INTERVIEW: Tobias Gustavsson from NESTOR talks ‘Teenage Rebel’

Teenage Rebel Released May 31, 2024


In this interview, Tobias from the band Nestor discusses their upcoming album release, “Teenage Rebel”. He explains the band’s song writing process, which involves him creating a rough demo and then allowing the other band members to add their own elements. Tobias also shares that the band’s music is influenced by their shared love of 70s and 80s rock music. He mentions some of his personal favourite albums, including “Crazy Nights” by Kiss and “Temple of the Dog” by Temple of the Dog. The band is looking forward to their upcoming festival season and their own festival, NestorFest.

Andrew : Hello, Tobias, how are you? Welcome to The Rockpit.

Tobias : I am well. Thank you and thanks so much for chatting with me. It’s early morning in Spain as well, so it’s a good thing. I’m good, thank you. I’m super good. It’s like just getting the countdown started for the release. We’re releasing it on a new album, teenage Rub tomorrow, or actually tonight if you like. It’s like on digital platforms. It’s up on by midnight tonight, so it’s going to be great. Looking forward to that.

Andrew : Absolutely, congratulations on the latest single ‘Victorious’ as well. In fact, what a killer album “Teenage Rebel” is. I’ve had the pleasure of being able to sit with the album all day today and man, what a record. It’s crazy good. It’s transported me back to a time where music just shaped my life. Right back to the best of my formative years of discovering rock music in the seventies and eighties.

Tobias : Oh, thank you.

Andrew : In what you guys do, I feel like I’ve stepped into a time machine, but with a really nice modern twist to it. Thank you. When writing “Teenage Rebel”, did you have a firm vision for what you wanted?

Tobias : Yeah, kind of. First of all, thank you very much for your kind words. It means the world to me, and I think what you’re expressing is exactly the feeling that we wanted when we started writing and producing this album, so thank you for that. But yeah, I had kind of a vision. We released an album a couple of years back called “Kids in a Ghost Town” where we went in the same time machine as you felt that you were in when you’re listening to the album. The idea was to make that album that we didn’t have the skills or possibilities to make back in 1989 when we started. So, the idea was to tell a story about it was to grow up in a small town in Sweden dreaming of becoming a rock star and form a band kind of. So that was the first album. And then the second one, this one, “Teenage Rebel”, it’s kind of a sequel to that one this time around. It’s more about the time when you’re a teenager and responsibility catches up with you. There’s a lot of people saying, cut your hair and get a job. You spend a lot of time in your rehearsal space and now I think you should focus on something else. So the vision was to go back to the late eighties and get that whole vibe. To answer your question, yes, I had a quite clear picture in my head how I wanted it to sound and the feeling that I wanted to, what do you say, reach the audience, the ones listening to feel.

Andrew : I mean, building on that, I mean “Kids In A Ghost Town”. I went back and revisited it as well. It’s quite a nice natural progression that you have between the two records. In a way you are continuing the of telling the story the way that you have, it’s like you’ve gone from being kids to teenagers too. If you use the metaphor to the success you would’ve tasted from “Kids In A Ghost Town” has enabled you to do what you’ve done on this new record who does the majority of the writing for the band. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the luxury of liner notes or anything like that, so I’m a little bit in the dark about that, but I am curious as to how you guys write.

Tobias : Yeah, no worries. I’m doing the main part. Or it’s like me and Johnny Wemmenstedt, the guitar player, he’s involved as well. But I’m writing the main part of the songs. I’ve written all the songs on this album as well as the last album while Jon has been a part of half of the album, I guess. So, it’s me, and on this album, I used two other songwriters, Swedish songwriters; one is named Hakan Glante, the other one is Fredrick Thomander. We kind of wrote the whole album together with Johnny as well. So, the rest of the band in this case, they’re not that involved with the song writing thing. They’re more like when it comes to actually lay down the tracks and record it, they step into the picture, so to speak.

Andrew : The thing that amazes me is that you guys formed in 1989, and it wasn’t until a few years ago that you got to release your debut album. Are you still finding songs that you would’ve written from that period being relevant in what you’re doing now? Do you have these masses of song books

Tobias : No, sorry. No, we don’t unfortunately. Even though I can listen to those songs that we recorded back in early nineties, and it puts a smile on my face for different reasons. But no, the songs we wrote back then are not good enough, to be honest. We were kind of young and we’re getting into the whole song writing how it works. So no, the old songs, there’s nothing of that. We could keep them safe under our beds in some kind of cassette where we sometimes listen to it when we have a little bit of drink, a couple of beers and listen to it, laugh a bit about it, but still, no, there’s nothing left from those days that could be reused or reinvented or whatever, unfortunately.

Andrew : Okay. The actual recording of the album, I mean, tell me about the process there. Was it a collective band in the studio? All members present process?

