Sweden’s Miss Behaviour was formed in the autumn of 2003 by guitarist Erik Heikne and keyboardist Henrik Sproge. With a great passion for 80’s Heavy Metal, they decided to start the band just to have fun and to satisfy their burning Rock ambitions. That “passion” and strong fan reaction have blossomed into a debut studio album, Heart Of Midwinter, that turns out to be a very promising start for a new band. Guitarist Erik Heikne took time out from promoting their debut album to speak with Metal Express Radio and Miss Behaviour fans!
MER: Hello Erik! Thanks for taking the time to speak with Metal Express Radio and your fans and hopefully you’ll interest some new fans after this interview.
Erik Heikne: Thanx a lot indeed, we’re very happy with all great support we’ve got from you guys at Metal Express Radio so far!
MER: So the band was originally a “weekend project.” Talk a little about that. Was it five guys getting together to “jam” in someone’s garage? Was there ever initially a plan to record any tracks?
Erik: The whole Miss Behaviour concept is actually based upon an idea that Henrik and myself came up with when we studied music management together at a university in southern Sweden a couple of years ago. We had played together in various bands and constellations over the years, and wanted to take it to another level. Since we shared the passion for the 80’s Melodic Hard Rock and AOR, we wanted to do something like that. At this time, most of the Metal bands in Sweden played Power Metal or Black/Death Metal and stuff like that, and that did not appeal to us at all. When we were still in school, we started to write songs and came up with some ideas for an album. Henrik and I then got a couple of guys together and formed Miss Behaviour. At first we went home on the weekends to do the rehearsals for a 3-track promo CD. We released the songs on our Internet site and the response we got really blew us away. At that time, we started to sound good as a band and we decided to start the work with a full-length album. Henrik and I moved back to our hometown and started the recordings for Heart Of Midwinter. It took us 8 months in the studio.
MER: With the release of Heart Of Midwinter is Miss Behaviour now a full-time project for all band members?
Erik: Not at the moment. It is our ambition to get it there. Henrik and myself are running our label Sunset Fox and doing most of the business parts around the band, so we spend a lot of time on Miss Behaviour. Even though some of us have other projects or bands, Miss Behaviour is the number one priority and we’re really hoping to take it one step further with the next album.
MER: Talk a little about your musical background(s), your musical influences, etc.
Erik: I have played in bands since I was about 15 years old. I started my first band with Henrik actually. He was a drummer back then. All the guys in the band have played in different bands and projects in our hometown, and we knew each other in one way or another before we got together in Miss Behaviour. Personally, I am influenced by classic bands like Magnum, Europe, Yngwie, Journey, T.N.T, Bon Jovi, and stuff like that, and just about the same goes for Henrik, I think. I also like “new” bands like Street Talk, Final Frontiers, and Shineth. There’s a little hope for the re-growth of the AOR/Melodic Hard Rock scene after all!
MER: In promotional materials, you suggest that Heart Of Midwinter is a “concept album.” If it is, can you explain for the fans the story being conveyed?
Erik: It’s not a pure concept album like for instance Operation: Mindcrime or Crimson Idol by WASP, but there is a red line in the lyrics, and the songs in some way tell a story. It’s mainly about belief in your ability to do something with your life and finding your shine, even though the surroundings sometimes can be cold and unpleasant … like the society of Midwinter.
MER: How did the album’s title come about?
Erik: The title is in a way referring to the “Scandinavian mentality” and how it affects people up north and our society. Scandinavian people, and Swedes in particular, are often referred to as a little sealed or introverted, if you like, and that reflects in our society I think.
MER: Is Sunset Fox Records the band’s own private label? Setting up a private label seems like a very ambitious goal for a band trying to make a name for themselves.
Erik: Yea, Sunset Fox is run by Henrik and myself. As I said before, we’ve spent some years in school, studying the music business, so we wanted to try our wings. The whole business has changed a lot the last couple of years, and in order to be successful you have to take as much control as you possibly can yourself. You have to start making contacts and business associates in the industry in order to make the right decisions in the future. We don’t do everything on our own, though. We have managed to establish a co-operation with German distributor NL (MTM) and the promotion agency ArtistWorxx, and I think it has been quite successful so far.
MER: Some of the band’s traits, e.g., the multi-layered chorus delivery on songs like “Dreams Are Cursed,” give the band’s delivery a sort of “epic” or “majestic” feel. Is this something you guys have strived to accomplish?
Erik: Thank you very much, I’m glad you’ve noticed! We’ve spent a lot of time and energy on getting the choirs and backing vocals right on the album. It is important in order to bring the chorus up front, so to speak. That’s an important part of our sound.
MER: Are you guys happy, with how Heart Of Midwinter came out? If you could do anything over again in that regard, what would you do?
Erik: Yeah, we are very happy with how the album came out and I think it is pretty good for being our first full-length album. There are always things you wish you had done differently, though, and you can always improve such things as songwriting and recordings. That’s what makes you want to go on with this. I’m perfectly convinced that our next album will take the concept to a higher level.
MER: Are there any plans to promote Heart Of Midwinter by playing live?
Erik: We’re not going to do a full tour, but we do play live. Hopefully we will be able to do some gigs during this spring and summer. Our plans are to start establishing Miss Behaviour with this album and then we will hopefully be able to reach out a little more with the next one. Playing live is an important part and we will absolutely concentrate much more on it now when our album is out.
MER: What plans are in place to distribute Heart Of Midwinter to other countries? Do you guys see a United States distribution coming?
Erik: We’ve worked really hard to establish good distribution partners in Europe and Scandinavia, and we are very pleased with how that turned out. Of course, we want to find good distributors in the USA and in Japan. We’re working on it, that’s all I can say right now.
MER: Has MySpace.com been beneficial in promoting Miss Behaviour?
Erik: Yeah I think so. Personally, I think that MySpace is a great idea, unfortunately, the site is a little complicated and heavy in a way. I think they can improve the concept. On a monthly basis, we have a lot more visitors on our official site than on our MySpace site, but that can change.
MER: Has there been any work, plans, or ideas thrown around regarding a second album?
Erik: Absolutely! First of it all, as you might know, we have a new singer on board and I’m so excited to get started on new material with him behind the mic. His name is Anders Hjärtström and he has a lot of experience and an amazing voice. After vocal classes at MI in Hollywood, he released an album with the Metal band Stormcrow, and since November last year he is a permanent member of Miss Behaviour. We are just about to move into a new rehearsal place and the songwriting has already begun. I can’t say when we will hit the studio yet, because it depends a little bit on how well Heart of Midwinter will do in the market.
MER: Any last words for your fans?
Erik: First of all, I want to say a big THANX for all the positive reaction and comments we’ve gotten from our fans so far. It has been far beyond my expectations! Keep supporting Miss Behaviour and check out our album, you’re great! A big thanx to you guys at MER for your support! Keep rocking!! All the best!
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