BandwagonOK: What got you first interested in playing music?

Evan Crowley: I've really loved music ever since I was a little kid. I grew up listening to bands like Everclear, Smashing Pumpkins, and Green Day. It was all just kind of a dream that evolved. It eventually landed me in a band. I really enjoy performing and writing music; it's kind of a crazy process. I really feel the need to create.

BandwagonOK: Was your first band swedishTRAGEDY or did you start out somewhere else?

Evan: Before swedishTRAGEDY, my friend Jim and I played in my garage, occasionally with our drummer friend, Daniel, but that was all really just for fun and nothing serious. What a lot of people don't know is that swedishTRAGEDY started off as EMP (extended music project) and kind of evolved as we wrote songs and gained our name. This was the first real band I was in.

BandwagonOK: Where did the name "swedishTRAGEDY" come from?

Evan: Our old bassist looked like a Swedish girl, and he got hurt a lot over a week period. We thought "Oh, it's a Swedish tragedy", and the name just sort of stuck. He had a couple trips to the hospital and we all felt the need to pick on him... We are all a bunch of cynical little boys *laughs*

BandwagonOK: How long ago did you guys first get together as an official band and how has the lineup changed from the beginning?

Evan: Lets see... Summer. It was summer of our freshmen year we when going to be sophomores. So, a bit over a year ago. We first started off with Clayton and I looking to start a band. We then brought Jim in. I sucked at guitar at the time and we needed a fuller sound, thus cameron was brought in for the other guitar parts. I sang and played some guitar, Cameron played guitar, Clayton on drums, and Jim played bass. Then, after we recorded our first CD, we were having some differences with Jim. We looked a little and then found Kyron to fill the role on bass. We recorded our next CD with Kyron. The lineup has stayed the same until just recently.. We were having a bit of trouble with Cameron. We let him go on a good note and right now we are a three piece (Clayton, Kyron, and I), and I'm pretty sure we are going to stick with this.

BandwagonOK: What kind of problems were you facing with Jim and Cameron?

Evan: Well, just some pretty normal ones. With Jim, he would frequently miss practices and we would be forced to even go so far as to write his bass lines. With cameron, we really feel that his interests lie in other areas and that it would be best for him to continue on what is important to him.

BandwagonOK: How long did it take for this group of musicians to find your own sound?

Evan: We are still finding it! *laughs* We tend to experiment alot with different sounds. We are never really satisfied with one genre of music and we really like changing things up.

BandwagonOK: How do you think your sound has evolved from when you started?

Evan: We got better. *laughs* We write a lot more.. just more of everything, and we really push a song to contain as much dynamic as we possibly can

BandwagonOK: Did any established bands lend a hand to help along the way when you were starting? Any mentorlike band?

Evan: Yes! We had a few of those... The Stellas really helped us a lot. John and Raechel were very kind to us. We also played a lot of shows with Neverclever; they were kind of like brothers to us. We really looked up to The Beautiful Mistake. They are out of california, but I remember wanting to be just like them. After seeing them live, I knew that I wanted to play music for the rest of my life. That experience really hooked me.

BandwagonOK: Within the band, when it comes to writing material, how do you guys go about deciding who does what?

Evan: *laughs* We don't... it's mass chaos! And... well, for a while, Cameron wrote a lot of the material, and he would come to me and we would feed off each other and develop the song. Then, we'd bring it to Clayton, then to Kyron, and then the vocals were developed. Now I write the guitar and almost all of the lyrics. I take it to Clayton and Kyron, and we then develop the song. Right now, we've been adding keyboard last to our songs.

BandwagonOK: What really makes your band different from the other bands on the scene these days? Any deciding factor?

Evan: We are very serious about what we do, and we practice really hard to get everything down well. We all eat, sleep, and breathe music, and we do everything ourselves. Clayton actually just built the drumset that he uses now. In the same light though, we don't take ourselves too seriously; when people come to shows, we want them to have fun and laugh, as well as feel the emotion of the song. It's a very dynamic thing, but we really like to have a lot of fun.

BandwagonOK: What genre of music do you consider swedishTRAGEDY to be in?

Evan: I'm not really sure; we have been placed in a lot of them. I really like to leave that up to the people who listen to us to decide.

BandwagonOK: Describe what its like being in this band. What does it mean to you?

Evan: It means a major percentage of my life. I really put everything I have musically, as well as creatively, into my share of swedishTRAGEDY. It's really something that I would like to continue doing the rest of my life. It's a really great experience that Clayton, Kyron, and I are really close and we hardly ever fight.. and if it is, it's a bloodbath of sarcasm and usually someone gets a wedgie.

BandwagonOK: Although you don't place yourself in a genre, many people see the band as an emo band. Do you think emo gets a bad rap these days, or do some bands deserve the heat?

Evan: I suppose it does; a lot of people i know use it as a derogatory word. I think if a band is emo, then they are emo. To me it's just a classification; no worse than if a band was classified as anything else.

BandwagonOK: Are there any new albums in the making now or do you plan on recording soon?

Evan: Yes, this summer we are planning on recording our full length (10 songs). We are scheduling those dates later this week or early next week.

BandwagonOK: Does the new album have a name yet?

Evan: I'm pretty sure we are titling it, "Unleash the Robots."

BandwagonOK: Whats your biggest hope for "Unleash the Robots?"

Evan: We are really trying to work on a unique sound and maybe come out with something that people haven't heard before. We hope that it will capture our sound and vision more than our last album did.

BandwagonOK: Is any touring planned for this summer?

Evan: *laughs* No, not really. Right now our two major obstacles are gas prices, and a big enough vehicle to put our equipment in and still have room to light fireworks off. We plan on playing a lot around Oklahoma though.

BandwagonOK: Have there been any shows that really stick out in your mind?

Evan: Yes, actually I have a few of those. Our second show at the old Green Door location with Rufio and Noise Ratchet was one of my all-time favorites. It flooded major though and our equipment got all wet. Another show that really sticks out was the last show we had at rockin roller rink with No Tomorrow, and myseveredarm. During our set, two people got concussions and there was a lot of moshing. I'm pretty sure we hold the record for most people and things broken in one show at that place.

BandwagonOK: What do you look forward to when you think ahead to future?

Evan: In the future, I see more progression. I'm positive we will still be around. We are building a giant robot with a bubble machine in it's crotch so that's something that I look forward to. I hope we are able to tour the United States at some point as well.

BandwagonOK: What are you most proud of when you look at your accomplishments in music?

Evan: I'm really proud of the fact that we have such loyal fans that show up to every show. I feel like we have influenced other bands along the way too. I think they say something like 'you get what you give', and hopefully by then, we will start collecting our dues, and I can pay my grandkids way through college. And own a Cadillac.

BandwagonOK: If you could share the stage with any bands past or present, who would they be?

Evan: At the Drive In, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, and Yanni. With special guests: Durran Durran and the Cure.

BandwagonOK: If you could change one thing about the music industry today, what would it be?

Evan: I'm really not sure what I would change. That's a tough question. I think things are pretty much as good as they are going to get right now.

BandwagonOK: Any new bands kids should keep their eyes peeled for around the local scene?

Evan: There are always new bands popping up, and people should always take a chance and come to a show. To be specific, I would have to say At All Costs and Roma Secrets. At All Costs has been around a while, but people should look for them more often. They are from Tulsa. Roma Secrets is new, and was started by Brian Blackwood (editorial note: ex-Neverclever).

BandwagonOK: Anything else you'd like to say?

Evan: *laughs* I can't think of anything comical... so no.