Tobias : It was very much like if I start from zero, it’s normally I come up with a demo here in my studio, just something that the rest of the guys in the band could just listen to and get their feelings about it. When that is done, I kind of finish some kind of rough demo, and then I leave the song with the guys for a couple of weeks. I live in Spain and the other guys live in Sweden, so they are based in the same city. This for us has been a very successful way of working. I send them a demo, they work on it, kind of figure out how do you want the bass to be, just go nuts, so to speak. Then they all come down here by the end of this session when we had all 10 songs and we tried different things, everyone has put their kind of vibe into it.
They all came down to my studio and we recorded it here except for the drums, which we recorded in Sweden in one go and that’s how it worked. I think that is, at least for us, that has been a very, I shouldn’t say smooth, but I rather have the possibilities to live with a song for a couple of weeks a month, and to let the guys in the band put their signature on it rather than rehearse a song, record it in a studio, and what you got is what you got, so to speak. This gives us the opportunity to actually try different things out during this process, and in the end we know that, okay, we tried everything else out, this is how we want it to be, and then we record it. Yeah, like that.

Andrew : That’s a great approach and I guess the things over the course of the last four years, changed the way a lot of bands were able to write and record and just basically being locked down and isolated from each other. It’s good to hear that things do come back in a studio environment, and I think there’s an energy in this album that sort of shows a little bit of that. There is an energy and a live feel to it. It also throws back to, I guess, an appreciation for the way that records were made in the seventies and eighties. I mean Journey, Foreigner, a lot of the bands that are cited as your influencers are my go-to bands for Life. There is something very, very special that you guys have. I have to admit, from the moment that I first heard ‘Victorious’, I went, oh my God, this is so damn good. The music video too, the clip that goes with it is a stunning bit of vision and really, really ties in well with the song. Now, what is it in that Swedish water that makes your country deliver some of my favourite rock bands ever?

Tobias :  Thank you. That’s something in the water, I guess. Now I think I got this question quite often, and it’s so hard to actually, I can point out a few things that I think is important for the Swedish mentality when it comes to music. First of all, I think it has to do with the fact that we have something called the Public Music School, which you can attend from, I think from your five years old, and that is free, it’s paid by the government, so every kid could actually play an instrument, which is kind of cool. That helps you of course, a lot. Then I think the second thing is that there’s a lot of winter in Sweden, there’s a lot of months where everything is dark, and the thing is when it’s dark outside, you kind of want to stay inside, and the staying inside means that you have to come up with stuff to do, and playing an instrument is one thing. I guess that has to do with it anyway. And then I think there’s a, what do you call it? Not a camaraderie, but in Sweden, if you compare it to, I worked a bit, quite a bit in the US in Sweden, we have this kind of, when you write songs and that goes for most things in life is that you’re not too prestigious. It could be like, for example, I got this great hook. Oh, I love it. I got this great. Someone else says like, yeah, I got this great beat. And someone else says like, yeah, but I got a great lyric and someone has a melody, which means that we’re aiming to write the best song. I think that is one thing of the success when it comes to Swedish song writing that you’re not too precious about. Yeah, this is my song. I should do the lyrics, I should do the melody, I should do everything. It’s my song. It’s very much, if you have a better idea, let’s do it. Let’s just aim to write the best song. I think that has to do it. I don’t know if that makes sense.

Andrew : Yeah, no, that makes absolutely perfect sense. And I think knowing that you guys have that education system based around music in Sweden would also help with that because that would be in essence a part of the lesson that you are learning.

Tobias : Yeah, it is.

Andrew : In writing Teenage Rebel, I mean, was there something that you were referencing yourself or was it with the sound that you guys have, I guess what’s the core behind that within the band?

Tobias :I think first of all, we have the same kind of references. If you look at our old vinyls, we are going to end up with duplicates everywhere. Everyone has the same kind of reference. Even when we were kids and when we started off in 89, we were into the same kind of melodic rock or hard rock in general genre which kind of made it easy now if we call it rebranding the band after 30 years almost, that we wanted to make an album that, as you mentioned, like Survivor, Foreigner, Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Europe, all these bands. So, we have this DNA of what we like, which is the core, I guess, in our music. And then, I don’t know, I don’t really know what songs are about stuff that we experienced. I said to some other journalist the other day that he asked me if it’s self-experienced, everything that we write about. I said, yeah, to 50%. It’s like someone in the band has experienced something that I write about and then I add kind of a movie manuscript from the eighties to it to make it a bit more like, I shouldn’t say fleshy, but to get a story behind it. I don’t know if I answered your question, but it’s Nestor. I think that is one of the biggest differences if you compare us to other bands or I’m just guessing now, but it’s that we have exactly the same kind of taste of music or where we come from, what made us what we are today as musicians and songwriters and producers. It’s the same kind of songs and bands and albums, and that, I guess makes it easier to get a sound across. That sounds authentic, I guess.

Andrew : Given your influences what are your top five records? Which ones most influenced you ?

