Reformed punk rocker Anders Wendin has blossomed into a first-rate party-starter as Moneybrother (you'd better be ready to incite a good vibe or two with a stage name like that). His U.S. debut, Real Control, is the best kind of pub-rock, nipping a variety of styles from R&B to rock to reggae while using the mighty Joe Strummer as the lead beacon. Wendin wields a mean pop hook, as he proves right out of the gates with the hugely infectious disco throb of "Born Under a Bad Sign," long ago flagged up on this site as a track needing to be download. More than pop savvy, though, the secret to Wendin's success is that the kid's got soul. His home country caught on quite a while ago; he's a gold-selling, Grammy-winning artist back home, while practically a decade later, he's finally making some inroads in the States.
Real Control is one of my favorite feel-good albums of the year. What have you been putting on lately as a pick-me-up?
Hmm, I tend to listen to "Caroline" by Status Quo before going to the pub. New stuff? If we’re talking pick-me-up, I would say the Mumford & Sons album.
You’ve definitely had some success on your home turf. How come Real Control is the first full-length to officially make its way across the ocean to America?
I used to be stuck with Epitaph over here. Epitaph America is historically more of a punk rock label, I guess. I kept asking my them if anybody were interested over there. They kept saying no. So, I took my guitar, got on the plane and did some work. Now It is released. Simple as that.
What’s been your experience touring the States thus far?
Oh, it is a huge country, man. If I got in the car up here in Stockholm and did the amount of driving you have to do to go coast to coast, I would end up in Africa. I no longer whine when getting in to the van over here.
There are some similarities in our upbringing, as we both grew up in sort of remote, rural areas pre-internet. Even where we grew up, kids now are a second away from any music they could possibly ever want; it no longer takes hard work, cool friends or trips to the city. Would you have traded places with them?
Yep. My first 15 years where extremely boring. I would have changed with anyone. Anyone not starving, that is. On the other hand, I think it is good being a little bored growing up. It helps your creativity.
Your list of influences is pretty bulletproof: The Clash, Bad Brains, Springsteen. Surely there must be a guilty pleasure in there somewhere! Did you go through any embarrassing phases on your way to becoming a teenage punk rocker?
I don’t feel guilt when it comes to loving any kind of music. Really. I feel proud being a Dire Straits fan.
Do you remember what inspired your first song?
Oh, not really. Been writing since I was 5.
There was an article in Pitchfork a few months ago about the role the Swedish government plays in funding the arts, particularly prior to the 2006 election, and what a contrast it is to America, where there is very little institutional support. What’s been your experience with the arts council?
Sweden has been a very good country in that way. Loads of directors, musicians, artists, and actors have been able to make a living partly because of the Swedish art council. What the new government doesn’t understand is that it’s the jobs that makes you move to the city; it’s the culture that makes you fall in love with the city.
There’s a recurring motif through the videos for “Born Under A Bad Sign” and “We Die Only Once.” Are you trying to get us to rise up and smash our television sets, or did you just somehow find yourself with an abundance of old sets?
Haha, maybe the director did. Nowadays everybody use those new thin ones right?
We also cover politics on our site, and we lean pretty well to the left. Wikipedia isn’t exactly an authoritative source, but your Wikipedia page says, without any other context, “Anders Wendin is known to have radical leftist views.” What are those views? Is that a description you’d embrace?
It does? Well, I have, I guess. Growing up listening to the Clash that is what’s gonna happen.
