| 2000 |
| Interview by Ralph Geiger. Visit
his website |
| You recently joined ex-Wildhearts singer
Ginger in his band SilverGinger5. When and how did you get in touch
with him? |
| He told A&R man Dante Bonutto about
this band that he wanted to start and I fit in with the plan. Me,
in the mean time, was really pissed off about my record company and
the way they worked my album so I had plans on leaving Sweden anyway.
So when I heard the album (I loved it from the start!) I felt that
it was just what "the doctor ordered". |
| |
| Who are the other guys playing with
you? |
| "Random" John Poole on bass,
(who`s got the hands of John Entwistle and the brain of Keith Moon)
& Tom Broman, our swedish drummer-boy. |
| |
| You just returned from a tour in Japan.
Please give us some impressions. |
| Loud, crazy, hazy, wicked, uplifting,
random, beautiful... I could go on forever. Wonderful people and very
commited. |
| |
| On this tour, did you only play stuff
from the SilverGinger5 debut or also stuff from your albums? |
| Only SilverGinger5 stuff. That`s what
we`re here to do after all. |
| |
| You compare your relationship to Ginger
with the ones of Jagger/ Richards and Tyler/ Perry. Isn’t it
a bit too early to say you have a "perfect ying/ yang"?
|
| Maybe it is, but it feels like it &
therefor I say it. |
| |
| How do you feel being just the guitar
player/ background singer instead of mainman? |
| Great to be honest! I always felt that
if there`s anything I could do with anyone, whether it`d be Guns N`Roses,
the Stones, Aerosmith, you name it, it would be playing guitar. Couldn`t
be their singer. |
| |
| Did you and Ginger already write some
songs together? |
| Yes, we did. And it worked out very well. |
| |
| Will the band still be named SilverGinger5
after you have joined? |
| Of course. I think it`s a cool name as
well. |
| |
| In 1999, you released a solo album
called "Psychonaut", but almost nobody noticed it. Why?
Did your record label fail? |
| YES! THEY DID!! They failed to get a proper
release everywhere apart from Sweden (maybe Scandinavia?). But I`m
not bitter. The business sucks, ha! |
| |
| Your childhood friend Andy Christell
(bass player of the Electric Boys) also contributed to your solo album.
What is he doing now?
|
| He`s making websites and playing with
a swedish band called "Plaster". |
| |
|
Do you consider working with him again?
|
| If it happens, it happens. He`s a good
guy and a good help for me sometimes. |
| |
| You say you believe in the " Forever
onwards"- motto. Do you bother if we talk a bit about the past?
Do you like to remember the old days? |
| I`ve got a great memory, it`s just very
short! What were you just saying? Seriously, you tend to remember
the fun stuff, don`t you? Which is good. Otherwise I probably wouldn`t
be doing it. I`m certainly not rich. Fuck it. |
| |
| You made your first steps in the music
biz with the Road Rats and Rolene. Please tell us more about your
early years. |
| I got together with Gyp after he was fired
from Hanoi Rocks (He knocked Andy McCoy out on stage at a festival
in Finland. That did it.) He taught me the importance of good songs
and melodies. We then toured with Hanoi in Finland after Gyp &
Andy had buried the hatchet. Andy was gonna fire Nasty and wanted
me in the band instead but I said no. The band was definetly going
down. We were pop-stars. People climbing all over the tour-bus, little
girls screaming and fainting..Rock & roll. |
| |
| What kind of music did you play with
Rolene? Funky rock? |
| No. Cheap Trick type rock with "Beatlesque"
melodies sort of thing. |
| |
| In 1986 you released the album "Rollin
With Rolene". Is it still available somewhere? |
| Hopefully not cuz it`s got the ugliest
cover in the history of pop!!!! |
| |
| In 1987, you and Andy formed the Electric
Boys. Where did you meet Franco Santunione and Niclas Sigevall? |
| A friend of mine told us about the drummer
and the drummer played with the guitar-player. Boring story.... |
| |
| In 1989, the Electric Boys debut "Funk-O-Metal
Carpet Ride" was released, one of the most groundbreaking groove
rock albums ever. When did you realize that this band was something
special? |
| I think, when I wrote "All Lips &
Hips".In Sweden at that point there was nothing going on rock-wise
so we really came at the right time. |
| |
| The album got a new cover and some
new songs for an international release. Were you happy with this decision? |
| The decision was mine! I thought some
of the new songs were better (especially the lyrics). In hindsight
I think we should have released it as it was and made a new album
instead. But hey! It felt right at the time. |
| |
| The new songs were produced by Bob
Rock. Did the label handle you as the "next big thing"? |
| Let`s just say that people were very impressed
with what they saw and heard. |
| |
| The first album got great reviews,
but the international breakthrough didn’t happen. What do you
think were the reasons?
|
| See the penultimate answer. Also, the
order and choice of singles. |
| |
| Please tell us more about the cooperation
with the Swedish comedian Svullo. |
| He was just this mad guy who wanted to
do something with us cuz he was a fan. I had a riff laying about and
wrote a song in 5 minutes. The lyrics we wrote together and to tell
you the truth, the song is fucking hilarious (If you understand Swedish
that is!). |
| |
| In 1992, the second album "Groovus
Maximus" was released. Once again with a big budget (Recordings
at the Abbey Road studios, cover artwork by Hugh Syme). Did the label
still believe in the possibility to push you to the top? |
| Yes, they did. |
| |
| When also this album didn’t mean
the commercial breakthrough, how was the mood inside the band?
