PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Ant May from Planetmosh spoke to Joey Tempest, singer with Europe to ask about their new album and touring plans.
Planetmosh: Your new album, Bag of Bones is due to be released at the end of the month and sounds fantastic. Can you tell us a bit about the album?
Joey: It’s our ninth album and our fourth album since we started again. Its a straightforward classic rock album with some blues influences. With all the experience we have now and with all the things we’ve gone through personally and with the band over all these years, I think for the first time we can express ourselves this way. We’ve really done something different and moved ahead again, so we’re on this journey, switching producers, we’re keeping it fresh, but this may be one of my favourite Europe albums ever.
Planetmosh: You played Doghouse during your show in London in february last year – was that the first song you’d written for the new album?
Joey: Yeah we wrote that on the road last time we were on the road, and we then realised we wanted to make more of a straightforward rock album.
Planetmosh: You’ve got Joe Bonamassa appearing on the new album doing slide guitar on the track Bag of bones. How did this collaboration come about?
Joey: We started listening to Joe Bonamassa for about three or four years ago in the dressing room with the band Europe. We started discussing it and we liked some of the songs so much, “Tea for one” the Led Zeppelin cover he did, and The Ballad of John Henry, songs like that, and we wanted to find out who produced it. We discovered that Kevin Shirley does all the Bonamassa productions, and we had the same idea in our head to make more of a seventies classic rock album, so we approached him and we realised when we started working with Kevin that we could ask him about Joe and he asked him and Joe was delighted at playing on the record. We also met Joe actually on the last tour. He came up to play Doghouse with us live as a guest artist in Stockholm, 2011 and he was a great guy, so we asked Kevin to ask him.
Planetmosh: Is that a sitar being used during Firebox? Theres an instrument in the background and for one short section the song sounds very Indian
Joey: I think that’s Mic Michaeli playing around with his keyboards. It’s got some spiritual undertones that song, I think it’s very majestic, it’s got some interesting twists and turns I think.
Planetmosh: What’s the song writing process in the band – is it a collaborative thing or are there one or two main song writers?
Joey: We work in different ways. Sometimes the guys send me ideas, John Norum, John Levén and Mic Michaeli they send me ideas and I sort of put the melody, the words and the chorus together then send it back to them and then we talk about it, sometimes it happens that way. Other times I’ll go to Stockholm and we’ll go to our rehearsal place outside Stockholm and try ideas together on the spot so to speak, so we work in different ways, either we work sending ideas to each other or we work out the songs together at our rehearsal space in Stockholm.
Planetmosh: What are your inspirations for writing the lyrics?
Joey: Lyrics are mainly from life really, from personal experiences, also what the band members go through personally, and also what the band goes through. On Bag of bones its quite honest and real lyrics. It can be anything that is happening in or lives. On the song “Bag of Bones” I wrote that lyric in the middle of the London riots, so that’s why the chorus is “My city lies in ruins”. It was a strange experience being Swedish, growing up in Sweden and living in London, and having that happen around us, my family and everything that was quite strange. Things like that can creep into the lyrics or maybe just personal states of mind you know, things that you feel yourself.
Planetmosh: You’re due to play Download festival this summer for the first time. How does it feel to finally be playing the festival?
Joey: We’re delighted of course, but also to play at Donington – we’ve never played at Donington park. We’ve been there as kids watching other bands so its amazing to play there finally.
Planetmosh: I imagine it’s an amazing feeling to play festivals or gigs at venues where you’ve watched bands as a fan yourself.
Joey: Yeah its kinda cool, it’s a special feeling and you know you’ve been standing out there as a kid screaming and singing and then you stand up there yourself, its amazing.
Planetmosh: You’re due to tour later this year with the UK dates being in November. Can we expect to hear many songs from the new album on the tour?
Joey: On the Bag of bones tour that will be going on all autumn, including the UK, Yes. I would like us to try 4, 5 or 6 new songs on our own tour whereas on the festival tour in the summer you don’t usually play as long so maybe 2 or 3 new songs will be enough there.
Planetmosh: When you buy music Which do you prefer – Vinyl, CD or legal mp3 downloads ?
Joey: I prefer mp4 itunes downloads at the moment. I have loads of CDs at home, loads and loads but I download my music these days.
Planetmosh: I suppose if you travel a lot then downloads are more convenient.
Joey: Yeah, we’re touring all the time on the road and we check out music all the time, and if you like something you just get it immediately. I prefer the sound on the CD slightly better, mp3’s are slightly hard sounding, but the mp4s that itunes are using are better, they are different types of compressions, but to check out bands quickly its easier to download.
Planetmosh: What was the last album you bought?
Joey: Probably Rival sons actually, yes it was Rival Sons.
Planetmosh: Ok thanks for your time.
Europe will be on tour in the UK during November and are well worth watching as they are excellent live.
Birmingham 02 Academy – Wednesday 21 November
Glasgow 02 ABC – Thursday 22 November
Manchester HMV Ritz – Friday 23 November
Newcastle 02 Academy – Sunday 25 November
Leeds 02 Academy – Monday 26 November
Nottingham Rock City – Tuesday 27 November
Bristol 02 Academy – Thursday 29 November
Cardiff Coal Exchange – Friday 30 November
London 02 Shepherds Bush Empire – Saturday 1 December
The new album, Bag of Bones is out at the end of April – keep watching Planetmosh for our review of the album, coming soon…
Album Track Listing:
1. Riches To Rags
2. Not Supposed To Sing The Blues
3. Firebox
4. Bag Of Bones
5. Requiem
6. My Woman My Friend
7. Demon Head
8. Drink And A Smile
9. Doghouse
10. Mercy You Mercy Me
11. Bring It All Home