Tobias : Tricky one. Do I have to, can I give you 500? (laughs)

Andrew : I know what it’s like, but yeah, I thought, okay, five is fair and we can dive into them.

Tobias : Yeah. But if I should give you some albums that maybe there’s quite a few of them that is so obvious. But for me growing up, I really, really, really love the Crazy Nights album from Kiss. It’s like an odd ball, so to speak. They were running a couple of years behind everyone else, but I love that album. I also do love the New Jersey album with Bon Jovi. If we’re going to go into the nineties one, my favourite album of all times is actually a Temple Of The Dog. I don’t know if you remember, but Chris Cornell had a project, that’s the number one. I was so happy to be able to see them in Madison Square Garden just before he kind of passed. So that is one of the biggest ones. Then of course, like Thriller from Michael Jackson. I listened to that for ages. And then album that I keep on returning to is 5150 from Van Halen, the first Sammy Hagar album, also a great one. But again, I could give you 500, but the album that I always carry with me nowadays, you carry every album with you because of the DSPs. But still, if I remember a side story, I was traveling somewhere way back in the nineties and the Temple of the Dog album was released, I think it was 92 or 91 or something like that and I just realized that I forgot this album at home. The CD of it and I went out where I was in some other city in Sweden and got a second one, and I didn’t have any money. It was a big investment to get a copy, to get two of those albums, but I needed it. I have to say that if there’s the number one, it’s definitely the Temple of the Dog album, but there’s tons of them. All the eighties albums with Kiss I loved. I also loved and still love Prisoners In Paradise from Europe, it’s a great album.

Andrew : That’s my favourite Europe record.

Tobias : Yeah me too.

Andrew : I caught so much grief over my love of that album, but that is hands down my favourite Europe record. There is something so special about that album.

Tobias : Yeah, for me too. For me too. I think especially because it’s also 91 or 92, I guess, right? That’s the beauty of music. I was so in love with the Temple Of The Dog album, but also loved Prisoners In Paradise. I think nowadays it’s a strength that you could actually navigate through different genres and don’t care really about if it’s grunge or if it’s melodic rock or if it’s AOR or whatever. I’m a sucker for great songs.

Andrew : I’m the same. I mean, my palette is completely varied, and I mean, you go back and you talk about the impact of Michael Jackson to Temple of the Dog to Europe. They’re three very different genres within themselves, but they’re all consistently made of great songs. All three of those. Yes. And that’s the common thread. I remember not being able to take Crazy Nights off my stereo forever. It was the first record that I owned on CD, cassette and vinyl. That’s how significant that album was for me personally. I understand exactly where you’re coming from when you talk about these things. My upbringing saw me grow up on a very steady diet of things like Deep Purple, which then sort of progressed to Journey and then into Cheap Trick. It was always about the art of the song and the hook; the way it made you feel and that’s what I find in Nestor. I just find this relatability to it all, and it truly is an incredible record, and you guys should be super proud of it. I  just know that Australia as a country, our rock community, once they hear this record, they will go absolutely nuts for you guys.

Tobias : Oh, lovely. That sounds great. We had this strategical meeting the other day and talked about, as you know, it’s a big world if you want to go touring, and one of the countries that popped up quite early was Australia because of that, what you just mentioned. We just said that as soon as we have some kind of plan, we would love to come to Australia. We also believe that our music would be a great fit with Australia.

Andrew : That’s an absolute fact. The way that we embrace bands like Hardcore Superstar and Heat, and we have a really big heart for that hard rock genre, and you guys deserve to be heard and discovered. It’s a really big tip of the hat to you guys from me. Now you guys to head off for festival season through June and August, you also have a couple of shows supporting Europe we’ve spoken about. What are you most looking forward to?

Tobias : Well, I think I have to say we are hosting our own festival called NestorFest. This is the third year in a row where bands like Hardcore Superstar is coming as well. And that is always like the cherry on the cake because it’s in our hometown. It’s been sold out three years in a row, and it’s our festival, it’s called NestorFest. So, I have to say that that is what we’re looking forward to the most. We are also doing Sweden Rock next week, main Stage, which is a great festival in Sweden, 30,000 capacity. It’s going to be a big one too, there’s a lot of highlights this year, but NestorFest is always the one that is closest to our heart as it’s our own festival.

Andrew : Absolutely. That sounds like an absolute blast. And look, unfortunately we push for time. These twenty-minute slots to chat are never long enough. But I’d love to chat to you again down the track and just keep in touch with you guys. I’m sure the public’s reception to the new record will be incredible, and I thank you guys. You have an absolute winner of a record on your hands. Thank you so much for your time, Tobias. And yeah, let’s stay in touch and hopefully we get to see out here in Australia in the too distant future.

Tobias : We’d love to come to Australia and thank you very much for taking the time. And yeah, we’ll speak further down the road and I’ll let you know when we have some plans for Australia.

Andrew : Perfect Tobias I look forward to it. Have a great morning and day.

Tobias : Thank you. Likewise. Thank you. Bye.