Interview with Ted guitarist for Grimner done by Patrick
1.Hello Ted how are things going in Sweden this week? Please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hey, everything is going quite well! The weather is unusually warm, takes a while getting used to, haha.
Well, I’m the guitarist, vocalist (growl mostly) and front man of Grimner. There's not too much to say as an introduction except for that, I guess, but hopefully that will suffice, haha!
2.Grimner was started in 2008 what gave you all the idea to start this band?Who would you say are Grimner's biggest influences?
It was Henry (drums) and I who started it all. We were in another band at the time, and wanted to do something connected to Norse mythology and Scandinavian history. This wasn’t very well received by the other guys in that band, and it wasn’t long before we split up, and Henry and I formed Grimner with some other members.
3.What is the current line up of Grimner?
As stated before, I play guitar and growl/sing, we have our newest member Martin Welcel on guitar and clean vocals, David Fransson on bass guitar, Johan Rydberg on flutes and various folk instruments, Kristoffer Kullberg on keyboards and Henry Persson on drums.
4.Vanadrottning is the bands third full length release how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?
I write all the music before we all discuss possible tweaks and changes, and this time I think everything was completely finished right before we entered the studio, so I guess it took about one and a half year almost, with a lot of pauses in between writing sessions.
5.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some subjects written about on Vanadrottning?
Nowadays, Johan and I usually write the lyrics together, and it’s working really well, as we both have a lot of subjects we want to write about, so it’s usually not too hard to get things going. Vanadrottning is the most lyrically diverse album we’ve released so far, I think. For example, it touches upon old tales like the first war between the Norse gods, folklore and forest creatures, and even the vikings journey to the east, in their quest to become mercenaries and royal guards. We also wrote about Äger, god of the sea, who I personally feel is forgotten too often, since his kingdom is quite an interesting
one.
6.Has Grimner played very many live shows over the years?What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?
We’ve played live quite a lot, but this year we are touring more than ever, to celebrate our 10 years as a band. I think Ragnarök festival and Hörnerfest in Germany has to be the most memorable ones, the Germans always blow us away. But our recent show at Durbuy Rock Festival in Belgium was also insane, what a crazy crowd!
7.Are their any tours or shows planned this year in support of the new release?If yes where will the band be playing and who are some bands you will be touring with?
Yeah, we’ve done a lot of shows already this year, and in September we’re also going on tour for a month as co-headliners with Kalevala from Russia. We’re gonna play in a lot of countries during the tour, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, just to name a few.
8.Has Grimner ever made a video for any of your songs?If you had the opportunity to make a video which song would you like to see made into a video?
Yeah, we have music videos for Eldhjärta and Mörkrets Hem from our previous album Frost Mot Eld, and also for En Fallen Jätte and Dödens Dans from Vanadrottning. I would personally also love to make a video for Freja Vakar or Vårt Blod, Våra Liv, but, can’t do ‘em all!
9.When not working on new music or band business what do you like to do in your free time?
I mostly relax with video games, drink some nice beer, read good books… I also like going for walks, since I have the forest pretty close to me, which I’m happy about. But music takes up most of my time, it is my greatest interest, after all.
10.Ted you handle the guitars for Grimner when did you first become interested in playing the guitars?Are you self taught or did you take lessons when first starting out?
I come from a pretty musical family, so my interest for music sprouted pretty early. I wanted to play the guitar for as long as I can remember, and I got my first electric one when I was 8 or 9. I taught myself for a while, but started taking lessons later.
11.Who would you say are your influences and favorite guitarists?Besides the guitars do you play any other instruments?
Jari Mäenpää from Wintersun is definitely a guitarist I look up to, and Mattias IA Eklundh from Freak Kitchen has also been a huge inspiration for many, many years. Not necessarily just as a guitarist, but as a musician who refuses to set any boundaries. I always like to try any instrument once, but I’m okay at some other string instruments like bass, tenor banjo and others. I’m okay at drums, but I wouldn’t hire me for a prestigious band, haha!
12.Besides working in Grimner do you or any of the members work in any other bands or solo projects?
I play in another band, King of Asgard, but as far as I know, no one else in the band has any other projects. Kristoffer has his record label Suicide Fox on the side though, but no other bands.
13.Thank you Ted for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Be sure to check out Grimner and catch a show when we’re on the road, you won’t be disappointed! Thank you too for the interview, my pleasure!
Band Contacts
https://grimner.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/Grimnerswe
https://www.facebook.com/Grimnerswe
Label Contacts
http://despotz.se/
https://twitter.com/Despotz
https://www.facebook.com/DespotzRecords
