{"id":69674,"date":"2021-11-13T10:11:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T15:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=69674"},"modified":"2023-07-16T07:51:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T12:51:30","slug":"interview-with-danny-rexon-of-crazy-lixx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2021\/interview-with-danny-rexon-of-crazy-lixx\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny Rexon of Crazy Lixx"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Alexandra Mrozowska
\u2014 Senior Columnist \u2014<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Starting from live music played throughout silent movie exhibitions, the relationship between moving pictures and music is nothing short of fascinating. That\u2019s why we tend to remember the iconic songs from movie soundtracks long after the posters promoting this or that flick fade. And when it comes to perfect sound complementation of a blockbuster movie, the \u201880s were the <\/em>decade for that \u2013 Back to the Future<\/em>, Top Gun<\/em>, Iron Eagle<\/em>, Rocky<\/em>… you get the idea. But how about a soundtrack for a movie that was never filmed? That was the exact creative idea behind Crazy Lixx\u2019s more recent albums \u2013 a soundtrack to an nonexistent \u201880s slasher movie [Ruff Justice<\/em>, 2017] followed by an OST to the \u201880s jet fighter movie no one\u2019s ever watched [Forever Wild<\/em>, 2019]. Now that the Swedes return with a new release called Street Lethal<\/em>, is this cinematic vibe still present in their music? Hardrock Haven caught up with Crazy Lixx\u2019s lead singer and songwriter Danny Rexon to find out this and more. An \u201880s revival and the future of the scene from a Millennial perspective, the reasons why said revival has been primarily Scandinavian or whatever it was that prompted collaboration with Welsh singer Chez Kane \u2013 you name it. We asked about it all…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credits: Nils Sj\u00f6holm<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Crazy Lixx started out almost twenty years ago and obviously, throughout that time the band has been through many trials and tribulations, including some line-up changes a few years ago. As you\u2019re the main driving force behind the band\u2019s success, what do you think your motivation to keep going was?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, in a way I think there\u2019s never been an alternative for me not to pursue a career in music. Through all those line-up changes, we\u2019ve had times when we were thinking about calling it quits. But I think that even if the band would\u2019ve disappeared, I would definitely try something else musically \u2013 maybe as a producer or something like that… As fate has it, it\u2019s always been [that] in the very last moment, new members have come and infused some kind of new energy into the band. And I think since the addition of our last two guitarists Jens [Lundgren] and Chrisse [Olsson] we\u2019ve had a very stable line-up for the very first time in the band actually. So, since then it\u2019s been more stable on the front and we\u2019ve been able to focus more on producing the albums and all that \u2013 and there was not many trials and tribulations left. But yeah, certainly in the beginning and especially at the very beginning we\u2019ve had a lot of line-up changes. Even leading up to the first album [Loud Minority<\/em>], which was released in 2007, between 2002 and 2007 we\u2019ve had a lot of trouble establishing ourselves as a stable band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Now the \u201880s are kind of back in vogue, whereas fifteen or more years ago it was a social death of sorts to be a fan of \u201880s music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: So when founding Crazy Lixx back in 2002, have you actually expected the band to continue for so long and lead the way for many other groups when it comes to the revival of \u201880s Hard Rock?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, you know \u2013 when you start out, you\u2019re young and you have world domination in your mind of course. But I never really envisioned what it would lead to. I was thinking we get a quick success and we kind of make it, because in those days you were just hoping for a record deal and when you had a record deal, that was it. You were set for life. That was the kind of vision that you\u2019ve had, because \u2013 of course \u2013 the CD market was still big when we started out in 2002. But that has all changed… And as you say, in 2002 it was hopeless to do music in the genre that we did. We didn\u2019t have audience at all and we didn\u2019t know if anyone even wants to listen to it \u2013 it was hopelessly out. You know, in Sweden it was Nu-Metal or the Gothenburg-based Melodic Death Metal sound. Those were the only alternatives. So, us coming out and playing something that at that time wasn\u2019t even old at all \u2013 it had faded away merely a decade earlier, so it hadn\u2019t had time to kind of recycle again, either. But as you\u2019ve also noticed, it\u2019s getting more and more popular. You can see it in many cultural aspects, in series and films and, of course, music. Not only Rock music, but also other styles, like Electronic music and Pop music. So I\u2019m happy that I stuck with it for so long, and I think maybe the time is right to take another step… doing something that we\u2019ve actually done for a long time (laughs), but now it\u2019s getting back into fashion, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: In the 2000s, you named our generation \u2013 a Millennial generation \u2013 a \u201cwasted\u201d one in \u201cDo Or Die\u201d. Almost two decades later, would you still say so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, in a way I think it\u2019s sad that a lot of Millennials have this kind a view of the earlier generations \u2013 especially nowadays it\u2019s kind of popular to, you know, bash the Boomers. For me it\u2019s strange, because for me the Boomers were the ones who made all the stuff that I looked up to so much when I grew up. All the movies and cartoons and comic books were [made] by that generation… Of course, there were problems with that generation. They were still stuck in an old mindset and the Millennials had to kind of rebel in some way against that generation \u2013 as every generation has to do. But I feel Millennials were a \u201clost\u201d generation in a sense that it never picked the torch of Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll and the kind of youthful rebellion leading into other venues. I see a lot of the Millennials talking about social justice movement or the cancel culture that I think is very toxic. All of that, I don\u2019t feel that\u2019s the right outlet to set your generation apart. But I have high hopes for the newer generations. Maybe it\u2019s a cycle \u2013 maybe we will return to Rock music…? But it\u2019s certainly gone from the airwaves now. And well, I am a Millennial \u2013 even though I don\u2019t subscribe to a lot of the typical stuff that people say about Millennials \u2013 and some of us are trying to kind of revive something being a bit conservative in that way and trying to return to something older… But I think it\u2019s maybe time for the next generation to kind of revolt against our generation. And I feel a good way to do that would be to bring back the rebellion and flair of Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Now, you must have talked a thousand times about the bands that influenced Crazy Lixx, dropping the obvious names like KISS for example. But with the Scandinavian Melodic Rock scene being as rich as it has been, are there any Scandinavian bands you would say were as much of an inspiration as the \u201880s American bands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: I mean, there is one obvious band of course. Actually, we had a talk in the rehearsal studio, right before we rehearsed the other day, which Swedish Rock band is actually the biggest. And I mean, it\u2019s always hard to compare of course, but we were looking at figures from online streaming and stuff like that. And it seems like Europe is \u2013 and was, and more or less has always been \u2013 the biggest Rock export from Sweden. And one of the songs that I remember most fondly when I was growing up is \u201cThe Final Countdown.\u201d It was one of my favorites when I was a kid and I\u2019m very glad to say my own kids also enjoy the song (laughs). It seems to be something captivating about that song for young kids… So Europe has definitely been a big influence, even if I don\u2019t feel they put out good stuff nowadays… But stuff that they did put out in the \u201880s and \u201890s was awesome and still keeps them on the top actually, when it comes to the Swedish bands. I mean, even if you compare them to newer bands, like, say, Ghost or the harder ones \u2013 Amon Amarth or Sabaton \u2013 Europe still seems actually to top those bands here in Sweden. So I would say that Europe is this Scandinavian influence, definitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And why do you think Scandinavia was a leading force when it comes to return of \u201880s Hard Rock back in the 2000s?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Maybe it was \u2013 in a way \u2013 that we felt like we missed out on it. Because, as I said, we were very subjected to that culture in Sweden. We have a love-hate relationship with the US, because Sweden kind of sees itself like a modest, social democratic country, whereas the US is always like the crazy capitalist cowboy country… But we love the stuff that they did \u2013 or use to love it at least. But we were always a bit behind, you know, behind on everything. So when the Grunge wave hit, there was already too late for the Swedish bands to make it. There were some bands that were more or less in between \u2013 there was a band from my hometown called Nasty Idols who put out quite a good album… but it was too late for most of them. So maybe that\u2019s the reason why we felt like we missed out on the opportunity when it was still a big thing on MTV and on the US airwaves in the late \u201880s and the early \u201890s. And we felt cheated on it, because we didn\u2019t jump on the train fast enough (laughs). So we wanted to do it ourselves, and maybe that\u2019s the reason. But you know, I do agree with you that a lot of the revival came from Scandinavian and especially Swedish bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And do you think we\u2019ll eventually reach the point when the sound and style become too obscure for a modern day listener, especially that it\u2019s forty years since the \u201880s now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: It\u2019s a bit crazy, because when I think that today we still listen to the stuff that, as you say, is forty years old \u2013 or maybe even fifty with some \u201870s music… When you look at any person in the \u201880s, if they\u2019d said they were listening to forty-year-old music, people would\u2019ve said they were crazy. \u201cWhy are you listening to some kind of old Jazz from the \u201840s…?