melodylane

MELODY LANE: First of all, also if it can sound a bit expected…Can you tell us where does the name ACID’S TRIP come from? 
ACID:  The actual name is a play-on-words which originates from my stage name “Acid”, a name I’ve had all the years I was with my former band Honeymoon Disease. It’s kind of like when Ace Frehley created “Frehley’s Comet”, with intention of doing a solo album but then later became a band. Ace Frehley is my house saint and inspiration so I thought “What would Ace do?”
Acid’s Trip was formed in my mind when there were only me involved at an early stage so I wanted to make my own kind of trippy rock’n’roll, which later became the rock group that it is today - “Acid’s Trip”.

MELODY LANE: The line-up of the band is confirmed, is it the same from the beginning of the band…or have you had changes in the last years? Can you tell us anything about the roots of ACID’S TRIP? And where the band was born?
ACID: The band was born 2018 at a time where my former band were at its peak. I wanted to do something heavier and faster which couldn’t be done in the group that I was with then, so I created a side project that later became my main band. The band has its roots in the Gothenburg rock scene with the intension of sounding more like a mix of Thin Lizzy with the attitude of my all-time favorites The Hellacopters and Lynyrd Skynyrd. We have had several line-up changes, the original line-up is made by me, Rickard Höök, Chris Clit and my bestie Olle Hedenström of Dead Lord (and many more bands). When Olle joined Acid’s Trip we became a force to be reckoned with, especially live but success comes at a price and it has been difficult for us to find time together in order to achieve our goals.
Olle and Chris lives far from Gothenburg and rehearsing became a struggle so they had to leave unfortunately. We are still great friends and along came Mike from Liar Thief Bandit on rhythm guitar and Luke from Häxmästaren on bass. We made an album together and it will be out on the 7th may this year with Heavy Psych Sounds and we also just achieved ambassador status with Orange Amplifiers. We started as a family band almost and it’s evolving each day. Such a trip!

MELODY LANE: Can you list us 5 songs, from  ACID’S TRIP ‘s discography (including new material), that can define the sound of the band … 5 songs that can help our readers to know ACID’S TRIP at the best.
ACID: I think that it would be unfair not to mention the track “Trippin Balls” which we released with Interstellar Smoke Records. That was out first single and it still sounds like 100% us, with trippy guitars and 100% piano crank.  “Shell Shock” is also a classic Acid’s Trip song with Olle Hedenström on guitar, his solo is killer on that track. From the new material I would say “Faster Chopper Boogie” (released 6th March on Heavy Psych Records) which is a happy-go-lucky song about enjoying yourself while riding motorcycles. We have taking a lot of inspiration from Lynyrd Skynyrd and taken pride in the fact that we are working class heroes and no less than pieces of rock trash trying to make it big in this commercial world haha! Two more defining upcoming songs from the album “Strings of Soul” would be a song called “Come hell or high water” which is about our struggles as a band, as working men and women with real life issues constantly going forward in a strong headwind. We have had many setbacks and that has also made us determent to create our own successes in life and I think that everyone can relate to that on some level. Another song is the important title track “Strings of Soul” that is straight up the life and death of Robert “Strings” Dahlqivst (The Hellacopters, Dundertåget, Thunder Express and solo projects). He had soul and we think it is important to honor that, he is not forgotten and is still with us to this day.        

MELODY LANE: Tell us something about the creative process of your music. Is there a main composer or we can talk about a team work? The songs come from ideas of a single member and then the band works on these ideas in the studio jamming together, or your songs are written in the studio and all the members compose together?
ACID: The first songs were a product of my imagination and later on when Rickard the drummer joined we actually wrote most of the together just guitar and drums. He is also a great guitarist and has a sharp understanding of what action rock should sound like. Him and I have written all the songs together on the album except for a few tracks that I have written and arranged myself. Mike our guitarist wrote the track “Get it Right” for the album, a pure summer hit a lá Imperial State Electric. I produced our album “Strings of Soul” at the same time as I made the arrangements with guitar and vocals which is one of the reason why it is filled with soul vibes and action rock at the same time. I take great inspiration from Tina Turner and gospel when I lay down the choirs and my voice usually decide what mood the song will have. I always put the choir arrangements first as a wall of sound with a range from soprano to alto and before I lay down the lead vocals, sometimes before I record the guitars. I love classical music and I use those skills when I sing hard rock aswell. We try to write more together in the rehearsal space and the follow up album will probably be more of a team work.

