WATERSHED – Interview with Artur

Fate is a strange thing. An experience that, among others, two members of the Swedish band Watershed have been subject to. They are namely Polish by origin. Furthermore you can read about the band, their inspirations, Solidarity (a Polish anti-communist workers union) and the Swedish underground. The vocalist Artur is being interviewed.

First of all a question that haunts me: How did you come up with the band name?

The word watershed has many diverse meanings. Might mean delta or a piece of land that divides waters. Another meaning is: a great change…By the way, don't you think it just sounds good?

Introduce yourselves and tell us who does what.

Artur – vocals, Klaudiusz – bass, Anders – guitar, Henrik – battery, and our newest member Fredrik (alias Dr. Pilsner from the band Optimus Crime in which I perform as some kind of Elvis-kind-of-guy) – guitar.

On the covers of your CDs Polish names could be seen. It's a little “exotic”, don't you think? How did two Polish guys end up in a Swedish band?

Well, Klaudiusz and I have been living in Sweden for 20 years now… at a certain point in our lives we met at the same “fugitive camp”. Our families had to escape the communist regime because of the fact that our fathers were members of Solidarity that was considered a conspiracy by the regime. Do you recall those days? The system beat down on freedom of thought, censorship amputated literature, every individual that had a point of view that differed from the communist doctrine was a suspect in the eyes of the regime, “informing” was everyday reality and there were spies everywhere… Our fathers were put in jail at several occasions and the communist henchmen demolished our homes every now and then. Our future in Poland didn't look that bright. So we went away on a journey to “the land of opportunities”. We settled peacefully here and could finally sense the smell of freedom. We lead harmonic lives here and do not plan returning to our home country.

So what are your occupations?

I work as a teacher, teaching immigrants Swedish and I'm also one of those in charge of a project for unemployed construction workers. Klaudiusz studies media design and sees his future within this field. Both of us are married and Klaudiusz has even got a gorgeous 3-year-old daughter. As it seems now our future is in Sweden… but who knows, we'll maybe go back to our motherland one day.

Well, I know your situation from the other side of the barricades, so to speak, does that bother you?

Sons should never repent or repay the sins of their fathers. This only leads to senseless hatred and vendettas. Would you like to know more about Watershed?

Right, tell me: for how long have you been playing? Did you play in other bands before?

Some time ago Klaudiusz and I had a grunge band called Keystone.

Interesting, would it be possible to listen to your songs?

Unfortunately we didn't record any material back then. Actually… a bootleg of a crappy concert of ours exists. By the way, on our 2nd demo “Derived From Emotion” we dusted off ”Do I?”. This is a re-make of Keystone's best song ever. It was written back in 1994… or even earlier. Well, good music never ages, don't you think? Henrik and Anders played in Use Your Head – another grunge band. The shatters of these two bands formed Watershed. The first change was that we started playing harder and heavier music. Hardcore was the new inspiration and later on nu-metal came into the picture. We founded the band in spring '98. Our latest Member Fredrik learned how to play the guitar all by himself and plays in Optimus Crime (www.optimus.rocks.it) – another band I sing in. He is also the youngest guy. He is mostly into stoner rock but likes Watershed enough to write some riffs that are more metal.

Does your singing in two bands somehow collide?

Not really. Watershed is “my baby” and everything is 100% serious. I sing in Optimus Crime because I like stoner rock and especially the groove. OC is more humorous and the lyrics are pure nonsense. OC is something more of a musical playground.

Do you still wear band t-shirts? What bands?

I have a whole bunch of t-shirts but I only wear them during summer. Korn, Tool, Type O Negative, Life of Agony, Paradise Lost.. enough?

Fair enough… The comparisons to other bands must be annoying. How would you yourselves describe your music? You maybe even got a name for your style?

Yeah, we play emo-metalcore and I believe this is the right term. In other words: the music is dynamic with attitude and the vocals are emotional. When people compare us with System of a Down, Tool, Life of Agony… we are pleased because these are great bands!

What is playing emotional music all about? Could you explain?

The emotions are carried in the lyrics and the musical atmosphere. We do not sing about motorcycles, sluts and beer nor do we sing about Satan. What we'd like to deliver is that certain feeling and not only. Some lyrics deal with my philosophy on life. ”Tend My Roots” is all about my dual identity – I'm two people in one but tend my roots to become whole.

