November 22, 2011

Band Of The Month - The Slide


"The Slide deliver the raw rock 'n' roll thrills of classic AC/DC with the groove of vintage Black Crowes. The best new rockband in the world? - Believe it." That's how Paul Elliott of Classic Rock Magazine describes The Slide - a band originally from Sweden but now based in London with a new EP called "A Matter Of Mind" coming out in January, here's their interview!


Describe The Slide's sound in one sentence?
Gritty rock n roll with great melodies over great riffs - The key to it all.

When and where was The Slide formed?
It goes way back. The Slide were founded in 2006, in a small room in Sweden. Through the years we've had members in and out of the band. It was me and the singer at the time, followed by another guitarist, Freddie, who together shared a vision of creating something that's been lacking for years - the best new rock band in the world. We constantly hung out, making new songs for our new band. At the time we were called Royalties, but since somebody else already had taken that name we changed it. In the midst of finding a new name we met Roger, who has been our manager for quite some time now. Meanwhile, setting up future plans, our singer suddenly quit. So I took his place in front and I'm greatful that it happened, because we wouldn't have made it this far without these changes. We've had this constellation for about four years now, so watch out!

Name three people who have influenced your music, and tell us why. Living or dead.
There are too many... The three touchstones in rock n' roll are Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. They had a huge influence on us with their charismatic & energetic music. When I was younger I was obsessed with Jimi, and  completely amazed by his guitar playing and stage presence. Frantically, I was watching all the documentaries, clips and CDs I could find, and just grabbed my guitar trying to master his songs. I knew I had the skills, but to play like him would take forever to learn. It's the same with Robert Johnson. He had a remarkable way of playing, a way no one could master. Even Clapton says he couldn't! I guess that's what makes it so appealing, the dirty, not perfecty-timed picking & sliding. I think that is what makes rock n' roll so attractive for us as a band as well. The small mistakes & errors that doesn't necessarily sound wrong, but still aren't perfect, are the key to our sound.


How do you connect with fans and get them involved in your music?
We try to involve our fans in everything we do. Updates through Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and other social media are perfect ways for us to share things with them. It's not like we spam our fans with everyday updates. They are in it for the music and that is where we put our energy and focus.

What do you like the most about Jango Airplay?
As a new band like us, you get the exposure you need. If we want to be assimilated with classic bands like The Stones, Aerosmith, Zeppelin and so on, people can easily find us only by listening to them.

Is there any recent project you'd like to share with us? Tell us about it.
There are great things ahead which I can't really speak of right now, but we made an acoustic EP recently and we're planning on releasing it soon. Stick around and have a listen!!

Are you guys playing live and do you have any show coming up soon?
We are playing live all the time and at our latest gig we were supporting Nazareth, which was extremely cool. We are probably having a few more gigs before the end of the year, but we're aiming for a tour in England next year, since we're releasing our debut EP in January. It will be available here on Jango, Spotify, Itunes, Amazon etc. And of course on regular CDs!!


Talk about The Slide:
http://swedishmusiclondon.com/?p=225
http://www.metaltalk.net/columns/20100940.php

Connect with the Slide:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Slide/115818971775210
http://www.jango.com/music/The+Slide+LONDON
http://twitter.com/#!/theslidesweden