PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
David Farrell for Planetmosh, Interview with Diddi Kastenholt/Bai Bang.
PM: Hi Diddi, the new album “All Around The World” has just been released, has it been well received?
Diddi: “Hallo to you….! Yes. It’s been great! We get the best reaction from our fans, and from different magazines from all over the world, we’re getting very good reviews too, so I’m very proud of everyone!! Much better than the previous albums.”
PM: Did you have the album all written before you went into the studio?
Diddi: “Yes! We started writing again not long after “Livin My Dream” was released. The timing was perfect!”
PM: If we could talk about a couple of tracks, what are your favourites and why?
Diddi: “I think, at the moment, “Everybody Everywhere” is one of the best! That song also has a great story to it…”
“I always use my cell phone to record ideas on!! I can come up with a melody, a great hook, even a riff in my head, and I quickly record it singing to my cell phone! For this particular song, I was in a big shopping mall, going around singing this idea and this hook just came right out! I took up my cell phone and started to sing! Then, I played the hook back for our producer….. In 4 hours the song was recorded.”
“Another song I really like is “BAI BANG” itself….. The same story again! Walking on the beach singing (and a little cold in wintertime), I did start to falter on this one; “Bai Bang… bbbbaibang”, but it worked!!! I’ve always wanted to incorporate our name (Bai Bang) into my lyrics…, and now I have succeeded. I’ve done this with Diddi in a few places on the last couple of albums….., just playing with words, but it’s the first time for Bai Bang…..!!
“I also really like…., oh, it’s the whole album really, but “Summertime” is a great summer song! I was dreaming of our first gig at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles!! Really wanted to be there again…… The Strip, Mullholland Road, The Roxxy…..”
PM: Now, bass player Joacim Sandin has just recently left the band and has been replaced with Sikk Roxx; apart from a more fuller involvement with the band, what can Sikk bring to Bai Bang that Joacim couldn’t?
Diddi: “It’s a really positive injection into the band….. Sikk Roxx is a hugely competent bass player! Full of energy, positive vibes and a very nice guy as well!”
PM: It must be hard keeping the band together, especially playing live, as Jens is now gigging as a sound Engineer in Egypt until December, would it not be better to bring in a guest guitarist when playing live at the moment?
Diddi: “Oh yes, but we have been a 4 piece band for many years, so it’s nothing new for us! Pelle does all the solos now instead… Of course, we do miss Jens a lot and we hope that he comes home very soon! But we fix it!!!”
PM: As well as being a guitarist in the band, Jens also plays drums, and has even stepped in and played drums for Bai Bang at short notice when you were on tour; who else plays more than one instrument?
Diddi: “That’s right, and Jens did the drum work really well that time! Johnny had had to fly home in an emergency! And, Jens rehearsed the drum tracks, on a table, on a train taking us to the airport after a gig in Switzerland!! We were flying to a festival in the UK actually!! He did really, very well but Johnny our drummer is outstanding!!! He is a funny guy and the best drummer! I think that all our members handle different instruments actually. Sikk Roxx plays the guitar as well, and I play guitar, flute and some piano.”
PM: You are playing the huge US Rocklahoma Festival this month. What makes it so special to you and the rest of the guys? It is just one long massive party weekend?
Diddi: “It’s always great to get involved with festivals! First of all to do a great show and kick ass! Then, of course to have a great PARTY!!! We will also be doing a press showcase and meet and greet at the Wacken Open Air in Germany this August! And in November, we play the HEAT festival in Ludwigsburg, Germany……!!! It’s ‘rock n roll’ and PARTY!!!”
PM: Do you prefer those big festivals or small indoor venues? Do they both have a mixture of challenges?
Diddi “I like both!! To do a big festival is very nice! Good lights, sound, monitor systems and much more. But, to do a small club is lovely in a different way! The close contact with the audience is great!!!!”
PM: And finally, what is your favourite English language TV Show?
Diddi:“ I still love Fawlty Towers!!!! John Cleese!!! What a guy!!! Love him!!!”
PM: Thank you, and good luck with the new album, it rocks
