Interview with Jerry Sahlin of A.C.T

{Interesting interview… A lot of cat and mouse is played here in terms of names and meanings. He relishes the fact that his conceptual material causes others to think, and like a good professor, he wants to make his students work rather than give away the answers. By definition, these guys satisfy that aspect of progressive rock to a tee.}

JT: Hello.

Hello Josh.

JT: Hi there.

This is Jerry from A.C.T.

JT: Oh, hi Jerry. How’s it going?

I’m fine. Are you?

JT: I’m doing pretty well. I actually have a lot of questions here and I want to keep you on schedule. So, I should probably get started right away.

Yeah, do that.

JT: I really enjoy your music, and I just want to find out if there are opportunities in the near future to see you guys in concert?

Oh, I hope so. I mean, it would be a dream for us to come to The States man. It would be cool. {He laughs.} So, hopefully. We’ll see how the album will go over there. Some people say, we’ve talked to a lot of people from America and they say, I think it will do pretty good over here. What do you think, Josh?

JT: I definitely think so.

You think so?

JT: Yeah.

Let’s hope so. {He laughs.}

JT: You know; I also heard that you recently did a tour with Saga and Fish. How did that go?

Aw, it went great. I mean, Saga is one of my old heroes. That’s actually why I started playing, to form a band. When I heard the song, “Careful Where You Step”, with Saga, it just blew me away. It was really, really cool to meet these guys and be out with them on the road for six or seven weeks. And, Fish, I don’t know so much about Fish. The only thing I’ve ever heard, I heard a few Marillion albums, but he was a very cool guy. We enjoyed it very much.

JT: I also read that your band was voted the best band at the Swedish Music Festival. I’m wondering two things: how did you get involved in that event, and also what’s your take on this honor that’s been bestowed upon you?

Do you mean the competition?

JT: Yeah, I was reading about the Swedish Music Festival?

Okay, Sweden Rock. Yeah, I don’t know. I think they liked us. {He laughs.} We kicked some ass over there. {We both laugh now.} No, it was cool. It was real cool. I was very surprised actually when I read the magazine, you know, voted us best band, better than Dream Theater and all those bigger bands.

JT: That’s a big deal.

Yeah.

JT: Okay, now you’ve been pretty elusive about this, and actually in recent press material it says that there is no discernable meaning. Can you tell me what the name of the band, A.C.T, actually means?

Uh, well, A.C.T means, ahem, {he coughs} oh, I’m sorry, I won’t say it again.

JT: You what?

{He coughs.} No, I can’t say. I can’t say. It’s a secret.

JT: Oh, it is a secret?

Yeah.

JT: Is anybody going to find out ever?

Yeah, sure, sure. There are a lot of fans who are trying to reveal the secret and we say, we have always said, that if somebody can make it out.

JT: Figures it out?

Yeah, then we will say you got it.

JT: Is it real complex? Will everyone have an epiphany like, oh, that’s what it means, you know, as soon as you tell them?

It’s a little bit intellectual, because we’ve got intellectual guys in this band, {he laughs} but it’s pretty cool.

JT: {I’m still trying.} Is there any clue? Can you give someone a clue?

Well, the clues are actually in the booklets.

JT: Oh, they are?

You are going to have to look it up.

JT: Okay. {I finally appear to be conceding or am I?} How come the trailing period is missing? Is that something that you can reveal?

No, sorry. {We both laugh as this line of questioning has gotten absolutely ridiculous.}

JT: Okay, okay. I won’t bother you about that any more… Also, this new album Silence. Absolutely unbelievable. I’m been trying to figure that out as well. There seems to be a lot of hidden meanings in there. Is it a conceptual album, um, what does the name Silence mean?

What it means?

JT: Yeah.

Well, it’s actually two parts. It’s like an A-side and a B-side. The first side is single songs. They have nothing to do with each other.

JT: Okay.

On the second side, you know, the whole “Silent Screams”, “The Consequences”, “The Long One”, that’s got three stories, but everything is based on consequences, you know. When you do something, you have to face the consequences. And, there’s three stories in it. The first one is “The Millionaire” and it’s about a guy who wins the lottery and how it completely changes his life.

JT: Aha.

The second story is the Joanna story. It’s about a girl who really wants to have a kid, but she got run over by a drunk driver.

JT: Oh, wow.

