Interview — In Crimson Colors

Skratch Magazine

In Crimson Colors of Aalborg, Denmark has a sound that has been described as melodic hardcore punk by the punk rock elite. Dueling guitras is one elemnt that makes this group a ditinct one. The band formed in 2007 but its current line up of Rune (vocals), Mikkel (guitar), Heine (guitar), Mads W. (bass) and Mads L. (drums) has been togetehr since 2008. In Crimson Colors spoke with Skratch about what they hope to achieve and how they’re evolving.

Skratch: Describe your sound.

Heine: It's kind of a mixture between fast & melodic punk and a more hardcore sound. The vocals shift between clean singing and hardcore shouting which gives the music edge.

Skratch: How did you become interested in music?

Mads W.: Growing up listening to Guns n' Roses, Metallica and Gorky Park, we were four guys who started a band in fourth grade to become just like Axl, Duff and Slash.
Heine: I always wanted to play the guitar ever since I heard Roxette as a kid.

Skratch: What is your song writing process like?

Mads W.: Mikkel writes most of it, and then Heine, Mads L. and I contribute with additional riffs and help arrange the songs.

Skratch: What artists or musicians inspire you?

Mads W.: Mikkel is into Bad Religion and Rise Against. I'm mostly into metal, but if I had to name some bands I'd want us to sound like, it would be Comeback Kid and Evergreen Terrace.
Heine: On the whole, the bandmembers are inspired by really different acts, and we try to use this in our songwriting. Mikkel and Mads L. listen to punk, though they are into different bands. Mads W. and I are mostly into metal, even though we prefer different genres of metal as well. Rune is the hardcore guy in the band.

Skratch: Where do you take musical inspiration from? Your environment? People? Explain.

Heine: Life in general, I'd say.
Mads W.: We're all from middle class families and all getting educated, so we really don't have anything negative to write about. Our driving force is the joy of music and performing live shows.

Skratch: What is your musical background?

Heine: Mads W. and I used to play in a metal band called Spleen (www.myspace.com/nordicmetalcore), and Mikkel played guitar in another Aalborg-based punk act called Mighty Midgets. Mads L. played in Heading South (www.myspace.com/headingsouth).
Mads W.: I've played in various bands since fourth grade, always rock or metal. Rune did the vocals for a band called Metamedic some years ago.

Skratch: Tell us about how you got started as a band.

Mads W.: Mads L. and Mikkel knew each other from the punk scene and wanted to start a band which didn't sound like any other Danish punk bands. They put up a flyer in a local music shop in Aalborg which I saw at a time when I wanted to try playing something else than metal. At one point we realised that we needed a second guitar to achieve the sound we wanted, and as I already knew Heine from Spleen, this was easy settled. Throughout the first year, we had different lead singers before Rune joined the band in 2008.

Skratch: What is the most rewarding part of playing in a band?

Heine: Playing shows definitely.
Mads W.: Yeah, definitely! Making the crowd sing along to our songs is great.

Skratch: What challenges have you faced as musicians?

Mads W.: Because of the size of Denmark it is somewhat difficult to keep getting concerts new places, and playing in other countries is hindered by costs and complications regarding transport.
Heine: We've never had anything stolen and nobody's ever tried to screw us, so I wouldn't really say we've faced any serious challenges as a band concerning live shows.

Skratch: What would you say is your best song to date? Why?

Mads W.: I think I prefer 'The Kid', but we haven't recorded that one yet. It'll be on our next EP. I love the chorus in that song.
Heine: To me, that would be 'Epic'. Especially when we're playing it live. It has a lot of energy, a cool down-tempo part and we always make the crowd shout with us for this one.

Skratch: Do you remember the first album you ever brought? What was it?

Heine: I remember the first cd I bought, that was the album 'Helpyourselfish' by the Danish rock band D:A:D.
Mads W.: I don't remember the first cd I bought, but the first tape I got was Guns n' Roses' 'Use Your Illusion I'. That was my first original tape.

Skratch: Where do you see your band in five years?

Mads W.: If everybody manages to get jobs in the same area, we'll definitely still be playing. Hopefully we'll be able to get more concerts, especially abroad. Due to the style of music, we know that we'll never be big as such, but we hope that we'll be able to record a full-length one day.

Skratch: Would you say your goals as a band are long term, or short term? What do you ultimately hope to achieve? Explain.

Mads W.: Personally, I just want to play a lot of concerts. That's is my main driving force. I'd like to play on one of the larger punk or hardcore festivals in Europe.

Skratch: How has your band evolved since when you first formed?

Heine: We've gotten much tighter, obviously. But we've grown as a band as well, and the song writing process is still improving.
Mads W.: On the stage, we've definitely improved. We feel more at home onstage now than we did before, and also cooperation between the bandmembers is much better today. We have certain routines, but much still happens on impulse. And the crowd seems to like what we're doing.

Skratch: How often do you practice? What is your rehearsal time like?

Heine: Normally, twice a week, and more before a concert.
Mads W.: We share rehearsal room with our former bandmembers who play in the band '9000 John Doe' now. So a lot of our time is spent pulling pranks on those guys.

Skratch: What would you say is your band's motto? Explain.

Mads W.: Band motto? No, YOU explain!
Heine: What kind of band has a motto?

Skratch: What shows/album releases/plans do you currently have set up? Tell us about them.

Heine: Right now we're planing on recording a few songs, but we don't know how to release them. Maybe as an EP, maybe on some compilation. We might do both.
Mads W.: We have a few confirmed liveshows the next few months, but we are trying to put a tour together in February/March. We'll be doing some of the booking ourselves, and some of the booking will be done by our manager Carsten at Revolution Music Booking & Management (www.myspace.com/rmbookingmanagement). We are hoping to play most of Denmark and some abroad shows as well.

Skratch: Where have you performed? Tell us about the experience.

Mads W.: We've played a lot of venues all over Denmark and a couple of shows in Germany as well.
Heine: Mostly, people have been really kind. That's what's so good about the punk scene; everybody is helping everybody. Our last show was on an old German ship, MS Stubnitz, which travels around Europe and hosts all kinds of concerts, covering the entire musical spectrum.

Skratch: What sets your stage show apart from all the other bands making the rounds at venues?

Mads W.: For each show, we try to come up with something original and include new gimmicks.
Heine: Moreover, we want people to remember us because we really enjoy playing shows. I think people can tell that simply from our attitudes onstage.

Skratch: Anything else you think we should know about the band?

Mads W.: We're not vegans, we're not straightedge, we're not political, we really don't have any messages in our songs. It's all about the music to us. Even if you're just Average Joe's, you can still make awesome music.

For more on In Crimson Colors go to www.myspace.com/incrimsoncolors.

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