Jonas Groth 10.02.2006

Here we go:

In general: What can you tell us about your person?
Jonas: Well.. I'm one of the good guys! Hehehe... I'm 28. I have a son called Benjamin and a fiancé called Silje (getting married in June)

Is music the most important thing in your life?
Jonas: Next to Benjamin and Silje, yes! Absolutely!

Being a musician: was it always the thing you want to do?
Jonas: I think so. I was born into a family where music has always been VERY important. We have recordings of my parents, my older brother Stephan (fromApoptygma Berzerk) and me singing and playing piano from the late 70s and the early 80s. I've been writing songs for as long as I can remember. Since I first heard the Beatles I think.

What did you do when you finished school?
Jonas: First I did 14 months of civil duty (Ban the army) and after that it's been all music!

How would you describe your sound?
Jonas: British influenced melancholic melodic pop!!??!!

Where do you get your inspiration to write great songs from?
Jonas:Thank you! :) Beatles, Cure, Depeche, Coldplay, Keane, U2, Boo Radleys... All the big ones.

How do you see your sound develop in the future?
Jonas: Actually I'm very excited about that at the moment since I've recently joined up with 3 great guys (Ruben Dalen, Mikael Jensen and Fredrik Johnsen) to create a new band (you can hear 2 of our songs on www.myspace.com/jonasgroth - Horizon and Go!).
We're currently working on our sound. It's gonna be melancholic and melodic, that's really all I can say at the moment.

How important are your fans to you?
Jonas: I don't have that many yet, but the ones I have are EXTREMELY important. I'm not planning on going all Teen-Pop-Idol like having my face on posters in little girls rooms. I just wanna create music for people who can enjoy it. Like my inspirations have done for me. For example; I'd LOVE to be able to write a song that can mean as much to someone as "The Hardest Part" by Coldplay has meant for me. Or "Judas" by Depeche Mode, or "Snow In Summer" by The Cure. Geeez... There are so many :)

How important is the internet to you in heling to build up a fanbase?
Jonas: Very important. Thank God for MySpace!

Where is best place you have played?
Jonas: Vetia Scene in Trondheim, Norway. Unfortunately they closed the place down only a few weeks after I played there in 1997. But I hear that a lot of really big bands have been playing there too. Like Deep Purple.

What do you normally do during the last half hour before a concert?
Jonas: Run around screaming and being a jerk! I get so filled up with adrenalin that I'm not able to sit still. The others normally hate that! Hehehe...

And after concerts? Party?
Jonas: Not really. I'm not much of a party guy after gigs. I can party with the band and the crew and stuff, but I hate starting my way up when others are already up. When I get "there", others are usually on their way down. So I actually love to watch a movie or have a nice late dinner.

What music do you listen to?
Jonas: Just about everything! Need good melodies though. Not into instrumental music.

Is the music industry doing enough to find and develop new talents?
Jonas: Not enough to find people and bands that's got something else but good looks or sex appeal.

How do you feel about all the casting shows on t.v. at the moment?
Jonas: Dunno... Not my thing I guess. Getting too old for it.

Last one: Where will you be playing the next time? Maybe in Germany? :)
Jonas: I'd love to. Gotta get the new band on its feet first. Let's hope so.I love to go on tour.