Crashdiet is one of the new breed of Swedish Sleaze Metal merchants, and one of the best. They have also just inked a record deal with Australia’s own 3-Wise Records. So if you want to forget the nineties ever happened and party like they did back in the late eighties out there on the Sunset Strip Crashdiet is the soundtrack for you. New signings to Australian label 3Wise Records CRASHDIET’s Martin Sweet takes us on a tour of the SAVAGE PLAYGROUND…
Mark: The last time we spoke to Carshdiet we caught up with Eric, and you were just about to arrive in Australia. What can you remember about your last visit to Australia?
Martin: I remember that we had a long plane ride!! But, we had some good people taking care of us and we had quite a few days off in between shows, so we got to see quite a lot of Sydney which was fantastic. It is a nice place, and the audience, were overwhelmed to see us, which was a surprise and that was pretty cool.
Mark: A lot has happened since then, you have signed to a label down here, 3wise Records, how did that happen?
Martin: We found a manager to seal that deal!
Mark: So, the question is, when are you coming back?
Martin: Well, we are booked for the first half of the year, so hopefully the second half of 2013. We haven’t got any dates yet, but we are looking at some time in autumn.
Mark: You are doing some dates in Scandinavia, in January and February, and then some European dates in May, but, Brazil, in March, you are all over the place!!
Martin: Yeah, we have some US dates, that’s why there’s a hole in the middle!! We are going to tour the US in March, we are going to be away till the June, I think.
Mark: You had some rave reviews last time you were in the US, in New York and also on the West Coast.
Martin: Yes, we were really welcomed there, so we wanted to go back there as often as we can.
Mark: You have also recently supported Motley Crue and Ozzy, what were the highlights of those tours for you?
Martin: It was a pleasure to play for Motley Crue’s audience; I think most of them know who we are, somehow!! We must be similar, I don’t know!
Mark: I think it’s great that fans of Motley, back in the eighties are going out and finding new bands, like Crashdiet, that are similar.
Martin: Especially the younger kids too, who like Motley, and are looking for a newer, younger band!
Mark: In 2010 we heard” Generation Wild” which was a great album, and just this month in Australia we have had “The Savage Garden” released. I’ve read a few of the reviews and they are quite mixed about the new album. Do you pay a lot of attention to those reviews?
Martin: Sure, we read them all! It’s just out of curiosity; we try not to take it too hard. I am just curious to read what people think. There is a big difference between reviewers and fans, a reviewer will probably listen to the album once and write the review, and a lot of them think the album is too long. Which I can understand if you are listening to ten records a day, you would have to work overtime!
Mark: I think it’s hard these days, as a lot of fans and reviewers ideas are a bit blurred by all the bloggers out there, a lot of people want to have their say. As far as the album was concerned, how do you feel that the Crashdiet sound has progressed? What was the big step that you took with the new album?
Martin: I guess we work more as a unit, as a four piece unit, we have had this line up for about three years. The whole album was pretty much recorded live, just the four of us at the same time. There were not too many over dubs, and we wanted to keep it “edgy” compared to the last album. The album has been all over the place, and we wanted to try some new stuff. We did the album partly for ourselves, to let loose and do whatever we felt like, we had the confidence to do that!
Mark: There are some great songs on there; my personal favourite is “Circus”. Can you tell us a little bit about that song?
Martin: What can I tell you? The lyrics are questioning the religions of different people, and asking people to be aware of what’s happening around them and stuff like that. It doesn’t have much to do with a circus!!
Mark: The video for “Cocaine Cowboys” is out and it’s fantastic. Are there any more plans for any more videos for the album?
Martin: Glad you liked it! Yeah, we actually recorded the second video a few days ago; we are doing stuff at a higher pace at the moment! We are hoping for a release on the 30th January, it will be the song, “California”.
Mark: That’s a really good melodic song. Any plans for the song “Drinking Without You”?
Martin: Yeah. That’s an old song we recorded, and wrote during the Generation Wild sessions, we didn’t really finalise the demo, but we nailed it this time and that’s why it made the album.
Mark: If you could have been a fly on the wall for the recording of any album, or piece of music, at any time in the history of rock, what would it have been and why?
Martin: Probably “Appetite for Destruction”. I can imagine all the intrigue in the studio, there is nothing to read about that time.
Mark: No, even the biographies from band members don’t really talk about what went on when they recorded that album.
Martin: Yeah, I read Slash’s book and there’s not much in there, it’s mostly about the albums after that. It’s an album that influenced us, we always wanted to do a new “Appetite”, the production on that album is interesting, it’s so raw, but the songs are so commercial!
Mark: Our final question is what is the meaning of life?
Martin: I don’t think I’ve had that one before! Well, lately it’s been about pleasure; I try to only do fun stuff!
Mark: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us; it’s been a real pleasure, and hopefully we’ll get to see you over here again later in the year. Good luck on the tour, and with the new album.
Martin: Thanks, take care.