Then there is the story from the drunk driver, his side of the story. You know, everybody’s got a story to tell and the Joanna story and Joanna’s boyfriend. So, it’s three songs there.

JT: Hmm.

Then the last part of it is about a little girl who writes a diary and in the diary, you know, she’s really crazy. She’s so fucked up in the head. So, she’s planning to kill her best friend. So, it’s a very dark lyric.

JT: I never picked up on that. That’s unbelievable.

It’s very dark and A.C.T has never touched those things before.

JT: Yeah.

So, it was very new to us. We want to taste a little bit of the melancholy on this album.

JT: Okay, you actually answered a lot of questions that I had right there, but to take it back a step, I want to start back at the beginning of the album, and kind of touch upon some of the songs we haven’t talked about.

Yeah.

JT: The first song, why do you say truth is pain?

Well, I don’t actually write the lyrics.

JT: Okay.

I’m the music-maker. So, I will not answer too much of those questions about the lyrics. I’ve got the booklet here. Let me look at it and I can find it. Oh, it’s a Herman lyric. Well, I really can’t say. You’ll have to ask those guys. Yeah, I stand for the music.

JT: Is that with all the songs or just certain ones?

Yeah, well, some of the songs I can, but “Truth is Pain” I have no idea.

JT: How about we step through some of them and if you want to take a pass, that’s fine?

Yeah.

JT: Who would you say are the Puppeteers?

“Puppeteers”, um, it’s about, you know, when, we’re like puppets and there’s like big bosses like presidents and everybody keeping us on strings. It’s like that.

JT: Okay.

That’s what that song is about. Yeah, we’re being led and misled into things.

JT: Going onto the next one, “This Wonderful World,” are you being facetious or are you really saying the world is wonderful?

Well, I saw a program on TV once, when they play that, {he starts singing} “what a wonderful world” you know that song?

JT: Yeah.

And, uh, it was actually an American movie. I think it’s Bowling for Columbine. I think it’s that one when they play that song over those really terrible images.

JT: Okay.

So, it’s a little bit inspired by that and it’s about how we pollute the Earth. It’s kind of a serious song.

JT: And then, “Out of Ideas”, that actually has some very interesting melodies. What inspired that song?

It’s got the backbeat in it and I love a band from England called 10cc. I really like their stuff. They worked a lot with backbeats, you know, some say Reggae, but it’s not Reggae, you know. I like that kind of style and I like to bring that kind of flavor to the band. We’ve got a couple of those songs on our former albums. In the first album and the second album too.

JT: My favorite song, aside from the epic, is track six, “Into the Unknown.”

Okay.

JT: What’s that song about?

It’s cool, because it’s written by Ola Andersson, the guitar player. We always have to force him to write songs, because he’s so slow. {I laugh and think to myself, quality over quantity I guess.} Yeah, it is true. So, he has written two songs on this album: “Voice Within” and “Into the Unknown”. Yeah, it’s really cool. It’s great that people enjoy his songs.

JT: Okay.

It’s cool.

JT: Speaking of favorites, what’s your favorite song on the album?

I have a few of them. I think it’s a very good album, actually. I like “Useless Argument”, because there is something new in there, new for A.C.T. It’s more like a rock n’ roller and I like that we change vocals all the time. It’s between me and Ola and Herman. We change it all the time. I really like that, and I like “Puppeteers”. It’s kind of a typical A.C.T song, and it features my brother on vocals.

JT: Hmm.

Yeah, Kenny Sahlin.

JT: That’s cool.

The first idea was to bring in a girl, but the cool thing is that Kenny is, he goes really high.

JT: Oh, he does?

He hits those high notes. I think it was Herman’s idea. He said, “Why don’t we have Kenny, you know, he’s a great singer?”  “Yeah, sure,” everybody agrees.

JT: That’s funny.

I like that song and “Call in Dead” is like a personal revenge for me, because we’ve got one of those, you know, that type of song on our second album. It’s called “No Perspective” and it’s kind of like a mixture between Abba and Queen, and I really like to work with vocals. So, I got it this time.

JT: Just a few more from the single songs. Why are you no longer touching ground? What is that one about?

Ooopfh. I have no idea.

JT: No idea?

No, sorry.

JT: How come the argument is useless in the following song?

Well, it’s about two guys. We’re actually doing that live on stage.

JT: Oh.

