Crazy Lixx are without a doubt one of the bands that have defined the Swedish sleaze/glam metal scene. For over a decade now, the band has been through a lot, but always managed to deliver amazing music full of modern-day rock elements, while at the same time staying true to that 80’s sleaze sound. Joel Cicera (drums) is one of Crazy Lixx’s original members (along with Danny Rexon, vocals) and he talks to RockOverdose about the band’s current state, their upcoming appearance at Chania Rock Festival in Greece, Sweden’s expertise in the scene, as well as the band’s future plans.
RockOverdose: Greetings and welcome to RockOverdose!
Joel Cicera: Thank you and cheers to you!
RockOverdose: What are Crazy Lixx up to these days?
Joel Cicera: We are currently preparing for the show in Greece. It´s a month away and we are very excited to come and play for the Greek rockers! There are many things going on in the Lixx-camp. We got two new guitarists and been rehearsing with them, as well as doing some shows with the new line-up. We also have a live album entitled “The sound of the LIVE minority” that will be out in the end of june. We also just released the fact that Crazy Lixx will be featured in the new “Friday the 13th” videogame that is currently in the making.
RockOverdose: Your fourth studio album, “Crazy Lixx” was released almost two years ago. How do you feel about it now? Are you satisfied with its result and perception?
Joel Cicera: Very much so. It´s was a good return to the way we used to sound. “Riot Avenue” is a good album but we strayed a bit to far, in retrospect, to get that “dirty” sound and I think the fans got confused since “New religion” was a lot more clean and big sound-wise. With “Sound” we took our time, recorded under a long time and chose the songs by hand instead of just choosing 12 songs and record them. We noticed that a song we liked during the month of November didn’t make the cut in January when we were supposed to choose 3 songs to record.
RockOverdose: Are you currently working on a follow-up to 2014’s “Crazy Lixx”, or are there any plans for a future release soon?
Joel Cicera: Actually yes. We are going to start recording drums during the summer and fall but we don´t have a release date yet.
RockOverdose: What about the writing process? How is it like in the band?
Joel Cicera: It used to be Danny that wrote most of the material and Adde had a couple of songs as well on every album. But everybody except me is writing music (dumb-drummer-syndrome) and have brought some cool songs to the table. But we are still in writing mode so I don’t know which songs are going to be on the final album.
RockOverdose: Your line-up has been through many changes, with Danny and you being the only stable members since the band’s inception. How would you say this has affected the sound of Crazy Lixx through the years?
Joel Cicera: Of course things change but not in the way that it has taken away the sound that is Crazy Lixx. Since Danny has always been the main songwriter the music itself has stayed true to what this band is about but we have tried things during our time as a band that have not always worked out.
RockOverdose: Last November you were supposed to visit Greece for a concert, but unfortunately there was a last-minute cancellation due to Edd and Adde leaving the band. At that point things didn’t look that good for the band. Was there any moment you thought of calling it quits?
Joel Cicera: Yeah we talked about it (me, Jens and Danny) and came to the conclusion that we needed to give it one more go. We had already played with Jens Lundgren that filled in for Edd during two shows last summer so we knew that we had one guy at least. We said that we were going to check out what guitarists there where and take it from there. We had people from Brazil and USA that wanted to come to auditions but we wanted a Swedish guitarist since it would be easier. We tried out Chrisse first of all and one more guy but in the end we liked Chrisse’s playing so much that we didn’t try out any more guys.
RockOverdose: I’ve read many times that Crazy Lixx and Crashdiet are friends. What do you think of Crashdiet’ s current state? Do you think they should continue in search of a new lead singer and carry on, or leave the music world with their legacy?
Joel Cicera: I really don´t know. That’s really up to them. If they feel they can give something more to the music world (which I do) then sure! But considering all the trouble they have had with singers during their career maybe they should be an instrumental group =).
RockOverdose: Without a doubt, Sweden is one of those countries where the best sleaze/hair metal music comes from. Crazy Lixx is of course one of those bands. Why do you think there are so many bands in Sweden and why this particular kind of music has blossomed over there?
Joel Cicera: Well the scene isn’t as big as it was. But there are a lot of great bands and I think that it has always been a healthy competition between bands. The bands try very hard a put down a lot of hours practicing and writing music but you need luck and a great songwriter. If you look at a band like H.E.A.T, those guys are so united in their work and have great composers in the band. And you can see that unity onstage.
RockOverdose: Sweden is not only thriving in terms of sleaze and hair metal, but music in general. Most recently, with the country’s many successions in Eurovision Song Contest. Crazy Lixx covered last year’s winning song “Heroes”. What made you cover that song? I think Crazy Lixx should have performed it in this year’s contest!
Joel Cicera: Hehehe that was purely a commercial scam. But it was a nice song and it was actually my girlfriend that suggested it. I took it up with the band and we did everything in 2 weeks. But I’m not ashamed to say that it was a way to try and get new people to listen to us because the song got that ”Crazy Lixx” feeling and I think we made it our own.
RockOverdose: Your debut album “Loud Minority” turns 10 years old next year. Any plans of celebrating its anniversary?
Joel Cicera: Nope. Not at this time at least.
RockOverdose: You’re eventually visiting Greece on July 16th for a unique show in Chania, Crete. What are you most looking forward to?
Joel Cicera: Feta cheese =) and the beach and to see if the greeks have some Spartan blood left in them and can bring it to our show.
RockOverdose: What can people expect from a Crazy Lixx live show?
Joel Cicera: Hopefully they walk away afterwards and think the “Shit! That band rocked!”
RockOverdose: Thank you for your time. Please share a message for your fans and readers of RockOverdose.
Joel Cicera: No problem!
Hey fans of Greece! Let’s get this party started!!!
For Rock Overdose,
Sofia Douska
Comments
