Thundermother
Interview Conducted on December 13, 2023
by Dan Locke
The band is a new again. With a new lineup. How do you go about redefining a band?
Filippa Nassi: It’s always been me who’s defined the band and it’s music. I don’t think it’s a new band, since the original bass player Majsan Lindberg is back after a 1,5 year leave. However, the feeling is better and the creativity since we enjoy spending time together. It’s only laughter and joy and I’m proud to say our new singer Linnéa Vikström (former Therion) wrote our newest single.
What is the process of writing your music?
Often I have a riff or a title idea and discuss a theme or a feeling of a song with the singer. Often 80% is written and then the band comes in and makes it a 100%. We’re writing a lot on the road when fun ideas come across when we fool around, after a gig or something. If we laugh, or if more than two people like an idea, we record it on a voice memo and we have a shared folder with lyric and musical ideas. We often want it to be something clever, or fun that makes people feel good. In our previous albums the lyrical theme is more different from what we are trying to create now. We’re trying to go back to the humor we had on our first two albums.
Tell me about your new single “I Left My Licenses in the Future”?
Linnéa was in the drivers passenger seat with her mum driving, after a gig we did this summer and she came up with it on her long drive back home to Stockholm. It’s great to be bored ‘cus then you think outside of the box! It’s a hard hitting no-brainer track aimed at the one in the passenger seat without a driver’s license. An anthem for those who never gets to be the designated driver and a love letter to the ones in the driver’s seat..
We in the band loved the song instantly!
How was it working with Soren Andersen (Pretty Maids, D-A-D, Glen Hughes and Mike Tramp)?
It’s magical. He is my kind of mentor in guitar playing and songwriting. He is just a magical human being and a great producer. He can take a song and make it so much better in a matter of minutes. The third album with him in the making now.
Paul McCarty and Ringo Starr just released the new and final single by the Beatles “Now and Then”. With the help of AI and Peter Jackson, they were able to add vocals from John and guitar parts from George. How do you think AI will affect the music business in the years to come?
I have friends who lost their jobs already due to AI without an explanation. They are pretty upset about the development. For DIY -people like myself it’s a good tool to get things done, cheap and fast. Instead of emailing my english speaking friend to correct my lyrics I can just put it into ChatGPT now. We haven’t tried the picture side of it yet. I guess it makes the graphic designers jobs a bit easier, but it could also ruin it for a lot of cover-designers. Everything we have ever had as an album cover has been man made but I’m personally pretty excited to the opportunity to be able to try things myself.
What are you feeling about streaming music?
It’s great for us to get plays on playlists and I’m stunned by joy everytime I hear Thundermother at the gym or something like that. I think it’s amazing how much new music you can discover. Growing up it was always the same shit at the radio and I was so over it. Mix tapes saved my youth! All in for new music getting better opportunities!
Last year (2022) vinyl is outselling digital media. Metallica is selling so much vinyl that they bought their pressing plant- They pressed 900,000 plus pieces of vinyl I 2022 alone. The plant they purchased is the Furnace Record Pressing in Alexandria, VA. So is it Digital vs. vinyl?
It’s not either, it’s both! I have a huge vinyl collection of over 400 vinyls and I listen to music I really love on vinyl. It sounds better and it’s never been a question of Thundermother not having it. Everything we released exists also on vinyl. It’s also more sustainable than CD:s cus they don’t get ruined after 20 years like CD:s do, they don’t contain water, so somehow I always knew vinyls would come back.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what does that song mean to you?
Kiss just had their last show so currently it’s a lot of Strutter on my mind. First time we played in the US was when we were invited to the KISS kruise so I have a lot of gratitude towards them.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
It’s a thing for sure, but all I’ve experienced is that bands share a nightliner bus for example. So it’s more splitting costs.
How was it to tour with The Scorpions?
Magical. The Scorpions treated us like queens. Their crew became family and we still have close contact. We played in Germany last week and two from the stage crew came to our show to show support. That’s love. I have so much love for The Scorpions and their crew, my heart could melt. Mikkey Dee will always have my deepest respect, being a Swede like us made us connect, and being so humble and nice is a true inspiration.
How does one get invited to perform on the Kiss Kruise?
There was a competition of sorts, which we didn’t even know about where we got voted to perform by the fans.
Since Kiss is on their Final Tour, do you think that the Kiss Kruise will still happen next year?
I think so, they might not perform together but Gene might have his business talk and Paul might have his exhibition. It has become a legendary cruise and it is a place for hardcore fans to meet.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with. Today holograms are already being used in a variety of ways, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense. Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be making a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas . If the cost was down to the point, you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Haha! YES of course! I have never thought about it, but instantly I want The Beatles to come to my living room! I would love to come to yours and head bang! We would reach so many more people.
In the past, if a musician stopped doing music, they found a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
I would be a guitar tech at tours or a manager for bands. I couldn’t have a 9-5 job, I like working a little bit all the time, wherever I want.
What is your happy place?
On the stage, when the band is 100% listening to each other and the groove just IS THERE and I am a part of it!
A few bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last two years. In addition, Mick Mars from Motley Crue just sold his rights to all his music, up to the point of last year. In an interview with Rolling Stones, he said “ he was confronted with his own mortality (with his battle with ankylosing spondylitis) And now he does have to worry about anything. This month we are finding out that the music duo Hall and Oats sold part of their music years ago. And they are still performing those songs live. Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs? Remember anything that you create forward will be 100% yours.
I don’t think so. I can’t grasp why you would do that really. I don’t put any value in what others do though. It’s up to each and every one.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment. TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artists to earn revenue when people use their music. In many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to huge boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube. TikTok does this with the algorithm that generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch. Because a song can go viral because of this. Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
Well, last time I checked, they removed our music from TikTok. Are you sure about this? I think they are not paying their part to Gema or something. Anyway, it’s a tool but nothing I will rely on. Live music is the thing for us.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel went live last summer. The station a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices. Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty-One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, Kiss, and Mick Jagger. The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
I hope not! It sounds dangerous! I don’t really like the music industry if this is the way we are going. What we should focus on is going to live shows, or supporting a band buying merch. TikTok is using MUSIC for their own benefit, not the opposite. I might be wrong but I am old-school I guess.
How did you come up with the motto “We Fight For Rock N Roll”
No matter the hardship people might have in their life, we will always try to make people feel better by having Rock N Roll in their life. During the pandemic we continued to play for 50 people day by day, sometimes two times a day, we did streams, we released music in a very non profitable time. We played on the roof of a fire truck and drove around.
Music should make people feel better so we will continue Fighting For Rock N Roll. It’s just something I live by and it’s from my heart. We will entertain, we will include, we will continue through anything.
Is there anything you would like to say in closing?
Thanks for having me, and real interesting questions, I learned a thing or two as well, haha!
Don’t forget to check out our interview with the band from 2018.