Herman is, um, starts the whole song with like, “Do you Jerry? He seems like a nice guy. Do you think he’s a nice guy?” And everybody, “Yeah, yeah, yeaaaah?” And goes like, “No, he’s not. He’s a complete asshole,” and then we start to argue, you know?

JT: Oh, I see what you mean. That’s funny.

Yeah, like it says, useless argument, just stupid, you know.

JT: Okay and when you refer to the voice within, what is that exactly?

That’s Ola’s song too. I think it’s, the lyrics of his songs are very personal. So, I’d rather not say anything there.

JT: I think we’ve covered most of the songs, but every time I hear the epic, that song, “A Father’s Love,” the daughter is talking about she cannot believe what he has done. What’s going on right there?

Yeah, that’s a thing that I think everybody who listens to it has to, you know, you don’t get all the lyrics served. It’s like what the hell has he done? It’s like that.

JT: Yeah.

Has he abused her? You know, like that. So, it’s an open question.

JT: It’s not a specific thing?

No, I don’t think so. It’s Herman’s lyrics. Maybe he’s got it in his head, but I remember he told me that everybody should make their own, you know, interpretation.

JT: Towards the end, what is the wound that won’t heal or is it more of the same thing with an open interpretation?

No, the wound that won’t heal. I think that’s the Joanna story also.

JT: Okay, I see what you mean.

The Joanna story is “A Wound that Won’t Heal”, “Memory to Fight”, and “Joanna” of course. That’s the theme song.

JT: Oh, it’s kind of spread out?

And, Joanna is about Joanna. She tells the story, and “A Memory to Fight,” I think it’s the drunk driver, and “A Wound that Won’t Heal” is Joanna’s boyfriend. Yeah, I think it’s that, yeah.

JT: You also start out with a song that has to do with screams and you end with a song that has to do with silence. What are the silent screams and what’s actually occurred in the final scream?

The silent scream is very interesting, because the whole intro of the album, not introduction, but the title “Silent Screams” is actually an old, old theme that we started back in ’95, ’96 or something. We were already trying to do an epic then, but it didn’t go anywhere, and we just thought, aw, this is shit, just put it away. But then, when we did this album, I just started playing with, you know, the old song, “Silent Screams,” and the music in “Silent Screams” is actually very old. So, we wanted to keep the title, because it’s kind of nostalgic for us. We keep “Silent Screams” in there, but I have no idea what it means within the story. It’s cool to us.

JT: For me, there is a theme in there that sounds like Air Supply’s “All Out of Love”.

Yeah, everybody keeps telling me that. I have never heard Air Supply.

JT: Oh, okay. {We both laugh.} You’ve got to hear it. It’s uncanny actually.

Oh my god.

JT: Yeah, lyrically it’s different, but there is a little bit of that in there and I hear it every time I hear the song. But, it fits well.

Aha.

JT: Yeah, it’s cool. Also, you also have a multimedia bonus on there. How did you actually choose that particular video clip to put on there?

We wanted to have something from Last Epic. I think it’s cool when you release a new album and on the new album there is some section on it that is based on the album before. And, I think that is very cool to have that. So, that was the idea behind that.

JT: Okay and just talking about what I hear in the music, I actually hear Queen, Styx, and a little Spock’s Beard. Are these influences of yours?

I have not heard Spock’s Beard.

JT: Really. {Okay, this is a shocker.}

Not much, maybe a couple tracks only. You know, I’m like a gravedigger. I listen to very old bands. I’m really into Beach Boys, and all that. I really love that. {He laughs.}

JT: Yeah.

You know, Electric Light Orchestra and Styx as well, and Saga and all that. So, um, well, yeah.

JT: Okay.

It’s different from every member in the band. You know, Ola Andersson, the guitar player, he likes Prince. {He laughs.}

JT: Mmm. I can kind of hear some of that actually.

Yeah, you do?

JT: Yeah, I can, {if you look at the media clip and watch him strum, it’s apparent there} but I’m not sure if I said yet, I feel that the Consequences epic is one of the best pieces of music I’ve ever heard.

Oh my god.

JT: No, I’m serious and the thing is that you were talking about how your end of the bargain is more about the melodies and stuff. The album is so chock full of incredible melodies, especially in that particular epic. How did you guys find the time and where did you find the patience to actually create all of these?

