Apa State Mental A few words with Jacob Zetterholm, singer with Swedish fuzzpunkgaragejunk band Apa State Mental. Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself, and your band. Jacob: Apa State Mental formed in 2004 and after a while we got sick of playing covers, so we started writing our own material. Our songs rarely clock in over two minutes and it's no secret that bands like the Stooges and Buzzcocks have been an inspiration. LB: How did you start out making music? Jacob: I sang in a band called Whopper Cheese Ultra when I was a teenager but after three gigs with three different bass players we called it quits. After that I wasn't in a band for a LONG time. LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Jacob: I got my first album when I was ten (Accept's "Balls to the Wall") and after that I was hooked on hard rock listening to bands like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Guns N Roses and Rock City Angels. Then I moved towards thrash and death metal and in the early 90's I liked some of the grunge bands - mainly Soundgarden. After that American punk bands like the New Bomb Turks, Bikini Kill and Zeke were blaring out of my speakers... I only write some of the lyrics in Apa State Mental and I don't think I've been influenced by anyone when it comes to how I write them. In terms of what kind of music we play, the punk bands have definitely had a bigger impact than any other genre. LB: Tell us about your latest release. Jacob: Our second album entitled "The Reunited Heavy Metal States of Apa State Mental" came out in May this year on cd and vinyl. We recorded it here in Malmö and had a good time doing so. There are twenty tracks on it and it's frigging great! LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Jacob: Yes, we do and we'd like to do more shows than what we've done in recent years. The audience can expect a tight, energy filled set with a mix of songs from our two albums. I move around a lot and probably look like a headless chicken, but with the type of music we play it's impossible to stand still. LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Jacob: Playing live is my favourite thing, I really like being on stage screaming my head off. It's also fun writing new songs, trying different approaches and figuring out what works and what doesn't. Recording is cool but you end up hearing the same song over and over again when you're mixing and that can be a little tedious. LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Jacob: They can hear songs from both of our albums on our MySpace page. They can buy the albums from cdbaby.com or download them from iTunes. The vinyl version of "The Reunited Heavy Metal States of Apa State Mental" is available directly from us or soundpollution.com (links below). www.myspace.com/apastatemental www.cdbaby.com/cd/apastatemental2 Apa State Mental - Jetman