LINKS:

katatonia.com

myspace.com/katatonia

Formed in 1987 in Avesta, Sweden and starting out somewhat in the dark/doom, black/death metal vein, distilling through a slow, smooth maturation process with each subsequent release, writing only for themselves and occasionally scrapping entire sets of recordings, Katatonia has arrived at its own perfect blend of heavy mellowness (or is that mellow heaviness?) with guitar effects and components that often overdrive the compositions from the heavy metal genre straight into a shoegaze haze. (As opposed to their earlier style of down-stroked eighth notes and melodic guitar leads that defined the style of their early to mid career.)

The band came through NYC in September on its first headlining tour of the US, and I got to have a lengthy chat with vocalist Jonas Renkse about a myriad of topics—band as well as personal. Read on to learn things you never knew about this well-kept secret from Scandinavia.

CN: Why is that?

JR: Because…I don’t know. They are a pretty big band. They have been here many times before, and the last tour that we did, was our first US tour. And even though we have had this band for a long, long time, you know, we don’t have a label in the US, so we only have records on import here, which makes it a little bit difficult for us, I guess, to reach out to people. I don’t know.

CN: It may be hard to gauge how popular you are since you don’t have sales here.

JR: Yeah, exactly.

CN: I can understand that, but when you were here last time it seemed like a lot of the people in the crowd really were here for you, so…

JR: That was perfect. That was a good sign.

CN: Judging from the volume level coming at the back of my head in the photo pit, I say it was good, too. So, your live DVD [Live Consternation]…how did that come about, first of all?

JR: Ah, I think, first of all, it was the label. They were talking about doing a DVD, and we never really did any plans for that. We were just like, “Well, we can film a show later on.” But they were sort of, uh, eager to get it. And they were asking, “What kind of summer festivals are you playing this year?” And we named a few festivals, and they were like, “Okay, the Summer Breeze? That’s a good festival. Let’s just hire the camera crew and film it.” And we were like, “Okay.” We didn’t think about it that much. We just treated it like a usual festival gig. So, it’s not perfect, you know, but it’s like it was, there. Because, we didn’t get a sound check, or we didn’t even get a line check or anything. So, it’s just rock’n’roll. It’s no polished stuff, so… I think it sounds good, and it looks good, so it’s cool. It’s a bit short, but we didn’t have the playing time, either.

CN: Some of the summer festivals are usually like that, though, you get like, maybe 20 minutes or a little longer?

JR: Yeah. I think we played maybe an hour, but we usually play, like tonight we will play maybe an hour and 20 minutes or something like that.

CN: That will be nice. We’ll get to hear a lot more of your stuff.

JR: Yeah.

CN: Let me ask you some of the same questions that I ask a lot of people. Let’s start with, what were you like when you were a kid? What was the “little” Jonas like?

JR: I think I was pretty withdrawn and shy. I liked to stay in my own world, you know, I was drawing and things all the time and thinking about stuff. But, of course I had many friends and we had a good time. But I think I wasn’t that hyperactive. I was more—I liked to read, even when I was a kid, because I learned how to read when I was like, three years and I just kept on reading. That’s what I do, most of the time, basically. Yeah, I would say, a little withdrawn, but still having a good time.

CN: And what’s it like in the area [where] you grew up when you were a child?

JR: Ah, it was good.

CN: Was it like, rural or country or city…

JR: No. It, ah, I grew up in a suburb to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, but it’s a nice place. Good for a kid’s explorations, finding all the secret stuff, you know, that you want to see when you’re a kid, like, hidden stuff. So, uh, it was very safe and secure and everything. It’s just like a small town just outside of the city.

CN: I have an idea that everything in Sweden is more safe and secure than in America.

JR: Yeah. It is. Absolutely.

CN: We think our suburbs here are safe and secure, but I think if we go there we would be surprised.

JR: Oh, yeah. It’s very quiet.

CN: So you were doing music in your spare time, though, you were teaching yourself music?

JR: Yeah. We just started the band when I was in high school in ’91, and we’re completely self-taught. We didn’t know anything. We just wanted to have a band.

CN: Prior to that though, what’s your first memory of music?

JR: I grew up with music, because my dad is a big music fan. He’s been listening to a lot of blues music and also like, Led Zeppelin and stuff like that, so I had it from the beginning. He was always listening to music, and still is. So I think it came pretty natural for me, because he’s not a musician, but he always wanted to be. And when I started to make music on my own, he was very encouraging. So, it’s been there all the time.

