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Midway: Naked in the studio

Midway hailing from Sweden just released their debut album “Kickstart Riot”. They are the new top act coming from the northern country and will rock your socks off. Singer Leaf is going to tell you a bit more about the band and also recommends to visit their very own studio in Sigtuna, during your next trip to Stockholm. And no worries, visitors can keep their clothes on.

Hi guys, could you first introduce yourselves? Who are you and what is your position in the band?
Im Leaf and I am the singer in Midway. We have Drillen, who plays bass and sings backup vocals in Midway and he is rocking next to the snake of the band, Sam Cobra, who plays guitar. And then we have Midway´s battery in the back Thomsson, who plays the drums and the sings the third harmony.

When was the band founded and why did you decide to play this kind of 80’s rock?
Thomsson and Sam Cobra played together in one band and Leaf and Drill played together in another band.
Both bands split up, so Sam Cobra called Leaf and asked if he wanted to start a band together with him and Thomsson.. and the answer was Yes.
Leaf made one of the biggest mistakes and left Drillen for a while even though he knew that they wrote some great music together. But after only three months we all called Drillen and told him that our band missed a piece of the puzzle. We all listen to different kinds of music, but we all love the 80´s rock. Simple as that. The melodies and the output most of the bands had on stage were outstanding.

How did the band name MIDWAY came up? What’s the story behind?
If you want to do it the right way, you do it the Midway. Not so much more to it than that.
We met on the Midway and it became the right way.

There is actually not much to find in the net about you guys. But you wrote in the band info that you have been rehearsing for the first three months constantly, without having a job. Did you all quit your jobs just for the music? I guess even in Sweden you don’t earn enough to just live from music.
Yes, that´s true. We all quit our jobs and decided to just play music. Ofcourse we ran out of money, but we didn´t want to earn money in any other way, so we started to do some cover gigs around Sweden and ended up on a cruising ship. After a while we got to be the house band on the boat playing with showgroups and the famous Swedish singer Louise Hoffsten.
One day we all looked at each other and thought, " this has gone to far". We earn money on music but not the music we want to play. So we left that business and got some extra jobs, but we did not loose our focus on Midway.

You just released you debut record “Kickstart Riot”. Who was responsible for the songwriting, is it something you do as a band or is just one of you taking care of it?
We have decided to give the band credit for every song that Midway writes. Because, someone’s idea would not be the same if it weren’t for the band. And we always discuss the music and lyrics with each other even if someone had a bigger part in one particular song.

It was the first record you did as a band, which was the hardest part of the whole process? Which the easiest? What would you do different the next time?
Actually, the recording of "Kickstart Riot" was in a way the easiest part for us, because we have never felt so calm and relaxed as we did in Kingside Studios. Of course there was some arguments and discussions about how we wanted the songs to end up, but it solved itself after a while. The hardest part was to get Sam Cobra to wear clothes while recording.

Which song are you most proud of? Do you have the same favorite or do you all like a different song the best?
That´s a tough one. I think that some would say I Dont Care, but if I would speak for myself, I can´t choose. Every song is special to me/us in its own way. We don´t have a better answer than that.

You’ve got a song called “Cocaine”, so of course I am going to ask now if you are one of these typical Sex, Drugs & Rock’n’Roll guys? Or what is the reason you wrote this song about “Cocaine”?
The reason we wrote cocaine is - because we think that music has come a long way from the drugs. It would be stupid to say that drugs affect your work in a good way, it is in your heart. The sex and Rock N Roll on the other hand... I think we all can stand for that.



I read that you have been participating at the Emergenza Festival, could you may be quickly explain what it exactly is, how it works and how it was for you guys to play there?
Actually Emergenza is a competition and you get voted to proceed in the festival.
Emergenza is very well organized and they have a great staff and great stages to play on. But it is pretty hard to proceed, because every band invites their own fans and if you have a small fan base you will not do well in the festival. And I guess we played there too soon, when we did´nt have that much fans.

You have a couple of shows coming up at the moment. How do you prepare for a show? Do you have some kind of a special ritual before you hit the stage?
Yes we do! And that´s awesome! Well, we all take some time of our own to warm up.
But then we always sit together talking about funny moments we´ve had as a band. And sometimes we write some new songs just to get as close to each other as possible.

You are hailing from Stockholm, Sweden - which 5 city insider places would you recommend travelers to visit?
Stockholm, Gothenburg, Visby, Vimmerby ( to see the work from the Great Astrid Lindgren) and of course our own studio in Sigtuna just outside of Stockholm.

Do you guys have plans for a tour in Europe or is Sweden at the moment still the main target?
Sweden is not the main target, but we have a great booking agent who books us around in Sweden.
During the summer we are going to Germany and England to play, mostly on the street, but also in some bars.


So last but not least: is there a question you always wanted to be asked in an interview but nobody asked so far and if so what would it be?
Not that we can think of! :)

Thank you very much for your time, I wish you just the best of luck!
Thank you Sandy! Love Midway

More infos @ www.facebook.com/midwaytheband


Author: Sandy Mahrer, photos: Band
Date: 2015-05-31

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