Here is an interview Pete did for Sweden's Common Paper in January 2005. You can read the interview in Swedish at www.commonpaper.tk
Common Paper: Pete, you started Safety First as a solo project. Where you tired of being in a band? At what point did you decide to recruit the other guys?
Safety First: No. I wasn't tired of being in a band. For a minute there I think I just really wanted to be a singer-songwriter guy and I was writing more moody tunes. That got boring fast and I'm not hip enough to be that "solo artist" type of guy. The songs just naturally got happier and better over time and I'm glad Safety First is a band and not a solo project. Keith and Scott and Leif and I have played together for more than a decade in various projects. People write about us like they're just backing me up, but the truth is they carry me.
CP: How do you work together as a band? Is everyone involved in the songwriting?
SF: Lately, the way it's been working is that I'll have a song pretty much written and the guys write their own parts and we arrange the song together- chorus/verse/solo/bridge/etc. With older songs that I wrote and recorded myself, the guys like to re-work those songs as well and so they come up with different arrangements and different instrumentation for every show.
CP: How did you come up with the name Safety First?
SF: My wife suggested it. I guess she was my fiance or girlfriend then. Just a funny, catchy expression.
CP: Your songs are to me good examples of...hmm... the essence of pop. What, would you say, are the ingredients for a perfect popsong?
SF: Thank you. I like to write songs that are 2 or 3 minutes, with a short intro, move from verse to chorus quickly, songs that get to the point quick and end before they get boring. And I love a little silliness and humor.
CP: Nervous Breakdown is my favourite Safety First song, I think. Have you got a favourite among your own songs?
SF: Nervous Breakdown is one of my favorites to play live. But I tend to like the love songs best, like Sweetpeas and Jusswanna.
CP: You have recorded a demo which has got nice reviews. People mention Pixies, Beulah and so on. Are these bands that you listen to? Where do you find inspiration outside music?
SF: It's half-and-half. I know some of those bands and I don't know others. The pop that I listen to is a really small portion of my CD collection. Outside of music, a lot of my inspiration comes from bad things happening- either personal or global. Something bad happens and I'll write a happy love song about Jill to forget about it. The crazier my job or our world or our government gets, the more fun my songs get.
CP: You say on your website that you wish the indie audience would move their hips a little. What comes first to you - music to listen to, or music to dance to?
SF: Definitely music to listen to. I'm not a dancer. I think that comment in our old bio was more just a statement about being carefree.
CP: What can you expect when you are about to see Safety First live, would you say?
SF: I think we just have a lot of fun together on stage. We just have a blast and I hope the crowd feels some of that, too.
CP: What are the plans for the nearest future? Any new releases soon?
SF: No. We take it slow. We're just playing shows and having fun right now.
Interview by Markus Bergström
