I think you stated earlier why you were retiring the fanzine and that it is really frustrating trying to continue it.

Peter: 99% of the people who read it say it is one of the best fanzines ever, but nobody really buys it because it is not available. Maybe if we were in the USA we could make a living off of it. We're just in the wrong part of the world or wrong country.

As well-respected as Moshable is, what expectations or pressures do you feel from others to continue releasing it? My editor mostly gives us that freedom to print whatever we write.

Peter: I think that the people who actually read Moshable respect that we always write what we want. They call shit for shit and if it's good, it's good. Plus we have a lot of humor. We don't give a nice review just to be nice. I have been in arguments with people that I consider to be my close friends over not giving their band a good review, just because they are friends of mine. If it is bad music you should write what you feel about it.

Then this coming issue (March 00) will be the last Moshable to be printed?

Peter: Yes, it will end with a two-day rock festival. The bands that have supported us or that we have supported over the years will play here in Copenhagen. Some of the bands on the bill include The Nomads, Hellacopters...about a total of eight bands. This is taking place March 31 and April 1, 2000.

Moving on to talk about the record label...when did Bad Afro Records start out and what is the connection with Moshable?

In what year did Lars undertake this?

Peter: This was about three years ago [1996]. He wanted Simon and I to join him on this venture. He also wanted about 10,000Kr [$1,500 USD] to get in on this. Simon didn't have the money and was not interested. I was a little interested and also didn't have the money. I have never had any ambitions for putting out records, but I have ended up working for the label. I have done graphics and been involved quite a lot in some of the releases. The three of us all have very diverse musical tastes and there would be a lot of weird releases. Bad Afro has taken on a life of its own and has gotten a lot bigger than Moshable.

What is your involvement?

Peter: I do all the graphics and the website, but it is Lars' fulltime job. It started getting bigger a couple of months ago; Bad Afro has started putting out CDs which it had previously released only on vinyl. We have released 21 7" singles, two 10" mini-LPs, three CDs and a CD compiling some of the vinyl. All of the vinyl is limited, with the first issues only on black vinyl and other editions on colored. We also have the Hustler's singles club--loosely based around the Sub Pop singles club--where club members can get a discount on singles. The whole thing is a tribute to the '70s blaxploitation movies with the big Afros and pimp look.

Peter: The Backyard Babies "(Is It) Still Alright to Smile?"/"Babylon" (FRO-012). This has sold about 3,000 copies.

Who is working for the label?

Peter: Lars. It's Lars' label and I just help out with the graphics. I have suggested some of the releases, like the Turbonegro 7" which he didn't want to do. Turbonegro could be a nightmare to work with. They changed the A- and B-sides about 10 times before it came out, but it ended up selling about 2,000 copies. This is also a quite a rare release. For some weird reason bands feel honored to be chosen to put out a Bad Afro release. [Lars could not be present for this interview, so I emailed him questions after coming home from Denmark.]

What is your goal with Bad Afro records and where do you want it to go? Your motto is "Pushing Scandinavian Rock to the Man"--are there enough bands in Scandinavia to continue in the genre that you're working with?

Lars Krogh: My goal is to release cool rock music from the Scandinavian countries. Surf, garage rock, rock 'n' roll, punk rock or something in between. I would like to see Bad Afro going all the way. I think some of the stuff I put out has great potential--I have released singles by The Hellacopters, Turbonegro, Gluecifer and The Flaming Sideburns at an early stage in their careers. So, unless I have lost my skills I should be able to come up with some new hot signings. Before, I did not have the cash to do full albums by these bands, but I have now hooked up with a bigger label that helps me financially and with distribution, and Bad Afro is out in 11 countries so far. My goal in life is to release records, get high and be around lovely women; at least the getting high part is easy. Right now Scandinavia explodes with bands and there is more good stuff coming than I can release. Of course it will end at some point but right now it's no problem. What could be a problem is that labels abroad sign bands around here really fast because Scandinavia is so trendy right now. So in the future it could be a problem to get the bands that I want.

Lars: It's difficult to say what I am looking for in a band. Some bands can play the three chords and some can't. Having reviewed this sort of stuff for many years in Moshable you sorta learn to find the right stuff. I believe in my gut feeling about music and that gut feeling decides what is going to be on Bad Afro. Also, life is too short for working with assholes so the bands' personality counts too. It helps if you can party with the bands you are working with and have mutual respect.

Peter: There is a lot of weird stuff coming out of Finland that no ones really knows about, kind of Amphetamine Reptile-type bands. There was this one band a couple of years ago called Radiopuhelimet that could play ten shows in Finland that were sold out, about 500 people, and they could not be bothered to tour outside of Finland. They were on Alternative Tentacles, Lars wanted to sign them to Bad Afro, but they couldn't be bothered to deal with things outside of Finland.

Do you have distribution in the US?

Lars: I have no current distribution in the States. I have not found the right partner that I am sure I can trust and the US is a difficult place to get your records out for various reasons. Fusion 3 in Canada will distribute Bad Afro, though. I am a small company and have chosen to concentrate on Europe here in the beginning. Sub Pop are most probably going to sell Bad Afro stuff through their mail order and Hepcat will be distributing the records in the US.

What were the first and highest-selling Bad Afro releases?

Lars: The first release was by a Finnish band called Trouble Bound Gospel and was made in 400 copies. The best-selling one was the Backyard Babies 7". I made 3,000 copies and they were sold out in pre-sale. I could have sold 6,000 copies in pre-sale alone but the deal was 3,000 copies, so 3,000 copies it was. It was cool of Backyard Babies to do a 7" on a small label and I respect them even though glam rock is not my thing.

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