John Elliot was recently announced as the new singer of Swedish sleaze legends Crashdïet, But he’s by no means new to the scene. He’s made a name for himself for over a decade as the frontman of Confess and released three fantastic full length albums with that band. John was kind enough to talk with us at The Rockpit about his history in the Swedish scene as well as the current state of things with both of his bands.
Rob: Good evening John! thank you for talking with the Rockpit. How are you?
John: It’s all good man! Just recovered from the jet lag.
Rob: You just got back from playing the monsters of rock cruise, If I’m not mistaken I think that was Crashdiet’s first time playing it. Was this your first time as well or has Confess ever played it?
John: That is correct. It was the first time for Crashdiet and myself as well. So no, Confess has never played MORC.
Rob: What’s it like playing something like that with so many great bands?
John: It was surreal. Such a cool experience and so much fun meeting all the fans and hanging out for 5 days in the Caribbean. Good times.
Rob: Congratulations to you on becoming the singer for Crashdiet. From what I can tell in the hard rock circles I’m involved in the response to that announcement has been very positive, What has it been like for you since the announcement?
John: Thanks buddy! Yeah, People seem to have accepted this pretty well I’d say. Lots of people are writing kind words and stuff like that.
Rob: It’s a brilliant match in my opinion, As a fan of both of your bands I find this combination really exciting.
John: Ah, thank you!
Rob: I know some fans were concerned that you joining Crashdiet would mean the end of Confess, But you clarified recently that you’d be doing both bands. On the surface that might seem like a bit much to juggle but I know a couple of singers that do two or three bands, which I’m seeing a lot more now than it was back in the day where you had a singer maybe do a solo album, But it was either something they did in between touring with their main band or they left that band entirely to have a solo career. Now it seems some artists have a few full time bands, that’s just astounding to me. How do you make it work having two full time bands and still have a personal life?
John: Well, I haven’t been in 2 bands long enough to answer that properly ha-ha. But I think I’ll make it work, It’s not like Confess has ever toured 360 days a year you know. I guess it all comes down to planning stuff in advance, Both for the bands and the personal life.
Rob: For those who might not know, You’ve been around in the scene for over a decade, Confess is in my view one of the best bands in Sweden which is really saying something, Your country has produced a lot of the best rock and metal music of the last 20 or so years in terms of the modern bands. What’s it like being in a music scene like that with so many great bands?
John: Yeah, We’ve been around since like 2009 or something like that. Inspired by bands like Crashdiet etc. I’d say that the hard rock/metal scene was stronger in Sweden like 10 years ago, But it comes and goes in waves all the time. I guess the bands that are still around are the best one’s you know. When we started out there were so many bands, Especially in Stockholm, That played this type of music.
Rob: I was actually going to ask about that, if Crashdiet was an influence on Confess since they are one of the godfathers of modern hard rock. How early on in their career were you exposed to their music?
John: Definitely, They kinda started this whole movement in Sweden back in the day. Actually i bought the first album back in 2005 on CD, So I’ve been listening to them since they got their break through pretty much.
Rob: That’s really cool! I didn’t find them until probably ten years ago and Rest In Sleaze hit me like a bolt of lightning, It’s basically led me down a lot of musical paths including writing for this site by extension. I live in America so I see all of what you guys are doing in Sweden from a “I wish I could spend a year there and see all of these bands” perspective, Is there a big fanbase out there for rock music and what do you think inspires so much great music in your country?
John: Haha, you should come over and spend some time. Sweden has a lot of rock fans for sure. We also got one of the best rock festivals in Europe (Sweden rock festival) I mean, When you go there you really see how much this music means for a lot of generations. It’s so cool to see this 60 year old dad bringing his kids to a concert and all of them are having the time of their lives. But I think whole of Europe has a pretty strong rock audience. I’ve noticed when playing festivals around Europe that there’s a lot of Americans traveling to Europe just to see all of the Scandinavian bands play. Thats very cool.
Rob: I know several people from here who do that, We don’t really see a lot of the Scandinavian bands play here with the exception of Ghost. So, Many American fans travel to see you all, I’d definitely go if I could. I keep hoping to see Crashdiet, or Confess for that matter, Play Las Vegas as that’s where I go to concerts.
John: It’s kinda hard for European bands to tour the states, The costs are usually extremely high with the visas and so on. But yeah, some day we might come to Vegas. Would love that.
Rob: When I do an interview for the first time I like to give our readers some background information on the artist, what bands inspired you to pursue music and how old were you when you started playing in a band?
