Interview Zak Tell Clawfinger

Lineup: Zak Tell - Vocals, Lyrics Jocke Skog - Keyboards, Vocals Bård Torstensen - Guitars André Skaug - Bass Henka Johansson - Drums

3/28/06 Interviewer: Karma E. Omowale

"We're not trying to convert people, we give it what we've got and if you don't like it then big fucking deal, find something else to listen to that turns you on!"

For those of you who may not be familiar with Sweden's Clawfinger, well here is your chance to intimate yourself with this five-piece collective. Get ready to open your ears and mind, this band has a LOT to say and always have. Clawfinger definitely is not the new kid on the block, they have been at this thing for a minute, something like thirteen years since their first album, Deaf Dumb Blind hit the shelves. Oh and by the way, if you decided to take a leave of absence from your social consciousness, they will undoubtedly awaken you from your coma of ignorance especially with their brand spanking new album Hate Yourself with Style. In this interview vocalist, Zak Tell sets the record straight on many a level as he shares his views on the new album, "god", and the Reverend Tell further breaks down his stance on societal ills. Enjoy!

Karma: How does it feel to be at the forefront of the rap-metal genre (of mixing metal and hip-hop) on an international level?

Zak: I wouldn't know if we're at the forefront as we're not interested in belonging to one category of music or being labeled, we simply make hard hitting crossover music with staccato vocals, honest lyrics, heavy riffs, raw power & the occasional melodic chorus! We've never really understood what rap/metal is as such and the reason for us mixing those two was a pure coincidence, we have no desire to be stuck in that style so therefore we don't think in terms of being the first, the best or the last, even if we possibly are! :D

Karma: After releasing a song entitled “Nigger” so early in your career, would you say it turned more people off to you who did not dare to delve into finding out more about your band or just your music in general? Do you think it caused more harm than good?

Zak: Well it definitely destroyed our chances to break the American market as all of us in the band are pink, had we had at least one brown member then it wouldn't have been a problem and we would have automatically had the “authenticity” to have an opinion & seem “credible”! In Europe, on the other hand it definitely did us good as it's impossible to duck for a lyric like that and once people got over the first “shock” they we're forced to look into it to make sure we were not a racist band! I'm not a very subtle lyricist but for better or for worse I do wear my thoughts on the outside most of the time and I always try and speak honestly from the heart, that way I can always explain myself and stand behind my words even when I'm misunderstood! I don't think we're interested in having fans who can't even be assed to read the lyrics so if we turn those people off then it's no loss!

Karma: How do you handle the pressure of being the self-appointed ambassadors of the voiceless, for those whom have been discriminated against without being able to stand up for themselves? Is it a big burden to bear?

Zak: Well I really don't think all of my lyrics are only about that & I don't consider for example women & homosexuals to be voiceless. However, they are victims of a male dominated macho culture & society that refuses to let equal rights become a reality and as long as that is the case then I will continue to air my opinions about it! It's not a big burden to bare no, I'm not the one who has to live with the disadvantages, I'm just commenting on things that frustrate me! Obviously, it's easier to sympathize with the less fortunate, the working class, the drug addicts, the homeless & the people who have more of a struggle in front of them! Having grown up on a dose of bands like Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Crass and a bunch of other very outspoken & straightforward artists has formed me & I guess much thanx to them I also like trying to say things that mean something to me!

Karma: I mean judging by your lyrics for “What We've Got” I know ultimately you could give a shit what the masses have to say; it is refreshing to know you haven’t given up and are still attempting to open one mind at a time. Do you believe reformation begins from just opening up one person and hopefully nature will take its course and change will go on from there?

Zak: Well that song is sort of making fun of the whole scene, it's just a pisstake (get it?) mixed up with some wordplay! All the same, we are stubborn mother fuckers and we refuse to give up as long as we're having fun and can make some sense out of it all! We believe that what we do in unique & original and if other people can feel it to then great but we're not trying to convert people, we give it what we've got and if you don't like it then big fucking deal, find something else to listen to that turns you on!

Karma: Having said all of that, does it ever get to that the band has primarily remained underground for eighteen years and that perhaps a lot of your messages have been ignored? Would you attribute your lack of popularity for being so outspoken, which would of course never equals mainstream exposure.

