Crazy Lixx is described as “the new wave of Swedish sleaze.” As it turns out, there’s a lot more to their sound, according to founder and lead vocalist, Danny Rexon.
I recently had the opportunity to connect with Danny, all the way from Sweden, to talk about his rock influences, plans to tour the US and the band’s new album, Two Shots of Glory, out now Frontiers Music.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today, Danny. I know you have a lot of fans here in the US who want to know more about you and the band, so let’s jump right in. What is the rock scene like in Sweden?
Danny Rexon/Crazy Lixx: I would say the term, “new wave of Swedish sleaze” was coined around 2005 when Crashdiet released their first album. It was a thing around that time. But Sweden is very trend sensitive. Stuff comes and goes quite fast in Sweden. So there are resurgences of the rock scene every now and then, but I would say that overall the rock scene in Sweden is on the decline. There are still rock fans but they’re getting older and older. And among the young people, I’d say the other genres of music are more popular – electronic music and hip hop especially. It’s a little difficult for us on our home turf, which is why we usually play outside of Sweden. We’re quite popular in southern Europe and the UK. But we’re doing a South American tour now too, and we’ve been in Japan previously. So the market in Sweden is not too good, unfortunately.
Your sound is unmistakenly reminiscent of the late 80’s hard rock genre. Who were your influences growing up?
Some of my earliest memories are probably KISS, Europe, Whitesnake…I had a very intense period with Guns N Roses when they released their first album. Those have always kind of stuck with me. I tend to find bands from that genre to this day with some hidden gems, but I rarely find new bands that excite me. There are few, for example, Ghost, is a band that I’ve been listening to a lot lately. But mainly it’s those older bands, American bands, that started in the late 70s or in the heyday of the 80s that influence me the most. I was born in 1982, so I missed out on most of it, but I still feel a lot of nostalgia for that time. Most of the 80s is not something I remember vividly, but still fondly. But for some reason, I’ve grown very attached to that period in music, movies, comic books, everything from that time. Especially American stuff. We consumed a lot of American culture in Sweden as I was growing up. And I think many people of this age feel the same way.
My first exposure to Crazy Lixx was the 2016 live album, Sounds of the Live Minority. I felt then and still do now that some of those songs are among the best written in the past 10 or 15 years. What’s your song writing process like?
I hear it a lot that we would have been big in the 80s, but you also can’t take away the fact that without all of those influences, we wouldn’t be able to make the music that we do. Had I been around during that time, I probably would have been heavy into 60s rock and brushed aside all of the modern 80s stuff that came along. I think it was necessary for me to dig back into my influences to create the kind of music that I do now. It’s always been what’s closest to my heart. I’ve tried writing in other genres, but it just doesn’t come naturally to me. They say you have to do something for thousands of hours to be good at it. Well, I’ve listened to this kind of music for thousands of hours. I certainly owe it to listening to so much of that music all of my life. I don’t think I would be able to avoid it if I tried. There’s always that component of retro rock that I can’t avoid. People ask me why I chose this 80s sort of sound, and I tell them that I didn’t choose it. I was forced into it just by consuming so much of it growing up. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s just a part of me.
Talk about the idea to “reimagine” some of your classic songs on your new album, Two Shots At Glory.
The reason we did this was a combination of many factors. One was the fact that we hadn’t had a proper release in quite a while and we felt that we couldn’t commit to a full studio album at the time, so I suggested we pick up some of the older stuff. I also feel that in this day and age, it’s not as common for people to dig through back catalogs like we used to do. Now it’s more of an algorithmic thing, so we felt there were songs that were deserving of a second chance. We also felt that for this release to be relevant to our older fans, we wanted to include some originals and a cover song so there would still be value for everyone.
“Anthem for America” is a great song. Any plans to tour here in America and expand your presence in the US?
We always have plans and there’s always something that comes between. It usually comes down to problems with Visas. It’s quite difficult for bands from Europe to come to the States because you have to have the proper work Visas and going through homeland security takes a lot of time. We were in Chicago prior to the pandemic, but things have been a lot more difficult afterwards. From what I’ve heard, there’s a very long queue of applications, so that makes it harder. We do play the Monsters of Rock Cruise though because you’re playing in international waters so you don’t actually need the work permits. The plans that we have including doing a package with one or two other bands from Sweden or Scandinavia and doing a proper tour, but there’s a lot to organize. We’re always looking into it. For us, our biggest market is the US, so we would very much like to expand it with live gigs as well. But unfortunately, it’s a bit hard.
If you could tour with any band in the world right now, who would it be?
I used to say KISS, but they’re just avatars now from what I’ve heard, so you wouldn’t want to be touring with avatars! One of my favorite bands is Iron Maiden, so following them along would be great just for the sheer, immense size of it all. But on the other hand, maybe the audience wouldn’t be as fitting. The Def Leppard, Motley Crue tour would have been great. I actually saw it. Def Leppard were quite good. Motley Crue, sad to say, not very good, so from that standpoint, maybe it wouldn’t have been the best fit.
Just for fun, I’d like to throw out the names of a few bands and get your thoughts on them.
Van Halen
Very good. They’re not as big in Europe as they are in the US from what I understand. One of the first songs I can remember from my childhood was “Jump” on MTV, so that was an instant classic hit for me.
KISS
One of my favorite bands. When they were at their best, I think they were one of the best bands in the world. I enjoy both the masked and unmasked periods and the comeback period as well, but for me, the late 80s, early 90s periods are the best. When Paul Stanley wrote with Desmond Child, I think they made some really magical tunes together.
Poison
A bit too fluffy and pink for me. I can enjoy the odd song from time to time, but I’ve never owned a Poison CD. I’ve never seen them live either. But much like Van Halen, they were much bigger in the States than they ever were in Sweden.
Extreme
I don’t know if you have the term in the US, but we used to call it funk metal. There aren’t many bands around in that genre and Extreme is probably the biggest. I got to see them on the Monsters of Rock Cruise last year and Gary is still an awesome singer and Nuno, of course, is an amazing shredder. It’s a fun band for sure. I listen a lot to Pornograffitti and Two Sides to Every Story mainly. The early stuff is really cool.
Anything else you’d like to say to your fans here in the US?
Just tell your friends about us. I’m 100 percent sure there are a lot of people out there like you and me who enjoy this kind of music, but kind of think that it’s long gone and no one is doing it anymore. And we’re certainly working in an uphill battle against all of the other music that’s coming out now. So tell your friends that if they like Van Halen or Poison or 80s KISS, that there are still bands out there making that kind of music. I think sometimes people compare us to bands like Steel Panther, but they learn very quickly that there’s not a comedic aspect to us and that we’re not a parody band. They’re very talented musicians and the songs are great, but it’s still a comedy show first and foremost. Usually when people listen to our music and check us out, they know it’s not the same thing.
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: @nils.sjoholm
I’m Music Magazine Writer Steve Pawlowski
