The Most

Photo Credit: Andreas Säker

     There’s a town in Sweden called Umeå that lies along the Ume River. It’s the 12^th largest town in Sweden and is mostly known for medical research and technical education thanks to the University that was established there in 1965. And speaking of 1965, there’s also a wonderful band from Umeå that goes by the name The Most. Their brand of rhythm and blues music is heavily influenced by the pop music of the mid ‘60’s. Much like the musical groups that were birthed along the Mersey River some forty years prior, the Ume River has given life to this new group that similarly fuses the guitar sounds of Chuck Berry and Lubbock’s favorite son Buddy Holly along with elements of Motown soul, doo wop and blues. The time has come for a new global Mod rock resurrection and The Most are just the band to usher it in!            

Interview by J Castro 

Let’s start off with introductions.  Who is currently in the band and what instruments do you all play? 

Frans Perris – Guitars and vocals

Magnus Kollberg – Guitars and vocals

Martin Claesson – Bass and vocals

Mats ’Slimstick’ Westin – Drums and vocals

Where are you all from originally and how did you meet and decide to play music together? 

FRANS: Two Swedes, one half-Italian and one the son of a Finnish war child. We share a common taste in music and we sometimes get along fine!

Photo Credit: Lina Lindqvist 

How would you describe your band’s sound to someone that’s never heard you guys before? 

FRANS: People say it sounds like music from the ‘60’s.

The Most is based in the town of Umeå, Sweden. What is it like playing shows out there for a band like yours, is there a supportive scene?   

FRANS: Eh, no scene whatsoever. The two Justins* are big here too. (*Bieber and Timberlake)

By playing music heavily influenced by the 1960’s, do you ever feel your songwriting is restricted in some ways? Do you ever write songs that you feel don’t fit into The Most’s “sound?”  

FRANS: Not at all, there is so much music to draw inspiration from. We sound the way we do because we are the people we are.

Photo Credit: Roger Degerman

What qualities do you think rock n’ roll music from the 1960’s has that makes that era so unique and vital still almost half a century later?   

FRANS: Quality! Of course there are many bands now forgotten that were pretty boring but the large number of good acts that has survived into our times had it down. Experimenting with lyrics, arrangements and sounds changed music very fast in the early ‘60’s and some very interesting things appeared. Later on people started copying each other too much, focused more on image than on the music. Later recording technique suffered as it went to ridiculous multi-tracking.

Do you think image is still important to a rock n’ roll band these days? I’ll admit that if I see a band in suits come up on stage I get a little more excited and curious than if I see four guys in t-shirts and shorts shuffle up to the stage.   

FRANS: There are many aspects to artistry and to entertain is one of them. We suit up of respect to our audience basically.

You guys have made a few videos throughout the years.  You made one last year for the old Tages song “Fuzzy Patterns.” Can you tell me a bit about it, like where it was filmed and who made it? 

FRANS: A real quick job. It was shot here in Umeå, up along the river. It was a very hot day and our good friend and photographer Roger Degerman filmed it. Andreas Säker, also a friend, is one of the main editors from national television and helped us out putting it together. We didn’t have any firm ideas but were inspired by old Tages footage and the scene from Zeppelin’s ‘70’s movie with Jimmy Page sitting near the pond with his Hurdy Gurdy. Ha, ha.

Photo Credit: Lina Lindqvist

If The Most could tour with any band from any era in rock ‘n roll history, who would it be and why? 

FRANS: Howlin’ Wolf!

What lies ahead for The Most in 2015? 

 FRANS: Try to get cool gigs, record as much music as possible and have fun!!

Links to promote
www.facebook.com/FaceTheMost

YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuqAEcY1RIKqWbvkrg0s6Zg

The Most

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The Rich Hands

     San Antonio’s The Rich Hands sound like early Rolling Stones covering Buddy Holly with a bit more dirt and fuzz collected around the edges, which serves in adding warmth and charisma to the music. What separates these three lads from the rest of the hungry pack is the genuine, hearts on their sleeves style approach to their music. At first listen to their dazzling LP, Dreamers, on Fountain Records, you can tell they take their craft seriously. With all the overproduced electro pop rubbish floating around youth culture lately and things getting worse with each passing year, knowing there are bands forming out there like The Rich Hands help me sleep soundly at night. The future of Rock N’ Roll rests safely in Rich Hands!   

