Jocke's, Martin's and Sami's posts translated to English

[luckyguerin13]

I just hope if I were to ever meet any of them in person, they aren't as defensive as he seems on here. But then again, I wouldn't ask him a billion things about how they do their music either.

I've bitched about the playback before and he wasn't happy about that either.

[SportfreundeFCkeane]

No I agree with you, some of his replies are pretty classless. But he's a rock star and doesn't need to be accountable so he can say what he wants here. Responding to criticism though isn't an excuse for me. It's nice he posts but if half of it is just to respond to criticism or be rude to fans then it seems a bit bitter. Why not ignore that stuff like normal? And of course there's gonna be criticism, it's to be expected, every band gets it other than the tweens who think that everything that One Direction or Justin Bieber do is perfect. That's this personality though, he wouldn't be making songs with the lyrics they have if he was a super nice and friendly guy lol

[luckyguerin13]

Right.

Thing that really bugged me is when he responds to a question about the hows and whys they do shit musically, he is quick to throw in fans' faces that we know nothing about how it all works. Which in most cases is true, but seriously dude?

The playback issue still bugs me. I could honestly care less if shit goes wrong on tv appearances. At least, they can say they tried. I would rather hear some fuck up than see them lip synching to their album.

[JukkeBerry]

Guys,

I think it's amazing that Jocke spends so much time corresponding with fans. The coolest thing is that he doesn't suck up to anybody's opinion unless he agrees. His attitude is genuine and definitely anti-star. I love to absorb music and pop biz education as I peruse these pages. If I ever saw him outside of a concert I would definitely respect his privacy.

[.namnlös]

In the thread about the gig at Lokomotivet (Eskilstuna), someone wonders why Jocke wears the same clothes for the whole tour and (some technical stuff which I don't understand...!) why does he pick D40 and strum at 000-42? Jocke replies:

The reason that I pick at D42/D40 in Mannen... is that I can't get the place I need to for the hand on the neck between the body and capo 7 at 00042.
Surely an expert like you would understand.
And also: what is the problem with picking a dreadnought?
It has been done many times before in music history.
Think you are trying to brag (?)


This next post is out of chronological order, but it makes sense to put it after the one above, since the discussion is continued. It's another technical one, and I'm sorry for any errors, since I don't quite understand all the musical terminology. Jocke:

Well.
Because the grip in the intro to 'Mannen...' is quite different to 999.
It is difficult to play the intro picking which of course needs space for the hand on the 000s shorter neck.
999 keeps the chords near the capo the whole time.

These are (I think) types of guitars, and it sounds like he is justifying his choice of guitars, not that he should have to.
What he plays in 999 is very simple chords near the capo on his guitar, which makes it easier for him. I guess he is trying to say that the comfort is not the same on others so he selects his guitars for comfort perhaps.

A forum member was at the Cirkus gig in Stockholm and critised the (low) sound levels and the sound quality and the set list. Jocke replies:

Complain to Socialstyrelsen (the board of health) if you didn't like the sound levels.
You MUST not play louder than 100 decibels during a concert and it counts as a cut through the gig.
Which means in reality that you often have a little lower volume on some songs and can press stronger on others.
Otherwise the artist/ organisers will get a fine.
Up to 50000 (Swedish kr, I assume) I have heard from fairly reliable sources that you get fined for excessive sound levels.
The fine amounts are not fixed and can have large differences between council municipalities.
But I also know that some foreign artists (My Bloody... for example) have demanded a higher sound level whereupon the organisers have probably 'counted in' fines in the fee.
You can pay the fines for us if you want, so we can play louder.

Why can't anyone find out the facts before you diss?
In a large part of Europe (and in Denmark) you have a limit of 103 decibels which makes a sustantial difference.*
Now SS (Socialstyrelsen) wants to lower the level to 97.
Since an acoustic umaplified drumset (and a human voice) can easily be over 100db, this is ridiculous.
Of course you must have a sound level at concerts but if the crowd chat easily drowns out the noise from the stage then something is wrong.

* Upping the level by 3 db isn't just like going up 3%, there's a ratio thing going on (and my memory can't quite remember the physics/ maths of it) but 3 more/less decibels is quite a lot in ratio terms compaired to 100db. Roughly the same thing is at work on the Richter scale, and an earthquake at 6 is much stronger than an earthquake at 5. Something like double the intensity. Try and read the wiki page on it and see if you can understand it!!!

I thought when I saw Kent the sound was low, but I figured it was because of laws rather than the band and this does confirm that. 3db is a pretty big increase by anyone's standards. Seems if you want it loud you have to go to Denmark!

I like how frank and open Jocke is here, no pussyfooting. Often people will say they don't like the way the band plays a song, they are being a critic rather than enjoying the show like 95% of the crowd, and I guess bands often wonder "why are they still here?" If you don't like an aspect of a band surely it's better to find one of the other millions of bands out there.... I know why this happens, but I find it tiring that fans feel the need to extensively criticise bands they like, or loved at one point just because of over familiarity.