Zak: Well first of all we met in 1989 & became Clawfinger towards the end of 1991 & the first album was released in 1993 so it's not quite 18 years yet! Anyway between 1993 & say 1997 I think we were pretty far from being underground, we had our own production, catering & crew with us on tour and sold old out reasonably big halls! In our 13 years, since the first album was released we've sold about 2 million albums, it's been up & down for the different releases and we've done everything from massive festivals to really small clubs! If you're going to be in this business longer than a lunch time then you can't expect to always be on top, life isn't always peachy and you have to deal with the shit when it hits you, the good times wouldn't be as fun without the opposite! I don't think our “messages” have ever been ignored, at least not by our fans and we can't really ask for more than that! Being outspoken may have prevented us from reaching certain people but to a degree so does the music we chose to make, then again these days it is possible to get mainstream exposure even with more alternative metal orientated music, look at System Of A Down for example!

Karma: What has been the greatest challenge that you the band have been able to overcome in order to get you where you are at this point in your career?

Zak: Remaining sane, keeping our feet on the ground and staying true to ourselves and the music we hear is the biggest challenge but also the only way we know how to do it! Surviving worthless record companies & a manager suing us has also been a pain in the ass but I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Karma: Biggest lesson learned thus far after releasing six albums which of those lessons will you not repeat and what have you learned about you bandmates during this length of time?

Zak: Don't drink more than 3 bottles of beer before you go on stage, you lose your concentration if you consume more, I guess it's individual but I've got too many lyrics to remember to chance it! On a more serious note I've learned that I can not be objective about my own work and I'm never satisfied so therefore I have to trust Jocke & Bård when they say I've done a good take or written a great lyric. It's not that I never like what I do I'm just very concerned & skeptical at times, I guess that keeps me constantly trying to improve my work though which is a good thing! I'm not really one to brag & boast and raise myself to the skies! As for my band mates, well I've simply learned that they probably know me better than anyone else & can read my moods! We've also become brutally honest towards each other after all these years, we don't need to beat around the bush these days!

Karma: Since you have much opposition against the world and its teachings, do you think home schooling is the better alternative?

Zak: If you as a parent disapprove of the state schools then the answer is yes! I'm not in a position where I can be the ruler of what is right or wrong for others to do when it comes to their kids, my son goes to a Rudolf Steiner playschool and when he gets older he will go to a Steiner High School also. It's built up around the theoretical & artistic subjects both getting as much time within the educational schedule and it's based on teachers who love communicating with kids and teaching them things! I believe in feeding the artistic creative side of our brains and these schools do so much more than the state owned! TV is an evil mind-fucker for kids and should be locked away even if some people use it as a very convenient babysitter! Kids have an amazing imagination and don't need all the shitty toys that are made for them, give them a stick and it becomes a sword, give then a box and it becomes a helicopter, you get the picture!

Karma: Speaking of albums, congrats with Hate Yourself With Style, heard it got to #1 on the Swedish export charts too!! You continually receive rave reviews and rightfully so. The lyrics are some of the most powerful and truthful I have ever read. How do you go about selecting subjects for this album?

Zak: Where did you hear that, somebody definitely forgot to tell me about it if it's true! As for rave reviews well as always I think they’ve been very mixed but that’s always been the case with us as we're very outspoken & on point, some people simply can't handle that & prefer their music wrapped up in a layer of soft fluffy cotton! I chose a lot of my subjects randomly simply based on what happens to be going through my mind at the time, some on the other hand are ideas I've had lying around for quite a few years but not been able to make sense of. “Faggot In You” deals with homophobia and I've been trying to write a lyric about that for the last few years without succeeding to write something I felt was on point, finally I succeeded!! I just pick up on things in my direct surrounding, things friends & family tell me, what I see on the news or in town & whatever triggers me to put the pen to the paper!

Karma: Digging a little deeper into the lyrics, is “Sick of Myself” a direct reflection of always being open and consciously aware in a sea of close-mindedness?

Zak: Well it's basically a song about self-loathing, about not being able to deal with your own demons & about not being able to find a way out of all the thoughts & emotions that constantly fuck with your head! It's partly about me yes but I'm sure there are plenty of people who can relate to those feelings and I always pick bits and pieces from everywhere to add extra boost lyrically!

Karma: Through your lyrics, have you gotten a lot of feedback from those that you have affected either positively or negatively?

Zak: Through the years there have been quite a few fans who have thanked me for helping them get through rough times, a song in particular comes to mind! “Sad To See Your Sorrow” which is about a high school crush of mine who became a drug addict and later died of a heroin overdose! There's also the song "I Guess I'll Never Know" which is about my girlfriend’s mother who committed suicide! Obviously when you write about something that personal & heartfelt others will be able to relate to it and read their own experiences into it! It's not the reason why I write lyrics but it is always a joy to hear that what I write can actually make a difference and help people move on with their lives!

