Sofia Metal Chick Presents - A fika with... scar symmetry's lars palmqvist - Engsub

Sofia: I'm sitting here in the living room of Lars Palmqvist, one of the singers in Scar Symmetry. Lars: That is correct Sofia: And I've brought some cinnamon buns so we can have a fika. Lars: Look how delicious! Sofia: Yes, and I can see that you've already started on yours. Lars: I thought they looked so good so I had to start eating them. I did it while you were adjusting your camera. Sofia: And I have a confession to make. I forgot my home-made cinnamon buns at home. So these ones are from Pressbyrån. Lars: I saw when you were making them in your.. what's it called? Sofia: Teaser Lars: Yeah, teaser. And thought to myself: 'I want those buns'. Sofia: They next time Scar Symmetry will play in Sweden, I'll come to the show and bring some buns with me. Lars: Do you promise that? Because these ones are a bit dry. You should always use more butter when making buns. Sofia: I agree. Lars: Double amount of butter, both in sauces and buns. And then it's good. Sofia: But we're not here to discuss baking... Lars: Can I start eating on your bun? Sofia: Yes. We can share. Sofia: I'm just gonna take a bite first. Sofia: As you said, a bit dry. Sofia: But now I have said in front of the camera that I will treat you with home-made buns soon. Lars: These only get 3 out of 5 in grade. You have to beat that. Sofia: I'll beat that. Sofia: But once again, we're here to discuss something different, mainly your musical path and how you entered Scar Symmetry. Sofia: First of all... What did you do before you and Robban replaced Älvestam in 2008? Lars: I mostly played in local bands. I'm born and raised in Finnspång and there we had something called Rockbageriet. Finspång music association. A big house with many rehearsal spaces. It was very good to have that place. Because you were a group of friends that played in bands together. And we also had a stage on the bottom floor. So there was a lot of gigs. Gigs with bands who rehearsed in that house. And we also were smoking cigarettes, drank punk beer, played rock. And we were basically there everyday. Just like a community youth center. I played drums in the beginning And played in several bands. There was actually some kind of *** going on, going from one band to the other. Sofia: That's usually the case in smaller cities. Sofia: But how did you get into singing? Lars: I started singing with a band called Black Hornest. I think it was around 1990 I had only been in choirs before. And back then we entered a lot of music competitions. There still some competitions today. What's the name of the biggest one? Uhm. Never mind. But there was lots of music competitions. Sofia: And did you do well? Lars: Sometimes actually. I remember this one time when we celebrated by jumping into a fountain. We had made it into a quarter final or something. So we stopped the car and everybody ran out and jumped into the fountain to celebrate. Sofia: Yeah, no wrong in celebrating like that. Sofia: In general, was the metal scene big in Finspång when you grew up? Was it a natural step for you to get into that music genre? Lars: Yeah it was. From the beginning I listened to a lot to heavy rock/metal. Mostly Kiss. And... But many bands played rock back then. The 80's was an era of "poodle hairdos" and Europe influenced men. And eyeliner and hairspray. There was a lot of that going on when I played back then. So it was quite clear for me to start playing rock. At least for me. There wasn't that many who were into keyboards. Those who did got smacked. Sofia: So it was rockers versus keyboardists? At least in some parts in Sweden. I know I read about it, in magazines such as Okej. That it was wrong to like keyboardists. But I remember my cousin. He was a keyboardist. And I thought it was quite exciting when he had a keyboard. It sounded pretty cool But I was like 'What are you up to, cousin?' 'Why do you listen to that?' Sofia: It was important to have a cool image. Lars: I had a "keyboard pony tail" actually. Or no I didn't. Sofia: Let's not think about that. So besides Kiss, was there any Swedish bands that influenced you when you were younger? Lars: Well, it was Europe. I got the chance to meet Ian Haugland actually, when I went to see Pink Floyd/Roger Waters. And then we went on the same plane as Joey Tempest. That was two weeks before that, Sofia: I saw the picture you posted in Instagram. Lars: Weren't we pretty? Sofia: Sure. Sofia: I can imagine it was nice meeting him. Lars: Yeah. It was. I said to Joey, while he was on the plane: "Thank you for all the music that you've done". I speak with Östgötska dialect, which you can hear. It's very pretty. Not. And he answered me in English. So he probably didn't hear what I said. But anyways, it was Europe for me. At least among Swedish bands. That influenced me, or I listened to at least. Sofia: What bands do you listen to today? Lars: It's still 80's bands. I still listen to Iron Maiden. And Kiss and Queensrÿche. And Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake and all those bands. I still listen to them. Even if some of those bands don't perform that well today. I still go back and listen to what they did. Not to relive the 80's. But it's still good music. And when you see these bands play, they still sell tickets and people think that they are good. But I listen to new music also. Via Spotify for instance. But