for Elin while reading an interview with Monty Colvin (once of Galactic Cowboys). Inbetween this and that I had 15 mins over and sat down by the TV. The american show COPS was on. Man! What a piece of crap show it is. This particular episode featured a buff cop arresting a prostitute on crack. During the arrest the viewers learn that she is the mother of nine children, she is currently on a high and that she got beat up recently. This very sad, but we know that it is real. It is the sad truth that is a lot of people’s lives.

What is unreal to me is that this in some twisted way is supposed to be entertainment – watching a condescending, patronizing cop spewing better-knowing on this poor woman, telling her that she is a bad role-model for her kids and making all the calls he needs to bring her to jail. Myself, I’m trying my best not to cry. Now, tell me why this is 7 o’clock entertainment on public television?

Bad boys, bad boys…