The Hives drummer Christian Grahn and bassist Johan Gustafsson spoke with Wikimetal about their expectations for their one-off show in Brazil on October 15th at Tokio Marine Hall in São Paulo.
The band, which has been on the road since the nineties, continues to win over fans from new generations. Regarding this, Christian said: “People come from the 90s or 2000s, something like that. It’s just a new audience. I think that happens everywhere. When something becomes popular again, it’s like rock and guitar. Whatever you want to call it. It’s just something people want to see. Again, there was a kind of glitch there. Everyone thought rock was dead. It’s so alive that it’s started to take over again. I think that might be the case.”
Johan added: “Furthermore, the way the music works. The way our music works. There are no stereotypes. You don't need any prerequisites. No prior knowledge of our band. Just come in. And it'll be great!”
The album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons
After more than a decade without releasing a new album, in August of last year The Hives released the highly anticipated album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons . Randy Fitzsimmons is a guy who supposedly is part of the band and is credited with bringing the band together. Previously, on the back cover of the Tyrannosaurus Hives album, two extra legs appeared, supposedly belonging to the band's producer, amusing fans by suggesting it might be Randy.
Therefore, they blame the delay in releasing this album on Fitzsimmons' disappearance. And Grahn explained about this: “So, I finally found out that the guy is probably dead. We found some songs he left behind. It was a tough few years. Not being able to contact him anymore. We just didn't know. But in the end we found all this. I'm super happy about it. It's a great album.”.
Regarding the album recording, the drummer described the experience: “It was fun. We were in the studio doing some things. We recorded some songs a while ago. We did some recordings with Jack White . A little different. But making the whole album was fun again. It's not easy for us. It needs to be perfect. We play everything at the same time. It's not just something you do on a computer. It takes time to do. But in the end, it was well worth it.”
The Hives and Brazil
Expectations for the show in Brazil remain high. The Swedish group's live performances are known as some of the most energetic in rock. The band, which performed here at the end of the year, hopes that a solo show will allow them to showcase more songs from their new album.
Since announcing the show, the band has been trying to connect with the Brazilian audience using memes that are so widespread here. Regarding this, the drummer commented: “We’re very far away. We’re from Sweden, and when we have a show coming to South America, we always try to make everyone aware of that, because it doesn’t happen every day. Whatever can help us feel more welcome and give you the chance to get tickets earlier, we’ll do it.”
Furthermore, they commented on the famous “Come to Brazil,” which has become a trademark of Brazilian fans. Some artists love it, and others hate it. “I’ll take that as a compliment, but at this point I’ve also started using it when I don’t get a good response. It always seems to work,” said Johan.
The show in October
Finally, they shared what we should expect from the October show: “We’re coming back for a big show, which means we have more time available. We can play longer than we did at Primavera. We can play more songs from the new album, which people seem to love. I’m expecting a great night from every perspective. I think it’s going to be a wild show. I think there will be some good songs played on stage. You know what I expect from the audience. It will be one of the best audiences ever. High expectations for the show.”
Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased on the official Tickets For Fun and at official points of sale.
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