CN: So when you started, you didn’t start with vocals.

JR: No, I was playing drums in the beginning.

CN: And why did you choose drums?

JR: Because I was drumming on things ever since I was a small kid, and I felt that I had a sense of rhythm. So I was thinking that I should develop it. And I took some drum lessons and stuff like that, and then we started the band and I played drums. But then I didn’t have the time to practice drums because we didn’t have a rehearsal place and I didn’t have my own drum kit.

CN: That could make it hard.

JR: Yeah. So, I felt that I was holding the band back because I didn’t develop at the same pace as the other guys, so… And I was also doing vocals, so I figured I should concentrate on doing vocals and we could bring in a good drummer instead.

CN: Yeah, singing drummers…that can be either really good or really atrocious.

JR: Yeah.

CN: Do you still play drums, though?

JR: Yeah, when I get the chance. I love playing drums. I’m drumming on my knees all the time.

CN: Do they let you play on stage sometimes?

JR: No.

CN: Why?

JR: I don’t know. Our drummer is picky with his drums. “Don’t touch it.” Like that.

CN: They’re all like that, aren’t they?

JR: Yeah. Even in the rehearsal place, when he’s having a break, I start playing drums and he’s like, “Get the fuck out!” (both laugh)

CN: So you had throat problems, I hear.

JR: Ah, well, a little bit, because I was doing the death metal vocals back in the day, and uh, all of a sudden I somehow lost the technique. I think, basically, because we didn’t play live back then, and I was just singing on the albums that we did. I wasn’t singing at rehearsal, either, so—because then I only played the drums. I figured it would work out once we got into the studio, but on the second album that we did, the Brave Murder Day album, I just sounded like someone in the gutter, you know, like a junkie or something. So, I just said, “Fuck it, you know, let’s bring in someone that can do it, and then we will find a solution.” Whatever, you know? So, I just lost the technique. And we’re playing some of the old songs, sometimes I can do it, but I couldn’t do a full set of those kind of vocals because my throat would be… It’s all about technique, I think, and I just lost the technique.

CN: So that’s when you brought in Mikael Akerfeldt?

JR: Yeah.

CN: Well, he has the technique. He’s pretty good at that.

JR: Oh, yeah, yeah. He’s very good. And also, he’s been—(exhales long and loudly) even before Opeth had a record deal, they were practicing like, five or six days a week, and he was always singing and playing the guitar. So, I guess he’s kept up with the technique and just never forgets it.

CN: So you guys have been friends a long time?

JR: Yeah.

CN: And he has such a really nice singing voice, too, when he does the other style.

JR: Yeah, yeah.

CN: When I put on the Lamentations DVD, it’s almost like a lullaby, it’s so soft.

JR: Yeah, it’s very warm, rich.

CN: Some of your songs are like that as well. I enjoy that about them.

JR: Yeah. I like that, too.

CN: It’s a nice sound. How do you think that the lyrical content of your songs has changed over the many albums that you’ve done?

JR: I think going from, because when we did the first album I was 17, and obviously, those lyrics are very different from what I’m doing now because it’s been such a long time and I’m older now, you know? And nowadays I try to, I try to use as little words as possible, you know. I try to break it down.

CN: So you’re more of a minimalist now?

JR: Yeah, I think so, because, that’s how I like it now. Back in the day, I wanted to, I was looking in dictionaries, finding all the cool words that you didn’t learn in English class in school, you know? So, uh, but nowadays I just try to get straight to the point, but still a little bit abstract, but using less words, smaller words, whatever. I think that’s the style I like.

CN: So, they’re minimalist, but would you say they’re abstract, or just direct but
minimal?

JR: I think they’re both abstract and direct. I think I like to play around with using both abstract and direct stuff, which is maybe a little bit confusing to the people who are reading and listening. But that’s how I want it, so…

CN: So it’s not…I know some people have said, “Oh, they’re black or gloom metal.” I don’t know where or how I would categorize your music. So, how would you categorize your music?

JR: I think it’s super-difficult because nowadays there is a genre for everything, you know? People come up with new styles all the time, but basically it’s the same music that’s been done for ages. I guess we’re still some sort of gothic metal band, or that’s what people call us, and I’m fine with that. I wouldn’t want to start another genre just to describe our sound. People, they can hear if they like it or not, you know. It’s not so important what you call it, I would say. It’s dark, uh, metal rock whatever, you know.

