Maryslim Bassist, Urrke T.
6/17/05
Interview via email from Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden
Urrke T. is the talented and warm hearted bassist of the Swedish rock band Maryslim. I just found out about these guys recently and I am so glad I did! Urrke was kind enough to send me their CD and video and agreed to do this interview! So enjoy! He has a fantastic personality even via email, it just shines through!!
~jo~
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jo:
Can you tell me a little bit about the history
of Maryslim? How you all met, when the band started, etc.
Urrke: I met Kent, the guitarist first. 1998 or 99 at an afterparty at our
mutual friend Boba Lee Fettīs place (Hellacopters piano player). Then I met Kent
again some weeks later at a show in Stockholm with Wayne Kramer (MC5), The
Hellacopters, The Nomads and Australian band The Powder Monkeys (R.i.p. Tim) and
this time he had his buddy Mats with him. They said that they had songs and a
band without a bass player. :- "Well lucky you then, because I'm your man!" I
said. It eventually took us like 2-3 weeks to remember all this though, because
we were quite loaded at that show, he he. I phoned up Kent and said:- "Do you
remember that we said we should form a band?" A week later we were rehearsing.
But that drummer they had was a disaster. I guess that all 3 of the rest of us
were better drummers than he was + he was German and could not speak either
Swedish or English. And we don't understand German, so... We had to find another
drummer. That's when I phoned my old friend Patrik and got him into the band.
jo: How did you come up with the name of the band and what does it mean?
Urrke: When I was just a 16-17 year old kid I bought a packet of cigarettes and
the brand on the packet said "MARYSLIM". Wow I thought, that sounds like a cool
Rock & Roll-band. But I didn't find a band that liked the idea until this and
they didn't like it at first either. We had names like "Smacker" and "The
Redliners" at first. Then Kent phoned me up one day out of the blue and said:
"Me and Mats have thought about that name of yours, Maryslim, again, and fact is
that it's pretty good". And the rest is history :) We hadn't a clue what it
meant then and not really now either. But it sounds cool, haha.
That's the most important thing! Some have told us that it's slang for a
marijuana-cigarette, but I don't know. Shouldn't you Americans know in that
case? You all seem to smoke weed like in high school and stuff. When I saw it
the first time I just thought: Alice Cooper, Thin Lizzy and Maryslim! Sounds
great! I have it tattooed on my fingers too.
***now I did look this up on the internet and
could not find anything marijuana related to the word maryslim! And yes, I did
smoke it regularly in grade school and high school! ha ha ha*** jo
jo: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
If you had to describe it with one word, what word would you choose?
Urrke: Intense...
jo: Give me one word to describe yourself.
Urrke: Impulsive.
jo: Musical influences of the band?
Urrke: A whole lot. Me and Kent likes a lot of real R&R-stuff like the Sex
Pistols,Social Distortion, Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls/Thunders, The Cult,
Ac/Dc,
Black Crowes, Stones, Georgia Satellites, Guns n Roses, Faster Pussycat, 70īs
Kiss, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, etc. Mats likes some of that stuff to, but he
is also a big fan of Iron Maiden, U2, etc. Patrik is the Jazz-dude. He's very
much into Jazz and Blues-music and he plays it very well to with some
other acts he is keeping himself busy with when it's not Maryslim-time. All n
all, one can say that everybody in the band, except for Kent maybe,
likes most kinds of music. I like a lot of reggae for example. Heavy dub-stuff
like LKJ or Prince Far-I. Kent is like: It's just 2 kinds of good music: Rock or
Roll! Ha ha!
jo: Tell me your inspiration for writing the lyrics to "Princess Without A
Crown" and "Just Maybe".
Urrke: Without getting too revealing they are both inspired by the same girl,
that I had a long distance relationship with for over a year. I could have
married her or even brought down the moon or died for her.. She was a little
princess, but.. You know how it is. "You Can't Always Get What You Want"...as
Mick Jagger said.
jo: What made you decide to play bass and at what age did you pick it up for the
first time?
Urrke: I played the violin between 8-9 years of age. Guitar from 10 until I was
12 or 13 years old. Then people were starting to get bands together and
everybody had singers and guitar players. Bass players were tough to find. So I
became one when I was 12-13. My dad bought me the cheapest Duke bass and DNS amp
they had at the local Music store. I was in heaven then! When I came home from
school I did nothing else but played the bass along with my Punk-records in the
basement. Especially a Slaughter & The Dogs Live-LP I liked a lot I remember. I
guess I tried to imagine I was the guy with the bass on stage.
jo: What bands are you listening to right now? (US or overseas!)
