This poster cost 100,000 Swedish crowns to design but was
rejected by the International Council of the Arts. Although London was
canceled, we did go on to play Upsalla, Helsinki, and Eskilstuna.

"EVERYBODY'S GOT A SOULBONE"

Sometimes I wonder where the soulbone is outside of Kenny Hellacopter’s obvious pun on soulboner. I think maybe it’s one of those little bones in the inner ear. Hammer, anvil, stirrup-maybe there’s another one - the Soulbone.

The plane takes off and I observe the aerodynamics of the wings from a blue lifeboat. The lifeboat sinks and people are in the water. I go for help and open a package full of emergency gear. At the edge of the water a boy holds a rattlesnake and I see a dead fish. There is no-one in the water. I go into a bar where a drunken friend is trying to pick up girls….

Now, wait a minute. That’s a page from my dream diary just before I left for Stockholm. Actually I’m on my way to Heathrow for the third time this year. It’s Halloween evening. I happen to be flying with missy who works at Olsson Bros Garlic and Shots Down, a bar, restaurant and hang-out, down the hill from, Mosebacke, where I stay while I’m in Stockholm.

I end up at management agency Sound Pollution Monday morning, and get a cab to the apartment for two hours sleep. Then dinner with Nick and friend Johan at Olssons. We end up at Berns to see Stephen Sundstrom. Our guitar player Mattias is finishing up the Swedish tour he was on with Stephen. It’s a huge ballroom that will play an important part in The Solution tour.

With next to no shut-eye at this point, I’m starting to think the dream was better.

Tuesday November 2 is interviews, rehearsal, and end of the day at Olssons again. Wednesday the 3rd is lots of interviews, photos, rehearsal, and then dinner with nick, Patrick (our agent), and Simon Keeler from Sweet Nothing Records. That’s our label in the UK. Unfortunately we find out the UK date is cancelled, but we will fly the press to Denmark for interviews.

Thursday the 4th: More interviews and rehearsal. In the evening the Hellacopters are having their 10th anniversary party with Gluecifer and the Flaming Sideburns.

Nicke plays drums at Atlantis Studio, Stockholm on the “covers live in
the studio” session.

Friday November 5 is more interviews and rehearsal. Interview, rehearse, Olssons. It’s becoming a pattern.

Saturday the 6th we go to a pro rehearsal room for our “dress rehearsal”. Everything sounds ready to rock. One more rehearsal Sunday and we pass on a Hives/Thunder Express show because we have to get up at 3am Monday to do the national morning show.

November 8 - We're scheduled to do TV4 and 3am is very early to be getting up. In the process I lose my glasses. Probably because I took them off in the taxi as I signed “Elvis Presley” on the receipt. Let’s see, $300 for glasses, $300 for guitar ransom, not to mention the price of drinks, Sweden is very expensive.

Percussionist Brady Blade joins us for the TV show, which consists of the usual two songs live and an interview. We all take a nap and go to rehearsal at 8pm and then to Budwheels, our bus stop, at midnight and the bus for Malmo’s KB.

Clarrise defects to a religious cult.

Tuesday November 9. We do TV and radio interviews including one in which I try and imitate Bing Crosby. A guy named Anderz waits outside the bus for two hours to get an autograph. Sulo opens for the first of many nights.

Wednesday the 10th is a sellout at Goteberg’s Storan Theater. There’s an after party and a party after the after party and I end up watching the dawn through the bus windshield.

Nick waits for dinner in Aarus, Denmark.

Thursday November 11 is Linkoping at Platens Bar where I e-mail birthday greeting to my brother David in Nashville and a guy stage dives across my music stand and microphone, knocking everything over. Karlskrona, Sweden’s Kino on the 12th with Thunder Express. Some of the crew returns in a somber frame-of-mind from Chippen’s funeral in Stockholm. He was the Hellacopters tour manager and everyone is in kind of a subdued bad mood.

Last night of the week on the road in Helsingborg at the Tivoli on Saturday, November 14. Band thinks it’s the best show so far, which makes sense since we’ve been on the road all week.

Even though we're not allowed to smoke on the bus, it's OK to smoke
leaning on the gas pumps if you can't stand up.

Sunday November 14 we’re back in Stockholm and the first night not sleeping on the bus. We’re playing at Berns, a spectacular place, and our dressing room is the red room from a Soren Kierkegaard novel. It’s a room where writers used to meet. Kinda like the round table at the Algonquin I think. The ceiling is three stories high and hung with ornate chandeliers. We shoot a four camera video and I think it was my personal best performance. I end the evening twirling an iron based mic stand over my head and spinning like a whirling dervish. Luckily no one was hurt.

OK so that’s the first week of the Nightliner tour. Now I should tell you about my guitar. If you recall, I left it on the subway last summer, where some kid found it and took it home. He gave it to a friend who wanted to learn guitar. The parents of the would-be guitar player were suspicious and got in touch with a friend of Nick’s. We paid a $300 reward and the guitar is now back in my possession.

The return of the '67 Fender Tele with Nicke's Fender Twin amp.