\u201d But there is definitely a quality to it that\u2019s appealing to younger people \u2013 still. And my vision was always that I wanted to go back to the retro sound that I grew up with, because I felt it had evolved in the wrong direction afterwards. So I\u2019m not set on just doing the \u201880s stuff and keeping it forever like that and not changing anything… I mean, it\u2019s too late for me probably, because you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks. But if you get a new generation who\u2019s into the same things, but they choose to evolve it from there in other direction than it evolved into in the \u201890s \u2013 so you skip Grunge, you skip Stoner Rock and you skip Nu-Metal and all that… what would happen with the Rock genre if it had gone the other way? And I think maybe now we\u2019re at a point in time where that would be possible. Get the kids hooked on the same kind of flair and over-the-top show that it was in the \u201880s, but let them take it from there and do whatever they want with it with their direction and the new technology and the new outlets that they have possible today. That would be very interesting to see. But of course, there is some sense of cycling to it, so it would be out of style and probably in style again (laughs) after a while. I would hope though that this means it stays in the consciousness but maybe forms in a different way for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Right. But no matter what the future brings further on, now let\u2019s focus on the present. The new Crazy Lixx album Street Lethal <\/em>was released on November the 5th<\/sup>. Was the experience of working on this album any different than before, from a viewpoint of a singer of the band as well as of a songwriter and a producer of the album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, it was different in some aspects, because we had to take the pandemic into account. I mean, I talked to some interviewers about this and they were all a bit surprised, because in Sweden we had kind of lenient restrictions when it comes to the pandemic actually. So we\u2019ve had a lot of personal freedom \u2013 I\u2019ve been able to move around and to meet with the band, so most of the recordings have actually been done more or less the same way as we used to. We\u2019ve just made sure there weren\u2019t too many people in the studio at the given moment and stuff like that. Also, I contracted the COVID in December 2020, so that was before we started recording the album. I\u2019ve recovered from the illness and already had the antibodies, so I wasn\u2019t really worried about it either. But in that sense of course there were some differences, I would say. And also, at the time when you record an album, what you usually have in mind is getting the songs recorded and done and then planning for a tour, and at that point, we didn\u2019t know if there was actually going to be a tour after the album. Now it looks like stuff is easing up around the world and we\u2019ll actually be able to play at least some gigs, but when we started the album, we were totally in the dark about these things. So that was a strange feeling, doing something and then not knowing what the end result was going to be when it comes to actually promoting the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Absolutely. And although the previous albums Ruff Justice<\/em> and Forever Wild<\/em> weren\u2019t necessarily concept albums, when I interviewed Jens Anderson two years ago he kind of compared Ruff Justice<\/em> to an \u201880s horror movie soundtrack and its follow-up to the soundtrack of an \u201880s action movie. Would you say there\u2019s some kind of a cinematic theme to the new album also this time around?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Oh yeah. Definitely. I mean, we started this concept of having something to write towards. We felt it\u2019s necessary especially after the self-titled album \u2013 which was a collection of good songs I think, but in my mind it lacks a bit of personality, because it\u2019s just a bunch of songs on an album… Ruff Justice <\/em>came from a point when we were asked to do three songs for the video game Friday the 13th<\/sup>: The Game<\/em>. And those three songs, they set the mood for the entire album. We had a point to get inspired from and to write from \u2013 we\u2019ve always had these \u201880s slasher movies in our minds. So when we did Forever Wild <\/em>album, we wanted to do something similar, so we kind of invented this hypothetical \u201880s fighter pilot movie. And then we went on and did the same thing for Street Lethal<\/em>, where we looked at it from the point of the martial arts\/street fighting movie. So a lot of the songs are lyrically about that and I tend to have that kind of mental imagery when I write the music for an album. So yeah, definitely, there\u2019s a cinematic feel to it. And we\u2019d love to have our music in the movies as I think it would fit the real movie soundtracks very well, including the stuff that we\u2019ve done for this album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely. The album title has quite a lot of associations as well, from the world of games to the title of Racer X\u2019s first record released back in 1986. Where did the idea for the title come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: The title actually came from Jens Anderson, our bass player that you talked to. Not sure where he got it from, and at the point when I heard it, I wasn\u2019t even aware of the Racer X album. So we did a song \u201cStreet Lethal\u201d \u2013 a kind of a rough demo \u2013 and it was already talked of when we did Forever Wild <\/em>album. So the song is quite old. It didn\u2019t end up on