So there it is, he answered us! He's a pretty busy man I guess, but he found the time to answer our questions. I guess we have some useful info in there. First go ahead and read:
First of all, please tell us about your musical activities.
-At what age did you start playing?
I started playing when I was 9 years old in a punkband that I started with a couple of friends. First concert that same year and then concerts as often as possible.
-Did you ever play any other instruments?
My main instrument has always been the bassguitar but I also sing, play guitar and some piano.
-Did you ever aspire to be a professional musician?
Of course. I’ve been professional musician off and on and played in a lot of different projects and bands.
-What are your influences as a musician? What were they when you played in Opeth?
As a bassplayer; No 1. JS Bach, the one and only, the cello suites are incredible as well as the rest of his work. No 2. Jaco Pastorius, true musician. No 3. Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, just got to love him, lot of energy. No4, 5, 6 etc Les Claypool, Jonas Hellborg, John Patitucci, Ola Johansson and many more.
As a musician; No 1 JS Bach, who else? No 2 Shostakovich. And many more
Then, in 1991, you were joining Opeth. We heard from David they needed a bassplayer and guitarist for the gig in Gothenburg and you and Kim Petterson joined them. We know you played in a band called Crimson Cat at the time.
-Did you ever release anything with that band?
Yes, we released two tapes, 1989 and 1990.
-Was it a sleeze metal band, as someone said?
Yes it was.
Some sources say you weren't really into metal at the time, so what's the story about that?
I’ve always played in different bands and projects at the same time regardless to genre: Rock, metal, jazz, funk etc. I understand that this can be confusing but its only music to me.
-Was it hard to learn their songs in such a short time, did you think it was complex material?
It wasn’t complex but it had some strange harmonics. It was hard to remember it all.
-What do you remember about the Gothenburg gig?
Me and Kim missed our flight from Stockholm and had to take my car to Gothenburg more than 500 km. It is not an understatement to say that we were speeding to get there in time. It was a funny gig. Honestly, I didn’t take it serious. In flames played as well and they were great!
After that gig you left the band again, until you joined again in 1994 to record “Orchid”, first as a session musician, later as a full member again.
-Can you tell us anything about why you left, and came back later?
I did one session gig in Gothenburg with Opeth and I didn’t want to join them at that time. I was playing in other much more promising bands at that time.
-What did you think of Opeth at the time? Did you feel they were anything special?
They couldn’t play yet, but there were something special in the sound.
-What do you remember of the Unisound sessions and Dan? Did you have fun doing the project?
I had quite fun, but I had preferred another music studio. I wasn’t satisfied with the sound on the production.
The next chapter was the album “Morningrise”.
-How much input did you have exactly for this album? Rumor has it Mikael wrote all basslines. Is that true?
To start with, Mikael didn’t write any basslines at all! He wrote most of the riffs( not all) and then Anders and I created the rhythm with the bass and drums, often altering the riffs.
-Were you satisfied with the albums in general?
I like the material but not the production.
-Did you like your basslines?
Of course! I wouldn’t written them that way otherwise.
Which is your favorite album, favorite song or favorite bassline?
My favourite album is Morningrise. My favourite song is To bid you farewell and I don’t have any favourite basslines.
The basssound was quite upfront, which is not very common in the metal world. Are you proud of that?
I like the bass to be upfront, it's my style.
For a lot of people “Morningrise” is the best record ever, (your bass playing being a big part of that for some). Did you ever feel you made a contribution to metal or music in general?
It is for each individual to decide, I just made music.
-Bass geek question 
What is that Arvidson bass you played on “Morningrise”? For which tracks did you use them, if you can remember? I tried finding info about it, but was never able to.
Arne Arvidsson is an instrument builder in Stockholm. In this case it’s a fourstring fretless bass. I used it on al the songs which include fretless bass on the Orchid album.
After “Morningrise” you did a European Tour.
-Was it the only time you ever played internationally?
No It wasn’t, I’ve been playing in other bands outside of Sweden.
How did you feel about that (any rock star aspirations there? ). In your opinion, how was the response at the time?
It was quite fun but the production(manager) could have been better. Great audience practically everywhere. In Rome the audience was incredible, my best gig ever!
-Do you remember any cool gigging stories from that period? There are some video bootlegs for the UK shows; they are quite funny to watch! Lee Barrett already told us some hilarious stuff, do you remember anything specific?
We had a really good time every time we went to UK and Lee Barrett is a great dude.
Then you and the band split.
-You mentioned your split with the band had to do with some conflicts, and also musical differences. What musical direction would you have taken Opeth into, if it was your call?
I would have created a much tighter band with a better production and less growl song.
-You also said you were more into Jazz-Fusion. Do you mean that in general or also in a metal context? There were players in those days already really blending Jazz and metal, like Tony Choy for Atheist and even more Sean Malone on Cynic's album Focus. Did you ever hear that stuff?
I have never heard them. I'm more into early Jazz-Fusion, but I'm sure there are a lot of skilled bassplayers that plays a more modern type of Fusion.
Since those days, Opeth have come a long way. Especially since 2005 they are getting more and more famous, winning numerous awards both in Sweden and internationally.
-Did you keep track of the band? Do you like their newer albums, what do you think of Martin Mendez' bass playing?
I haven’t kept track on Opeth and haven't heard any of there newer albums. I haven't heard Martin so I don't have any opinion at all.
-What have your own musical activities been since your Opeth days? Do you still play? Did you record or release any other stuff we could check out?
I've been playing only non-commercial since 1997.
So finally, on the forum people said they think it's great you seem to be doing so well on a personal level. It looks like you have got some good things going there! So I wish to thank you a lot for taking the time to answer this and wish you a lot more happiness in the rest of your life!
Thank you very much. It was a pleasure. Take care and play as often as you can.
Johan De Farfalla
So that was it. Cool he likes Bach, I've been playing one of those cello suites myself
The interview mentions the Arvidson was used on Orchid, on the website it says Morningrise... I guess he is right, because TBYFW is on fretless 6-string, so it can't have been the Arvidson.
Also his answer to who wrote the basslines is quite interesting. I've always suspected Mikael couldn't have come up with all of them, because the style is very much a bass player's one, and compared to the lines on MAYH they are much more complex. I haven't been able to find out where exactly Mikael said he wrote the basslines, if he did at all, but I guess we can put this issue to rest now.
Now, Johan said he wouldn't mind answering more questions, but remember he's been very polite to answer all of these. If we look at these, they are all very short and to the point. I will let you guys discuss this stuff for some time, and if we need some more facts from him I guess we can ask him to be so kind to answer those too, but I don't think we should expect much in the "opinion"-department. Asking him his favourite colour or won't be of much added value, you know?
I will ask him the names of his other projects though, so interested people can check it out.