Well, it’s, uh, {I returned the favor and now he’s in shock too, and slightly speechless} I work with melodies all the time and that’s the basic thing in A.C.T music. It’s the melody. It’s all about melody. For me, it is. So, I put that at the front. That should be the most important thing in the song. I don’t know. I have no answers to it. I just write what I like.

JT: It just comes naturally?

Yeah, it comes naturally, yeah.

JT: Okay. On the other side of the coin, you have lyrics that are really well-developed and very thoughtful. How do you bring the two together? If you are doing the melodies and you said, somebody else in the band is responsible for the lyrics, how do you bring these all together and what’s the songwriting process, and which comes first, the melody or the lyrics, or does it differ in all cases?

It’s always, always, always the melodies. I write the songs here. I record them in the computer. And then, I send them out to the guys and I’m just singing nonsense lyrics or sometimes I take already-written lyrics. You know, I bring out an old Asia album and I start singing the lyrics. So, they have the melody and they know where to put the words. So, that’s how it works. And then, everybody, you know, I just hand them out and the other guys say, “Okay, I take that one and I take that one, no, I want to take that one.” It’s kind of like that.

JT: We’ve been preoccupied, talking about the latest album, but you’ve got some great albums from the past as well. I’m wondering, first of all, are those concept albums as well and if so, can you just kind of give me like a really brief overview of what each one is about?

Mmm, well, the first one is about, uh, we actually only have one conceptual album. That’s the one before Silence and it’s called Last Epic. That’s a whole complete concept and it’s about an apartment building actually.

JT: Hmm.

We got it from, we all like movies in this band. We’re crazy movie fanatics and we love the Tarantino movies. I think the idea came from Pulp Fiction or one of those, to have different characters. It’s like in a play and I like to work with that kind of story, you know, a building with all those crazy people living there, {he laughs} and about the gardener, and what happens in room this or apartment 242. You know, like that.

JT: Right.

That’s what it’s about. It’s a pretty funny story and on the first two albums, it’s almost the same like the Silence album. We have like an A-side and a B-side.

JT: Oh, okay.

On the first album we have the long one and it’s called “Personalities”. It’s about different personalities.

JT: Yeah.

It’s just like that and on the second album it’s called “Relationships”. You know, everything that regards relations.

JT: Right.

And, on this one we have consequences.  So, kind of a traditional A.C.T thing.

JT: That’s amazing, um, who actually did the album cover and what is that supposed to mean cause it kind of reminds me of that whole, you know, the monkeys, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil?

{He gets excited.} Ooohhh, yeah, you got it! Josh, that’s right. {I laugh} That’s right.

JT: That’s right?

You’re the first one to say that.

JT: I guessed something correct now?

Yeah.

JT: I’m grasping at straws now, so I probably have to score on one of these, probably.

Yeah, but it’s a little bit different from the monkeys, because she doesn’t hold her hand against her mouth. It’s just like, “ssshhh,” but it means exactly the same thing. But then, we actually shot it in my living room.

JT: Yeah?

Yeah, and those two girls are Kenny’s, you know who I told you before my brother, it’s his two girls.

JT: Oh, is that what it is? {I thought maybe it was the same girl superimposed due to their likeness}.

Yeah, so we’re really proud of it, because we did it ourselves for the first time.

JT: Yeah, it’s amazing.

Yeah, cool.

JT: Yeah, it really jumps out at you. It gets your attention.

Yeah.

JT: When I first saw that, I had a stack of CD’s and that one just popped out on me and I was like, “What it is? Oh, A.C.T has another album. What is this cover?”

Yeah.

JT: And then, “Oh wow, they have an epic listed on the back. I love epics.” And, this really grabbed me right away and then as I was listening to the music. I was just blown away by what I was hearing.

Oh, that’s cool. That’s cool to hear and it’s the same thing with the title of the album, Silence. We got, I got that, because it’s been silent from A.C.T. It’s been three years since the last album.

JT: Yeah.

There’s one and number two is to actually name an audio CD Silence. I really like that idea.

JT: Oh, that’s clever, yeah.

Yeah. So, that’s two things. I’m sure that there are a lot of other things also.

JT: I’m kind of curious, how did you get involved in music?

How I got involved?

JT: Yeah.

It’s, my whole family plays instruments and actually the whole clan is musicians, really great musicians. So, it became natural. I started listening to, like I said before, the Beach Boys and Electric Light Orchestra when I was like about three years, three years old and I started to play music when I was about five. I started to play guitar, drums, and keyboard at a very early age. So, that’s it.

