Roxette Brasil (Bianca Cappelletti) did a nice interview with Jokke Pettersson, Marie’s nephew, who is going to be part of Marie’s band on tour. Here you have the translation:
Marie is the youngest child of the Fredriksson family. Her sister Anna-Lisa (who died in a car accident when Marie was 8) and Ulla-Britt were much older, so Marie had a closer relationship with Tina. In fact, they were inseparable! The family has always lived in a very musical environment and it seems that the tradition is being kept. Jokke Pettersson, Marie’s nephew will play the guitar in the band that will accompany her on tour in 2014.
Jokke kindly gave an interview to Roxette Brasil and here it is:
Roxette Brasil: – Hello, Jokke! For a start, tell us a bit more about your musical background. Has music always been present in your life? When did you start playing? What are your biggest influences?
Jokke: – Yes, music has always been a large part of my life. I started playing the drums when I was 8 and the guitar at the age of 11. In my family we were always playing music and singing, so it was natural for me to play the instruments, too.
Roxette Brasil: – We know you have a strong blues influence, but you also play great pop and wow … heavy metal? Can you tell us more about your style?
Jokke: – I started out as a big heavy metal fan and I was listening a lot to Metallica, Pantera and stuff like this when I was a kid. At a time in my life I thought that it was not enough and then learned to play all the other styles such as blues and pop. I always liked guitarists like John Scofield, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix and others.
Roxette Brasil: – In 2011 you gave an interview to a newspaper in Helsingborg, related to a United Nations day show. You were asked about playing songs from Marie (Tro, Sparvöga , Ett hus vid havet, Vinterangel and Ännu doftar kärlek) and you said that the conductor of the choir proposed the songs, who revealed that Marie is your aunt and that your mother was in the choir, too. Can you tell us more about your relationship with Marie? Are you close to each other?
Jokke: – My mother is Tina. Marie and I are very close since I was a child.
Roxette Brasil: – Tell us about your band, Ladah.
Jokke: – I and two friends are the members of Ladah, where we played jazz-rock fusion. I’m currently working a lot with my band, Karavan. We released two albums that can be found on Spotify. We toured with American Hunter Perrin and now we’re on tour with Cameron Ochs. I also have a metal band called Kayser. We will release our next album in February. I love playing different styles.
Roxette Brasil: – For those who are wondering if you’ve worked together with Marie earlier, you played the guitar on some of the songs of Min bäste vän album, right? How did she invite you to accompany her on tour?
Jokke: – Yeah, I played on Min bäste vän and also on her new album, Nu!. She called me to go on tour with her and of course I said YES! It’s an honor!
Roxette Brasil: – Marie has one of the most beautiful and the most recognizable voices in pop. For this reason, she has many fans around the world and we know that many fans will travel from their countries to join her tour. Do the pressure and anxiety increases for this reason or the fact that you are her nephew makes you more relaxed?
Jokke: – Tough question. I think the biggest reason to be calm is that I know what I’m doing. But I love Marie and her personality and it is very good of course.
Roxette Brasil: – As a final question, what are your expectations for the tour?
Jokke: – Play great music, meet cool people and have fun.
Marie will start a 3-month tour and will take her to 19 cities in Sweden on February 19th in Helsingborg. We know you are all looking forward to seeing Marie singing her Swedish songs live again, and we want to make this experience even more special. In cooperation with Marie’s management D&D we are proud to offer you the chance to meet Marie in Helsingborg. We have four places to give away!