Do you consider your music art?

Of course, and it does not only take it's expression in the music but also in the lyrics and the graphic artwork. When it comes to artwork Klaudiusz is the man. He has designed our logo and our web site and almost all CD-cover graphics. Watershed is a whole concept. But the way we approach our image might surprise you. We are just usual guys who create something from the craving of our souls. What often is referred to as image, tribal paintings and other childish stuff just ain't our thing. You could call us The Normals instead.

How come you started to play? How come music became your thing?

Hard to tell when it comes to the guys from Use Your Head but Keystone started out by fervent listening to Slayer bootlegs and tapes of such bands as Metallica and Anthrax. In the beginning we played thrash but it wasn't our “thing”. The greatest inspiration was grunge and especially bands such as: Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. I played the bass back then and Klaudiusz harassed the guitar. My singing started when I taught our singer the melodies of the songs and he said “You should be the vocalist instead”.

Do you know Earthtone? A bald guy with a long beard is the vocalist… at times your vocals sound pretty similar to his.

Earthtone 9… my brother has got one tape and I have to say these guys ain't bad! Some say that I sing like Maynard of Tool, some say Danzig or Keith of Life of Agony… others compare it to Ultraspank. I don't know myself… well I'm doing the best I can. The greatest idol of mine is Chris Cornell of Soundgarden!

What makes Soundgarden special?

The vocals, the heaviness in the music and the fact that the style is so diverse. There are loads of great melody lines and melody is my thing. I believe it to be the essence of a song.

How much do you rehearse?

As often as possible… 2 times a week. We had a slight break lately. We all play our instruments at home as well.

Who are you guys (when you've put your instruments inside the cases)?

Regular decent guys… all members of Watershed are tall – more than 1.80 m… and thin. There is one exception: me! I'm 1.73 m and slightly over-weight. You could say that we are “still waters”… the title of the first demo “Still Waters Run Deep” is probably a description of our personalities. We are calm and nice guys but beware of us when the bubble bursts. I'm perhaps the most talkative one and that might explain my writing of lyrics and the greater part of the music. Klaudiusz is the artwork man. Fredrik is the youngest one (only 18) and starts writing decent songs. Anders is the veteran with his 30 years on this planet. The band is 25 years old on average. We all love good beer. Henrik is probably the most calm guy in Watershed until he consumes a couple of the beers… chicks beware! Oh, please don't mention this… it's only a joke! Are you satisfied with my answer?

Pretty much. Could you say that you are well-known in Sweden? What are you doing in order to become famous on this pop-dominated scene?

We are an “underground act” and not to famous. I don't know the situation in Poland but in Sweden you need a record deal in order to break through. It's the reason why we send a lot of promos to record labels. We are still waiting… I even started a association for musicians in Helsingborg (http://welcome.to/slugger) and I'm the chairman of the board. We did this in order to make it easier for “underground acts” to perform live but it doesn't automatically lead to success. We have put the gigs on hold for a while but I promise that we will organize something soon…

Have you tried to get a deal out side Sweden? Sub Pop, maybe?

The Belgian label Good Life Recordings were pretty interested but not convinced enough… we've sent promos to a lot of companies but it is always the same story: “You play good music that is not suitable for the profile of our label, we're not signing bands within your style right now…”

How does your gig status look?

The biggest thing was playing at Hard'n'Heavy. It was the biggest metal/ rock festival in Sweden year 2000. Bands such as: Hypocrisy, Queens of the Stone Age and Slash's Snakepit… the last band mentioned does not appeal to us ; ). To be honest we do not perform live that often due to the fact that it is hard to get gigs without a record deal. It is perhaps possible that we will play at Vega in Copenhagen (Denmark). It's a place where even “big bands” play (Papa Roach, Ill Nino etc.). If everything falls in place we will play there with the Danish band Pinchbeck (www.pinchbeck.dk). It's a band playing music in the same vein as we do.

What are your plans for the next couple of months? Perhaps playing gigs in Poland?

