Nice days for P, C & C new team (V): Roxette's Have a Nice Day finally released

The sixth full-length studio album by Roxette, Have a nice day, has been released today in all Europe and it is supposed to be released next month in Asia and next June in Canada. So it will be released nearly worldwide (excluding the USA). The first single, Wish I could fly, published last January, has been one of the bestselling singles ever by Roxette. Anyone and Stars could be next singles.

Roxette has promoted the first single with some playback performances of Wish I could fly:

• 1999/02/06 Tivolis Koncertsal, Dansk Grammy 1999, Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1999/02/12 MTV3 Studios Pasila, Miss Finland 1999, Helsinki, Finland
• 1999/02/15 Kungliga Tennishallen, Grammisgalan 1999, Stockholm, Sweden
• 1999/02/20 Sporthalle, Bravo Supershow 1999, Cologne, Germany

In the CD we can read:

Special thanks to Brainpool for letting Christoffer Lundquist play with us. A super special thanks to: Clarence Öfwerman and Michael Ilbert who gave us their time and limitless homegrown talent.'

Clarence Öfwerman and Michael Ilbert feature as producers, mixers and programmers. Clarence also plays the piano and keyboards.

Christoffer Lundquist, from Brainpool, features as bass guitar and backing vocals.

This time, Christer Jansson (neither Mats Persson nor Jens Jansson) is the drummer and percussionist.

There are many songs with string arrangements, by Mats Holmquist and the SNYKO Orchestra.

Reading the booklet, we think the role of the new team (Per Gessle, Clarence Öfwerman and Christoffer Lundquist), that began to play together in The world according to Gessle, is improving.

Some songs are very influenced by the 60s sound from Brainpool and are a new chapter into the sound from Stupid, B-Anyone-You-Wanna-B and Wish you the best (all from TWATG album).

For example, in Anyone (one of the best songs from HAND), Clarence is the mixer, hammond organ and piano; Lundquist the bass guitar, backing vocals, six-string bass guitar, additional snare drums, zyther!!! and tambourines.

Perhaps You can't put your arms around what's already gone, with Per in leading vocals, could have been in the TWATG too.

Some fans say that in HAND the guitars have been crashed: Have a Nice Day is less guitar-based and more hi-tech. But the 60s Beatles air is also there if you forget the synthesizers.

LJdM

Nice days for P, C & C new team (IV): Clarence Öfwerman interviewed

Maria Gahm and Sofia Björk, from the Swedish newspaper Passagen, interviewed Clarence Öfwerman on 10th February. He talks about his life and about music.

Clarence Öfwerman was born 22th November 1959 in Malmö. Clarence's father was jazz musician and he grew up with jazz music (like Frank Zappa) but also listening to The Beatles amongst others. His father teached Clarence how to play piano since he was 7 years old, but it was her mother who educated him when his parents divorced. Clarence went to the local Music School and learned to play piano and guitar.

In the seventies, Öfwerman began playing in the band Andromeda (pop-folk fussion) and then in Uvertyr (synphonic rock). In Uvertyr Clarence played the piano and sang. Other members included: Bengt Lundberg (guitar and vocals), Mats Reiniusson (bass), Mats Ström (vocals) and Hans Alsing (drums). Clarence met Hans' brother, Pelle Alsing, drummer in Dan Hylander's group, Raj Montana Band. Between 1979 and 1984 Clarence played keyboards in Raj Montana Band.

In 1985 Clarence began playing in Passagerarna with Mats "Myrdal" Persson, Micke Jahn, Pelle Alsing and Tommy Cassemar. He also played in tour and in studios with Ulf Lundell, Ratata and Hansson de Wolfe united. In 1986, thanks to Kjell Andersson from EMI, Clarence (keyboards and producer), Tommy Cassemar (bass), Anne-Lie Rydé (backing vocals, from Raj Montana Band), Jonas Isacsson (guitars) and Pelle Alsing (drums) began playing with Roxette. Mats Myrdal would join them in some tours. Passagerarna also recorded in 1988 the song "Never say goodbye", composed by Clarence and Per Gessle.

Clarence says that his preferences are obviously now his wife and his one-year-old daughter. He is listening to music ... and child's shoes (he laughs). Clarence's interests include music, travel and good food (Italian, Japanese, ...).

LJdM

Helena Josefsson is a bandstarter too (V): ewing.1 - First gig in Lund

According to its web, ewing.1 , the new band from Lund, Sweden, has had in January its first gig.

This January 1999, we have got our first gig at the Palladium in Lund, Sweden, beloved hometown. We had then played together as a real band for approximately a month. This, our first gig, has drawn quite a crowd, and has been also a big success. We feel we are ready to record our first demotape.

Remember that ewing.1 are:

• Magnus Tingsek (from Sideshow Bob) - vocals, acoustic guitars, pedal steel.
• Helena Josefsson (from Plastic Soul) - vocals, tambourine
• Mårten Dahl (from The Pang) - bass guitar, harmony vocals
• Johan Svensson - drums
• Jens Hellgren (from Sideshow Bob) - electric guitar

LJdM

Nice days for P, C & C new team (III): Brainpool is here

According to The Daily Roxette, Brainpool has recently released their new single, “You Are Here”, on the Internet.

The new track is sung by Brainpool’s guitarist David Birde. Janne Kask, band’s former lead singer, left the band in the August 1997. He has just got his own solo album to the shops.

When Janne Kask left the band, the other band members were looking for a new lead singer for a while, but they soon gave up.

The band not only decided to stay together after Kask left, but they decided to change their style and their music. The new Brainpool is formed by Christoffer Lundquist (guitars), Jens Jansson (drums) and David Birde (vocals).

Brainpool was found by Per’s record company Jimmy Fun Music in the early 90’s. Brainpool’s bass guitar player Christoffer Lundquist plays also on Roxette’s new album.

LJdM

It didn't take long for us to realize that it would be impossible to let another person join. It would have to be the three of us, or split up. At first we thought about changing our name, but that turned out to be difficult - Sony Music had already paid for the recording of You Are Here and they wanted us to keep the name. We had to choose between ditching the recordings and lose our record deal or go on calling ourselves Brainpool. We cowardly chose the latter.

We have realized our audience is getting younger. We are 26, we were smelly and unshaven and drunk. There were 11 and 12 year old fans who wanted a hug, we have just thought it was so wrong, that's when we realized we had to do something else. It is time for our music to reach the level of maturity that we are at.

David Birde - Junk Musik