Sky High : Interview Clas Yngström

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Interview: Interview Clas Yngström(Sky High)

Interview Clas Yngström(Sky High): Sky High was formed in 1978 by Clas Yngström. Clas Yngström interview June 2004.

Sky High Biography

Sky High was formed in 1978 by Yngström as a quartet, but lost it´s organ player early on and remained a core trio, sometimes augmented with additional members for live or studio performances.

In the beginning, the lyrics was Swedish language with the music drawing on Sixties influences. Sky High originals were intermixed with coverversions of tunes by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who and the Kinks. Says Yngström :

"Back in the Sixties I played in bands doing covers but then in the early Seventies, I started drifting towards jazzy sounds, like Miles Davies and John Coltrane. I thus mixed the rock sound of my own generation with modal influences and was for a few years involved in the jazz/fusion scene.

After having done that for a while, I felt a longing for a more rootsy and bluesy approach. One night in Gothenbourg our organ player stayed with a beautiful girl in the audience while the rest of us got up and played - we fired off a series of Hendrix tunes, stuff that I hadn´t played for nearly ten years at that point: the place went hog wild and we haven´t been looking back ever since!"

The band went on to record their first album in Swedish, featuring a cover version of the Hendrix classic "I Don´t Live Today" with translated lyrics. Clas Yngström became a proficient Hendrix interpreter, and has played many Hendrix memorials ever since their debut in Amsterdam 1980, where they literally stole the show, prompting the Experience´s drummer Mitch Mitchell to leap on stage to jam and play drums behind Yngström - a momentous event for Sky High.

In September 1981, Sky High went back to the studio, and recorded their second album in Gothenbourg, their first in English language. The album"Still Rockin"was produced by Lou Stonebridge, known for his work with The Blues Band, and completed at Nova Suite Studio´s in London with John"Irish"Earl - tenor sxophone and Dick Hanson - trumpet of The Climax Blues Band making a guest appearance.

In 1983 Clas left Gothenbourg to return to his backwoods in Borlänge, Northern Sweden. For a while Yngström considered running a guitar workshop and putting Sky High on hold for a while, but abandoned this activity as the band got signed and went to the studio to record the follow up"Freezin´Hot". That album contained what would be one of the seminal Sky High hits, the frenzied and frantic"I Ain´t Beggin´", that made it to Top 10 status on the chart propelling Sky High into the Big League Of Rock. That song was selected for inclusion on the weird and whacky underground movie "The American Way", starring Dennis Hopper.

Yngström expands as follows:

"It´s a film about some anarchistic Vietnam vets who run an airborne pirat-TV station on board of an old B-52 bomber over USA - we got some really nice scenes for our video! - The album itself was a favourite with our fans, and I must confess that this is the one of the old albums I also personally prefer..."

The soundtrack connection came via Sam Taylor, vice presodent of ZZ-Top´s production outfit Lone Wolf, and Yngström explains further:

"I had met with ZZ-Top in Norway, back in 1981- we were playing the same venue as them, only they drew crowds 20 times as big! Anyway, I gave some of my old albums to Billy Gibbons, ZZ-Top´s guitarist. Imagine my surprise at receiving a phone call a few days later from Billy, stating that "there´s some serious guitarplayin´goin´on here!" - we have been in touch ever since". ZZ Top asked Clas and Sky High to play support on the European leg of the"Eleminator" tour, but the idea was vetoed by the management and agencies involved, stating that ZZ-Top couldn´t play together with such a competetive guitarist as Clas Yngström .

With kind permission of Mr. Clas Yngström

Discography

	Title: Sky High Recorded: ? Released: 1980
	Title: Still Rockin Produced and mixed: in England by Lou Stonebridge Released: 1982
	Title: Freezin Hot Produced by: Frank Marstokk Released: April 1985
	Title: Humanizer Produced by: Frank Marstokk Released: March 1987
	Title: Have Guitar, Will Travel Recorded: San Francisco Released: August 1989
	Title: Safe Sex Recorded: Live Hogfjallshotellet, Salen, Sweden, January 1990 Released: November 1990
	Title: Fuzzface Produced by: Frank Marstokk and Halfdan E. Released: February 1995
	Title: Fat Guitar Produced by: Frank Marstokk and Halfdan E. Released: 1996
	Title: Purple Haze Recorded: at Polar Studio in nov -96, and was mostly recorded live at the studio Released: 1998
	Title: Tracks From The Crypt Recorded: 2 CD's, CD1 with Greatest Hits and CD2 with unreleased demo material and outtakes Released: 1998
	Title: Bluester Recorded and mixed : at Studio Agnas, Falun Sweden. March - August 1999. Released: 1999
	Title: Freedom Recorded: live at Norrhaga Studios 2002 Released: 2002

