Photos by Bex Wade
Kajsa was passing through NYC on vacation when we got an email from her letting us know about her bands back in Sweden. We took the opportunity to shoot and interview this talented Swede one rainy Sunday. Hiding from the downpour, Bex (our photographer) and Kajsa, dodged each shower to produce one of our favorite rainy day shoots for the mag. Read below to find out about Kajsa’s ideal day that begins with coffee followed by coffee and her favorite drummers from back home.
Name: Kajsa Poidnak
Hometown: Lerum, Gothenburg, Sweden
Lives in: Gothenburg
Age: 22
Past Bands: The Berndt,
Current Bands: Pfemme records, Douglas jr.
Day Job: Band Coach, Drum teacher, studying music production
What are you listening to these days? These days? Tricky question. What I’m listening to varies from day to day, like for most people I guess, how you feel when you wake up, what you’re going to do later that day and so on. The most recently played artist on my Ipod is; Patti Smith, Beyonce, Peaches and Kanye West. Also, I love listening to well-produced commercial pop and house music. Although I love the trashy sound of many bands I’m very impressed by commercial producers and good mixing.
Where do you shop for your drum gear? Most of the time I’m broke, so it’s not that much shopping for me. When I do buy stuff it’s from ebay or blocket.se. I had my drums for some years, it’s a good set though, but it feels like the time has come to buy a new kit. Exciting. I just have to wait for some cash to magically appear.
What’s your favorite venue to play at? I like the small and sweaty places where it feels like you play the music together with the people watching. Love it! My favorite venue in Gothenburg would be top floor at Henriksberg (and the underground clubs) mostly because of many great memories from playing there.
If you could be one pop star who would it be and why? Lady Gaga, of course. No explanation needed. She´s got it!
Where did you go today? Today I climbed a rooftop in Gothenburg trying to re-create the feeling from NY rooftops, it was beautiful but it just wasn’t the same.
What is your favorite thing about your band mates? They are fucking crazy! We have, like all bands do, arguments about the most ridiculous stuff and a lot of crazy things happen when these chicks get angry. But in the end they are there when you need them. Besides that, they are my very best friends.
What would be on your dream rider? haha.. Tequila and some fancy Vegan food. And of course, a pool backstage.
What did you do while you were in the city? The first week I went all-in for tourist attractions. Strolled around Brooklyn and Manhattan and walked over the bridges. Aah, I just love the bridges, especially the Williamsburg Bridge. Later on we went clubbing a lot and I met these fabulous people. We ended up on their rooftops for BBQ’s and dinner parties. I had the best time ever in New York.
What’s your favorite thing about NY? Well, I guess this city gets to me somehow. I have never before felt so inspired, wanted to create all of the time. NY may be the place for me and I’m definitely going back.
Least favorite thing about NY? Upper Westside, Manhattan. I’m sorry, I just don’t like it.
Why would you recommend someone pick up the drums? Because you get to smash the shit out of something! It’s just liberating. I think there’s something about rhythms that make you feel good inside, everyone has their own interpretation of rhythms and their own beat and BPM inside. If you play in a band I think you learn a lot from playing the drums, it’s another way of thinking music and I think it shows when you play other instruments later on.
Who is your role model on the drums? Why? I don’t think I’m the type of drummer who worship’s other drummers or studies their different techniques. Sometimes I wish I were. I’m more of a nerd when it comes to different sounds and stuff like that.
Some of the drummers that inspire me are:
- Keith Moon, I love his expression and hysteria.
- Hannah Billie, she’s just rrrr.
- John Bonham, when I was a kid I liked Led Zeppelin a lot, still do, and I watched a DVD from live shows with the band. There’s a certain drum solo in this show that I just couldn’t stop watching, I just played it over and over again (on the DVD that is..) After this I carried my drums from the garage into my room (next to my parent’s room.) and mounted them in front of my TV with John Bonham’s solo on repeat.
If you could change one thing about the drum kit what would it be?
If I could change something about them I would make it in to a “one-size-fits-all-one-part-drum kit”. It’s frustrating with all these different parts and joints when you’re moving your drums from place to place all the time, especially when someone else (like one of your band mates..) is doing it for you. Things disappear and so on. As I work with kids and mostly girls (who often come in a smaller size than our average man) I have noticed that the hardware for many drum kits are made for big men?!
Your perfect day looks like this:
I Wake up early from the smell of just made coffee smoking fresh right next to the bed. After the coffee and a shower I’ll take another cup and sit down in front of the computer in my studio. Instead of spending time in cyberspace and on facebook I will make some crazy good music in just a couple of hours and then I’m off to town to meet up some friends. After chilling in the park with my friends I’m off to rehearse and hang out with the band. We will play music and drink some wine, and after that we’ll go out dancing. Now that is like the perfect day…
What’s in store for you musically in the future?
Pfemme are recording some new songs right now and if we have the time we’ll release some of the songs in English too, right now all of our lyrics are in Swedish. Maybe we’ll just go to NY for a mini-tour!
Besides the band I’m working with some new songs for my solo project Douglas Jr. exciting! Me and my friend and band mate Emma are looking for a new place to build up the studio and I think we just found the perfect spot, so in the future a lot of music will be created and recorded.
I’m working with an organisation named Popkollo. It’s the Swedish version of GRCA girlsrockcamp.org
We have camps in the summer with girls age 13-18. It would be amazing to give something to the girls from Tom Tom. Information and something in the giftbag. It’s an awesome way to PR Tom Tom among young girls in sweden. Usually it’s around 25 participants, sometimes we do two camps at the same time and then it would be around 52 participants. Next summer this is. Think about it!
Some of Kajsa’s favorite Swedish drummers
Amanda viola savbrant – skills
Caroline Kabat – Alice B
Jonna Löfgren – glasvegas
Lisa Pedersen – solo artist and amazing drummer
Anna valken almqvist – five finger foreheads
Camilla jonasson
Nicki wicked – crucified Barbara
Carolina carlbom – sunshine rabbits
Cecilia efraimsson – those dancing days
Eocean ewa wikstrom
Fanny rapp – kraa
Josephine forsman – sahara hotnights
Lena neogard thomander – Swedish television drummer
Lisa millberg – the confreres
Lotta Wennerström – tiger Bell
Maria Hedberg – the bombettes
Mimmi skog – Pascal
Interview by Mindy Abovitz
Photos for Tom Tom Magazine by Bex Wade