Interview: Sad Day for Puppets

Skiddle talks to Marcus Sandgren of Swedish rock band Sad Day for Puppets ahead of their gig at Moho Live on Monday 7th Febrary.

Ask Sad Day for Puppet’s lead guitarist Marcus Sandgren whether he prefers studio or stage time and there’s no beating around the bush: “when you play live all your mistakes and fuck ups are gone after you make them” whereas in the studio you’re lumped with them all. It’s a theory rationalised by very few yet in his words there lies fierce conviction. 

It’s this self-assurance that laces our interview where the Swedish native very rarely wavers. The very same approach created Sad Day for Puppets’ sophomore Pale Silver & Shiny Gold; an album that veers off the beaten track traveling further and further away from 2008's shoegaze debut Unknown Colours. With darker undertones their 2010 follow up relies on sense of urgency and a rather upbeat tempo. Jasmine Phull lets Marcus Sandgren do the talking.

Pale Silver & Shiny Gold has taken a noticeably different path in sound. Unlike debut Unknown Colours it seems to harbour a darker edge wrapped in ferocity. What was the idea behind this?

I don´t think there was a calculated idea behind it. When Martin started to write for this album, it was just those sort of songs that happened to come out at the time. But he was listening to an awful lot of 70's rock, like Black Sabbath, Kiss and Cheap Trick and that was also what we were listening to in the tour van. So when it came time to record the album we talked about how we wanted to get that nice warm/dark sound of the early Sabbath and Kiss records and maybe that's where it comes from.

Did your hometown of Blackeberg help shape your love music? What was the music ‘scene’ like when you were growing up?

Can honestly say that Blackeberg (or Västerort where we grew up) haven't had any significant influence in my taste or interest in music whatsoever. As far as scenes go, except for a pretty hefty death/black metal scene in the early nineties there wasn´t any music scene, at least that we were a part of when were growing up. I mean there were people playing in bands and stuff but no scene in that sense of the word.

Did you have to experience ‘struggle’ to get to where you are today? Is that an important factor in making a ‘great’ artist?

(Laughs) Struggle is pretty strong word when you see what people have to go through on daily basis. This is just playing in a band. I consider ourselves extremely lucky do this. But no one loves to carry amps and stuff out of clubs two in the morning for a month and we could do without the 36hour straight driving and sleep deprivation and neither of us gets super excited when the van brakes down. But we've never dreamt we would get to travel around Europe playing in a band. I remember when we´re 17 and dreamt about the day we would get a van and just do a gig in the next town. So this is just insane.

Is that an important factor in making a ‘great’ artist?

It depends how great the artist is. You develop a lot as a band when you're touring but if someone comes on stage for the first time and is amazing from the get go, I don´t see a reason why I should have to wait three years while he/she has to drive around in a shitty van and sleep on the floor before I can say that they´re great.

The Swedish music community seems to be growing at a rapid rate. Was there a certain period when this started happening? Do you think it’s become more of a creative hub?

If it did, it was before my time or I was not aware that it was happening. Sweden has always had some bands that have managed to hold their own internationally. I guess there is a good tradition with people starting bands and stuff but if there is a creative hub here, I think we (the band), are sadly missing it.

Is there something that’s missing in the music industry that was there 10-15 years ago?

Yes - Money.

Is there something in the music industry now that didn’t used to be there?

Since you don´t have go through big record companies anymore it's easier for new bands to reach its audience due to places like MySpace, which is great, 'cos you can reach a wider audience and people want to book you for shows in other countries, who never would have heard of you otherwise. We have a lot to thank MySpace for.

One track that makes you feels elated?

The Ramones- ‘I wanna be sedated’.

Which do you prefer: studio or stage time? Why?

Stage time definitely. It´s a lot more fun playing live than being cooped up in a studio somewhere and when you play live all your mistakes and fuck ups are gone after you make them. When you do them in the studio, you have to live with them.

What should the crowd expect from your gigs?

Don´t expect too much… We're a lot heavier and harder live than on record, and better if you ask me.

One great - recently deceased - artist?

Mark Linkous

Interview by: Jasmine Phull

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