I first heard these guys when I was in high school. I was at the local library and saw an album sitting there and was simply intrigued by the album cover itself. So I grabbed it and was immediately impressed. And I never thought about them again until I saw a poster hanging on the wall on one of my favorite TV shows, Drake and Josh, on Nickelodeon. So, when I saw that, and the writing that I had to email them to set up this interview. So hang out with me today as I am excited to introduce to you Millencolin.
Where did you come up with that name?
We wanted something connected to the skating since some of us were skaters and found out about this type of music through skatevids and stuff, so from the word melancholy which is also a skateboardtrick (aka ollie sad air) we changed the spelling to Millencolin so it’s just the name of our band.
Where are you all originally from?
We’re all from Örebro, Sweden originally but Nikola lives in Gotheburg since 10 years back.
Where did you all meet?
Some of us were friends before the band and then we all met at local punkshows and skatespots around Örebro.
Is it still the original line up?
Yeah, it’s been the same dudes all along.
How many albums do you guys have?
We put out 7 albums, a compilation of rare songs and hard-to-get songs and a bunch of ep’s/cd’s/mcd’s.
Who does all the song writing?
Now days Nikola (vocals and bass) and Mathias (guitar) do all the songwriting pretty much and then we meet up and rehearse before recording or live shows and stuff.
Where do you get inspiration for a new track?
Everyday life, good and bad things we see and hear, relations, good music and stuff like that you know. And sometimes it’s just there, really natural.
Who is there a ringleader of the band?
We all have our things we take care of in our band, it’s always been like that and it’s very important for us to feel that we have total control of our band. There’s no “bandleader” or anything like that (laughs).
Where do you guys practice?
We have an awesome studio in Örebro that we own called Soundlab Studios and that’s also where we rehearse and record. It’s also possible for other bands to rent the studio and record there, it’s a great studio and lots of bands have recorded great albums there.
Do you guys have jobs outside of music?
No, we’ve worked really hard and been lucky to be able to do this for a living since 1995. We love this band and are very very happy that we’ve been able to do this for a living for so long.
When did you know you wanted to pursue this full time?
It came pretty naturally. We got to a point where it was impossible to keep a job and also be touring as much as we’ve done. I guess we understood back in 1994-1995 that if we work our asses off we can build up something cool and maybe do this and still be able to pay our rent and bills back home.
Describe your genre in one word.
Energetic.
What is your favorite venue to play?
It can basically be anywhere as long as there’s a good stage not to far from the crowd with decent gear and good sound. We have a very cool crowd and that reflects on us.
What is the largest crowd that you have played for?
We’ve played festival shows in front of 80,000 people and our own clubshows in front 7,000.
The smallest?
4 people (another Örebro band) in Hässleholm, Sweden 1993 I think.
Do you guys ever make it to the States to play?
You we’ve done 15-20 tours over there including Warped Tour 3 times.
Any thoughts on a tour this year?
After the summer we’re gonna take it a little easy and then start to think about next album and then when that one’s out we’re coming over there for sure.
What do you think about MySpace?
It’s a great way to let people hear some of your tunes very easy and a great way to get your news out and communicate with your listeners. I’ve discovered tons of good bands there.
Are you on Twitter?
Yes we’re kind of new to it but yes we’re on Twitter.
You guys have a very energetic sound. Does that carry over to the stage?
I’m pretty sure it does, it seems like it when you see the crowd go nuts (laughs).
If you could live anywhere in the world other than where you are now where would you go?
I guess I could try living somewhere like San Diego or nearby or maybe Australia or Japan.
Tell me about Machine 15.
Machine 15 is our latest full length release. We recorded it in our own studio and we managed to get a great sounding album together with producer Lou Giordano. There are some cool rocking tunes there as well as some “poppier punksongs”, a good mix. The name came up from the idea of us as a solid “machine” that at that point had been around for 15 years and it’s 15 tracks on the album.
Did you know that you had a poster hanging on Drake and Josh’s wall on the hit TV show from Nickelodeon?
No didn’t know that (laughs).
If you could tour with any band out there right now whom would you pick?
We’ve played with pretty much all the bands we looked up to when we started the band, like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Descendents, etc. but I guess it would be cool to play some shows with Rancid for example, they’re a great band and we haven’t played any shows together.
What should someone expect to see when they come see you for the first time?
You should expect an energetic rockin set with a mix of tunes off all our albums and people going nuts in the pit!
What are you drinking on stage?
2 bottles of water and 3 beers usually.
Where do you see yourselves in five years?
No idea. We’ve gotten that question since way back in the 90’s hahaha and it’s always hard to answer that. We’re all having a great time still and I think we have lots more to give so probably a new awesome album!
What do you want to be remembered for when this is all said and done?
A bunch of Örebro guys who made great tunes that meant something good to people, gave some cool memories and good times!
I always let the artist get the last word. Go.
Thanks for doing this interview! Thanks to everybody who’s supporting us! Cheers!
