JEPPE

Give me a quick run down of your life story. Where from etc.
I was born 1975 in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, where I still live
today. It's a great place to live in, at least in the summer. Almost every
winter (yeah, we got winters here with lot's of snow and shit) you wonder
why you live in this cold shit hole freezing your balls off. But when the
snow melts and the sun warms you up all our hot sexy blonde girls comes out,
and you realize this place is fuckin' great.

How long have you been playing bass?
I think it's almost 10 years now.

What made you start?

I've always been addicted to low vibes. But I guess it was my brother who
played guitar in a band for about 10 years ago who inspired me to start. I
used to sneak in to his room and play his guitar. I didn't know any chords
so I just played one-string riffs, but the low frequencies were missing.
Very shortly after I owned my very first bass.

What kinds of basses have you played and owned? 
I own two basses at the moment. My Rickenbacker 4003, and a black pretty
cool looking but lousy bass not worth mentioning. I also own a vintage Élite
guitar.

 

What do you play now and why?
I play my badass Rick because I don't think there is any cooler bass in the
world. It's an awesome instrument to play. The feeling, the sound, the
detail work on this piece of art. Yeah I must say to all of you who haven't
played a Rick before, pick one up and you never let it go again.

Can you tell me what gear you use? From your amp to your strings and
effects.
I use a Rick 4003 with double single coil pickups. Strings unknown. I play
it through a vintage Ampeg amp, and a 1x15" cabinet... or is it 1x18...
can't remember right now. I'm gonna add a 4x10 cabinet to the rig for more
punch as soon as I find the right one. The pedals I use are, Morley Bass
wah, Boss Heavy Metal dist, and Ibanez delay.

When did you start playing in bands? What other bands have you played in?
I started to play with Ivan many years ago. We played in some different
lineups with different band names. Later Nico joined in and when Pek joined
us in '99 we formed Pilotos.

What song has your best bass line in it?
That's a hard question. I'm always trying out new stuff in our songs, a lot
of improvisation. But if I have to name one song I would say "Dead Serious
Woman". What do you think, ST?

What would you do if you broke a string 5 minutes into a 10 minute song?
Well, I got 3 more strings to break before it's game over...

What's the worst thing that's happened to you while playing live?
I remember one gig many years ago when I played in the band De Devil. Ivan
tripped and fell on me, which made me fall too. There I was lying on my back
playing the rest of the song... what a show that must have been! :)

Do you come up with ideas while playing bass or guitar?
I usually jam on my bass cause that's what I feel most comfortable with.
Sometimes we switch instruments with each other while rehearsing, and that
way comes up with ideas we never would have got if we didn't do the switch
thing.

How do you get your bass to stand out in the mix over the guitar?
Crank up the volume! :) No seriously, I try to add some own stuff while the
guitars is doing their thing, and add some effects to that. But it's hard to
find a way through because the guitars are pretty low frequency too.

Do you play finger style?
Yeah I think the smooth sound you get when playing finger style match our
music better, and I feel more flexible with that.

What do you do for practice?
Just jammin', with or without music in the background. Sitting in the couch
watching TV at low volume and playing a guitar or bass is really nice. I
often come up with new ideas that way.

What's the hardest thing about playing bass for you?
Well, that would be carrying my rig to the gigs. Fortunately we have hired a
dude to do that job for us now. We got more time to drink beer now. Thanks
Tomas! You're doin' a great job.

If you listen to the radio, what song makes you cringe when it comes on?
I would definitely say Hammerfall, the Swedish metal band with influences
from the 80's. They look so stupid in their long curly hair and short cut
bangs. I can't believe there are people listening to that crap anymore.

In your opinion what are the bests bands from the 70's 80's 90's and
today?
Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Captain Beyond,
Queen, The Beatles, Corrosion of Conformity, Danzig, Slayer, Kyuss, Fu
Manchu, Entombed, Faith No More, Natas, Lowrider, Mustasch... well I can go
on forever.

If you could be in any band for a day who would it be?
That would be Beatles or Rolling Stones or some other famous band in the
60's. Damn those guys must have got lots of chicks in those days.

Who's in you CD player right now?
Tool - Undertow

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How do you want people to remember
you?
Hopefully I stand on stage somewhere in the world in front of people who
bangs their heads to my bone crawling low frequency bass lines. And I guess
people will remember me as the Birdman! :) But that's a completely different
story...




Take care
Jeppe - Pilotos
http://www.riffrock.com/pilotos