BONAFIDE (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. How is everything doing right now with BONAFIDE?
Mikael Fässberg: Everything is great! New album went straight to number One in the charts here, and we have been quite busy this summer, playing loads of festivals, and our second tour in the UK.
– You are a relatively new band so, first off, could you please share some history of the band?
Please see band bio on www.bonafiderocks.com
– And how did you come up with the band’s name? Tell us both its origin and meaning.
Pontus Snibb: I came up with the name Bonafide partly because of it´s real meaning «true» as I wanted it to be a true, honest rock n roll band. And secondly
as a hommage to my two biggest heroes: Bon Scott & John Bonham. I thought it was quite a funny name, and we kept it when the band started rolling.
– You have recently released your third album”. How are the first reactions being? And what are your expectations for this new opus?
Mikael Fässberg: So far we have´nt had a single bad review, so that´s good. We expect the album to do good, so that we can tour as much as possible.
– This new record is entitled “Ultimate Rebel”. Is it an autobiographical title?
Mikael Fässberg: To some exstent maybe, yeah. I´d like to see the band as rebels… rebelling against the rock business in general, doing it in our own way.
Pontus Snibb: and then the ultimate rebel could be our new mascot Ramon Jamon in the cd cover. For me he´s the ultimate rebel and saviour of rock n roll. More on this later…
– After giving the album some spins I can firmly say is a 100% BONAFIDE sounding record. Anyway, what are the main musical inspirations behind it? As I think it’s strongly rooted on Blues beside traditional Hard Rock.
Mikael Fässberg: We get inspiration from all over the musical spectrum, but we are starting to get a sound of our own I guess. But it´s mainly classic hard rock.
Pontus Snibb: Yeah, absolutely. With a bluesy touch of the four Kings: BB, Freddie, Albert & Burger.
– Have been three years between this new effort and your previous “Something’s Dripping” so, what could you say are the main differences between both releases?
Pontus Snibb: Well, mainly, Something´s Dripping took 6 months to do, with endless days and nights in the studio before the album was ready. Ultimate rebel was recorded almost live in the studio in less than 10 days. This time we captured more of the Bonafide live sound that the fans love. It´s much more «us» straight up with dirt and grit and power.
– And how has the band changed and evolved during this time?
Mikael Fässberg: We have a new rhythm section, and the band is tighter an better than ever before.Since the last album we have been on the road almost constantly, even scoring a few hit songs along the way, and England has really taken us to their hearts.
– The cover artwork really manage to caught my attention. It features a wrestler’s mask used in Mexico. Would you mind to shed some light on how and why did you come up with this idea? What did you want to depict with it?
Mikael Fässberg: The album was originally called “Krusher”, and legendary british artist/journalist Krusher Joule was going to do the artwork, but we could not agree on the artwork, so a friend came up with the wrestling theme, which turned out quite cool!
Pontus Snibb: Yeah, and now Bonafide has its new mascot, the Lucha Libre wrestler «Ramon Jamon». He fights for Bonafide in the name of Rock n Roll…
– You’ve recorded the album quite fast, in two weeks if I’m not mistaken, and I personally think you’ve managed to get a really organic sound, with a live feeling. Could you please tell us how were the recording sessions like? Were you looking for something spontaneous? As I think this just not fit with your attitude, but also with your sound.
Pontus Snibb: As mentioned before, we wanted to go with what we sound like live. Like making a live album in the studio with vocal and solo overdubs only. We kept takes with the right vibe, even if it had some minor misstakes in it, just like in a live situation. You don´t stop playing a song live just because someone played a bad note. Listen to all classic albums and there´s some bad notes in all of them. Keeps it real!
– Anyway, though you recorded the album with engineer Conny Wall, yourself, Pontus produced it, after working for your previous “Something’s Dripping” with an outside producer. How has this worked for BONAFIDE?
Pontus Snibb: I had fully recorded demos of all the songs before entering the studio, so it was quite an easy album to make actually. I produced the first Bonafide album too, and can really see me doing the next one too. I write the songs and have a clear picture of how I want the songs to come out. Drums sounding drums, guitar sounding guitar, ha ha
Nothing more to it actually…just Rock n Roll.
– All this about “Ultimate Rebel” being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Mikael Fässberg: Raw, Organic, Rock
Pontus Snibb: Groovy, honest & good
– You have done a video for “Too Fired Up”; how did you do it? As if I’m not mistaken, you did it by your own, and with your own budget.
Mikael Fässberg: Martin, our bass player, decided to give it a try and did a great job. You can´t spend big money on videos anymore. You never get the money back. You might as well just take the piss out of the whole thing.
– You are a young band with a promising and long musical career yet to come. What goals have you already achieved and what ones are still to come?
Mikael Fässberg: Once you reach one goal, you decide to go for the next one. That´s what has driven us all along. We appreciate where we are now, but we must go further.
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
Mikael Fässberg: In October we start our European tour, and we have a lot of shows planned for Spain. We love touring Spain, so we are really looking forward to coming back!
Pontus Snibb: Yep, we´ve toured most countries in Europe, and I must say the Spanish fans are the best of all. Can´t wait to come back again!!
– That has been everything from my side, thanks once more for your time. If you now want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Pontus Snibb: see you soon at a club near you. Bonafide can´t wait to come back to Spain and play the new songs! We are ready to fill your heads with Rock…
