Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
Group Members: Nikola Sarcevic
All Music Guide:
Scandinavian skatepunk unit Millencolin formed in Örebro, Sweden, in late 1992 with its members coming together from other area punk bands. Inspired by the Southern California hardcore sound of bands like Operation Ivy, the Descendents, and NOFX, vocalist/bassist Nikola Sarcevic and guitarists Erik Ohlsson and Mathias Färm formed the first incarnation of Millencolin (a variation on the skateboarding maneuver dubbed melancholy) as a Swedish-language group, but later began writing and singing in English. A ten-song demo, Goofy, was recorded in early 1993 with Färm on drums, but as the band needed two guitarists for their live show, he moved to guitar when permanent drummer Fredrik Larzon was soon added to cement their lineup. That summer, the guys recorded another demo, Melack, which was subsequently sent to local indie Burning Heart; the label quickly expressed interest in working with the band.
Millencolin issued two six-song EPs, Use Your Nose and Skauch, before their debut full-length appeared in August 1993 entitled Tiny Tunes. The album, recorded in only two weeks, was a hit in their native Sweden (entering at number four on the national charts), and extensive touring around Scandinavia followed throughout the next year. After their second LP, Life on a Plate, appeared in 1995, Millencolin hit Europe for the first time alongside California's Pennywise, and had signed with the American indie label Epitaph by the year's end. Epitaph reissued the album for U.S. distribution in March 1996; their sophomore effort, For Monkeys, followed in 1997, and a year later they returned with Same Old Tunes. The latter album was actually a re-release of their earlier record, Tiny Tunes; the songs were the same, but because the original album's artwork was a play off of the artwork for the cartoon series Looney Tunes, Burning Heart had been sued by Warner Bros. Consequently, the cover art was changed and the album retitled. A homemade video, Millencolin and the Hi-8 Adventures, was released in 1999, along with the singles collection The Melancholy Collection.
Millencolin's fourth LP, Pennybridge Pioneers (Pennybridge is Örebro translated directly into English), appeared in early 2000. Produced by Brett Gurewitz in Hollywood, it was their first album to be recorded outside their native Unisound Studios. Numerous shows and festivals were next played throughout the U.S., Europe, and Australia, including the Punk-o-Rama and Warped tours. The No Cigar EP was released in spring 2001. A summer tour was spent opening for the Offspring before the guys headed back to Sweden to record their next full-length. Home from Home was produced by Lou Giordano and released in early 2002. October marked Millencolin's tenth year together; they played a special show in Örebro to celebrate, as well as started an annual skateboard contest at their home park of Brädcentralen called the Millencolin Open. Sarcevic released the mellow, introspective solo effort Lock-Sport-Krock in 2004 before Millencolin issued their sixth album, Kingwood, in April 2005. Machine 15 followed three years later.
Wikipedia:
Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Sarcevic, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band. The name Millencolin is derived from the skateboard trick "melancholy".
Biography
The original lineup, consisting of Sarcevic (vocals & bass), Ohlsson (guitar), and Färm (drums), released their first demo tape, Goofy, in early 1993. Soon afterwards, Larzon joined the band to play drums, allowing Färm to perform as the second guitarist. In the summer of 1993, they recorded a second demo tape, Melack. The band sent the tape to Burning Heart Records, a new record label formed earlier that year. They signed Millencolin to do a CD single, which culminated in the release of Use Your Nose in November 1993. Success of the single prompted Burning Heart to sign the band to release a full album. In July 1994, the band released Skauch, initially planned to be a single for their new album. However, the band decided to record four cover songs as well and released it as an EP instead. They put out their first major release, Tiny Tunes, in 1994. The recording and mixing of the album took two weeks. Legal trouble with Warner Brothers over the title and cover artwork of the album led the band to re-release it in 1996 under the name Same Old Tunes.
Millencolin continued to tour and in 1995 brought out their second full length album Life on a Plate. This coincided with Millencolin beginning to tour outside of Scandinavia. At the end of 1995, the US record company Epitaph wanted to release Life on a Plate in the US, and the band agreed. They then toured further afield, touring Japan, Australia, Brazil and Canada, and played as part of the 1997 Warped Tour.
Pennybridge Pioneers & Mainstream Success
Further albums For Monkeys and compilation The Melancholy Collection followed, but the band's popularity increased in 2000 with the release of Pennybridge Pioneers, an album with more of a rock influence than the band's previous skate punk sound. The recording took six weeks and they started their first major worldwide tour. Millencolin played in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by an Australian tour. This led to an early release of the album in Australia and New Zealand. Millencolin wrote on tour and release Home from Home in 2002. In 2003 they released "Kingwood". which saw the band take out their first major award for Best Swedish Rock Release
Kingwood, released in March 2005, marked the band's return to a faster and more traditional punk rock sound, collaborating it with their recently founded rock sound, and completed a world tour in follow up of the album. The album debuted at #2 in the Swedish chart.
On October 22, 2007 the band entered the studio to start writing and recording songs for their seventh album Machine 15.
The band has hosted a skateboard contest at their own skatepark in Örebro, Sweden named the Millencolin Open. They say they started this annual contest because skateboarding is what brought them together and now they have the chance to make something good of their town and of skateboarding.
Sarcevic released his second solo album entitled Roll Roll and Flee, whilst Färm promoted his side-project Franky Lee.
They wrote and released a single dedicated to their hometown football club Örebro SK titled Örebro in 2009. It was played in the stadium for the first time on May 11, 2009 in the home game vs Hammarby IF.
In 2010, they toured in Canada and South America, where they played Pennybridge Pioneers in its entirety. They also played the 2011 Soundwave Festival in Australia.
20 Year Anniversary
In 2011, Millencolin announced that as a commemoration to the bands they have toured with and their fans, they would be starting their own music festival entitled "Millencolin 20 Year". The event will take place on June 8 & 9 2012 and will feature Millencolin as the headliners alongside The Hives
On May 29, 2012, Millencolin will release The Melancholy Connection, a follow-up compilation to The Melancholy Collection featuring b-sides from Pennybridge Pioneers onward. The album will also feature a DVD of a behind-the-scenes look at the previous decade of the band.