Karma: It seems like your songwriting is very therapeutic by you being able to expel the demons within as well making the masses aware of the societal ills that exists. Would you agree with this statement?

Zak: Well it is a form of ventilation absolutely and I guess in some ways therapeutic even if I think it takes more than writing a lyric to rid the demons and all of a sudden be a shiny happy human being! I don't deliberately write lyrics to try make people aware, I simply enjoy tackling topics that are not typical for the metal world & I feel the need to say something that means something! My lyrics are not for shock value even if some people seem to believe so!

Karma: Are you referring to one group of people on the song “What We've Got Is What We're Getting”?

Zak: Yes I'm referring to ourselves and humans in general, we're very good at contradicting ourselves & wanting a piece of everything so badly that we constantly compromise with our integrity & say the dumbest things in order to improve our chances of getting somewhere in life! Also like I said earlier the lyric is also just wordplay!

Karma: What made you go with “God Is Dead” as the closing song?

Zak: B'cuz it's a good ending statement, is a provocative fuck finger and has a great chorus!

Karma: Do you really believe God is dead and if so, what’s left? Where's hope in all of this or are you just looking at God from a metaphorical stance on a whole?

Zak: I don't believe in god at all. What I'm talking about is the concept of god as our saviour from all evil. All the things I'm questioning in the song are things that have no meaning as god is just a mind-fuck in our own heads that has been shoved into our stupid little skulls for so long we believe it to be true and don't even question the concept! That’s the very short basic answer to the question!

Karma: Tell the fans something about the production of Hate Yourself they may not have known previously.

Zak: The growling and laughing that follows on the "Hate Yourself With Style" track is authentic, Jocke improvised the growl on a first take. While dubbing choruses in the vocal booth and then found it so hilarious that he broke down and couldn't stop laughing, we decided to keep it on there! :D

Karma: Since you spend a lot of time worrying about the world and its tribulations, what do you do for fun, to relax?

Zak: Well I don't know if I spend more time worrying than the average person but anyway to have fun and relax I drink loads of beer with friends, listen to music. Talk about all the music that I buy, download and listen to, watch movies, play with my son, have dinners with my family, sit in front of the computer, watch more TV than is healthy for me and loads of other very normal and everyday activities!

Karma: Is it easy to separate your job [as a musician that is] from living your life or is it one in the same?

Zak: Yes it is pretty easy as they’re two very different worlds, they’re both a big part of me though and I love them (almost) equally! In the end, blood family always comes first but Clawfinger is definitely my second family and I don't know what I would do with myself if Clawfinger did not exist!

Karma: As far as the cover art is concerned, what made you go with Fredrik Ödman? Was he left to his own creative devices to create the cover or was it created for you specifically?

Zak: We found him by chance thanks to him having done the cover for a metal band called Darkane; we really liked his imagery and decided to approach him! We sent him an mp3 of the track “Hate Yourself With Style” and he picked out some of his artwork for it, altered it a bit and put our logotype on it, simple as that! We gave him free hands!

Karma: The cover definitely speaks volumes, especially with all of the restraints around the person's throat. What do you hope want the buyer walks away with after seeing it? What does it mean to you?

Zak: Well of course, we hope that the buyer walks away with an album that he or she will love, the cover is secondary, & we hope that our name is what creates the interest to start with!

We're not looking to find buyers by simply having a cover that seems appealing, stylish, disgusting sick or whatever! At the end of the day, it fitted the “concept” of the album and the title in particular and by pure coincidence, it also sort of matches the Nuclear Blast labels metal image! ;D

Karma: Are there any new bands that you'd like to see blow-up next? Who should we be on the lookout for next?

Zak: Well none of these bands are really new but they all deserve more attention as far as I'm concerned, Skindred, Mats & Morgan, The Knife, Fatlip and I'm sure there are hundreds more but I'm simply not up to date with all the latest stuff anymore these days!

Karma: Do you have a favorite song off Hate Yourself and why?

Zak: “Faggot In You” b'cuz I think it's an issue that needs to be addressed urgently, there is no excuse for judging people based on their sexual preferences! There is a lot of homophobia going on out there especially in the metal world but also in general, we desperately need to change that! “Right To Rape” b'cuz it's a crying shame that in this day & age there is still no such thing as a fair trial. Men get away with rape because they are the stronger sex & have most of the benefits in society and women have no one but themselves to blame for being too drunk, too daringly dressed & a bunch of other pathetic reasons that should make no fucking difference! A “no” is a “no” and any man with half a brain will understand that and feel when something is very wrong & be able to read when a woman is not having fun anymore or doing something she is not comfortable with!