JT: Okay, and how did you meet your other band members?

We’ve got a friend, he’s called Yens. I played with him. We had kind of a cover band in the early nineties, yeah, when we played Asia songs and Saga songs, you know, there were not a lot of people who listened to Prog Rock. It was only me. I thought it was only me. Then, I met this guy Yens. But anyway, we ended the band. We called it Images. Then, we just moved away from each other for a long time. But then, he just phoned me up and said, “Oh, I’ve met these two guys Ola and Thomas and met them at the cafeteria and they want to form a band and play progressive music.” And I went, “How old are they?” {I laugh} They are like two years older than me and there was a huge difference when I was, say, nineteen and they were sixteen. {The math doesn’t add up, but I get the point.}

JT: Right.

So anyway, I gave it a try and they were amazing, especially Ola. I was really impressed by Ola’s guitar-playing. I couldn’t believe how a sixteen year old played.

JT: Yeah, that’s unbelievable.

He was so incredibly good. So, that’s how we met.

JT: Okay and then how did you choose your instrument? How did you decide that you wanted to play the keyboard?

That was Saga. That was Saga. When I heard “Careful Where You Step”, I was just blown away. I was just, “Oh my god, what the fuck is this?” I really liked their keyboard sounds or when they put the keyboards in the front. I’ve never heard that before.

JT: You sing as well. How did you decide that you wanted to do both roles? You’re a very good singer as well.

It is like I said before, I really like Queen and all that, and I like melodies. So, I started to sing when I was like three years old and I wanted to bring that flavor, to have three lead vocalists in a band. {They are sort of like The Beatles in a roundabout way.} And, uh, I like that when we switch between. I think that’s cool.

JT: I also like to ask these two questions. For your fans who are non-musicians this kind of helps them identify with you. But, what would you say is the worst part about being a musician?

{He answers this in a gingerly tone.} The worst part is to carry all your keyboards. {We both laugh}

JT: {In agreement.} Yeah.

The worst part… {He pauses and ponders this a bit.}

JT: You’re saying that’s difficult to figure out?

Yeah, if everybody would play an instrument or play music, there wouldn’t be any wars.

JT: Interesting.

Yeah, I think that, because it brings harmony to your body and soul.

JT: You guys have gained a lot of popularity over the years. What’s the best fan interaction that you’ve had, that you can recall?

I think it’s, um, we were around Europe. We had a smaller European tour in this summer, and a lot of younger people started to show up. When we started out this band, most of the guys who came to our concerts were like between forty-five and sixty. Sixty years old. And now, younger people are starting to listen and have gotten more open-minded to music, I think. It’s starting to, there’s a lot of younger people now, but also older people. So, now on the latest European tour, we met a lot of, every ages from babies up to seventy year old… men. {He stresses this last point.} So, it was cool. I have no special place. It’s just great all the time. I’m just happy. {He’s giddy when he makes this point.}

JT: You’ve probably seen the movie Spinal Tap, right?

Yeah.

JT: Do you recall any moments in your career that were like Spinal Tap moments? Where some sort of mishap or something funny happened?

Yeah, sure, we have one, {he laughs} one crazy thing. We were playing a gig in Sweden. It’s called Ulgabree in Sweden. It was probably the worst show we’ve ever done, not playing, not that we were playing lousy, but I think there were five or six people in the audience and we drove, you know, Sweden is very long country. So, we drove for hours and hours and hours to play the gig and when we got there five people were there, and then when we started to play, nobody in the audience of those five people had heard one song. So, it was just like, “Oh, what are we doing here?” and it was like a couple of years ago.

JT: Yeah.

It was so crazy, and then suddenly one of the guys who were really drunk, one of the five, ran up on stage and started chewing on Peter’s bass.

JT: What? {Being a bass fan, I say this in a disgusted tone.}

His new bass, you know, the most expensive bass you can buy, a Warwick, you know a real cool one. So, he’s got bite marks in it.

JT: Ouch.

And, we kicked him off stage.

JT: Oh my god. {He’s laughing incessantly.}

That was crazy man.

JT: You laugh about it now. Was he pretty upset about it back then?

Yeah, and I thought it was kind of funny, because it was so weird. {I laugh.} We thought we had fans over there, you know, but no, we didn’t.

JT: Oh, wow.

It was pretty fun.