|
| Pissed of because of the reasons I mentioned
above. |
| |
| Why did Niklas and Franco leave the
band in 1993? What are they doing today? Are you still in contact? |
| I thought that Niklas was losing focus
and he decided to leave after a few discussions. Fair enough. He`s
not a touring type of guy. He`s is working as a production assistant
at videoshoots or something and has stopped playing drums. Franco
I don`t know. Let`s say our ways parted due to different ideas about
things. Bless him. |
| |
| Where and how did you find the new
members Thomas Broman and Martin Thomander? |
| Tom I`d seen many times with Great King
Rat and I thought he was amazing. Still is. Martin I can`t remember
who told us about him. I was told he read Bukowski, wore an afghan
fur and that he was breeding fishes (?!) Get him! |
| |
| With them, you recorded the third album
"Freewheelin". Do you think they were responsible for the
heavier sound on this album? Or was it your frustration that influenced
the songwriting? |
| Probably a bit of both. |
| |
| When did you decide to let the band
die? |
| Nobody spent any time, money or effort
in trying to make that album happen so... What could we do? I`d much
rather stop before we started making bad albums. I don`t think another
album would have been good. |
| |
| In October 1994, you played the Electric
Boys farewell concert. Can you remember the atmosphere on this day? |
| Pretty sad in a way. It`s like parting
from a long time girlfriend that you love but just can`t live with.
Not my best gig. |
| |
| What do you think about the idea to
release an Electric Boys live album? |
| Could be interesting. If there`s some
good stuff on tape. |
| |
| The Electric Boys really were an outstanding
band. There are still so many true fans out there, doing fanpages
etc... You reached cult status. Do you feel flattered? |
| Oh. Absolutely!! What can I say... You
work very, very hard for something and then when you get the pay off,
it tastes very sweet! |
| |
| Did you ever think about reforming
the band? |
| Not unless Niklas was into it and he`s
not. |
| |
| In 1996 you returned to the scene with
Titanic Truth. Please tell us more about the other band members Tony
Taylor and Nils Festader. |
| Tony used to be in a band called Trash.
First swedish hard rock band to get a major deal in America, I would
guess. Very special drummer and singer as well. Nils (Nippe) used
to be in Great King Rat with Tom. Very commited and all around type
musician. Both songwriters. |
| |
| Did you promote this album at all?
I didn’t read any interviews or reviews in international mags. |
| Not really. We did a few gigs in Sweden,
that`s all. It was all very light-hearted. No superstar dreams or
anything... we just wanted to play... |
| |
| Why was it a one-album-thing? Why did
we never hear from Titanic Truth again? |
| Once again, who wants to paint a picture
and then not show it to anyone?? Nobody did anything for that album
to get anywhere. So fuck it. |
| |
| We had to wait until 1999 to get your
next release. This time, you tried it as a solo artist. Why? |
| I felt like it. I had a name. It was easy
and I wanted to get something out |
| |
| Where do you see the differences between
the Electric Boys, Titanic Truth and Conny Bloom solo? |
| Electric Boys was very thought out in
a way. We had a few elements that made "our" sound and we
stuck to them. Titanic Truth was more like we didn`t think so much.
It was just a mixture of 3 songwriters record-collections. My solo
stuff is in a way like a mixture of the two, but not (?!). It`s my
psycedelic mind going berserk in the world of riffs, loops, sound
effects etc. etc. What ties them together is my voice, my guitar and
some good melodies. |
| |
| Your website was established recently.
Why did it take so long for you to surface in the internet? |
| Because I hadn`t been interested. I didn`t
own a computer til last x-mas. |
| |
| I have to admit that your website looks
fantastic. You work a lot with flash and animations. Are you an internet
expert or do you have a skilled webmaster? |
| Hehe... I know fuck all about computers.
My webmaster is the man. "Dan the man!" |
| |
| How important is the internet for you? |
| I really like it and it gives you an opportunity
to talk to your fans and hear what they say, so... great!! |
| |
| How were the reactions from the fans
when they discovered your website? I already mentioned there are still
many Electric Boys freaks out there. |
| I`ve only heard good things apart from
Tom`s girlfriend. Her computer crashes everytime she`s trying to look
at my site... Wonder why that is? |
| |
| Maybe she should get a Flash player,
haha. Do you know the "Ready To Believe" cover version by
Lion’s Share? What is your opinion of it? |
| I have heard OF it, but I haven`t heard
it. Could you e-mail it as an Mp3 to me? |
| (Sorry, but I don't have it neither.
I only read it on the Lion's Share website. So if there is anyone
out there who has this song, please contact us! Thanks.) |
| |
| What are your plans for the near future?
Do you concentrate on Silver Ginger or are you interested in having
your own band? |
| This band is based on chaos and I don`t
think there`s one person in the world who knows what`s gonna happen
tomorrow. I can`t see any reason for a another band right now, though.
|
| |
| Thanks alot, Conny. After all these
unsuccessful years, I hope you will finally have the good luck you
deserve! |
| Puh, that was quite a few questions! Hope
you can do something with it... Good luck with RockReunion and keep
in touch! |