The plan is rehearsing as much as possible and getting Fredrik into the feel of our music. Anders injured his finger and will take a couple of weeks off. I've written a lot of new material lately. Live performances are always number one. Time will tell what happens next. We will try to get into playing at some festival. We are open to all propositions…

What do you crave from the organizer of a tour? What are your demands?

Not much really: a stage + fans of heavy rock + food and a place to sleep… and a couple of them beers! And of course enough money to cover all costs. That's fair enough.

Do you listen to Polish bands?

Yes. I like: Houk, Illusion and older material by Lady Pank. I don't like Acid Drinkers, ONA and others …

Do you keep in touch with the Polish rock scene? Is there any chance of seeing you on stage in Poland?

We were supposed to play in Bydgoszcz, somehow it went down the drain… We had everything set for a mini-tour under the parole “Swedish emotional hardcore and Polish bands”. The clubs suddenly decided to cancel everything and those in charge of the management couldn't do jack without places to play…

How long is a live performance of yours?

45 minutes, we don't like to bore people to death… But we plan longer sets once we become loved and famous… (lol)

Which songs do you play live? How do you pick songs?

We play almost every song from the MCDs you've heard. ”Do I?” and ”Aggravating Reasons” we have not played that much because they are not heavy enough…

What is your favorite Watershed song?

Hard to tell because the are all “my babies”… the song I like the least is ”Cockroach”.

How do people respond to your latest demo “The Unreflective Interest In Action”?

Mostly with enthusiasm. Many people find the new stuff more interesting maybe due to the fact that we have incorporated some clean guitars on the new material. But we are not 100% pleased with it.

Yeah, you are right. I don't like the mix of the new demo. Only the drums and vocals are loud but the guitars could only be heard in the background. Is there a reason for this?

We know this and plan a re-mix. The main reason is the sound system in the studio. The speakers are too good sounding and give a false picture of the material. In the studio the guitars sounded as heavy as can get… please don't mention this, OK

I'd like to know more about the recordings of the earlier demos. Where and with whom did you record?

The first two we recorded with help from the engineer Klas Ideberg (also the guitarist of the metal maniacs DARKANE) the latest was recorded with Bergqvist. The co-operation with both guys was great. We have a goal to record some stuff every now and then, at least once a year. “Still Waters Run Deep” was recorded in the summer of '99, “Derived From Emotion” summer 2000, and “The Unreflective Interest In Action” in early summer 2002.

Have you ever considered recording in a Polish studio? I guess that the prices should be more affordable?

We get good deals here in Sweden because we know people who work in the studios.!

What other problems do you face besides trying to get a record deal?

The main problem is gigs in famous clubs… we cope with the rest somehow.

How do you see the future of “the underground”?

To get acknowledgement one has to get out of the underground. Luckily people like less famous bands too. Who knows maybe in a couple of years Watershed will turn into some kind of Limp Bizkit… and will no longer be considered underground but pop ;

I ask almost every band about their attitude towards drugs. What drugs are OK for your bodies?

Junk is killing you and we are strictly against it but we are not straight edge and believe that beer and liquor is not poison!

Tell me as short as possible, what does Watershed mean to you personally?

It enriches my life.

Don't you think that music makes people more mellow?

I guess I do not follow you here… do you mean that musicians tend to behave in a bad manner and do not care about life? I guess not. To me Watershed is more of a vent and I can spit out some emotions. It's some kind of therapy.

What does bug you the most when organizing gigs?

Not much. Maybe the lack of interest in the music… people come to a show for the beer not the rest of the show.

What do you do before a gig? How do you feel just before you enter the stage?

We are exited and a little tense. After singing my first song I'm totally at ease and ready to give my 100% no matter what the audience thinks about our music.

How do you feel about Chuck Schuldiner's (R.I.P.) statement that a good sound engineer is 80% of the success?

If you play really heavy stuff and the guitar has to be heavy as lead and violent as a raging bull it is true. When it comes to Watershed the music could be played in many ways. Sometimes our live sound is metal sometimes more rock. I believe that the strength of music lays in the songs and musicians. If you have your own sound engineer, and we don't, it's a great help.

Imagine you have a suitcase full of cash. How much would it have to be in order to fulfill your needs?

