published: 24 /
6 /
2009
Danish/Sweidsh trio The Good The Bad include former Raveonettes guitarist, Manoj Ramdas, and play raw-sounding psychedelic/surf music. Anthony Strutt speaks to them about their forthcoming second album and why they have decided to remain an instrumental act
Article
The Good The Bad consists of The Adam on guitar, Johan Lei Gellett on drums, and Manoj Ramdas on guitar. Johan, who is also the band’s producer, is from Sweden, and both The Adam and Manoj, who used to play lead guitar for the much-acclaimed the Raveonettes, are from Denmark.
The Good The Bad, who are an instrumental group, self-released their self-titled debut album in 2007. They play wild and primitive psychedelic/surf music with a garage sound that would have sat well on any B-movie soundtrack of the late 50s and early 60s.
Pennyblackmusic spoke to Manoj and The Adam after a hot and sweaty gig at the Water Rats in London at gig in May.
PB: To start with a few Raveonettes questions, the first mini album, ‘Whip It Up’ (2003-Ed), just featured Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo. The next two, ‘Chain Gang of Love’ (2003-Ed) and ‘Pretty in Black’(2005) were, however, both recorded as band albums, weren’t they?
MR: Totally. Sune, however, wrote everything.
PB: What happened to the band? You left after ‘Chain Gang of Love’ at which point the Raveonettes were dropped by Columbia (). Could you just not afford to keep going as a full band without the label’s support?
MR: No, the thing with me and the Raves was I always wanted to do other stuff. Sune was writing and I write a lot of stuff. I got tired of the constant touring.
PB: The Raveonettes did tour a lot, didn’t they?
MR: By the end I was really disillusioned with the whole rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. That was why I pulled out.
PB: Were you in bands before then?
MR: Yes, I have been in bands since I was fifteen years old.
PB: Always in Denmark?
MR: I moved to L.A. in 1997. I had a few bands there, but nothing special.
PB: So when the Columbia thing finished, the Raveonettes went back to being a two piece, did they (Wagner and Foo recorded the Raveonettes fourth and last album to date, 2007’s ‘Lust Lust Lust’, as a duo-Ed)?
MR: Yeah. When you go out on the road constantly, it takes a lot out of you, and when you do that for four years it is especially exhausting. Most bands don't last for four years. I mean you barely survive.
PB: Do you still stay in contact with the other Raveonettes?
MR: I saw Sune actually last week. We ended up in a bar together until 5a.m. It was good to catch up.
PB: After the Raveonettes, did you stay in music or did you take a break?
MR: I kept on writing for my main band Spektr.
PB: Is Spektr your main band and The Good The Bad your side project then?
MR: No, they are both important. I had four years where the band was paying my rent, so it was a shock to have to go out and find a job again. And then when I did get a phone call from The Adam at the beginning of 2007 about me joining his band, I was like I can't play guitar in his band. But he kept on bugging me and then I decided that it might fun going out with a band again.
PB: How long has The Good The Bad been going?
MR: We did our first shows together in February 2007,
PB: So more than two years ago!
A: Shit.
MR: Too long, we quit (Laughs).
PB: So this is your first time here?
MR: No, this is our third time. We were also here in March and the rest of the guys were here before then, but I couldn’t make it. I was in another band at the time and I was contracted to play with them so The Adam and Johan got a stand in. I have been here lots of times.
PB: It's almost home.
MR: Yeah. Not a nice home, but it is ok (Laughs).
PB: With The Good The Bad, it is just the one album you have done to date, isn’t it?
MR: Yeah, we have a second one. We just need Johan to mix everything. He hasn't had the time to do it yet. We hope to have it out in the late summer.
PB: The music is very primitive. On MySpace its says it is a surf record. It is not surf, however, as we know it. It is not trad surf. It is like garage surf.
MR: I'd definitely say so.
PB: It is carrying on from where the Raveonettes left off, as it is very much like a B movie soundtrack. There is lots of noise and chaos. The weird thing is there is no vocal, just two guitars and drums. Do you want to get a vocalist in, and would they stand behind Johan as he is a major point to watch in the band?
MR: On the record we have guest female vocalists doing like Ennio Morricone-like vocals, but I don’t think we could bring another in another member as the chemistry is really good between us all.
A: If we got a singer, he would have to stand behind the drum for sure.
MR: If we got a vocalist, we would all do it as we can all sing.
A: I don’t think we need a vocalist live. The music speaks for itself. We use the music so we don't have to say I love you.
M: We have got good chemistry. We don’t want to fuck it up by bringing in a singer.
PB: Is the album vinyl only?
A: We did 500 vinyl copies of the LP. It has no label. We just pressed it and sell it. We did a few promo CDRs to sell at the shows.
PB: What are your future plans?
MR: To tour. We have got a few shows in Denmark. We are going to be back here soon as well. Hopefully we will do Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, all the warm places as well.
PB: Thank you for your time.
M: Thank you very much.
More information about The Good The Bad can be found at www.myspace.com/tgtb
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