Jeet Kune Do, a Swedish Hard Rock band, shares their journey from childhood friendships to creating original music, blending classic influences into their sound.
1. Can
you tell us about the origins of Jeet Kune Do and how the band came together?
All four
members grew up in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden and were all known to each
other since playin’ in several different bands through the history. Tommy was
out of a band since a while back and wanted to find some good friends who
shared the love of music and to play just for the fun of it. First Uffe and
Marko joined in and after a while so did Jerker. Beginning as a cover act
playing music from bands like KISS, The Hellacopters, Deep Purple and others
the desire to create something original arose and from there it just went on.
2. What
inspired you to focus on Hard Rock music, and how do you incorporate your
various influences into your sound?
All the
guys in Jeet Kune Do share the same heroes and they all relate back to classic
Hard Rock Music. Of course all variations of Rock and Metal had made their
impact through the years and therefore you can find bits of various influences
in the music. We are all very creative during the writing sessions and since
everyone contributes in every song these influences shines through.
3. You've
mentioned playing live is a big focus for Jeet Kune Do. Can you share some
memorable experiences from your live performances?
Very time
we hit the stage it´s a new experience. You don’t really know what you will
meet but when you finish a song and you get that roar from the audience you
just know that’s where you wanna be. As we started out as a cover act I will
always remember the first time we played our first original song, No Halo, and
after just a minute the people in the crowd sang along with the chorus. That
was special.
4. What
was the creative process like for your latest releases, particularly the songs
recorded with engineer Gustav Ydenius?
Working
with Gustav is a real treat. He’s just such a nice guy with an incredible ear
for music. He almost seems to read our minds in the recording process. Adding a
touch of magic along the way. The songs are almost finished when we hit the
studio but we always work with the harmonics on guitar and vocals to get it
right. That is not finished before recording and it adds a touch of nerves to
the process and makes it great fun to record.
5. How
do you approach balancing covers of classic rock songs with your original
music? Do you find one aspect more challenging than the other?
It is
always a bit difficult to play songs from your childhood heroes. You just don’t
want it to sound bad or corny. Myself for instance didn’t wanna play Detroit
Rock City by KISS since it was kinda holy for me. Uffe convinced me to play it
and it’s been on the set since. It is always important as well that the
classics blends into our own original music so it makes a full concert and that
we ourselves and the audience feels that it makes a whole.
6. What
themes or messages do you aim to convey through your original songs, such as
"Strange Addiction"?
Strange
Addiction is about a person with some real personal issues, needing to control
everything and to be in the center of everything. In a real bad way…. Better to
let those kind of people wear a white jacket with long sleeves, securely
tightened at the back
7. Can
you share some insights into your experiences working with other bands prior to
forming Jeet Kune Do? How have those experiences influenced your approach to music?
We all have
a long history with performing and recording acts in the past. For example:
- Uffe – Miss Willis. Uffe is still with
this band and you can check them out on: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7L9c1sBa0Q07TJ77D1UYtM?si=abNjp2tiTiuIKdgbzM0ilQ
- Tommy – Rat Sald (Hard Rock and Grunge): https://open.spotify.com/artist/290TVWzH7P7MkSTN6ShUSK?si=4PO9vbIySvaK6fZojxeZ_w
Electric Earth (Hard Rock): https://open.spotify.com/artist/2FmuGDCIdHOkeeaZMWLFQ6?si=KPgckQ1mQoaYc1Rp6STmJw
Gooseflesh (Thrash Metal): https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lQqv7Mi9YhydBT2nf3sct?si=YQxc1sIySFG7L5TyvnaKuA - Jerker – Thn Rinkside (Pop/Rock) https://open.spotify.com/artist/1RGwf8VfbwCEyicCleDstD?si=Qcx2_rK6Rn2m3xB7IDZOaA
Kapten Kermit (Pop/Punk): https://open.spotify.com/artist/1L835FxGKZLivabIOdzpwS?si=Y_aXuoyKQmGK-gtbilMmKA - Marko – Educated in Los Angeles where he
lived for a long period of time as a hired gun before returning to
Trollhättan.
The main
difference between now and the past is that we now share the same love for the
music and that we don’t let our egos get in the way which makes it all so much
more fun and enjoyable.
8. As a
band from Sweden, how do you view the current Hard Rock scene in your country
and globally? Are there any trends or changes you've noticed?
Sweden, as
you probably know, is a great country for music and rock music in particularly.
For some time the Death Metal scene was all over the place and since we’re
living near Gothenburg with all their great bands it could be somewhat
difficult if you were not in that scene. Nowadays it feels like the more
classic Hard Rock is making a great comeback and people tend to return to great
melodies, Groove and sing-a-long choruses. It suits Jeet Kune Do well and we’re
looking forward to the future.
9. What
are your plans for future releases and performances? Any upcoming projects or
tours in the works?
No tours on
the schedule for now event though we will play some live shows in the summer.
We will release our next single called Down Down in a couple of weeks and we
have started writing new material that hopefully will be recorded in the autumn
and released sometime near the new year.
10. Lastly,
how can fans stay updated on your latest news and music releases, and is there
anything else you'd like to share with your audience?
The best way to stay in touch with us is to follow us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/JeetKuneDoSweden). None of us are into the whole social media thing so there is no TicTok, Instagram and so on. We are just a Rock ‘n’ Roll band wanting to play music, hahaha…For all of you out there who likes to Rock and Party – Stay true to yourselves and don’t let anyone tell you what to think. Together we will conquer in the end!!
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