Karma: What’s the one thing you wished someone would have asked about Hate Yourself that they have yet to ask? Pretend I asked that question…

Zak: Why do you think your latest album has sold triple double platinum in a matter of hours and do you think it's a coincidence that they found new life forms on the Moon, Mars, and a bunch of other planets and that they happen to love Clawfinger unconditionally and want to buy copies of all your albums? Furthermore I would like to know if you think you are directly responsible for worldwide peace finally becoming a reality and if you are also the ones responsible for there now being cures for every known disease? Last but not least I would simply like to know if you are aware of the fact that we're probably one of the best, tightest, most intense & most honest live performing bands out there today?…….…………………………………..Hello Mr. Zak, could you please wake up, we have an interview scheduled for right about now and I'm in a bit of a hurry to get home for the hockey game so could we please start?

Karma: LOL Those were definitely good ones Zak!! Are there any future plans to remix more bands [as in Rammstein] etc.?

Zak: Not that I know of, I guess it all comes down to if we get asked to make any!

Karma: What does the next year hold for Clawfinger? Any touring plans in the States in the foreseeable future?

Zak: Well we'll be busy touring Europe for the next few months and hopefully there will be a few more festivals to add to the ones we already have! As for the States well until there is someone out there who is honestly interested in bringing us over to do some gigs and willing to put money into paying for our touring expenses, then it simply will not happen! It's always about money isn't it! Anyway, we would love to do some gigs, the last time we were in America was to record the video for "Pin Me Down" in 1995 so it's about time we did our first gig there!

Karma: Now here's a quick series of Speed Round Questions, you ready? If you could commission another band to cover a Clawfinger song, who would do it and which song would you choose.

Zak: Public Enemy-Nigger, Skindred-Are You Man Enough, Frank Zappa-Bitch, Queens Of The Stone Age-The Faggot In You…and some ‘80s hair metal band doing-Right To Rape, maybe Poison would be a good choice! Well those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head!

Karma: Spiritual or religious?

Zak: NO!

Karma: Do you have a mantra or a creed that you love by?

Zak: Expect the worse and then things can only get better!

Karma: What’s the one thing that people wouldn't know about you that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Zak: Believe it or not, I masturbate!

Karma: Well, now!! :^o haha I cannot live without the following…

Zak: Food, water, love, sex & music!

Karma: If you could fulfill just one fantasy, what would it be?

Zak: Worldwide peace, worldwide success and….oh that was already two, damnit!

Karma: First music you remember hearing in your house?

Zak: The Sex Pistols, The Stranglers, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder & the Beatles!

Karma: Whom are you listening to these days? Whose in you CD player?

Zak: Right now, I'm listening to The Gossip, The Arctic Monkeys, Skindred & Mats & Morgan Band, Timbaland, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Knife, Snoop Dogg and all sorts of stuff old & new!

Karma: If not music then what and what do you think your bandmates would do if it were not for Clawfinger?

Zak: For Jocke there is no option, he would be in a studio somewhere producing other bands, twisting knobs and placing microphones out strategically to get the best possible sound out of the drums! Bård would be working with drug addicts & alcoholics as he does now also and he'd be making music in his basement in-between, as he does now! Me, well, I'd just drift along in-between temporary jobs and make the best out of what I had while wondering why I didn’t do better for myself. Kids, stay in school ha ha!

Karma: If you could interview one person (past or present), whom would you interview and what would be burning question you’d like to have answered?

Zak: Frank Zappa and I would ask him all kinds of weird questions about his music & lyrics, his politics, most of all I'd simply like to know just when more or all of that recorded material he has lying around in his gigantic basement vault is going to be released!

Karma: More role reversals, do you have any questions for me?

Zak: Yeah why do you have so many questions and such a short deadline, it's not a very good combination you know!

Karma: Actually we didn't have a deadline, so I am not real sure where the imposed "deadline" or timeline came from. However, I can tell you how happy it makes me that you answered all of my questions and got it back to us in record speed! Kudos, it's much appreciated!! ;^) What would you like the music community to remember about Clawfinger?

Zak: If you mean what I would like them to remember about us then I would like people to simply say, “At least they fucking tried”!

Karma: Do you have any special messages for your fans?

Zak: Yeah, don't watch MTV if you love music, it's just a bunch of crap videos with babes in bikinis, reality documentary soap shows & other mindless garbage! Music is all about eargasms & goosebumps, not visuals, music is the best! Take care and be cool be yourselves! Zak

We'd like to thank Zak for taking the time out for answering my questions so candidly! Best of luck in the future. We'd also like to thank Nuclear Blast's amazing PR department for making it all possible!