not in that exciting way as in the old days, when you played a vinyl until it was on fire. Sofia: No, it's not really the same way nowadays. It isn't that exciting anymore. You didn't have a cellphone back then. Or a computer. Music was spread in other ways. You really listened to the music and thought the albums had cool covers. Like Dee Snyder. And W.A.S.P. ***, those bands were good! Sofia: They're not legends for nothing. Sofia: Do you ever listen to any modern metal bands every now and then? Lars: I guess so. We've played a lot with those kinds of bands. Like Behemoth. And Devildriver. We toured with them for four weeks in Europe. And Behemoth is a very good band. You've met him. Nergal. Sofia: Exactly. I interviewed him at Getaway this summer. He was a very nice guy. And very intelligent. Lars: Very smart. Sofia: Yeah. You could tell. Lars: We noticed that as well. They were very serious. They also did yoga and worked out. Sofia: Well, I've seen on your Instagram that you try to work out while on tour. Lars: Yeah. We always try to do that. Or that's what we say before. I try to exercise. Sofia: I guess the touring lifestyle, in general, involves lots of fast food and such? Lars: We've actually said that we're not gonna drink beer before a gig. You can have a beer for lunch. There's a lot of bands that drink too much. That works. Or perhaps not in the long run. Not if you wanna run as well. Sofia: Exactly. You have to prioritize. Running puts a stop to my beer consumption. Sofia: Now to something completely different. How come you ended up in Scar Symmetry? Lars: It was Robban, the other singer. He called me and said 'I have something big going on and that I want you to be a part of'. 'What is it?', I asked. 'I don't wanna talk about it on the phone', he said. 'Okay. Is it about music?'. 'Or are you going to space?' 'No it's about music. So I want to meet you tomorrow.' So the we met up for a fika. Just like we're doing now. Look, I'm almost finished with my bun! Sofia: You can start eating on mine. I'm generous. I can share. Lars: Very good. And then we met... (chews on the dry bun while sipping coffee) I'll let you finish chewing. Lars: Then we met up in town. And he said that there was a band called Scar Symmetry. I had never heard of them before. Besides knowing some of the band members, whom I had played with before. I hadn't really heard any of their songs. But I said 'Oh, they seem pretty good.' And he said 'Yeah, and we'd like you to join. I can take the growl part, but I can't really do the clean vocals.' 'Would you like to do that?' I went home and checked them out on Youtube. And noticed that they were very good. And I thought that I should at least try. And that's kind of how it went. I went to see them and sang two songs. At Per's parents' place. The guitarist. And we partied a little in the evening. It was nice to hang out. The chemistry seemed to work. And I remember I said to Robban: 'I haven't been singing in many bands and I haven't really toured.' 'This feels new to me' I was a bit negative. But he said to me: 'Do the American way and say that you're good at everything and they'll let to join.' I responded: 'No I can't do that' 'Don't be like that', he said. Sofia: Don't be typical Swedish. Lars: Exactly. But I was typical Swedish. But they liked me anyways. Sofia: Obviously. Your first show with Scar Symmetry was in Spain. Lars: Tarragona Sofia: That makes me think of chocolate. Aren't there a Tarragona chocolate? If I'm not mistaking. Okay. So let's not think of chocolate. Can you go back in time and think about that first show, and feel what you felt when performing? Lars: it was very big for me. It was a big step because I had never performed abroad before. And that was the biggest thing happening while we were there. We entered in the Holographic Universe period. When Christian Älvestam had quit. And we were supposed to portray his songs, which we hadn't sung live before. So both of us were nervous. The others were nervous too of course. How people would react. How we would do. It was a bit chaotic. But... we started with the title track "Holographic Universe" And it went well. Sofia: Did you feel that you were in the right place at the right time? Thinking 'this is what I want to do?' Lars: Yeah. But of course. You read a lot at home, what other people are commenting on. Some writing about the original singer and such. But we've managed to do this well. Even overlapping each other when singing. And develop as a band. But it didn't work out between Christian and the others, the chemistry and all that. Which is why the band couldn't continue. So without me and Robban there wouldn't have been anything. Sofia: Yeah. Who knows what could have happened otherwise? But the chemistry between you guys are good at the moment? Lars: The boys are very sweet. (in a heavy Östgötska dialect) They're from the Dalarna county and we're from Östergötland county. And we can't understand each other (laughs). Sofia: So there's lack of communication? Lars: They talk like this (in a high pitched voice) Or no they don't. I can't really copy them. Lars: Aren't you from Dalarna? Sofia: No, I'm from Värmland. But our dialect is kind of similar to Östgötska. So I've been told. Lars: Yeah, maybe it does. Sofia: It's beautiful. (in a heavy Värmländska dialect) Lars: Beautiful (copying Sofia) Sofia: Beautiful (exaggerating dialect) Sofia: But besides being in