Wednesday, June 30, 2004
An Interview With Dregen Of Backyard Babies
 2004 Limited Edition Signature Guitars- Available in stores beginning in July Epiphone's Will Jones had a chance to talk with "Backyard Babies" guitarist Dregen after they returned from their tour in Japan. Here's what the Swedish rocker had to say about how he got started, his new signature guitar and the future. At the bottom, be sure to check out the 2 Epiphone "Limited Edition" signature guitars from guitarists Nicke and Dregen of the "Backyard Babies" - available in stores NOW! Also - to find out more about "Backyard Babies" visit www.BackyardBabies.com and check out their latest CD "Stockholm Syndrome" - also in stores NOW!  EPI: Hey Dregen! It's Will Jones from Epiphone in Nashville...what are you doing?? Dregen: Hey Will, just getting in from Japan. What's going on there? EPI: Dregen, I just called to ask you a bunch of questions about yourself and the Backyard Babies. Dregen: Sounds cool. EPI: Dregen, how'd you get started in all of this? Dregen: When I was a kid there was a picture of KISS in a pack of bubblegum cards. I saw the picture and thought they must be the best band in the world! Ace Frehley is still one of my total heroes...you know Jimmy Page did better work in some ways, but Ace had so much influence on me and so many others. There are other bands, but KISS is the band I've hung onto the longest. KISS records are on Friday nights and really loud?sometimes all through Sunday卨oud!!! EPI: What would you like to try that you haven't yet? Dregen: Do something with the Beastie Boys, perhaps. That's a side of Backyard Babies that people may not know, like the Sex Pistols and Ramones. A Backyard Babies gold record in the U.S. wouldn't be bad either.  EPI:Tell me about you Epiphone Signature Dregen Dot. Dregen: It's like a childhood dream come true! When I was 13 if you had told me I would have my own guitar someday I wouldn't have believed you. The Epiphone folks in Scandinavia did a small run and it just took off. It's a thing I wanna do to get young people to play guitar. It has Gibson-type hardware, looks and sounds and plays great. Everyone can play it. Everyone can afford it. Why have a signature guitar people can't afford? For every kid who would rather buy an Epiphone Dregen Dot rather than a Playstation or X-Box, that's a victory for me. EPI: Where have you not toured that you would like to? Dregen: I wanna go back to the US soon; we haven't been to New Zealand, though we have toured Australia. Russia would be cool, Argentina. We're starting the tour in Scandinavia tomorrow and it's just getting so big厀e like that! We'll be in the area 'til the 13th of March then back to Japan and Australia, England, Europe and the USA. EPI: Tell us about your new album.  Dregen: It's called Stockholm Syndrome. It was recorded over here with American Producer Joe Barresi in three weeks and we went to L.A. to mix it. It has pieces from all our albums in a way. We've come to a certain point as a band where we do what we feel comfortable with. This record is more like a real band instead of 17 f___ing overdubs卻o it just sounds more live. If someone hasn't heard it yet, it's like the missing link between the Ramones and KISS. I've never rehearsed a lot by myself, but as a band I don't think any other bands rehearse as many hours as Backyard Babies?it brings tightness and that special groove. EPI: What advice do you have for those just starting out? Dregen:Don't start out getting stuck playing covers?we started with one chord卐ven if you just play a few chords together, get with someone and play guitar. A guitar sounds good, but it sounds even f___ing better with a 22" bass drum!!! You don't get the girls sitting around playing with a pair of headphones!!! And now... check out these "Limited Edition" guitars from Sweden's #1 Rock band - "The Backyard Babies!" Customized to meet the needs and reflect the unique personalities of guitarists "Dregen" and "Nicke". Limited Edition Epiphone "Dregen Dot" 
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