that album then, but we re-worked it and thought it would fit on this album. In the end, it actually got to name the entire album. We just thought it sounded cool and it sounded like an early \u201890s movie basically. It also goes very well along the lines of all our album titles, which is always two words \u2013 so we had Loud Minority <\/em>[2007], New Religion <\/em>[2010] and Riot Avenue <\/em>[2012]. There\u2019s always the same kind of formula to it, so it fit very well in that aspect as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: The sound of the few last albums is huge and polished, which makes it slightly different from the early albums – especially the first Crazy Lixx album. What would you attribute this evolution to and are you happy with its direction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Yeah, I think so. Very much. I mean, some of it has to do with the production skills improving of course, and also technology. Because what we do today a lot is layer a lot of guitars \u2013 and also a lot of backing vocals to get kind of these massive backing vocals… Sometimes we stuck like sixty to eight voices on top… I mean, not different voices, but different takes from different people. That was something that we weren\u2019t able to do on an analog console, which was what we started recording with. So, the digital era has brought in a lot of technological means to do that. But also, of course, skills. I think I\u2019m a better producer now than I was when I started out. And also, this time we\u2019ve used a different mixing guy for the final result \u2013 we\u2019ve used Tobias Lindell who\u2019s done H.E.A.T. and Crashd\u00efet for example, so there\u2019s a bit of an update when it comes to that. So if you listen to this album compared to the last one, there\u2019s also I think more of a modern touch compared to the last one. But I think it goes very well with a retro production, so yeah \u2013 a match made in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And can you take us through each song on the album and reveal inspirations behind each track?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Sure. So we have the first instrumental intro of course [\u201cEnter the Dojo\u201d], that is meant to set the mood for the album. I wanted to do something that had a kind of Asian feeling to it, so there\u2019s an Asian melody to it. That was something I was doodling with actually on my youngest kid\u2019s toy piano [laughs], so it sounded quite differently when I played it for the first time. But I think it set the mood for what could be like an \u201880s fighter movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s \u201cRise Above\u201d, of course, which was co-written with another Swedish songwriter called Oscar Bromvall who\u2019s in the band Fans of the Dark [also in Palace]. He gave me the opening riff for the song and I kind of wrote it from there. And of course, keeping in mind the theme of the album that we went for, which was that martial arts movie stuff \u2013this one is much about being in the competition and fighting and trying to win the grand prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next song is \u201cAnthem for America\u201d, which stands for my disappointment at the US at the moment [laughs]… where it has gone compare to what it was when I was growing up. I mean, of course it\u2019s all tongue-in-cheek \u2013 it\u2019s not like I hate the country or anything. I just think that the youth could [do something]… They deserve something better really and it\u2019s up to them to kind of turn it around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we have \u201cThe Power\u201d, I believe… That was me envisioning a training montage stuff for this \u201cmovie\u201d, and I was very much inspired by the Rocky <\/em>movie series… you know, when he\u2019s climbing up the stairs and boxing frozen meat in a butcher shop and stuff like that…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it\u2019s \u201cReach Out\u201d and actually that\u2019s a song that I had very little input in, because it\u2019s almost entirely done by external songwriters. I only re-wrote some of the lyrics and was part of the arrangement for it. But it fit the style very well, so when we got pitched this song, I thought to myself that this would work very well for us and I personally get some kind of Survivor vibes from this song \u2013 and Survivor obviously made music for Rocky<\/em>, so that\u2019s the reason why we chose it for the album as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we have a \u201cFinal Fury\u201d, which is also an instrumental piece leading up to the title track, which \u2013 again \u2013 revolves around the theme of the album. But this one is more set on the kind of a street fighting level, more like a rough, almost post-apocalyptic, kinetic setting where people are betting on street fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCaught Between the Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll\u201d was mainly written by Chrisse Olsson and I do know that his inspiration for it was the pandemic, of course \u2013 being unable to come out and play, you know. So if you listen to the lyrics, there\u2019s a lot of things about not being able to do what you love and go out to the audience and play some Rock\u2019n\u2019Roll for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we have the ballad \u2013 \u201cIn the Middle of Nothing\u201d, which is kind of a love serenade to the one you leave at home when you go out on tour and travelling far. Bands have done this for quite a while, so I was inspired by the songs like \u201cHome Sweet Home\u201d