Where the hell is "Energizer Bunny" from the best of? I can't believe it wasn't included ... 2 years ago when we last interviewed you, you mentioned the band had lost its sense of humor. Is it the reason for ignoring the Bunny?

Yes, that’s right, as we have lost our sense of humor we couldn’t include the "Bunny". So we just stick to serious songs now ;)

Yeah, some may be buying into this excuse but I’m not… :) Though I gave the best of a 10 in my review, it’s hard to forgive the exclusion of my fave track. As for the loss of your humor and your bad mood… for whatever reason we at RockUnited all have the feeling the melodic rock scene and the whole milieu around rock music has improved a bit over the last couple of years (more and more labels specializing in rock, lots of great releases, some cool festivals, etc.). Didn’t you – as musician, trying to make a living out of your music – feel it too?

Nope, I feel that the scene is getting smaller and smaller, the sales are very poor for the labels and 99% of the melodic rock bands are not even close to make a living out of their music, that’s the cold hard truth according to myself…

Who was responsible for the selection of the tracks for the best of? You or the label?

I did pick the songs for the album myself with input from Street Talk guitarist Sven Larsson… We had to pick the songs we felt we could "live with". So the ones on the CD are our fave tracks, and so far the response from the reviews have been amazing… So I guess we picked more or less the right ones…But of course, you can’t forgive us for not including the Bunny so apparently we can not please everyone…

So you can’t live with the Bunny? Okay, I see. How the hell could I like your guts so far? :)

Of course I can live with it! Who said anything else??? Are you on heavy dope? ;)

Yeah, dopes may seriously damage one’s memory but as far as I remember it was you who said you picked the ones you could live with… Anyway, not long after releasing your first record on MTM, the band comes out with a best of including six tracks (more than the half of the album!) from the previous record. Who was pushing this release? MTM?

Yes, a lot of songs are taken from Restoration, but there are also songs from the two albums that MTM didn’t release along with new and unreleased material…

Was it part of the deal you signed with them before "Restoration"?

No, not at all.

Is the best of closing a period of the life of the band? Or is it marking the end of it?

Yeah, it’s the closing of the first chapter…

As far as I know so far you said everywhere that the future of the band is uncertain, as well as any more releases. Or is the best of serving as a test if there's still a demand for the band and provided there is, you'd come out with a new one (Infiltration, Confrontation, Alienation, Compensation???)?

Hehe… this interview is very funny… Who knows what will happen… All I can say is that I’m working on some new tunes at the moment… And sorry, I don’t have a crystal ball so I can’t answer your super intelligent question ;)

Oh, it’s always easy to make a funny interview with someone who has lost his sense of humor as much as you did…

Oh dear, I bet it’s easy for you who don’t have to answer all those fucking stupid questions…

Okay, on a more serious note: You mentioned the first chapter has ended with “Destination” and also that you wrote a couple of new songs. What is the second chapter gonna be like? How is it gonna differ from the first musically?

It’s not going to be that much of a difference, I write what I write and that’s it! It’s not gonna be any huge differences in the music…

By the way aren't you fed up with "...tion"? Collaboration, Transition, Restoration, Destination... What's next Damnation or Penetration?

Yes, I’m extremely sick of that now so there won’t be anymore "tion" titles in the future. The "tion" titles belonged to the first chapter of the band… But Penetration would be a great title if you were in another business than the music business I if you get my point ;)

I have no idea what you are talking about… hahaha. And what’s gonna be the new ending? How about “ance”? Freelance, Ignorance, Disturbance, Mastur… oh no, that would already be another “best” of, let’s not run so far ahead!

I think you should be writing for some adult web site instead of a music site with that dirty mind ;)

I tried hustler.com but they said I was too short... I have no idea what they meant. :) Speaking of working neither Street Talk, nor your other projects can put food on your table, right? As far as I know you are running your own studio business. Can you tell us about it?

I don’t run my own business; all I have is my own small home studio where I record demos and pre-productions.

My bad. I thought you were. Have you got a side-job then, or is music your full-time activity?

I have gone back to my studies and I will study on a higher level during the coming years, so I will be pretty busy with that…

[Huh, just another Greg Giuffria! In two years he’ll name the band Wall Street Talk...] Though I must admit that Göran is one of my all time favorite singers (Hugo ranks up quite high as well, and all the guys on Collaboration were doing really well) I have to ask: what is it with you choosing all these "girly-voiced" guys from day one on? Can we ever hear a Tarzan-chest-beating vocalist (like Coverdale used to be or like Gioelli or Soto are) on a Street Talk record?

Yes, as a matter of fact Tom Jones and Lemmy from Motorhead will handle the vocals from now on…

Or is it Kevin Cronin coming up next? :)

Nope, he’s far too wimpy ;) And Lemmy would probably kick his ass…

If you ask me Tom Jones would be cool. You’d have to learn to dance then! :) Speaking of dancing… we asked you in each and every interview if you ever see a chance to perform live with Street Talk material. Can it be that the second chapter of the band will actually see you playing live? And don’t say you don’t have a crystal ball. The question is about your plans. Do you want to play live? And if you want to, can you put a touring band together? Does it make any sense to try to these days?

I would love to tour, and we have got some great offers during the years, but no one has been able to give us money to cover our expenses, so it would have been impossible to play live under those bad conditions! But I would love to play Street Talk songs live! The day we get some serious offers I will have my bags packed, and I’m sure the guys in the band are ready and willing as well!

By the way do you still have idols? Don't mention Humphrey Bogart, please...

Oh dear… another stupid question. ;) Of course I am still inspired by amazing artists, but I don’t know if I call them idols.

A good interview is all about stupid questions. Or? [Well, at least I hope it is…] Who are these artists you are currently amazed with?

Well, now I’m gonna be serious for 5 minutes, what I have been into lately is the latest discs from Fleetwood Mac, Mark Spiro, Hall and Oates and TNT…

If there’s anything you want to add, just go ahead!

Hope you readers liked this very bizarre interview! God bless.

Well, if you did, let us know here at RockUnited.com or Fred at http://biphost.spray.se/berg.fredrik/.

This interview is handiwork of Endre "Bandi" Hübner, photo provided by Fredrik Bergh. All similarity to a serious interview is purely accidental. On purpose. No computers were harmed during the making of this interview.

(c) 2004 RockUnited.Com