I honestly never thought I would see it again. Again I refer to Eric Clapton’s Brownie which sold at auction for nearly a half million. But that’s another story. My custom ’67 Tele is sort of my boomerang. No matter what I do it comes back to me. It appears to be mine for life. I promise to be more attentive in the future.

After a day off it’s back on the Nightliner on Tuesday November 16. We are in Vasteras at Prsima. We do an in store and a show before the youngest audience of the tour. There’s a crossover phenomenon going on where kids buy our record and turn on their parents and parent’s friends to it.

The Solution wants you!

Next is Oslo’s The Garage on November 17. My first time here. The place is packed but the audience acts like they’re all stoned on something heavy. Rapt attention and absolutely no response. Guy in the front row sings 'sha na goo goo yeah' when I give him the mike on “Sha Na Boom Boom Yeah”.

Thursday the 18th we’re at Stromstead’s The Cod. What a strange place. Smallest stage of the tour and they’re serving kangaroo in front of the stage. Our dressing room is the captain’s cabin.

Jim shoots himself again.

Next it’s on to Copenhagen’s Vega on the 19th. Nick’s sister Lisa is there as well as Raging Slab. Anderz from Baby Woodrose plays tambourine with us.

Last date is Aarhus, Denmark at the train November 20. Blue van opens and the crowd lurks in the shadows like timid deer and comes halfway into the clearing for our show. The house photographer shoots me and Nick to go on the wall with Iggy, Emmylou Harris, and Marianne Faithful. After our show the place turns into a packed disco that I have to pick my way through to the bus and home.

Sunday night is raging slab at Debaser in Stockholm and I’m glad to be in the audience and off-duty.

Linn, Nicke, Clarisse and The Killer study dance at the Cholly Atkins
Dance School.

Monday November 22 is off and Tuesday is a showing of a Joe Strummer tribute film shot at Debaser.

Tuesday we record four new originals at Ace Tone Studio with Mikael Borg. Not much to do now. Some interviews see a show with the Doits, Kenny Hellacopter’s birthday, mainly just hanging out for a few days with my pal Bengston. I’ll spare you the details because it involves watching a lot of 3 Channel Swedish TV and trying to find something to do in the evening.

Saturday the 27th is Uppsala at the Blackhorse - our next to last show. Sunday we enter a pool tournament but leave early to jam with our friend Stevie and Brady Blade. So after killing a whole week I do a sit in gig at debaser with the wild kings, along with Dregen Hellacopter, and the Flamin' Groovies’ Chris Wilson. And sing the Kinks' “I Need You”.

The Killer and Marriane headed for a fall in the red room, Berns,
Stockholm.

Tuesday night Mattias sets his couch on fire and we’re lucky to see him at Central Station on Wednesday, December 1 for the flight to Helsinki. The festival there is filmed by TV Finland and, promoter Milla’s band, Shake, opens, followed by Baby Woodrose, and the Detroit Cobras. It’s the second show we’ve played at Tavastia in six months and it rocks.

Last night live is in Eskilstuna, Sweden on Friday, December 4. We have an epic ping pong game before the show. Other than that it’s kinda anticlimactic.

The Man With the Soulful Touch, Janne Hansson, in Atlantis Studio,
Stockholm, for the covers live session.

On Sunday we record seven of the show covers live at Atlantis Studio with Janne Hansson: "Wild Mountain Berries" (Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson), "Not Like It Is" (Albert King), "Hijackin' Love" (Johnny Taylor), "Funky Fever" (Clarence Carter), "Can’t Stop Lookin' For My Baby" (The Fantastic Four), "You Got What You Wanted" (Ike & Tina Turner), and "Sha Na Boom Boom Yeah" (The Staple Singers). The only ones we skipped were JJ Barnes' “Baby Please Come Back Home” and The Temptations’ “I’m Losing You”.

In addition to an outtake called “Snafu” from the original session and the four new ones: “You’ve Got To Come Down”, “You Never Liked Me Somehow”, “Happiness”, and “Kiss”. We have a complete album in the can ready for release sometime late 2005.

Carl comes up with an alternative to paying the bill at Pepper.

We finish the day at our Christmas farewell party at a club called Pepper. One more day doing overdubs on Monday and I’m outta here on Pearl Harbor Day. Thanks guys. See you in about 10 months.

The Year of The Solution is over. 2005 is the Year of The Hellacopters.

Not to worry. Theses people have all been arrested and are behind bars.

Special thanks to The Solution: Nick - drums, Jim -bass, Henke - keys, Mattias “Killer”-guitar, Linn - vocal, Clarisse - vocal, Gustav - sax and Emil - trumpet. Lars Nyeberg and Stephen Sydell - sound, Erik Wallinder - backline, Eric “Midnight” Lorentz -merch and Par Soderberg - driver. Extra special thanks to Carl von Schewen and staff at Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution and Patrick Fredriksson and staff at Luger Agency.

Our Swedish fans are very young. This is Ruth Siri Lizzy Jacobsson,
aged 11 months.

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