CN: Where do you draw your influences? You said you read a lot.

JR: Yeah, I read a lot.

CN: So what type of things do you read?

JR: Uh, everything. I read all the time because I feel that’s something that I have to do, you know? When I get bored on the tour bus, I just sit down with a book. And even every night when I go to bed, I have to read, even if I’m dead tired. I can’t just switch off the light and sleep, even if I would love to. I have to read, at least for half an hour, you know. So I read everything from, you know, very easy books, like criminal, what do you call them, I don’t know…

CN: Detective stories?

JR: Yeah. From detective stories to more classic stuff—whatever I have, you know? Because I read so much I don’t have the time to buy books all the time, so I just grab, when I’m at my parents place, I just grab a bunch of books and just bring it home to read. It doesn’t matter what it is. (laughs)

CN: So it’s not like you just start with philosophy and go through philosophers…

JR: No, no. I think that’s too much for me. I have a favorite author, which, I think he’s from New York, Paul Auster. (see: wikipedia page & myspace tribute page for more info) He’s written the most beautiful books, I think. So that’s a favorite, but anything goes, you know, as long as I have something to read. (chuckles)

JR: Uh, we played, I think, the day before we were going to the studio to record the first album. We got a gig in the suburbs of Stockholm. Ah, that was a horrible gig. Everybody in the band was so nervous. We had never been on a stage before.

CN: Did any of you vomit before you went onstage?

JR: No, it was more like we were trying to escape. We were talking about, ah, “Is there a possibility that we can just walk out of here and they can just cancel our gig?” But we had to do it.

CN: Aw, stagefright…

JR: Yeah. We played three tracks, I think. And the first thing that happens is our bass player, that we had at the time, he should start headbanging when the first beat kicked in, you know, and he headbanged into Anders’ guitar and just fell on the floor and continued playing when he was lying down. And it was like, “My God, what am I doing?” You know? Also we had, because we were only three in the band, in the original band, and we had to bring a session guitarist to play with us that evening. And uh, we didn’t know this guy. He was some friend of a friend to our bass player, and he said, “I know a guy who can do it.” And he came up rehearsing with us a couple of times and he knew the songs, and blah, blah, blah. And then when we came to the place where we should play, he was like, “I got a stage show for us.” And we went, “Okay. So, what’s gonna happen?” “You will see.” (laughs)

CN: Uh-oh.

JR: (still laughing) He was playing with a, I don’t know what it’s called, like old bank robbers had…(motions around his face)

CN: The bandana?

JR: Yeah, the bandana—and all of a sudden, in the middle of the gig, someone is coming up from the middle of the audience dressed as a Christian, like, with the cross and maybe a priest or something…

CN: With the collar?

JR: Yeah. And then this guitar player picks up a knife and he’s pretending to kill this guy on stage. And he has a lot of fake blood, like throwing out on the audience. And we didn’t even know that. We were just playing like… (makes shocked staring face)

CN: You’re looking at him like, “What the hell?”

JR: Yeah. “What’s going on?” And then after the gig it was like, “What do you mean? Did you like it?” And we went, “Yeah.” (laughs)

CN: That’s funny. So, after that, you decided to continue, obviously.

JR: Yeah.

CN: But you didn’t keep that session guy, did you?

JR: No, we didn’t. (laughs)

CN: How many more gigs after that before you decided this is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life, or do for money, as a career?

JR: It took a while, because we didn’t play that much, live, for many, many years, actually. We played a gig here and there, you know. It was always difficult for us to find a stable line-up, so we mostly skipped the whole live thing for a long time. And we played a couple of gigs one year and the next year maybe we played one gig, and all the time I was like, (exhales) “I don’t like this, you know? It’s not for me.” But then, when we got this line-up that we have now, back in ’99, and then we started touring on a regular basis, then it was, first of all, having a full band, that you like, and we’re all good friends and they’re all good musicians. It felt much more secure and much more inspiring to be on stage. So, I think in ’99 I felt like this is, it’s going good now. It’s okay. I still feel a bit nervous, but I think that’s a healthy sign, I guess.

CN: I guess so. I hear there are performers that play big arenas that you would never think would get stage fright.

