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| The Hives aren't wanting for self-esteem, and Swedish bands prove more interesting than Chia Pets ...
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| Popular Swedish pastimes: get drunk all the time, work in a factory or pick up a guitar ...
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| How Swedish bands get their groove, and how they're now getting their plane tickets ...
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Browse Bands by Name
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 Bands Main
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There are various theories for why Sweden has been spitting out bands like a vending machine dispensing candy. Since the country is dark for 10 months a year and cold and rainy much of that time, the natives spend many hours indoors. And because there are only so many movies you can rent in a small town, many bored locals end up forming rock groups and jamming in their basements. As far as marketability goes, it doesn't hurt that students in Sweden are taught English.
Also, the country's social democracy supports starving artists more than other countries do. "If you don't have a job, you can still survive," Almqvist said. "There's a really good unemployment plan, so people can actually be unemployed and then they can play music."
The Swedish government offers music grants for working bands, but while Sahara Hotnights once received such assistance, Lyxzén said it's not common.
"If you play flamenco guitar, classical music or old-school Swedish music, they might sponsor your records. But no one's going to pay you to play in a rock band no matter how liberal your government is," he said. "There is a musicians union, and if you don't have a job you can actually get money from the union, but that doesn't have anything to do with the government. And it's kind of strict to join because you have to play a certain amount of shows in a period of time."
But what's more surprising than the sheer number of bands in Sweden is that so many of them are so good. Probably the main reason the slew of emerging acts is tight, creative and dynamic onstage is because they have to be. There aren't many rock clubs in most cities, even Stockholm, and only the best bands get booked.
Groups have usually rehearsed for a long time before they play their first show. By the time they finally tour outside Europe, they've had years to sharpen their live presentation to the point where they appear more professional than many of their U.S. counterparts.
"A lot of the bands that come out of America or England, they put out their first record and then they tour the world," Lyxzén said. "They haven't toured so much before and you can tell. It's not the same way here. Bands have to be very good before they come out."
Indeed, none of acts in the current breed of Swedish rockers is a newcomer. Division of Laura Lee are the youngest, and they've been together for five years. Sahara Hotnights have been a band for 10 years; the Hives for nine. Soundtrack of Our Lives have been together since 1995, but two of their members were in Union Carbide Productions a decade before that, and while (International) Noise Conspiracy formed in 1998, its members played for years in other bands.
Now that Hives fever is spreading like chicken pox, you can bet your Swedish meatballs many more Scandinavian rock bands will hit our shores in the coming months. Though he's not known for being humble, Almqvist doesn't take credit for opening the floodgates.
"I think it all happened because communication technology got better," he said. "People in America actually discovered there could be bands from other places. In the '80s and '90s a lot of Swedish bands sort of figured there's no point in trying, because you can never get outside of Sweden anyway. But there's tons of good bands here and there always has been. They're just getting better at going other places now. They have the sense now to buy plane tickets."
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Photo: Sahara Hotnights: Jetset
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