Alicate: Too Bad To Be Good and Better Than Ever

Alicate: Too Bad To Be Good and Better Than Ever

For more than three decades, Sweden’s Alicate have carved out their own melodic rock identity—one built on heartfelt songwriting, unshakeable chemistry, and a deep love for the craft. With their new album Too Bad To Be Good set for release via Pride & Joy Music, bassist Fredrik Ekberg and drummer Jesper Persson sat down with Highwire Daze to talk about the stories behind the record, the destined to be legendary black‑cat album cover, their long history dating back to 1989, and the creative spark that carried them through the pandemic. From Malmö Melodic to rare vinyl collectors, from side projects to future plans, the duo share an honest, humorous, and passionate look at the past, present, and future of Alicate.

We’re here with two of the members of Alicate. Introduce yourselves and tell me what you do in the band.
Fredrik: My name is Fredrik Ekberg, and I play bass guitar in Alicate.

Jesper: And I’m Jesper, the drummer in Alicate.

Your new album is called Too Bad To Be Good. Is there any overall story behind that album title and the song?
Fredrik: It’s Jonas Erixon who writes the songs—he’s the guitarist and singer, of course. He thought the phrase Too Bad To Be Good just sounded really cool, so he built a song around it.

Jesper: Yeah, the feeling you get from saying it really sums up the album pretty well.

Fredrik: So he wrote a great lyric around that theme.

You’ve got one of the coolest album covers ever—the black cat on the front. Where did that idea come from, and whose cat is that?
Jesper: Our friend Janne Stark created the album cover, and he’s also the proud owner of the cat. The cat has passed away now, but it belonged to him and his wife—and originally, it actually belonged to John Norum.

Fredrik: The guitarist from Europe.

Jesper: Yeah, it was his old cat, who eventually moved over to Janne Stark’s house.

Fredrik: John lived in the U.S. about 25 years ago and couldn’t take the cat with him, so he asked Janne and his wife if they could take care of it. They said yes. When Janne was designing the cover, he found some old photos of the cat and thought it would be cool to mix the cat with a pair of legs.

Jesper: And those legs are not ours.

Fredrik: No—and not John Norum’s either! [Much laughter]

That’s a great story behind the cover. So where are you guys based out of currently, and what is your local music scene like these days?
Jesper: We’re from the south of Sweden, in a region called Skåne, near Helsingborg.

Fredrik: And now we’re based in Malmö.

Jesper: Sweden has a pretty good music scene. All the classic bands like Europe and Treat are still going strong…

Fredrik: And there are lots of rock festivals as well.

Jesper: Plus, there are new great bands coming up—like Care of Night. It’s hard to list them all, but it’s definitely a living scene.

Fredrik: Yeah, absolutely.

How did your partnership with Pride & Joy Music come about? I believe this is your third album with them.
Jesper: Yes, it started with a production company called Wind‑Up Productions, who arrange Malmö Melodic. They had the connection with Pride & Joy and Birgitt, so it went through them.

Fredrik: They sent some demo songs from the Butterfly album, and Pride & Joy liked what they heard. So that’s how it all began.

Speaking of Malmö, you’ll be performing at Malmö Melodic this year. What are you looking forward to the most about playing the festival?
Jesper: It’s the second time we’ve played there. The feeling at that festival… I haven’t felt it anywhere else. There’s so much joy, and everyone is there purely for the music. People come from all over the world—Japan, the U.S., Canada…

Fredrik: I think it’s around 25 different countries represented.

Jesper: Even Australia and Ireland. The atmosphere is probably the best you can get. And the lineup always has really good bands.

You guys have been around for a long time—you even have material dating back to 1989. Has Alicate ever played here in the States?
Jesper: No. I’ve been to the U.S.—back in ’89, in Florida—but not with my drums. But we would absolutely love to play in the States.

Let’s go back to 1989. When you look back on that single, “The End” and “Too Shy to Take It,” what do you think of it now in retrospect?
Jesper: I wasn’t in the band at that time, but I think they’re good songs. They still hold up.

Fredrik: And a lot of people want to buy it now. It’s a very rare old vinyl—definitely a collector’s piece. So it was the right thing at the right time.

