Interview with:  MATTI ALFONZETTI
	The Super Swede Matti Alfonzetti (ex.Bam Bam Boys, Jagged Edge, Skin Trade etc.) has finally released his first solo album "Ready" on the MTM-Music label. A really good mixture of Smooth Swedish AOR & British 70´s Hardrock. Find out what Matti has to say about it !!!

Hey Matti! First of all ...Tell us everything about Your first solo album (Ready) are you satisfied with how it turned out to be?

Well...I was asked by MTM to record a solo album in the melodic rock genre and I figured it would be a kind of an nostalgic trip back to my musical roots and background.I also was given full artistic freedom to record the album with musicians of my taste,so naturally I chose the best !I am particularly satisfied with the way everyone put their effort and input to make this album.It started out as a solo project but developed into a band thing!

I think the CD sounds both like smooth Swedish AOR  and also with a lot of influences from British 70´s Rock (FREE ,BAD COMPANY etc) would you agree with me here ..or ?

Absolutely! My roots mean everything to me and the 70´S rock is totally what I was into, growing up.

I must say that you´re one helluva vocalist.I have always been a fan of your voice ! When did you realize that you could actually sing and name some singers that have influenced you.

Thanks.I guess when I was about 18. I played the bass in my first band, and was playing around with the other guys trying to sound like Paul Rodgers and they all thought that my singing sounded better than the vocalist we had! He was sacked and I took over the mike.... My main influences would have to be Paul Rodgers.Otis Redding,David Coverdale,Paul Carrack,S Wonder,Elvis Presley (not kidding!) Joyce Kennedy(MF),Marvin Gaye,etc......

I know that you and Stefan Bergström (guitarist/songwriter) have been working together a lot since you broke up from SKIN TRADE. How come that "Ready"  became a solo album and not a band effort .

I think, as I said earlier, it was the other way around.But Stefan and I have been working together ever since Skintrade mainly because we write extremely well together!

I´d like to ask about a couple of songs from the album, and maybe you could tell me what they mean to you or why you decided to record them.

Blowing Up Detroit (john palumbo)
I just really love that song! It was MTMs idea originally and after listening to it I decided to record it!
I´m Ready
A song I wrote with Stefan.It has a groovy hard rhythm that I like..
Out in the Cold (jagged edge)
I always liked this one and wanted to make it softer and more of an acoustic feel to it
Let me in (michael morales)
Also a song that MTM wanted me to record.I must say that it did´nt turn out the way i´d hoped...

You wrote the song "Angel" while you worked with TALISMAN in the early 90´s. How come that you guys didn´t continue to work together ?

Actually Angel was written with an English songwriter called Willie Dowling during my time in England.I never recorded with Talisman .I joined to do a summer tour in Sweden and then I went on to record with Skintrade

So...You joined the "Brutal" band SKIN TRADE instead.Please tell us the truth here :Money reason´s or not? :-) I mean ...I do believe that Melodic / Classic hardrock is your thing since you´ve now returned to the original sound again.

Money reasons???.....Eh, I think not! The truth is that I really like cross- over metal -funk hardrock! Just because I have done melodic rock albums it doesn´t mean to say that that´s the only style of music I enjoy.

By the way ! What do you think about the whole music scene here in Sweden. Can a normal dude survive on playing Hardrock or do they have to start with "dansbands musik" (swedish schlager)

I think that you can make a pretty good living out of playing hard rock;I know I have!! Obviously you´re bound to have your up´s and downs financially,but it´s possible...

Tell us a little bit about your music history before Bam Bam Boys & Jagged Edge.I´ve heard that you sang in TRASH for a short while ? True or false ?

Before BBB I actually played bass in several bands and then I hooked up with Göran Elmqvist. We formed a band called Hardware which included Niclas Sigevall (Electric Boys) on drums.Yes,I recorded a couple of demos for Trash but nothing came out of that!

So...What can you tell us about the project you had with SCOTT GORHAM (Thin Lizzy,21 Guns)

Scott called me up after I left BBB and asked if I wanted to front his new band Western Front.I went over to England and started rehearsing with the band.We were supposed to record an album,but never made that far.There were many reasons and i´m afraid I can´t really go in to that out of respect for Scott and the rest of the band.

Are there any plans of playing the songs from "Ready" live ?
I´m currently looking to get a few dates in Sweden but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Other future plans ???
Like I said,i´m hoping to do a few shows in Sweden and then we´ll see....

Here´s a silly question I´m afraid (but I just had to ask you) I remember watching the Jagged Edge video "You don´t love me" for the first time and you had this..eehh..very "cool" T-Shirt with the word "Kuken" printed on it. ha ha... Did the producer really know what it meant in Swedish ??? :-) 

I know,it was a silly thing to do.......But it seemed like a good idea at the time! NO one except me and the other guys in J E knew what it meant .Otherwise I think it would have been stopped!

If you have anything that You wanna say...Please do !!!
I think that´s pretty much it. I hope your readers like my album and please,tell them to buy it!!!!
Matti Alfonzetti

A Big Thank You to Matti for answering my questions & to Magnus at MTM http://www.mtm-music.com/ and Yes ! Do Buy the CD "Ready" ....since it´s a good one./ Urban "Wally" Wallstrom /Originally published in CATCHY HOOKS/ AOR & HARDROCK WEBZINE