Fan who have been paying attention to the global world of Rock N Roll will no doubt know there’s a thriving music scene in European counties like Sweden, Finland and Germany. A scene that has been growing bigger and better with each passing year with more and more new bands eager to make their mark. Spiders are one of these bands. Hailing from Sweden, they wear their classic rock influences on their sleeves while bringing a unique and fresh approach to the style. Out of something old comes something new, something that is raw, powerful and catchy.

 

Could this be the future of rock n roll?

 

The band’s drummer, Ricard Harryson, took some time out to answer some questions about the band, their influences and what’s in stall for the future.

 

For those who haven’t heard the band, how would you describe your sound?

Very direct and straight on forward hard driven Rock'n'roll, with a big portion of blues, a dash of glam and a dose of punk! 

It’s obvious that your influences are based firmly in the late sixties and seventies. What would be your favourite bands from this era and what is it about them that inspired you to follow on with this style in your own music?

We love bands and artists like Kiss, MC5, Heart and David Bowie. They all have a personal sound and style, very genuine. The whole package; sound, production and image is appealing. But there's no reason try to redo what they did. It's a great inspiration, but you have to go your own way. 

When did music first come into your life and what does it mean to you?

For me it was in my teens, when I discovered The Jam, The Who and a Swedish band called Tages. Me and my friends used to hang out, listen to records and drink some beers. We were mods and the most hated teenagers in town. We got beaten almost every weekend cause people thought we looked funny. The music made us strong though. Kept us together. 

How did the four of you get together as Spiders?

The band was formed by John and Axel (from Graveyard) in 2010. They fooled around with some songs and needed a vocalist. They asked Ann-Sofie, who said yes, and then Matteo came along. After the first EP released by Crusher Records, Axel felt that he had to focus fully on Graveyard. That's where I came in to the picture. Our first album was released 2012 on Crusher Records. We did a lot of gigs before Matteo decided to leave the band and was replaced by Olle, a great guy and musician. 

What process does the band take when writing songs?

Sometimes john has a finished song, from the beginning to the end, like Mad Dog. He came into rehearsal one day and said he a new tuners wanted to try. Then he played the whole thing and we loved it. Other song are more difficult to finish. One can sit for hours jamming without getting anywhere for weeks. In some ways we are all involved in the making of a new song. 

The average length of your songs is about three minutes. Was this a conscious idea to trim the fat so to speak, or did things just turn out this way?

In the beginning all our songs were like 2:50 minutes, I don't know why really. It just happened. Flashpoint is like 27 minutes! On Shake Electric the songs began to get a bit longer, without us trying to write longer songs on purpose. I think War of the world is over 4 minutes long! 

The new album, Shake Electric, shows the band has grown since the debut, Flash Point, without diverging from established sound. Are you happy with the way the band has developed in terms of song writing?

Well thank you! That's exactly what we aimed for. We've played a lot since Flashpoint. I think it's made us tighter, both as a band and as friends. On Flashpoint john had written most of the songs before we went in to the studio. With Shake Electric all members were more involved in the song writing. 

What’s next for Spiders? What do you expect from 2015?

We're going to Spain for a two week tour in December. We recently ended a three week tour in Europe with our friends Horisont and Vidunder. Hopefully we'll play a lot of festivals and also do a tour in the US!

What does it take for young musicians to make a living doing what they do? Do you all have day jobs?

It's a long way to the top if you wanna Rock'n'roll, haha! 
Well, we all have day jobs. It's very hard trying to make a living of just playing music. I think it takes a lot of struggling to get there. But that's not a main goal for us. We're glad to be able to tour as much as we do, and have a day job aside. 

What do you think of the modern music that makes the top 40 in America?

There's a lot of good music around, has been since someone first picked up a guitar. And it always will be. When, or what year, a song was written doesn't matter. Daft Punk is a good band and they're on the top 40 I think. 

It seems there are countless hard rock / metal bands coming out of Sweden. What is it about Sweden that produces so many great bands and what sets them apart from bands from other countries?

Some people say it's something in the water, Haha! No, but Sweden has a long history of giving birth to many great bands who has made a musical foot print in the rest of the world. We got a lot of brilliant bands from Sweden right now: Goat, Night Viper, Bombus, Graveyard, Imperial State Electric, The Vanjas, The Maharajas to name a few. It could have something to do with the darkness. Cause it's dark as a winters night for like 6 months a year. 

What would you like to achieve with Spiders in the long term?

Make a new record. Tour. Make another new record. Tour. And on it goes. Hopefully our touring has extended to other countries like the US, Japan and South America. 

I think we're just in the beginning of our history. The best is yet to come. 

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview and good luck for the future. Shake Electric is a great album and I look forward to hearing more from Spiders.

Thank you!