Jesper: Sometimes when we rehearse, we still play the intro to “Too Shy to Take It.”

You came back years later with A World of Anger and Free Falling. When you look back on those albums now, what comes to mind?
Jesper: It feels like an evolution. We’ve always recorded our albums ourselves in our own studios, and we did the same back then. But we didn’t have the fancy equipment we have now, so the sound isn’t as polished. Still, we’re proud of them.

Fredrik: Yeah, they’re still good songs.

Jesper: And they’re part of our history.

Fredrik: It’s the Alicate sound.

Jesper: Exactly. Even going back to the old single “Too Shy to Take It,” you can hear Jonas’ voice and the melodic style. But I think the definitive “good sound” started with the Unforgiven To Be Forgiven album—the production really came together there.

That was in 2018 on Melody Records. What was it like to start doing Alicate again? And it looks like you recorded quite a few songs during the pandemic—what was that experience like?
Jesper: During the pandemic, Jonas had a songwriting explosion. He just wrote and wrote and wrote. That’s when he started writing for other artists too. We made Butterfly, and it felt like we found an extra gear.

Fredrik: Yeah, something was building up.

Jesper: We suddenly had lots of time, and we loved cozying up in the studio, recording and experimenting with ideas. It was a good period for creativity. It’s always fun—that’s why we do it—but during the pandemic it felt like an extra gear. For Alicate, the pandemic wasn’t negative creatively, even though of course in many other ways it was.

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects outside of Alicate?
Jesper: I do some studio work for other bands and artists. I’ve done a few albums with Janne Stark—mentioning him again.  I was also part of Oz Hawe Petersson’s Rendezvous, which was released on Pride & Joy. And I have some private projects. Jonas also does a lot of outside work—one project with Alberto Rigoni, for example.

And you Fredrik?
Fredrik: No, I’m a faithful man. When I’m in Alicate, I’m in Alicate. And I smoke cigars and drink rum and whiskey. [Laughs]

And to the “unfaithful man,” Jesper—what was it like working on the Rendezvous project?
Jesper: It was really fun. Oscar sent me the songs, I recorded my parts, and it was great seeing the tracks build up with all the good singers and musicians involved. It was a cool project. I talked to him yesterday, actually—he said they’re finishing up the new Osukaru album, and then it’s time for… I guess I can say it’s an EP for Rendezvous. I hope I’m allowed to say that. [Laughs]

Back to Alicate—you have a new album about to come out. What are the goals for the rest of the year? What’s coming up next?
Jesper: We’re planning gigs right now.

Fredrik: We have a couple of them lined up.

Jesper: Nothing fully set yet, but Malmö Melodic is a big event for us, and it’s going to be a lot of fun. Then we’re shooting a video—we haven’t done it yet, but we will in about a month—for the title track Too Bad to Be Good.

Fredrik: At the end of April.

Jesper: Yes, so that should see the light of day pretty soon after the album release. And we’re also planning video number two—so watch out for that one. Our previous album Heaven Tonight was released in Japan, and it would be really fun if this one gets released there too. We know we have fans in Japan. And of course, there are new songs already in the pipeline for the next album.

And do you have any messages for Alicate fans here in the States who are reading this now?
Jesper: Don’t be too bad to be good.

Fredrik: That’s cheesy. [Much laughter]

Jesper: And keep your eyes and ears open for the new album. We’re really proud of it—it’s probably our best.

Fredrik: They’re very good songs.

In Conclusion

With Too Bad To Be Good, Alicate step confidently into a new chapter—one fueled by decades of experience, a renewed creative spark, and the unmistakable chemistry that has carried them from their earliest singles to the melodic rock force they are today. Whether they’re reminiscing about rare vinyl, celebrating the global community of Malmö Melodic, or teasing the next wave of songs already in motion, Fredrik and Jesper make it clear that Alicate is far from finished. As the band gears up for new videos, live shows, and the album’s worldwide release, fans across the globe—especially here in the States—have plenty to look forward to. If this record is any indication, the best of Alicate may still be ahead.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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