The Obelisk Questionnaire: Stoffe from Goatriders
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Stoffe from Goatriders
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I sing in a band called Goatriders and have been doing that since, well around 2018, I guess.
Goatriders have been around for quite some time, in a few different variations. I think Jimi, who plays bass, and Daniel, who plays drums, have been in the band since around 2015. Robin, who is actually Jimi’s brother, joined the band in 2019 to play guitar.
I come from a background of hardcore/punk and I have been in a few different bands either playing guitar or shouting but had been without a band for some time. I saw an ad on Facebook that a psychedelic, stoner jam-band was looking for a singer and was like “I hardly know anything about stoner-rock. I better throw them a dm!” After a few rehearsals I was asked to join and figured out a way that my singing-style would fit in what we tried to accomplish musically.
And then when Robin joined and took over on guitar we really had to start over and find a new way of writing songs. So ever since then the “jamming” has become a real essential part of our music. A lot of the songs we write we hardly know how they go. They can be constructed of one or maybe two riffs and then play around with the vibe and feeling of the riffs rather than counting how many times a verse goes. It is a real fun way of playing music together, but it can get really infuriating when you are recording or if someone in the band have really set idea of what should happen next in a song.
Describe your first musical memory.
Wow. My first musical memory… would probably be singing Christmas songs with my mom by the piano. When I was a kid me and her used to put on a mini Christmas-concert every Christmas. I hardly remember anything from my days as a young kid, but I do have a distinct memory of me and her singing “I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus”.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Without a doubt seeing The Chariot playing live at some random festival in Örebro, Sweden. The Chariot plays some kind of chaos-hardcore-metal-thing and I can hardly stand them on tape and really didn’t have that much interest going to that festival to begin with. But the guitarist in the band I played in was a huge fan and pretty much made everyone come along.
But they (The Chariot) killed it on stage. It was such a good vibe, good mosh, stagedives and the band was playing so tight it was almost humorous. But at the end of the concert their drummer stood up and pushed all his drums off stage into the crowd. And in a heartbeat, he had pulled them together again and finished the set sitting in the middle of the mosh pit beating his heart out on those drums.
After the set everyone in the band sat down on the edge of the stage and was talking with everyone in the crowd and was being super humble. It really set the tone of how I want to be and act as a live performer whenever I play my music.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Well, I’ve been Straight Edge for about 16 years. I know being SXE in the doom and stoner-community is not exactly kosher… But doing my military-service there was a lot of drinking and bullshit whenever we were on leave. So just that feeling of being a part of this really tightly knit crew and everyone, and I mean everyone was on my back about drinking a beer or tasting a shot. “Just one little beer won’t hurt”. But that whole experience being in my early twenties and standing by that promise. It really set the tone and cemented that this whole being sober thing is something that will last.
And just to make it clear, I don’t give a shit about other people’s personal choices, as long as they don’t hurt others, or they are made solely on the base of standing on others. So, if you want to smoke or drink or skip around the garden dressed as a goblin? You do you and I’ll do me.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Well hopefully to something more interesting… Since I’m a big fan of punk and hardcore I live by the creed that “the demo and the first 7inch is still be best thing they ever did”. So, I am a big fan of simplicity and “underproduction”. But that being said playing the same seven songs over and over takes its toll. I guess artistic progression makes it more fun to play together as a band and it makes it more interesting and challenging.
How do you define success?
Probably by happiness. I have no interest in working as a musician. Music for me is tightly knit with the feeling of joy and acting as a way to explore and express feelings and thoughts that otherwise would be hard to get in touch with. So, success would be the middle way of keeping music equally joyful for me and listenable for others.
If people are interested in what we do and want us to play music for them, maybe even asking us to come and play for them, I guess that would be success.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I’ve always worked with people, a long time, almost 17 years, I worked with people with mental illness or disabilities. Not going into any details I’ve seen my share of people not wanting to live. And that is without a doubt something I could be without.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Hard question… probably I would like to record something real that I’ve done completely on my own. With the help of some friends of course, since I can’t play drums for shit and don’t own any recording equipment. But I’d really like to do something on my own musically, just for the hell of it and to challenge myself in a way.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To be an outlet for the things this bullshit world throws at us. We walk around life being told what to feel and how to act. Art should question that… Art should make us look at ourselves and feel. It opens a gate to a lot of thing we otherwise would get in touch with.
Not all art of course. But sometimes you don’t need to get in touch with yourself, you just need to hear someone talk shit over a beat or something to keep you from falling asleep on a long drive home.
But the most essential function should be to open that gate and let us feel and explore thing that the world tells us not to.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Since I live in Sweden and it’s like the fucking artic right now. I’m looking forward to spring. I’m so over this snow and cold and wet socks every time you come inside and the fucking electrical bill going through the roof. No! Give me spring and nice weather so you can go outside and not freeze your ears off. I want to sit outside and drink coffee. I want the sun to stay up after five o’clock. Give. Me. SPRING!
https://www.facebook.com/goatriders
https://instagram.com/goatridersinspace
https://goatriders.bandcamp.com/