by M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, for example, which also revolves around the same theme. And also, I wanted to do this song with more of a Bon Jovi-esque feeling… Bon Jovi is a band that I love, especially the older stuff of course. I was also thinking a bit about Prisoners in Paradise <\/em>by Europe, which also was an inspiration when it came to the sound of that song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then it\u2019s \u201cOne Fire \u2013 One Goal\u201d. Again, it\u2019s revolving around the theme of the album \u2013 the competition and one goal and kind of conquer-it-all [mentality]. But it can be taken metaphorically as well, to go beyond obstacles and hardships in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThief in the Night\u201d is another love song, but it has a kind of dark theme to it. And of course, we wanted to do something dramatic for the end of the album. Quite early on, we knew we wanted to put this song at the end of the album, so we prolonged the outro as a very, very long fade and we just added and added stuff and there\u2019s guitars and backing vocals and everything… I think it came out very well \u2013 I envision almost a kind of ending credits for this one, where you see the slow credits crawl coming up and the song for the end of the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that\u2019s it for the album. Hopefully, there\u2019s some touring [ahead], but you never know \u2013 the situation is a bit odd…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Keeping my fingers crossed for things to work out right! Street Lethal<\/em> wasn\u2019t the only album fans of your songwriting and production style looked forward to this year and obviously, I\u2019m thinking about Chez Kane\u2019s debut now. How did the idea for a project with the involvement of a female singer start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, Frontiers reached out to me and asked if I wanted to produce something apart from Crazy Lixx. I said I would be interested in doing something but not really a band project where I was a member. I wanted to do the songwriting and production but not be a part of the band. So I told them I wanted to work with a new solo artist \u2013 and my only demand was that it was going to be a female singer, because I think there was a kind of a void… There\u2019s a lot of retro \u201880s bands with male singers or male members, whereas in the \u201880s you had acts like Robin Beck, Saraya, Chrissy Steele, Vixen or Heart… And I felt a lot of the audience who likes our music would also resonate with that kind of music as well. So that\u2019s what I was aiming for. I think the result came out very well \u2013 I believe a lot of people who enjoy our music also like the Chez Kane\u2019s album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: Definitely, and the success of the project is undeniable. So was the whole material that ended up on Chez Kane<\/em> written specifically with this project in mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, I started writing some songs and at the same time I started to look for the singer. So I demoed a few different people, but when I found Chez, I knew almost from the start that I wanted to have her on this album. I think she works perfectly and after we signed her for the album, we wrote half of the material \u2013 but the first half came before I have ever heard of her as a singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: What were the differences between writing and producing music for Crazy Lixx and for someone else, especially a woman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: I mean, it was more of a total process for me, because I did the whole thing including the mixing and everything. So in that way, it was a bit different. And of course, if you\u2019re not the lead singer yourself, you can kind of lean back and not be as involved in the performance of it. But I did play the instrumentations and was still very much involved in the process that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: We already know there\u2019s a second Chez Kane album in the works, but do you plan to continue your collaboration with Chez further in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, we\u2019ll see how the second one goes, I guess. But I\u2019m very happy doing the stuff now, so I hope that if the next one goes as well [as the first one], we\u2019ll surely go make another one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardrock Haven: And as you\u2019ve already mentioned, it all started with Frontiers reaching out to you and discussing the general possibility of scouting and working with new talent. So before we run out of time, let\u2019s hypothesize if it means more artists and more albums you’ll help introduce to the world in the future…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Danny Rexon: Well, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s an impossibility, but right now I\u2019m quite busy with the Chez Kane album and the Crazy Lixx stuff, so we\u2019ll see how much I can take on. But I\u2019m always open to listening to new stuff and, you know, if people wanna pitch something for me, I\u2019ll be happy to listen to it. So you never know…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visit Crazy Lixx online: Official Site<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out new singles and videos off Crazy Lixx’s new album Street Lethal<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnthem for America\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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