Biography
| From the dictionary: Bomb-happy Used by soldiers in First World War and World War II expressing “dazed or frazzled from stress.” |
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This is the full monty on the
history of the T to the B-H:
October 1995. Karlstad, somewhere near the middle of Sweden
Subject: The Reformation
After recording a kick-arse demo titled ‘They Say He Looks Like Alex James’, and a mere month before the start of a D-I-Y tour of Sweden, local pop heroes, Toad, are rocked by the sudden departure of two members. Undeterred, fearless survivors Joel Bergqvist and Johan Nordlind head for Karlstad’;s semi-legendary House of Java café, (famous for its ability to provide a consistent flow of caffeine and other beverages to those in need), to ponder the situation with the help what can only be described as 80-proof rocket fuel.
In the midst of contemplation, cue entry of three new contenders. First up: Sweden’s best, (at the time), 17-year-old javelin thrower and ex-guitarist for the sadly missed Kanine, Jonas Ohlson. Hot on his heels came fellow rocket-fuel connoisseur, part-time left-wing activist and full-time guitarist, Stefan Gustafson. Last, but definitely by no means least, king of guitar licks and the ladies favourite, Tomas Eriksson.
All for one and one for all?
Bound together by a common love of indie tunes, girls and a penchant for leaving a trail of empty bottles, the 5 young men now known as The Bombhappies, hit the road introducing Sweden to their fresh, new sound via the stage - performing live shows and picking up enthusiastic new fans along the way.
May 1997 and tBh record a new 4 track demo, “Oh, This Is Like a Game”, which is given the ‘Best Demo of the Winter’ accolade by Sweden’s most influential music magazine at the time, Sound Affects, (January 1998).
A punishing schedule of heavy touring and even heavier drinking strains the newly created friendships to breaking point. End result: The Bombhappies become three following Stefan’s leaving for the seemingly greener pastures of goth-rock band Bay Laurel and to work on his sideline project, Candied Illusion, and Tomas’ departure into the wild blue yonder. The exodus leaves a trail of frustration and destruction in its wake.
As luck would have it, all is not lost and providence delivers in the form of half-Danish guitar hero Linus Jansson Vive, following his stints with The Bricks, The Chants, Kanine and The Poodle Fakers.
Before anyone realises what’s happened, it’s July ‘98 and tBh find themselves included on compilation album, ‘Karlstad Volume 1′, alongside Moa, Candied Illusion, Elope and Impression - and lined up to perform at the album release gig.
Scene: Karlstad Volume 1 compilation album release gig
The good news is that for once, record label A&Rs actually turn up like they said they would! The bad news is that unfortunately, what they see is a band that obviously hates each other so much right now. Ego conflicts, girl troubles and 99 other assorted problems result in 4 miserable young men standing on the pavement post-gig, making the decision to call it a day. The boys go their separate ways.
Light my way
Joel heads for the bright lights of the big city and winds up in Stockholm to start a mobile technology company with a different bunch of pals. Johan joins student revelries in Uppsala, Linus opts for student life in Stockholm and Jonas is back on the hallowed ground that is the House of Java in Karlstad. Geography, open wounds and diverse interests separate the fantastic four.
December ‘99 and the tide is turning. Jonas moves to Uppsala and throws the mother of all house parties, reuniting The Bombhappies where they happily reminisce about the good ‘ole days over an excess of good whiskey and medium strength beer. Older and ever so slightly wiser, the realisation of what they left behind kick starts The Reformation.
New millennium, new horizons…
With the 21st century underway, tBh return to the studio - this time in Stockholm - and set about reviving their old style with a few new twists. A vibrant, new sound reaches its climax in blistering performances at sold out gigs at ‘Santa Monica’, Uppsala and ‘Alcazar’ in Stockholm. Result: feature interviews, club guide highlights in Stockholm’s entertainment bible, DN På Stan and lots of interest from a variety of different record labels, which typically turned out to be all talk and no action.
With the 20th century now a memory, tBh continue on their merry way playing guerrilla gigs at Sweden’s Hultsfred festival. The first sees the band storming the SAMI stage and the second is held backstage in the middle of the night where confusion, whiskey and the midnight sun reign supreme.
With the end of the summer, The Bombhappies get back to nature and head for the countryside wilderness of Enköping, spending two weeks locked away in the forest under a shroud of mystery, recording an 8 track demo with producers Local Beat Dealers.
A lack of readily flowing cash ensures the demo is not finished in this particular session.
Are we there yet?
2002 and tBh hook up with producer Calle Ohlson, renowned for his work with The Bear Quartet, Paper and Blissful. Stockholm’s Gröndahl Studios hosts The Bombhappies in their quest to continue recording the 8-track demo “Say It/Don’t Say It”. A month later and the demo is finally complete and the plan is for the band to release it themselves on their own label, Gården Recordings. However, combination of pure bad luck and a total absence of finance work together to ensure that it doesn’t happen…again.
Joel then makes the decision to move to London with his girlfriend and joins the demo-recording and gig circuit once again, as guitarist for UK pop band, Fifty Views.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the North Sea, the rest of the band keep the spirit of tBh alive, continuing to rehearse and calling Joel to make him return to the fold. The strategy works - Joel realises what’s important and he and his beloved return to Stockholm. He is welcomed back and the Bombhappies stand united once again. “Say It/Don’t Say It” is released to the resonating sound of a collective sigh of relief.
A new hope
2004 and things are looking good after more rehearsals, gigs and yet more rehearsals. The band makes an executive decision and takes on a fifth member to complete the circle. Introducing childhood friend and heaven-sent bassist, Andreas Westling, (also in the band Commando). Andreas takes ownership of the four string while Linus retrieves his Gibson Les Paul from the back of the wardrobe and rips guitar solos once again. The Bombhappies sound tighter and better than ever and things are really starting to kick off.
The year of the podcast
2005 kicks off with a bang!! Stockholm’s Garaget Studio plays host to The Bombhappies and producers Daniel Tankred and Michael Nordström. Result: the four track EP “25 Years” is released and the band go into an intense round of gigs. The Stockholm audiences are not slow in realising that something big is happening with the arrival of Andreas…
…and they are also not alone…
Ex-MTV VJ, Adam Curry, figures out a crazy little thing called podcasting and The Bombhappies - known for their Internet excellence - hook up with the podcasting community at music.podshow.com.
The whole “25 Years” repertoire is podcasted, broadcasted and shared all over the world and The Bombhappies find themselves with a rapidly growing US fan base, including US-based indie label Lost Cat Records. Lost Cat finds The Bombhappies, introduces them to the iTunes Music Store, as well as Yahoo Music and the word continues to spread.
Writing, rehearshing and recording…
The idea of “the perfect album” strikes The Bombhappies like a crush strikes a teenager. 2006 is dedicated to writing, rehearshing and recording new material. Only a few gigs are booked (the band selects only the best ones) and focus is set on production of a new album. In late 2006, the band finally gets money enough to book Cobra Studios for a two week session with producer Konie. A 13-track album is recorded in late November.
2007
Making an album, starting a recording company to publish the album (for real this time) and other things like having babies, takes a lot of time from the band members, but in October 2007, the 13-track The Bombhappies album is ready from the presses. A release date is set. 26th of October 2007!
2008
Is just at it’s start, so let’s see how this story continues.