Information
Author: Mourning
Translation: Leonard Z666
Line Up
Mattias Starander - Drums
Peter Hunyadi - Guitars
Lars Häglund - Bass
Tony Jelencovich - Guitars, Vocals
Today we are with Tony Jelencovich of the band Transport League. We'll make him some questions on this great swedish band.
Hi Tony, welcome on our website. How have you been in this summer?
Thanks. I had an awesome summer, and the autumn is gonna be even better.
Let's speak about Transport League. How the band started? Why have you chosen to start back after 10 years of inactivity? Why did you stop?
We started out in september 1994, we released the album "Stallion Showcase" in january 1995, and then the second album "Superevil" in 1997. We played all the major festivals in Sweden in 1997. We felt that the time was right, me and Peter & Mattias got in touch again, we we decided to give it a try. The band actually developed into something that was pretty far from the "real" sound of TL, and in 2005 it became the band M.A.N (which i still sing in, we are now called Massive Audio Nerve)
"Boogie From Hell" is a typical '90's album, with a lot of different influences. How did you create the songs?
I mainly do all the riffs, and we all put it together in the rehearsal room thru jams.
One of the most dangerous aspects of composing music nowadays is you'll always find someone saying you are "copying" some band of the past. What do you think about it? Do you think the average metalhead has become a trendyman like "pop" listeners?
Well, it is pretty hard to invent the wheel again, so you always hear influences here and there. Dunno, hard to tell, there are many different metal-hard rock genres out there today, and u do what u do.
Your album is straight to the point, full of groove and in some part even melodic. Is it difficult for you to merge all this aspects in one song?
Well, this is really me, no doubt, this is how i make songs.
Is it important for you to do the right "single" for the outcoming album?
Of course!
I've seen many band doing "teasers" for their upcoming albums that are more focused on commercial aspects than on musical aspects. Do you find this is a good way to promote music?
Well, it is up to the artist, if there is commercial points in ones music, you should not be afraid to use it.
Which are your goals with Transport League?
Well, let's see, dunno where this boat is gonna takes us, some shows, new fans, success, write new songs, and record a new album next year.
What kind of reaction have you seen in the people who have listened to "Boogie From Hell"?
The reaction from both fans & press has been magical, we are really happy with the outcome.
Which has been the best live date for you?
Dynamo Open Air in 1998
Are you organizing some tours to promote the album? I hope to see you live in Italy, is it possibile someday?
Are doing some shows in Sweden and also in Holland in september, it will be killer. That would have been so awesome, if someone books us and organizes some shows, we would do it.
Here in Italy there're huge problems in organizing metal shows and Agglutination Festival (one of the few italian festivals in metal) will come to an end. I want to ask you if you noticed a decreasiong passion in metal kids and if you have found more and more people keeping more attention in doing photos with their Iphones at show that having fun. Do you think the '80-'90s' magic has been lost for this iper-technological way of living metal shows?
Yes, a lot has changed, so many bands nowadays , and lots of other interesting stuff for kids that draws attention, it is what it is.
Metalheads always want a band to be coherent in everything it do. So how can someone still give credit to band such as Metallica and Megadeth? Do you think that coherence and credibility are words that suits well for Transport League?
Dunno, it is really not up to me/us to decide, we do what we do, and we are trying to do it with as much credibility as possible.
What can you tell us about you collaboration with Marko Tervonen (in Angel Blake) and Patrick Mameli (in C-187)?
It was great singing in these two projects. Really different from each other, but a great experience.
Have you got some news to tell us about the other bands you are in? Will we ever see Commander's debut?
Nowadays I'm in Death Destruction, Massive Audio Nerve ( M.A.N), Icon in Me & Transport League and two tribute bands Glanzig & Plantera, so I'm busy with music, and i love it. ehehe, naww, maybe not, but we recorded about ten songs in total, as demos, in 2001-02.
You have a lot of experience as an artist, can you tell us two top moments (best top and worst top) of your artistic life?
The best moments are the B-thong show at Dynamo Open Air in 1994 and also the Transport League show at Dynamo Open Air in 1998, there are no worst moments.
What does Tony Jelencovich listen to? Which albums do you think are a must have?
I listen to mostly old metal & hard rock, from the 90's and some 80's aswell. I«m also a big fan of EBM music (Front 242 & Nitzer Ebb), and also a big fan of The Smiths, but also some new stuff, Meshuggah, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Korn etc All the albums of Danzig, Prong & Judas Priest.
Is there a track made by another band that you really like and you say to yourself "damn, I would really like to be the writer of that song"
"Mother" by Danzig & Prong's "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck".
Who is Tony apart of being a musician?
I work for the government, funding new bands with money & rehearsals spaces and i run my own metal club called "Belsepub" here in Gothenburg, don«t forget to check it out if you are in GBG (www.facebook.com/belsepub). My life is mainly music, and also chilling with my girlfriend & my son Antonio.
You can say what you like to invite our readers to listen to "Boogie From Hell"!
If you want to listen to something that really rocks and shakes your brain in good way, take a listen to our album! Order it thru www.bengans.se or check it out on Spotify.