John: Oh, There were many. But for me it started like it did for very many other little boys – I found KISS. You know, When you’re like 7 and get to see a picture of them you’re hooked instantly. I don’t think I even heard a song before i had decided that this was going to be my type of band ha-ha. But yeah, KISS was my first interaction with rock music. From there i started to discover other stuff like GNR, Judas Priest, Skid Row, Metallica, and so on. And when I got to my teens I started to listen to a lot of death metal and stuff like that. More brutal shit. Today, I enjoy all of it.
Rob: If I have my timeline correct then Lights Out was the first music released by Confess, How long were you guys together before releasing music and what were the early days of the band like for you?
John: Well, Not 100% correct. We recorded some stuff before that. But Lights Out was basically a very, very crappy demo tape that has no need of seeing the light of day ha-ha. Our first real thing was the EP “The Gin Act” and after that our debut “Jail”. The early days was so much fun, It was all about rock n roll all the time. We started to tour even before we released our debut album and we had a blast driving around Europe, Playing in front of no one, and making no money what so ever. But that kinda laid the foundation for the band. For us, Playing live was the number one priority for a lot of years.
Rob: The Gin Act and Jail are pretty hard to come by. Do you guys ever plan to re release those for purchase either physically, digitally, or both? I have the vinyl of Jail and it’s a fantastic album.
John: Maybe someday. We don’t own the masters of The Gin Act though so that might be hard, But we’ve been talking about re-releasing Jail in the future. We still sell the CD when we’re playing live.
Rob: One thing that’s interesting with Confess is that you guys have done a couple great covers that I wouldn’t have expected, The first time I listened to Haunters and heard your cover of “Eye To Eye” from the soundtrack to A Goofy Movie I was very surprised. It manages to stay true to the original song and yet you guys make it your own which I consider the mark of a great cover. I’m curious how you guys decided on that one?
John: I don’t really remember how or why we decided to do that one. I guess we just liked the song you know, And it’s fun to do an unexpected cover that is in a different genre.
Rob: When I interviewed Pontus last year he said you guys were working on new material, Is there anything you can tell us about the new Confess album?
John: Not really more than it’s in the works.
Rob: On the subject of Crashdiet, How did you joining the band come about? And how long have you had to keep it a secret before they announced it?
John: Well, they pretty much called me up and asked if I was interested in trying out some of the songs. Obviously people know by now that Gabriel left the band. The other guys didn’t wanna stop, So they did what they always do – Found a solution and kept on going. We started to rehearse before Christmas so it’s not like this has been in the works for a year or so.
Rob: One of the many remarkable things about Crashdiet is that they’ve had four prior singers and all of them have been great and distinct in their own way, With you on vocals now I think that tradition continues. I’m honestly really excited about you working with Martin and Peter, I can’t wait to hear what you guys record together. Have you guys done any writing yet or is that still a ways off?
John: I agree! I think all the prior singers in Crashdiet have been phenomenal frontmen and singers. I guess that says a lot about the other guys judgement you know. So for me, it’s really an honor to step into this rock n roll circus.
I’m gonna leave the last answer blank 
Rob: Hahaha fair enough! What songs do you have the most fun performing live with them?
John: Oh, Good question. I’ve only done 3 shows so far so i kinda dig all of them. But its always fun to sing songs that gets the audience going. And from what i can tell the crowd knows every word of every Crashdiet song there is ha-ha. But I do like singing all the Dave Lepard songs very much, I grew up with that record so they do give me a special feeling you know.
Rob: I can imagine. Dave is an icon, That era of the band is awesome. I love the extra stuff the band released from that era on the illegal rarities albums. (Seriously don’t miss those, available exclusively on Crashdiet’s website: dietrecords.org)
Rob: So, It’s a Rockpit tradition to end interviews with two questions: First, If you could be there to witness the recording of any album ever recorded which one would you pick? and why?
John: The Metallica and Lou Reed album. I would tell them, Very, very gently (in separate rooms) that it is okay if they just stopped the recording of the album and never picked it up again, Ha-ha.
No, But Def Leppard – Hysteria. That album is one of the greatest albums in rock and the process of making it seems to have been one of a kind. Also, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when GnR wrote Appetite For Destruction.
Rob: That first answer is the funniest answer I’ve had doing interviews, Thanks for that! hahaha! The last two are great choices. Ok, second and last question: What is the meaning of life?
John: Family, Friends, and music.
Rob: The best things in life. Thank you very much for your time John, It was a pleasure.
John: Thank you bro! Pleasure was all mine.