MELODY LANE:  Can you tell us something about contents and messages of your last album ? …Can you tell us anything about the whole concept of Strings of Soul? And plese tell us where does this title come from? 
ACID: Strings of Soul definitely has a message as the album contains bits and pieces of hearts and souls. Our music I a product of our own personal highs and lows, sometimes embedded in a catchy upgoing riff which actually is about really dark experiences like dealing with loss or downsides of love. Strings of Soul is a very personal album and we have been on a roller coaster ride within the band since day 1 which creates that extra layer of nerves that shows in our music. I think that is the reason to the diversity in our fanbase because most people can relate to what we write about and at the same time enjoy the sweet rockin’ melodies that turns the songs into grooving rock songs at the same time. You can’t have the rock without the roll and our darkness is what makes the music interesting. The title comes from wanting to celebrate Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist life and his devotion to soul music, blue jeans and vintage creastwood guitars. That also describes us as a band and the journey that we have been on since 2018.

MELODY LANE:  …After time, are you totally satisfied with your choices about sound and the writing of your previous SINGLES/EP? If you could… would you change anything? What did you focus on to make the sound better and perfectly consistent with the musical ideas you had in mind?
ACID: I think that every artist at times look back at their previous releases and feel that they could have done lots of things better but It can be devastating looking back in that manner becuase a person always get better and better at their craft with time. So the songs that I produced back in the days may not have the same quality that this album has, and in ten years my music will probably be even more skilled and perfected. But perfected doesn’t always mean interesting, just look at The Rolling Stones. I love their first albums from the 60’s and the guitars are often out of tune and the vocals are off at times. But the music has that soul (blues) which more talented band at that time may not have been able to reproduce, because the spirit of the music whould have been lost while chasing perfection. There are perfect skilled bands like Mastodon and there are bands with a lot more soul (which in my opinion are more interesting to listen to).

MELODY LANE:  So apart from the covid/pandemic situation…will you tour in the next future? Have you already a touring schedule? Any chance for us to see  ACID’S TRIP playing live here in Italy in the next months/year?  
ACID: Yes, we got big plans touring Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Europe in general next year and hopefully we will be able to catch some cool festivals this summer. We would love to play in Italy, just hook us up with the booking side of Heavy Psych Sound!

MELODY LANE: Could you tell us two bands, from the actual international scene, you’d like ACID’S TRIP to tour with?... Two bands that would represent a perfect line-up for ACID’S TRIP to play with. And why these bands?
ACID:  I would say Imperial State Electric and Brant Bjork because they both represent vibes and a great understanding of what rock is all about. That would be a perfect line-up for us going on tour but there are way to many bands to chose from! We love em all haha!

MELODY LANE: We know that ‘to define is to limit’… but how do you define  ACID’S TRIP sound? Are you a  VINTAGE ROCK band…a GARAGE/PUNK band… A  70’S HARD ROCK band…Or…?
ACID: Well it is hard to define our sound to a category, but vintage rock would be more correct rather than simple “garage rock”. I would say 70’s Hard Rock with a touch of soul. We have metal influences as well as F
lorida rock-vibes in our guitar harmonics that sounds like The Allman Brothers so Hard Rock with big range would be a good way to describe our music.

MELODY LANE: Which musicians are/have been your main musical inspirations? And which are your favorite bands nowadays?
ACID: Ace Frehley always has and always will be my true inspiration, as well as Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy who made the me the guitar player that I am today. A main theme within Acid’s Trip is the band Kiss and everytime we have had auditions with new members we start of by playing a few tracks of the album “Rock and Roll Over” together just to see if the music jammin’. I listen to a lot of classical music still nowadays and mix that with florida band called The Outlaws. I love the Florida sound, from the 70’s and within death metal too.

MELODY LANE: As a musician, what has been your biggest achievement to date and what do you want to achieve in the near future? 
ACID: I would lie if I said that I don’t think about achievements, for instance an American tour with Psycho Vegas and other destinations in mind. My biggest achievement to date is actually starting over forming a new band and having the balls to go big even when It was just me alone in my thought process. I knew that everything would work out because I trust myself and my music, that is all that matters. Also meeting new friends and making new relationships with the guys in the bands, they are my best friends and I trust them with my life. It’s a nice feeling making friends for life and at the same time making music together, so that is definitely something that I want to keep achieving in the future. A man is nothing without its family and friends so my main goal is to achieve greatness together with the people that I love. That means everything to me.

MELODY LANE: Until today...What was the most important concert for  ACID’S TRIP career? And why?
ACID: I would say playing at the Flandes Chopper Bash in Belgium during our first tour. It was an important gig for us and many of my international friends where there and supported us during a time where we still were learning to fly as a band. I felt so strong and proud after that concert and I just enjoyed every second of it. That was a big moment for us as a band and as friends becuase we made it together with friends from the chopper culture. That ment a lot to me on a personal level and music wise too.

MELODY LANE: In the end…A message from you to all MELODY LANE readers.
ACID: Check out many of the great releases of Heavy Psych Sounds Records! The artist variety is so good and I could get lost in the HPS catalogue just listening to records for weeks at end. Our album “Strings of Soul” is out on the 7th May and make sure to place your pre-order NOW!

WEB: https://www.facebook.com/acidstripband

ARTICLE BY: MIKE MATTY