Pratteln ( Switzerland), 8th August 2015

interview with Crash (drums) and Jimmy (keyboards) of H.E.A.T at the Z7

by Maxx  Double X Barzelatto, fotos and transcribing: Sabrina Deckert

Maxx: We are here with H.e.a.t from Sweden For Rock On, as usual!

Crash: Hello!
Jimmy: Hello!

Maxx: When I interviewed you a long time ago, maybe six or seven years ago, I asked you where the airplane on your first album cover will bring you to.

Crash: It brought us to Switzerland (laughing).

Maxx: Only?

Jimmy: What did we answer back than?

Maxx: I don’t remember.
(Crash and Jimmy laughing).
But I remember that I wished you a lot of luck. I think you did many steps since than.

Crash: Thank you.

Maxx: The band increased a lot.

Jimmy: Well yeah. We are trying our best all the time and we are trying to keep inspired and to write the best we can do, to play the best play we can do. Well, just be ourselves basically.

Maxx: I discovered you when you were pretty young and than you lost a vocalist (by the way I loved him), you lost a songwriter and a guitar player. So I thought. “Oh fuck! They are completely fucked up.” But: nothing changed. You made the best out of it.

Jimmy: We got a new great singer and we are still five great songwriters in the band so we are okay.

Maxx: More than okay. For my opinion you made a lot of very successful songs after all that. Which is your secret?

Jimmy: Well, if I tell you I have to kill you.
Crash: We eat a lot of pasta.
Jimmy. Yea.

Maxx: Talking about the album: Are you preparing a new one?

Jimmy: Yea well, we have to record a new one. Otherwise we’ll die. We are addicted to making new music.
Crash: And it’s gonna be boring for the audience if we played the same songs for ten years.

Maxx: Yes, that’s another question: I saw you at the main festivals now. Whenever I can I join your shows of course. You don’t change your set list so much, do you?

Jimmy: No, we keep pretty much the same set list I would say.
Crash: Yes.
Jimmy: We are of course adjusted to length but I think that when we have a show that really sits, you know, perfectly. I think that we try to stick to that one. But of course we have like a lot of, all shows are different anyway, you know.
Crash: Well, maybe the first ten show, the first five shows the set list changes. But than we are on tour. We are on the Touring Down The Wall Tour. And that’s all over the world.

Maxx: This tour was a very long one. These were the last dates you were playing for the tour, weren’t they? Will you play in other countries?

Crash: Yeah, these are the few last now. We are playing in Japan in September, in Tokyo. That’s gonna be cool. And than we are gonna play in Sweden on the 29th august at the Falkenberg Rockfest.

Maxx: Do you have the time during the tour to make new music?

Crash: Yes.
Jimmy: Well ja. We try our best. But we’re gonna take some time for song writing now.

Maxx: Yes, okay. I saw you: You party a lot. Especially after the shows. You don’t save any energy. For my opinion it is very difficult to write a song while you are on tour.

Crash: Yes, we are having a lot of stress because we are partying so much.
Jimmy: Yes, but someone has got to do it. It is a hard job, nobody really wants it …
Crash: … so much party …
Jimmy: … in so little time … (both laughing)

Maxx: Great (laughing). Do you already have any plans for the next year?

Jimmy: Oh! It’s gonna be a few partys.

Maxx: Again? (laughing). No, this I was not talking about. I was talking about business. Maybe some tour dates or a new record…

Jimmy: The only plan we have is to write songs and to write a kick ass album.
We have to start planning for that. In all aspects of the album. From the entire concept of the cover and who will produce the album, where we will record – all of those things. As well as the songwriting has come in parallel so it is a very solid package when it comes together.

Maxx: At which step are you now?

Jimmy: We have already written a few songs. Maybe just below ten songs. But as you know we would like to write a certain amount and than choose the best ones.

Maxx: So did you discharge some songs from the previous albums?

Jimmy: Well we try to go through the demos and see if there are songs in that we didn’t understand that they were that good. This has happened to “We Will Never Die” on “Tearing Down The Wall” that actually was written for the first album. Now we decided that it is the time for it.

Maxx: Really? Did you rearrange it?

Jimmy: Yes, we updated it. Lyrics weren’t ready, only the hooks.

Maxx: Are all of you living in Stockholm?

Crash: Yeah.

Maxx: So you meet all together to write songs? Do you use computers as well or do you meet to record or rehersal somehow?

Jimmy: It is very rarely that all of us are writing on one song. Sometimes we write alone, sometimes in pairs.
Crash: Yes, we use computers, too.

Maxx: And than last question maybe as I did have too many beers yesterday and nearly forgot all the questions I wanted to ask you. Do you prefer to play at a festival like for example Bang Your Head outdoor or do you prefer an indoor venue like here in Pratteln? For me this (Z7 PRATTELN ndr) is one of the best venues in Europe.

Jimmy: Both are great. I mean at festivals you get so much new audience, there is so much to gain. It is a great feeling to see someone discovering the band for the first time. I mean everyone that is here obviously know what H.e.a.t is about and we are here to celebrate that. But on a festival we have the chance to gain some new fans that would come to a show like this.

Maxx: Yes, in fact your fan base is increasing day by day I think. This is unbelievable. Do you have the time to follow up Facebook, Twitter and all the stuff? Do you have any assistant doing that for you_

Jimmy: No. We do it ourselves actually.
I guess everyone is a little bit wifi-addicted nowadays so scrolling, scrolling – that is what is going on backstage nowadays. We don’t even notice all the naked girls. We are just scrolling, scrolling.
(laughing)

Maxx: Another last question. Why H.e.a.t with the dots in between, but not on the final “t”? Was there another band with the same name?

Jimmy: No, it is just to separate the letters. The “T” is already last so you don’t have to separate it.

Maxx: Does H.e.a.t mean anything else?

Jimmy: Ja, of course.
Crash: (lauhing) It does.

Maxx: In Swedish?

Crash: It’s a band’s secret.
Jimmy: Ja.
Crash: And we will tell on the Rock On Radio City Trieste in 20…
Jimmy: …35
Crash: In 2035

Maxx: Okay, I will be there. Don’t worry. In fact I wanted to ask you when you come back to Trieste. But a bit serious now: How do you judge if a concert was good. Because of the sound on stage was great? Because of the cachet, the city, the audience being warm, hot, excited? Because of the after show party?

Crash: Probably mostly because of the audience. The respond of the audience. Because you can have some problems with the monitors on stage or a drum breaks down or a cymbal cracks or you loose a string on the bass or anything. But if the audience is great you still get a really good feeling. And that is what it is all about: To have a good time. Right?
Jimmy: And we love to entertain.
Crash: Ja!

Maxx: Great! I love you even more now. Last words. Any message for your fans?

Crash: See you all the next year in ITALIA!
Jimmy: Maxx  you promised us to arrange a 3 weeks tour in all Italy! So be prepared!
Crash:  …and prepare Pastaaa!