Clas Yngström at jazzclub Fasching, Stockholm, April 10 2004

Sky High Links

Sky High Official Site

Clas Yngström interview June 2004 by Claes Hassel
General Questions:
How did you get into the music business?
	'I have been a music nut since i don´t remember when.. My older brother, Jonas, says i could manage the family´s old turntable before i learned how to walk.'
Who has been your main influences?
	'My first inluence was Little Richard, with whom my sister Lotta had a disc. I thaught the cover looked really cool - this black dude with pompadour hair and a zoot-suite, he also had his foot on the keyboard of the piano - wow the guy could play with his feet!! The music matched the cover - wo-bop-aluba.... a couple of years later, I think it was 1960, I got an ep disc with the Shadows. They really blew my mind and I stayed up all Christmas night playing the tracks over and over. I still worship the Shads, especially the early days, after -63 they sort of lost it - the new heroes, for me , were the Stones and later the Kinks and of course the Who, who i saw as a 12 year old kid in Uxbridge, north of London. from Townshend I went to Clapton - I still hold the Bluesbreakers album for super mega classic - it was the bible for us young guitarslingers back home in Dalecarlia. For sound i still think Hank B. Marvin´s , for Fender Strat, and slowhand, for a Les Paul, rules! Then along came Jimi - he is by far my biggest influence, both as a guitarplayer, singer and songwriter. Jimi clerared tre smoke for me - he still is the greatest, there will never be anyone to come even close to what he did - ever!!'
List five albums of the bands/artists that you like the most and why!
	'1. "The Shadows greatest hits" - from 1963 - it has all the old instrumentals classics of this fantastic group. guitarrist Hank B. Marvin plays unbelievably clean. 2. "John Mayall´s Bluesbreakers" with Eric Clapton - "The Bible" and probably the reason why you have to pay $150.000+ for an original sunburst Les Paul Standard.... 3. "Are You Experienced" - Jimi´s first album - this album is nothing less than a revolution, as opposed to many other albums from "The Summer of Love" this gem truly offers some really wild and totally original things, my alltime favourite! Dig for instance the mix of really hard guitar and the wild jazzy drums on "*Manic Depression" - pheew, it´s truly mindwrecking.. 4. "Born Under a Bad Sign" - Albert King. Albert* is my absolute Blues guitar favourite. This is his best disc, acompanied by the great Stax Studio band this is very "Get up and Go" piece - dig especially "*Born Under a Bad Sign" - Albert* is the deepest blue of all, he´s the KING!! 5. An early Chuck Berry collection, with all his great hits! - hail, hail Chuck Berry the true inventor of Rock n Roll guitar!'
What time was/is the most interesting for the rock music, in your opinion and why - 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or 00s?
	'For me it was the 60´s, cause that´s when I grew up and it was the time I was most open for influence. I believe all generations have their own.'
Your dream band(living or dead ;), who would they be, vocal/bass/drums/keyboard/lead guitar/rythm guitar/producer?
	'Jimi Hendrix - guitar Tony Williams - drums Dave Holland - bass Stevie Wonder - vocals, keyboards & harmonica '
What kind of equipment/gear are you using on the road and in the studio?
	'Marshall Super Bass - 73, modified by Tommy Folkesson. I use one or two 4x12" cabs with old 25w "greenback" celestion speakers.'
The songs that you have composed which of them are your favourites?
	*'I Ain´t Beggin´* Stop The Wars A Prayer For Peace'
What are you doing in your spare time outside of music?
	'I like to cook - mostly for my wife, i like travelling - seeing new places and meeting new people, I also enjoy fishing '
If you dont have been in the music business what have you been doing then?
	'Might have been a Baker or maybe a Fisherman. '
What are you currently up to?
	'We've just completed the recordings of a new live album at Jazzclub Fasching in Stockholm, after this i will chill for a while and then get back to working a few club dates before the summer season with festivals etc.. '
Artist related questions:
The Beginning
	- Your first guitar? 'A baby-blue Hagström Kent which i got for chritmas 1962' - Your first band, name and when did it began?? 'The Clifftones, started in -63' - The Music, the sort of music?..Influences? 'Instrumental - influenses were the three great: The Shadows, The Spotnicks and The Ventures' - Any gigs? 'Not really, my first gigging band were called the Kids and involved amongst others Pierre Swärd on Rhythm Guitar - Pierre is now mr B3 in sweden!
Tell us about the Yngstrom Seventies, sort of music?..influences?
	Paraphernalia, Soffgruppen, Dovra, Västanvind and Schnabel I bought my last rock album - Deep Purple in Rock - in 1971, after that i was totally into Jazz and Jazzrock/Fusion etc... Late sixties i started Paraphernalia with badass Jazz-drummer Mats Hellberg, due to lack of gigging opportunetiesi moved to Gothenburg were I hooked up with cousins Matz Nilsson - Bass and Anders Kjellberg - Drums. We started Soffgruppen which was a pretty free Rock/Jazz thing, later on Pierre Swärd joined on keys - we also had occational horn players - we made one record - Soffgruppens Greatest Sits , in 75. I got to work as a guitar teacher at the music conservatory in Gothenburg and there I met a lot of young and great players, that´s how Dovra and Västanvind came about.