JR: Yeah. I think it’s good, you know. I have to say that playing for a smaller audience is much, much worse than playing for a big audience, for some reason.

CN: I can understand that.

JR: Yeah, because, I don’t know…we’ve played huge festivals with like, uh, 10,000 people, and that’s a piece of cake, because if you play to 40 people in a small room, you know that these people are all here for us.

CN: And they’re all paying attention.

JR: They’re paying so much attention, and they know everything. Like, on a huge festival, there are many people coming just because there is another band playing and they just want to check it out. They maybe don’t know about us, and that’s cool, you know?

CN: Maybe somebody came just because their friends came. They’re just there to party. They might not even care about the band.

JR: Yeah, exactly. So, it’s much worse playing for a few people.

CN: I guess the worst of that would be going to play a gig and having like, eight people show up.

JR: Yeah. We never had that, luckily.

CN: You’re lucky.

JR: Yeah, but still, we would have to do it, I guess.

CN: That’s a test of your real mettle, what you’re made of…to go out there and play your full show just like it’s a festival for those eight people.

JR: Yeah, you have to do it because they paid to see you.

CN: Of course, and to not let it show on your face, that you’re disappointed and nervous.

JR: Yeah, we have had a few gigs, you know… Like I remember we played in the north of Sweden once. And we rarely play in Sweden because it’s not a good market for us, you know, it’s not many people coming. And we played in the north of Sweden where it’s very, uh, there’s not so much people living up there. It’s a very huge area.

CN: That’s the six months of sun and the six months of darkness territory?

JR: Yeah, exactly. So we came to this venue, and we were all like, “This is going to suck. Fuck.” And uh, when they opened the doors we realized that there aren’t many people here tonight. So we said, “Fuck it. Let’s just have a few drinks before the gig.” Because we usually don’t drink that much before the gigs--we’ve done it in the past. But, it’s not so good. So that time we felt that we were going to party onstage as well. And the people that were actually there, they had such a good time, and that felt really cool.

CN: Because they probably waited for you [to come play].

JR: Yeah, and we had a party with them.

CN: And that made it all good.

JR: Yeah. And then after the show, when they were closing this place, a lot of people stuck around for some drinks with us. And then we started jamming, like playing “Reign In Blood” and stuff with people from the audience. And that was a real cool experience.

CN: That sounds like it would be fun. That sounds like it would be a really good time, actually, because then it’s like hanging at your house with friends.

JR: Yeah, sure.

CN: Have you ever gone back there and seen those people again?

JR: No, we haven’t.

CN: No? You should do like, a once a year thing, to go back and see those people, because that would be fun.

JR: That’s a good idea.

CN: Definitely. So, after, it still took a while before you decided that’s what you were gonna do for a living, then?

JR: Yeah.

CN: During that time, how many recordings did you make, though? You said you didn’t play out a lot.

JR: No, we didn’t. Not until we did the fourth album.

CN: So you were more of a recording band at that time?

JR: When we did the fourth album, that was the first one for Peaceville, which is, uh, a bigger label than what we had been on earlier, and that’s when we started to tour. The album was called Tonight’s Decision, and then that’s when the label started to saying, “Well, we’ve got this tour lined up for you, and you’re gonna do these shows.” And stuff like that. And then we HAD to do it, you know, even though we were nervous. But then, it just kept rolling with more and more tours and stuff.

CN: Well, you’ve got to get out there and sell your product, which is you.

JR: Yeah, of course, of course. Because before, we were on a small label, or a couple of small labels, and they didn’t have the money to put in, like, tour support and stuff, so they were totally happy with us just being a studio band. So, we didn’t have that drive back then. We just felt we wanted to make music and make sure it sounded good in the studio and then once in a while we would get the chance to play a gig and it sounded like, shit, you know? But we didn’t care.

CN: But if you’re already an introverted type person, as you said that you were, and you’re only playing in the studio, that’s not helping you by not getting you out on tour.

JR: Oh, no, no, no.

CN: Maybe that’s why you weren’t so good live?

JR: Yeah, yeah. It was a nightmare every time.

CN: You weren’t getting outside your bubble.

JR: Yeah. It was a nightmare all the time.

CN: So, you’re better with it now, though.

JR: Oh, yeah, much better. It’s like, flying. I used to hate flying. I was so afraid of flying. But we’re flying so much now, all the time, so that I don’t even have problems with that anymore. (laughs)

CN: See, I was going to ask you, “What is your greatest fear?” So, if it’s not flying anymore, what is it now?