Urrke: You mean like new bands or at least bands that exists right now? Well
among American bands: Social D (of course), Supersuckers, The Dwarves, The
Queers, The Dictators, The Donnas, etc. And as you say "overseas": Turbonegro,
Backyard Babies, Sahara Hotnights, The Hellacopters, Captain Murphy, The Ark,
National Anthems, Sparzanza, Johnny Boy, The Doits, The Sewergrooves,The
69 Eyes, Hybrid Children, Hanoi Rocks, Diamond Dogs, etc. It's A LOT
I can tell you anyway.
jo: How many tattoos do you have and what are they?
Urrke: I don't know really because they are melting into each other. They are
different things that symbolize important things for me and means something in
my life. On my back I have the Kiss Army-logo, a portrait of the band Kiss,
taken from a 1974 picture where they pose in a "hole" in the wall shaped as the
American continent, underneath, covering the rest of my back is the mask from
the backside of the Hotter Than Hell-album and the text "spirit of 1974" (I
know, I'm one of all these Kiss-fanatics). I have so much other stuff. Mainly
old school with a modern approach. Roses, stars, flames, skulls, a butterfly,
spider and web, The Phoenix bird, a dagger, the Persian sunrise on my chest, a
lizard, snake, heart, black panther, American Indian symbols, a she-devil.
Mostly quite traditional stuff.
jo: What is your best quality? Worst habit??
Urrke: My best quality is that I have a good heart. My worst habit is that I
tend to turn into destruction of all kinds, above all of myself, when I drink or
do drugs. I therefore try to keep that down to a level where I can control it.
jo: What impact do you want your music to have on your fans?
Urrke: I want them to feel free and happy. I want them to feel relief and Rock &
Roll-salvation, ha ha. And that they recognize something from their own
lives in the lyrics. Feel that they belong, that we have things in common and
we're gonna stand proud and united against all shit in the world and
everyday life.
jo: If you were a cartoon character, who would you be and why??
Urrke: Tough one.. Sam the pirate? He is a small and funny man like me. Red
beard, a little bit crazy (probably drunk), and very impulsive, but deep inside
he has a good heart. I hope :)
jo: What position do you sleep in?
Urrke: Face down. If I don't have a "sleeping-partner" that is :)
jo: If you could be invisible for a day, where would you go and what would you
do?
Urrke: Ha ha, the first thing that comes to my mind is into the ladies
shower-room to watch some beautiful naked women? (I know it's very primitive and
trivial, but at least I'm honest) Giving it a second thought, maybe just go into
some well guarded place to steal something really valuable and be rich
for the rest of my life?
jo: If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be?
Urrke: I'd like to meet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One of my few idols. To see
what he was really like. I have read probably at least 10 books about him and
have at least about 25-30 records with his music. He was a true genius. And a
fascinating human being. I just wish I could speak German if I met him. Or at
least Italian or French, which he also could speak. I'm not much of a genius
myself as you can see :) Anyway, he died over 200 years ago at the age of 35.
And look at all he left behind. Still such a short life. Amazing.
jo: What is the first thing you do in the morning no matter where you are?
Urrke: Say good morning to the lady beside me :)
jo: Message for your fans??
Urrke: Be strong, be happy, believe in yourself, don't ever let anybody put you
down. Let the music do the talking! You rule. Live young & die hard!
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Now for some Urrke T. Fast Facts!!!
Date of Birth: Who cares
Height: 172 cm
Shoe Size: 41 (European measure)
Favorite Scent: Musk
Favorite Food: Persian
Favorite Color: Yellow or Black
Favorite Movie: Wild At Heart, East Of Eden, Amadeus + more...
Favorite Star Wars Character: Chewbacca
Favorite Drink: Bloody Maryslim
Favorite Band: Kiss or the Sex Pistols
Favorite Song: Sex Pistols "Did You No Wrong"
Favorite Indulgence: Very easy. Sex of course. What else? I'm an animal :)
I wanted to thank Urrke again for everything!! This band is awesome so be sure to check out my review of their CD "Split Vision" and stay on top of all things Maryslim at their official website via the banner below!! I can only hope they come back to the US or I will be going to Sweden & Finland next year!!!
~jo~
