From ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” to Ace of Base’s faux reggae hit “The Sign,” Sweden has long been known for its assembly line of cheesy pop music. Enter Love in Stockholm, a Boston University student-based band that provides Sweden with some much needed street cred from across the pond.
The band, made up of four BU seniors and one 2007 alum, has rocked stages across campus, supported Community Service Center fundraisers and jammed on “BU Tonight.”
“BU really supports the arts, so that has given us some great opportunities,” saxophonist and College of Fine Arts senior Dave Carroll said. “Living in Boston has been an inspiration as well.”
One of the band’s most popular tunes, “Allston,” draws from the band’s experience of living in the student ghetto of Allston.
Following a bluesy harmonica introduction, vocalist, drummer and College of Arts and Sciences senior Charlie Geyer belts out, “This is the story of Allston, Massachusetts. It’s not pretty but if you wanna know the truth it’s/ a lot better than living by the river/ cause where they got a river, baby, we’ve got a mean old train.”
Geyer wrote the song and considers it his favorite to sing.
“If you’re in Allston, in an apartment… it’s a great place,” he said with a laugh, “but it’s [an expletive deleted] place, too.”
The band’s sound is “hard to pinpoint,” Geyer said, because each member adds something unique. “Every song has a different leading character.”
“We come from such an eclectic background,” Geyer said. “Basically we play funky blues… a little bit of James Brown, old school blues, Pink Floyd. It’s a little all over the place.”
“The best thing about being in a band is having the chance to rock and roll,” guitarist and College of Communication senior Neil Mirochnick said. “It’s more than a style of music. It’s an attitude, an activity, and without compromising our educations, it’s a lifestyle.”
Love in Stockholm, which also includes CAS senior Brendan McBrien (acoustic guitar, vocals) and College of Engineering alum Andrew Leach (bass), formed after several of the members played together informally freshman year.
“In the beginning we were all just around jamming a lot,” Carroll said. “Then we decided to make something of it. It just made sense.”
But juggling class and band practice has proved challenging for band members.
“It’s not always easy fitting it in around classes and work and such,” Mirochnick said. “We’re not rock stars, but we’ve always found a way to make it work. A couple of times a week, we get the chance to rock and roll with our friends. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
In December 2006, the band opened for Addison Groove Project (a fellow Boston band) at Harper’s Ferry nightclub. Mirochnick calls it the band’s greatest accomplishment.
“I used to listen to [Addison Groove Project] in high school,” he said. “It was pretty cool sharing a stage with a band that has accomplished what they have. The place was packed and we brought it.”
However, after both Mirochnick and Geyer went abroad last semester, the group took a break. “Going [to New Zealand] was a difficult decision,” Mirochnick said. “When I broke the news that I was leaving, the guys were ready to kill me. I was still practicing and writing over there but it’s not the same…. I had a blast on the other side of the world and I don’t regret it [but] I missed playing in LIS more than anything.”
Now that everyone’s back in town, the guys are ready to make the most of their last year together. “We plan to rock out as much as possible,” Geyer said. “We’re all 21 now, so we’re gonna hit the bar scene, playing out probably every weekend, doing our thing more than we were before.”
“We came a long way last fall in a short period of time,” Mirochnick said. “After getting back into it this summer, we feel like we’re catapulting forward… reaching new levels. We’re very excited to see where we can take it.”