JR: I guess my greatest fear these days would be that something would happen to my son. He’s four years, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. That would be the worst. So, it’s a pretty easy choice these days.

CN: Once you have kids, It becomes easy. It changes everything.

JR: Oh, yeah.

CN: What do you feel is your boldest song on the last album [The Great Cold Distance], in terms of your creative and recording process?

JR: I think actually, the first song, which is called “Leaders”. Because we were trying out some riffing that we had been doing before, because, like the first riff on that song is pretty powerful, but at the same time, a lot of people will say it sounds too modern, maybe like nu-metal, whatever. But we felt it was so huge sounding and dark that it’s just perfect for an opening song on an album. But otherwise, I think that the last album is so…it’s very, ah…you can say that the whole album is, has got the same feeling in every song. It’s very compact. I don’t know.

CN: Each song seems to tell it’s own little story, but when you put them next to each other, they also tell a bigger story.

JR: Yeah, yeah. Exactly.

CN: Having said that, what’s the next album going to be like? You’re obviously working on stuff.

JR: Yeah, a little bit. We have just started. And I think it will be pretty much in the same style, but with a few new details. I think we have found the formula which works pretty good. But for the next album, we want to try out some—maybe a couple of songs that are all mellow instead of having just parts in every song which is pretty mellow. I would love to do that again, because we’ve done it in the past, but on The Great Cold Distance, I think, almost every song is like, pretty hard. It’s got mellow parts, but it’s overall pretty upfront. So I would like to try to make a couple of, not ballads, but you know, more mellow.

CN: How did you come to work with the video director Charlie Granberg?

JR: We had seen a few videos that he had done, and we thought that his style would suit Katatonia. And we had never done a video before, so when the label started to, you know, talk about a video, and they were like, “Is there any director you would want to work with?” We were like, “We don’t know.” You know, and then we started to check things out. And we liked his style, so we got in touch with him, and he was really into the idea. And then we said, like, “We’ve never done videos, and we don’t know shit about it, so you do whatever you want. We will be there and will do whatever you say.” You know, because we didn’t want to get involved too much, because then it would be…it would be too much work to get everything to fit into our vision, I guess. So we just wanted to have someone taking the responsibility, and I think it worked out fantastic.

CN: Also, if you’re going to let somebody be the director and work out a whole storyboard idea, let him be creative, just the way your record company lets you be creative with the music.

JR: Yeah. That’s what we wanted, because we could probably write something like a storyboard and we could say like, “We want this kind of light,” or whatever. But it would take so much time because we don’t know how to realize things like that, and we didn’t want to do that. It wouldn’t be good enough, probably, because we would want to have someone that’s been in the business and knows how to do it.

CN: Yeah, because I noticed you didn’t have any videos before this. And I was looking and looking. I mean, I’ve seen on YouTube, a lot of your fans have made videos for your songs…

JR: Yeah, that’s true…

CN: Which, “Omerta” and “Chrome”, you could have done some good things with some of that stuff. Those are great songs.

JR: Yeah, yeah. But back then the label didn’t want to do it, so… We were asking for every album, “Are we going to do a video?” And they were like, “No, there’s no market for it anymore.” Blah, blah, blah. But then all of a sudden they realized that there is a market, maybe not on MTV, but on YouTube and whatever. So for this album we made three videos, all of a sudden.

CN: I’m sure you could do an entire DVD of great videos and your fans would buy it.

JR: Probably. I don’t know.

CN: Or have them available for download—the markets are changing, but they are still there.

JR: Yeah.

CN: If you had the chance to sit down and interview anyone, living or dead, who would you choose, and why?

JR: I think the author I was talking about, Paul Auster, because I like his stuff so much. I would like to ask about certain characters and things like that, I guess.

CN: When did you first discover his writing?

JR: It wasn’t that long ago, maybe six or seven years ago, something like that.

CN: What are some of his books that are some of your favorites?

JR: There is one called The New York Trilogy, which there are three books in one. They are called City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room, I think, which, all three of them are just perfect…perfect stuff.

CN: I haven’t read any of it, so now I’m going to go check it out.

JR: Yeah, yeah, yeah…do. It’s beautiful stuff. It’s uh, pretty abstract but very…he writes very beautiful, you know? And it takes a while before you realize what’s going on. It’s pretty dark stuff, at times, and uh—I don’t know the right word for it, but it’s mysterious and it all comes together somehow.