We'd like to have enough to buy the best instruments and gear, a studio and the costs concerning an engineer. We'd also need some cash for: beer, bigos (Polish food), kebab, organizing a tour… sounds like a lot of money! We'd also like to run a record label to sign the bands in which our buddies play!

Do you consider yourself a believer?

I'm a roman catholic and proud of it. Swedish society is secularized and many people feel lost. Somehow I'm never approached with scorn when I admit I'm a believer. I do not like the word religion because religiosity to me sounds like something without any thought behind. Faith is crucial to me and I do not associate it with a thoughtless following and mimicking of traditions. It is a choice of believing in higher ideals.

How important are the lyrics? Who writes them? Tell me a little more…

I write 100% of the lyrics and to me they are as important as the music. Some of the lyrics are for all but some are personal. I write about everything: pain, bitterness, despair but also about hope. Some people consider my lyrics very dark and they are right! Unfortunately they miss out on the message by only looking at the form. My latest tendency is to write lyrics that are not that easy to grasp. I'm saying that they are not as obvious and general as in the first Watershed songs. I write a lot from my own experience and the experience of people I've met along the way.

Your lyrics aren't bed-time stories. How does your age and experience affect them?

Some of the lyrics are a couple of years old but the later are more complex. The older I get the more poetry there is in the lyrics and less rhyme. This is the impact my studies of English literature have made. One thing is certain: I do not write about birds and the sunshine but about things that are important and sometimes painful to my.

How does your view on belief and religion affect the band?

First of all you notice it in the lyrics. But I do not like writing lyrics in the hallelujah-Jesus-lives manner. This might make my lyrics more suitable for non-religious people.

I have to admit that the lyrics to 'Pigskin' caught my attention due to the fact that they are so non-specific. I guess everybody could find their own interpretation here. What is the whole concept here? What is this finger-pointing stuff all about? What is this opposition of two deities? Having the 11th of September in mind one could easily look for some contextual messages here concerning the conflict between two religions. Are the lyrics spiritual or are these Gods a metaphor? What do they symbolize?

“Pigskin” is an expression of my anger against using God and religion in order to enslave people through idiotic traditions. The traditions I refer to are: stoning people to death, female circumcision, terrorism and the killing of non-believers. My God is the God of love. He was a naked human being showing solidarity towards those that were the weakest and poorest. I hope that this message is obvious here. Belief should not be used as an instrument of power and enslavement. “Their God” is hate and death therefore they receive my middle finger as the token of my appreciation. I used the word “disdain” and not “hate” describing my anger towards these people. I try not to “hate” anyone but I have the right to feel “disgust”, don't you think? The lyrics were written long before September 11th but they certainly could be interpreted in the light of this tragedy as well. The main inspiration was the slaughter of catholic monks in Sudan by Moslem fanatics, if I my memory isn't failing me. I'm not against other religions but against fanaticism.

Is it easy to get all types of CDs in Sweden? How much do they cost?

CDs are certainly too expensive. You have to pay about 18 bucks or more for an album. CD prices in the States have become lower but in Sweden they have not. What is worse is that the dollar price is the main reason people are told. The fact is that the dollar is cheaper now then a year ago.

I do not know is this question will be appropriate…

Shoot, cowboy!

What does patriotism mean to you? Which country do you consider your motherland?

I will never feel 100% Swedish because Poland is my motherland. But I'm aware of the fact that I can choose the best from two traditions and I'm doing my best here. The motherland to me is an ideal and patriotism is the striving towards that ideal.

This is a personal question, which is interesting to me: Do you read Polish literature? Is it possible to get Polish magazines and books in Sweden?

I have to admit that I do not often have time to read at all. Polish press you could get in stores in major cities such as Stockholm. Sometimes libraries have Polish press.

What is freedom and would you defend it no matter what?

Everybody can be free in their minds and no system can take that away. If I would defend it no matter what… I do not know if I'm strong enough to sacrifice my life for it… but who knows? In extreme situations people often choose the irrational and become heroes.

Finish this sentence: In 10 years Watershed will be…

… a band of grandfathers. But we will still be lacking a couple of years to catch up on the Stones!

Thanks for the interview of behalf of the whole Metal Centre Crew!

Translated by: Artur “A.T.” Malachowski (yes… the guy from Watershed!)