JT: Well, I also want to find out about current musical tastes and interests, and I’d like to start by asking, what’s the last CD that you bought?

The last CD that I actually bought was Brian Wilson’s Smile.

JT: Oh, okay, yeah.

So, I think that was in 2004. So, it was, I don’t like to listen that much to music when I write and I write, now I’m in an incredible writing period. I’m already finished with three songs for the next album.

JT: Oh, wow.

So, I like to stay away from other music when I write, but that was the last one, yeah. I’m really into the Beach Boys. I think there are really interesting stories there. I’ve got this new book. I read everything about them.

JT: You talk about writing for the next album.

Yeah.

JT: What do you have planned for that? Is there anything you can reveal and is there any timeline?

The thing that I can reveal about the next album is that I am really back to experiment a little bit more. We tried on Silence album to be a little, you know, kept down a little bit on the progressive stuff. {The definition is elusive as I felt this was an extremely progressive album.} We did that, except for the long one, Consequences. We kept it in there. But, on the other songs, we wanted to try to, how does A.C.T sound if we kept down a little bit, just a little bit of it. But, now I’m back, you know, like on the Consequences. So, I think you will love the next album even more. {He laughs.}

JT: Wow!

I think so.

JT: That’s a pretty bold statement there.

Yeah, my brother was here recent, an hour ago, and we played here. I played him those three tracks and he said, “Oh my god, {he says this in his brother’s exasperated voice} wait till the fans here this.” {He then goes into Valley Girl mode.} Yeah, he was really, you know, like wow. {He laughs}

JT: You talk about your brother. What does he do musically?

He plays. He’s a composer. He writes great music and he plays keyboard and guitar and bass. Yeah, like he doesn’t play in a band right now. He’s only playing at home.

JT: Is there any plans for him to participate more in A.C.T?

Yeah, sure, absolutely. That’s why he was here today, because he wanted to show me some new, some of his new stuff. He writes some really cool stuff. You know like the song, “This Wonderful World”, the refrain, the chorus in that song is actually written by Kenny.

JT: That’s cool.

So, I steal some things from him. Not much, {I chuckle} but some things.

JT: Kind of tying back to current tastes, what’s the last concert that you attended as a fan?

Ooh, what was that? Mmm, fuck.

JT: It’s been awhile, huh?

No, I don’t think so, but I’m going to see Europe in a couple weeks. {He laughs} Have you heard of them?

JT: Yeah, I’ve heard of them.

Yeah, it’s a Swedish band. Aw shit, I can’t remember, um.

JT: You get a chance to watch Saga a lot while you were on tour with them?

With?

JT: When you were on tour with Saga, did you get a chance to watch them?

Oh my god, Josh, I watched every show.

JT: Really?

Yeah, oh, I missed three shows, but the other guys thought I was crazy. “Oh for fuck’s sake, Jerry, stop it,” but they were also my heroes.

JT: They’re an awesome band.

They’re my old heroes.

JT: Yeah.

And they’ve been a touring band for, I mean, twenty-five years.

JT: The new albums that they came out with, I’m really impressed with actually, Network and Trust. Those might be, out of their whole collection, those are probably my favorite ones.

Yeah?

JT: Yeah.

Okay, yeah, it’s cool. It’s pretty good. I like House of Cards. I like that album very much.

JT: I do have a handful of favorites here and just to keep you on schedule here, these are kind of short answer questions.

Right.

JT: You can just kind of fire them off. If you don’t know, you can pass or you can give me a few or whatever.

Okay.

JT: What would you say is your favorite album of all-time?

Out of the Blue, Electric Light Orchestra.

JT: I’ve heard that one mentioned a few times actually.

Okay.

JT: And, what would you say is your favorite band?

{He pauses.} That’s a tough one.

JT: I’d assume you’d put Saga up there.

Well, maybe not my favorite band at the moment. It’s changed from time to time, but I really like Kansas.

JT: Oh, I like Kansas a lot.

I’d really like to take, not just one, my absolute favorite band is of course ELO. I really love Jeff Lynne’s old stuff and I like City Boy and I like 10cc. So, I have no idea. I can’t pick one.

JT: Okay and you talked about Tarantino earlier. I like to talk about some things that aren’t music-related to see where some of your influences are coming from. But, what would you say is your favorite Tarantino movie?

It is Pulp Fiction.