CN: Mysterious…macabre?

JR: Not really, but it’s very much about people that don’t have an identity or something and that they’re looking for it somehow.

CN: So, what was his last book that he put out?

JR: It’s called…oh, I don’t know the English. In Swedish it’s (he gives the title in Swedish), it’s "Travelling in the Scriptorium" or something like that. [Travels in the Scriptorium (2007)]

CN: That sounds interesting. Now, which of your musical influences would you most like to meet, or have met, if they are deceased, and why?

JR: Nick Drake, this English singer-songwriter. I think he died in ’74 or something. (see: wikipedia page & myspace page for more info) He was so great with both music and lyrics. It would be great to just sit around here and play and just talk a little. That would be enough for me, you know.

CN: Yeah? That’s an interesting choice. Most people pick someone more “popular”.

JR: Oh, yeah? I don’t.

CN: It’s nice. It’s good. What’s in favored rotation in your CD player/iPod, and why?

JR: It’s different from, you know, uh…I have my periods where I listen to a certain artist or a band for some time, but I think recently I’ve been listening to David Sylvian (see: wikipedia page & myspace page for more info) a lot, which is one of my favorite artists. Probably because I have all of his, or most of his albums in my iPod, so it’s just easy access. It’s just very nice to lie down in the tour bus and listen to something which is not so loud and noisy, you know, as opposed to what we’re doing on stage. I just want to kick back and take it easy.

CN: Sure. What disciplines other than music inspire you?

JR: Books. Reading.

CN: What would you say influenced the writing of your songs most on your last record, news, politics, popular culture (or lack thereof), or interpersonal relationships?

JR: I guess personal relationships, which is always something that I write about. But I would have to say also, a little bit of popular culture, or at least at some point I’m trying to criticize it, you know. Not very, uh, not very…not so you would see it so easily, but it’s in there, somewhere, you know.

CN: What gear do you use in the studio and on tour?

JR: In the studio, I think, it’s different from time to time. On this last album I think the... I’m not so good with equipment, but the mic I’m singing in was called AKG, and it’s called Solid Tube. (purchase the same mic from the Crusher Magazine Amazon store: here) And on tour I’m using a Shure U87, it’s called.

CN: What is the most unexpected thing that happened in the studio during the recording of The Great Cold Distance?

JR: Oh, what would that be? I don’t know. I can’t remember anything. I can’t say.

CN: Nothing catastrophic?

JR: No. It went very smooth.

CN: So you guys have it down to a science now, after all those records.

JR: Yeah, pretty much, and also the studio is very good. And the guy who is working there is so picky with everything, so he’s eliminated the risk of something bad that’s going to happen, you know? (laughs)

CN: (laughs) Studio guys are good with that.

JR: Yeah, yeah.

CN: The last tour, besides the “ice headbanging”, and the “Dead Mumia” which we all got to see on YouTube, what were the other fun things that went on on tour--favorite cities and things you got to do for your first tour of America?

JR: I really liked coming here, [B.B. King Blues Club & Grill] to play this place, and also to have a look around New York, because I had never been here before. So that was my thing, to see everything that I’d only seen on TV or in the movies. L.A., also—very nice place—I like the weather, because we had been travelling from Seattle through Oregon, I think, and it was raining all the time.

CN: Yeah, and it was October and November, so it was fall/winter.

JR: Horrible weather up there. And then we were like, “Is it going to be like this?” And people were saying, “No, wait until we come to California.” And then, coming there, it was like, heaven. And you can actually dry your gig clothes in the sun.

CN: Outside the bus…

JR: Yeah, instead of having it wet for days because of the rain and everything.

CN: That’s the worst thing about travelling and touring in the winter time is your gig clothes are all wet, and if you don’t stop and find a dryer or laundromat you’ve got to put it back on if you don’t have like, three sets of the same thing to wear on stage. And that’s how you get sick.

JR: Yeah, absolutely.

CN: But putting the wet sneakers back on… I don’t see how you guys do that. (grimaces)

JR: Sometimes it’s gross, but I learned to always buy a lot of the cheap socks so I can wear them and then just throw them away. (laughs)

Katatonia are currently off tour and writing material for their next album, but will be playing select dates. Check katatonia.com for more info.