Scar Symmetry, you have a regular job. Like regular mortals. Driving trucks. Lars: Yeah. Moving company. Sofia: Yeah. Moving company. Lars: I carry stuff all day, which is good for my gym work outs. Sofia: Yeah, good for you physique. Sofia: Do you ever feel that you would like to live off of Scar Symmetry and tour Or do you feel it's good to have both of your feet on the ground with a normal working class job? Lars: Of course I'd like to make a living off the music. But at the same time have something on the side. I don't know what I would do then. Collect stamps? Or collect old phones. (Points at a shelf with old phones. Yes, Lars is in fact a collector) Sofia: Perhaps listen to Kiss all day long? Lars: I didn't really explain before how much they meant to me. They started everything. Sofia: So it's them we can thank for you being here today? Lars: Yes. I read a lot of Okej magazines and such And in the middle of, I was born '75. And when I was 10 years old the first record I bought was No, I mean 7 years old. Was Creatures of the night. That was the best deal I've ever done. Sofia: And your dad was into jazz and played a lot of that type of music in your house hold. Lucky for us you got into the rock scene through Kiss. Otherwise you could have had a completely different reality today. He was a music teacher , well he's still alive but retired now. He played a lot of those instruments. Instruments that weren't that tough when I was little. Like saxophone, flute and piano. Sofia: but perhaps you inherited some of his musicality? Lars: Yes. But I started to play drums. I guess it was to be able to play with him. Not rock. I'm not going to say what we played. PUNK (screams) Sofia: Let's put that aside. It's only rock and metal for us now. Sofia: Besides working in Jönköping (Freudian slip. Read: Norrköping instead) How does the music scene look like in Norrköping today? Are there a lot of local gigs? Lars: Yeah there's a lot of that. There's a rock association here as well that arranges lots of gigs. And then there's Olof Wikström from Skrikhult Production. He's put together a lot of gigs too. And then we have Bråvalla festival here. Sweden's biggest festival. Was there 65 000 people there? Sofia: I don't really remember either. Sofia: But the line up was great. And there was a mix of band from different genres. Both house and metal. Lars: Avicii and Green day and.. Rammstein Sofia: And unfortunately both of us missed it. But there's always next year. Next year we'll be there. Sofia: Exactly. As you mentioned before, it's a big privilege to be able to perform all around the world. Another privilege is being treated with cinnamon buns by journalists. Lars: indeed. Let's do this every Saturday. Sofia: That sounds like a good idea. Lars: But with your buns. I'll dive into this one more. Sofia: I've got a fika related question for you. Which musician would you like to have a fika with? Dead or alive. Swedish or international. Who would that be and why? One person that has influenced me as a singer, there are a lot of them, but.... It's Ronnie James Dio. It would be nice to have a fika with him. He seemed like a nice guy. Sofia: He seemed very sympathetic and charming Lars: I don't know what we would talk about. But he's been through a lot, with Rainbow and other constellations. We would probably talk about his musical path. Sofia:It sure sounds like a nice fika moment. Wouldn't you be jealous if I had a fika with him? Sofia: I'd join you, you know. But hypothetically... You're sitting here in the couch, together with Ronnie James Dio. What rock or metal album would be the ultimate fika soundtrack? The whole shebang: coffee, cinnamon buns. We would probably listen to one of his records. I'd ask him to explain. I really like Rainbow's Rising. And there's keyboard on it. Sofia: For Rainbow it's okay to have keyboard. But I would like to talk about his memories. They were there. In the beginning. How it influenced him. And what he did for me. I guess he got to hear that all the time. sofia: Don't you think he would be tired of hearing his own records? If you had to pick another album? Then it would probably be Operation mindcraft with Queensrÿche. It's one of the best records ever. it has everything. Sofia: That was not general at all. Geoff Tate is a singing influence as well. Unfortunately not anymore. i don't know what they're up to now. He's lef t the band so I guess they have another singer. But that record... We should definitely listen to. It might be a bit hard to grasp in the beginning. Sofia: You'll have to listen to it a couple of times. Sofia: And now we've talked a lot about your music history and soon the last bun will be gone. We'll finish it after turning off the camera. There wasn't any lunch today. Only 'kanelbulle' But that's not wrong to have for lunch. But thank you for having me. Here in Norrköping. This was a nice fika. Lars: Do you want me to finish with a song perhaps? Sofia: Absolutely. An exclusive acoustic set. What are we playing? Or you? I'll sit here and eat meanwhile. Sofia: I wish I had a lighter. Lars: Scorpions. Nice band. That was a nice finish to our fika. Cheers! Lars: Take care. And you (to listeners): Take care of each other. Sofia: Eat a lot of cinnamon buns with lots of butter. Lars: And be careful of the earth. Because more rockers will be born on it. Sofia: Exactly. Sofia: Nicely put. Subtitles by the Amara.org community