JT: Pulp Fiction is a great movie.

Yeah, it is.

JT: Yeah, I actually like everything that he does.

Yeah, for sure.

JT: But, Pulp Fiction is something special.

Yeah, even the Vampire one.

JT: That’s cool too, but just that whole café scene.

Yeah.

JT: Where everything kind of culminates and you’re like what’s going on, and the guy is trying to get his wallet back and everything.

Sam Jackson is great.

JT: That is unbelievable. Do you have a favorite TV show?

I don’t watch TV that much. I only watch movies. I collect DVD’s actually.

JT: I’m the same way.

I’m really into horror movies and comedies. That’s strange.

JT: Yeah, that’s me for the most part. Like, I don’t believe in commercials.

Nah, me neither.

JT: I’ve got a bunch of DVD’s and I like watching 24 and Prison Break. Have you seen these shows? They’re kind of like movies.

I have seen some of it and I have a plan to buy the DVD box-set, because all of my friends have watched them. I’m like that, if I miss one episode, it’s just like, “oh fuck.” You know, I don’t want to be like every Saturday and every Thursday and every Tuesday. Nah, fuck it.

JT: Do you have a favorite book?

Ah, yeah, I don’t read that much. I just read the Da Vinci Code now. It was pretty good, but I don’t read that much. I read biographies most of the time and things about supernatural. I like that, life after death and all that.

JT: Interesting.

Yeah, it’s very interesting.

JT: Are you a sports fan and if so, what’s your favorite team?

I watch Swedish Football. That’s the only thing that I follow.

JT: Swedish Football. Is that what we call soccer?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, soccer, sure. And I watch the World Cup of course. That’s the cool thing about it. And, I watch some hockey too.

JT: Yeah, you’ve got some good teams out there, soccer and hockey teams.

Yeah, sure.

JT: In the last Olympics, the Swedish team was very impressive.

Mmm. {I meant this as a compliment, but not sure by his response if it were perceived this way.}

JT: Also, I ask a silly question cause it’s something I can identify with. Nobody else will ask it. Do you have pets?

Uh, nah, I used to have, what’s it called, Taran... Tarantrual.

JT: Oh, a spider?

Yeah, but I had to sell it, because I couldn’t give it much love. {I laugh out loud and wonder if he is joking?} I’m really not into that thing. It’s okay with dogs and cats, but I hope I don’t offend you here if you’ve got a rabbit or a bird.

JT: No.

I really don’t like that. Why keep a bird in a cage? {I’m laughing, but he makes a good point?} Why?

JT: Right.

I have no idea. {Does he know that Saga’s lead singer is into birds?}

JT: For the most part, I’m mostly a dog person.

Yeah.

JT: For me, dogs are like little misshapen humans and they’re very humanlike.

That’s what I think, but a bird and a rabbit. I mean, a rabbit in a little box.

JT: Yeah, it kind of doesn’t make any sense.

No, it doesn’t make any sense.

JT: See, I was planning on becoming a veterinarian at one point. So, that’s why this is an interest for me and now music is my new interest. I just like to ask musicians if they have pets. It’s bizarre. I don’t know.

Yeah, okay.

JT: So, that’s pretty much all I have at this time, {I strategically ask the previous question second to last} but I always like to end on finding out if there is anything you would like to say to your fans?

Especially to the fans in America, this is the first time we’ve released our album in the US, and we are really looking forward to seeing how this will go. Hopefully, we can come over and play there sometime. And, I would like to just say a big thank you to everybody who buys the album and likes our music. That’s really cool.

JT: I think you put out an unbelievable album. Your earlier albums were impressive, but it’s almost as if you jumped a major hurdle here, and now you’re in the forefront putting out the most amazing music and that epic is just, it still hasn’t lost its edge. Every time I hear it, I hear more and more stuff in it. It’s just amazing. I just find it to be totally amazing.

Thank you.

JT: I just think you did an excellent job.

Yeah, I’m really proud of the long one on this one I can tell you that. I listen to it quite often myself actually on my MP3 player. So, I thank you with all my heart.

JT: You’re welcome and I just hope you continue to make great music and if you ever do come to the states, I’m going to come and see you.

That’s cool.

JT: Aside from that, I won’t hold you up any longer. Thanks for your time and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

You too.

JT: Goodbye.

Bye.

A.C.T. official website
A.C.T at MySpace
Inside Out Records Website