Interview by Jay Castro

Please introduce yourselves and how you give to The Rich Hands.

NICK: I'm Nick and I play drums. 

MATT: My name is Matthew and I play bass for The Rich Hands. 

CODY: I'm Cody Mauser. I play guitar and do the main vocals.

Where are you all from originally and how did you all meet and decide to play music together?
CODY: Nick, and I are from San Antonio and we met when we were in high school through our mutual friends. We decided to play music together after we found out we all play an instrument and liked the same things.

Where did the band name come from?

MATT: Cody's heart. 

NICK: Cody's dome. 

CODY: No crazy awesome background just wanted something that sounded good and The Rich Hands stuck. 

I detect in your music traces of fellow Texans 13th Floor Elevators as well as Buddy Holly. Are these in fact influences in your music or am I totally off the mark?
MATT/CODY: No you're pretty close too it because we love Roky and who doesn't like Buddy? Although, our dynamic has changed since the first album so expect something a little bit heavier but in a good way!

NICK: We like a lot of music so influences change on a daily basis for us. That also means our sound changes a bit too! It's pretty sweet.

In 2012 you guys told The San Antonio Current that Austin was more welcoming to the band than San Antonio was. Is this still the case or has the San Antonio crowd warmed up to you guys more lately? 

ALL: The crowd here has definitely become more solid and I think more and more people want to hear what we have to offer. It's definitely warming up. We try to bring as much as we can to San Antonio to give more diversity to the city. Whether it's from bringing touring acts or friends from out of town to putting on mini festivals, we like to keep things fun and different. We have to remember that Austin is still a great place to be heard because a lot of people in Austin are willing to listen to it once. I think it's hard to be a band in San Antonio that isn't "metal" or anything along the lines of that genre. 

In that same article, The San Antonio Current called you guys “Mature and Unified”. These are pretty rare adjectives used to describe young Rock N’ Roll bucks like yourselves. I’ve never seen you guys live, but just listening to your music that description doesn’t sound too far fetched.  Do you agree with that depiction?  

MATT: Yea sure. I mean we're pretty stupid and immature when we're by ourselves. You should see our text chain, but we know how to be mature when we should be until we drink too much. 

CODY: Definitely we take ourselves serious but not too serious to where we don't have fun.

NICK: We like to have fun. That's why we do this. Then there's the business side where we have to be serious for a bit. 

I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” just because I don’t think people should be ashamed by anything they really like. With that being said, do you guys listen to anything that some of your fans would be surprised by?

MATT: I still throw on Taking Back Sunday or Brand New. Not ashamed. 

CODY: I like ELO, but I'm ashamed

NICK: I like Ja Rule and old Fifty Cent. Not a biggie.

What’s been the most unforgettable show you’ve played, good or bad and what made it so memorable?
MATT/CODY: The first time we ever made it up to Caldwell, Idaho was one of the coolest things we done ever did. Look up "The Rich Hands Caldwell, Idaho" on YouTube and you'll see how crazy and fun it was. 

NICK: Boise/Caldwell is always a blast but I will always remember any and all our Atlanta shows. Those guys know how to party.

When you guys aren’t causing a ruckus in the San Antonio area, what kinds of things do you enjoy doing, any hobbies or interests outside music?

MATT/CODY: That's pretty funny actually because we don't do anything else but work. We work 5 days a week and pay bills. 

NICK: Yup, we just work all the time. I play in another band but that's about all we do.

Where are the best places for people to hear or buy your music?
ALL: The best place would to be from us personally or through Michael Monte at Fountain records. We have tons of merch on us so just ask and we'll hook you up with what you need.

What does the band have in store for us in the near or not so near future?
ALL: We'll be putting our single out hopefully in a few weeks and our new record "Out of My Head" will be released on May 6th! After that we'll just keep writing and touring and trying to get the music out there to those who haven't heard us yet.

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