[stjärnor]

Thanks .namnlös, you might be correct, I just did a google and I think that 000-42 and D40 & D42 are all Martin acoustic guitars. Ah, the things you learn!

[.namnlös]

A bit odd that fans are (apparently) calling him out on guitar choice tbh. I suspect the comfort thing is probably to do with neck sizes and the like. If he has small hands that will make a big difference. Those guitars are really really nice to play btw, but not so nice on the wallet

[stjärnor]

Yeah, I saw the prices when I googled them but they do look lovely guitars. I bought a guitar a few years ago (just a starter guitar, a squire by fender), and got a 3/4 size, as I have small hands/ short arms- I'm only 1.50m!. I never did manage to get past learning a few chords, but would love to be able to play guitar.

I don't understand the 'why did he play it on that guitar' thing, either. Did the music sound good? Most probably, so what's the problem?

[.namnlös]

I don't mind trying to answer any other technicalish question on here also as I am a musician myself so send things my way if you wonder about particular elements of Kent and what they play.

But indeed, most guitarists inwill have different tunings and things. If you play in pubs and clubs, you just make do with one or two guitars as you see fit (unless you are loaded ) Although I can't say I've played a ton of Kent stuff recently, certainly their usual tuning seemed to be just plain standard, and the guys use Capo's here and there, especially if Jocke is playing rhythm (gives a different texture/sound rather that all playing exactly the same thing.) If you have a collection of guitars, then each time you have a different tuning or Capo on a different fret, chances are you'll do a guitar change, which I imagine is the case here.

[sakermanser]

I don't understand why he replies to the criticism. They sell loads of records and are brilliant--he doesn't need to justify anything to those people. It is a bit off-putting and shows a bit of his insecurity when I read the translations of his defensive posts. I think he should just ignore those comments as there will always be critics. He seems to realize and accept that fact with respect to people moaning about the setlists they choose and how they can't please everyone (but at least play "Saker man ser" for me once!!!). Why not devote more time and energy to his English-speaking fans who he has basically ignored for over a decade? Even an English b-side would be welcome, lol.

[.namnlös]

I tend to agree, though sometimes his sarcasm is quite funny

I think I'd still prefer them to sing in Swedish, a bit like the gig they did in New York. There are plenty of bands out there who sing in their native tongue and travel the world, so there is no need to change that for anyone if they are happy. There are a bunch of things they could do for English speaking fans. For sure it would be brilliant to have a fan chat, maybe a one off club show in England with a Kent DJ set too, just something that just brought the Kent we like a little closer to home. That would mean much more to me than a B-side in my language for sure.

[stjärnor]

.namnlös, I thought you were Swedish. Ooops! Apologies, so I guess you are in England, then?

yeah, it sometimes feels like we are bit neglected in here.
Anyway here's a new translation of a post from Jocke:


A forum member mentions that they saw a Telecaster guitar used on this tour for Den döda vinkeln and thought that it sounded weak, and asks the forum if it was as weak in real life as it sounded in the you-tube clips. Jocke replies:

You’re complaining about the sounds base on a... you tube clip?
What is wrong with you young people?

And which guitar Sami plays doesn’t have as much significance as you might think.
90% is in the fingers

[.namnlös]

Haha, yes I am 100% English. I'd love Jocke to pop in from time to time, but again a show or similar here would be amazing, if extremely unlikely. Especially with our extra 3db in sound level it would be loud and awesome!

As it happens most other bands receive such detailed criticism as this but they would not be seen in an official fan forum. Again I feel Jocke's pain a bit when people post such talk when they don't even go to the show. So much is made of live music these days, but without being there it really is not for you to judge a gig base on setlist, sound or setup especially if that is translated through a crappy phone camera.

[sakermanser]

There are a bunch of things they could do for English speaking fans. For sure it would be brilliant to have a fan chat, maybe a one off club show in England with a Kent DJ set too, just something that just brought the Kent we like a little closer to home. That would mean much more to me than a B-side in my language for sure.

These are great ideas...especially the one about the gig in England. Jocke, are you reading? lol.

[.namnlös]

If I could use some of the contacts I have (limited) and garner enough interest this is something I'd definitely look at, even if it was such a lot of hard work. The band will not set foot in a rehearsal studio or get on a plane unless there is a guarantee they will meet their costs at an absolute minimum. This is normal in music event promotion. If I could guarantee that UK Kent fans could fill a decent venue of some sort and make it a Kent day, I mean, how amazing would that be? Convention el Kent

I'd rather try and make it personal rather than lazily doing one of those "request it" type buttons that any idiot can click. Perhaps I can set up a "detour" date where fans pledge their ticket fees in advance.