Bands have had the greatest meaning. They have been, and are, the social and spiritual collective creative relations, adventures where we share a wonderful nourishment and trasformation, and eternity is dancing in the very moment. And of course beloved women and children.

This page in English is shorter than the Swedish counterpart.

International Harvester ”Sov gott Rose-Marie” Love Records LRLP 1005 1969 & Silence SRS 4690 1984.

Harvester ”Hemåt ” Decibel Records DRS 3701 1969.

1969-1972. Träd, Gräs och Stenar. New name for the remains of International Harvester. Thomas Tidholm and Urban Yman both quit. During 1971 Jakob Sjöholm joined on guitar, later Arne Ericsson quit and Sten Bergman took over the elec. piano function. Long tours in Scandinavia, mostly outside the established channels.

   1969 Music for the film ”Du gamla du fria” by Öyvind Fahlström.

   Together with others we created the first big free outdoor music festivals in Sweden known as Gärdesfesterna 1970.
  
   ”Outlaws” who searched for their audience by fans creating gigs in their own small cities and villages. We were trying to create a free and co-creating situation though the music, dance, light show of slides and film, serving food and letting people play on instruments we brought with us. We were participating in actions people did to change their common situation. We lived like our audience. More — ”you are the music, we are just the band”, the ”Spela Själv (Play it your self)” movement. Also meaning ”Folkets musik (Music of The People)” (organize your selves - people power).
   We tried to encourage fans to create their own music meetings, music places. Free situations not ruled by some outer power than the collective situation itself, the people and circumstances envoved at the moment. Create your own culture for the good sake of all beings. Free your selves, grow up, make your art, realize your selves, together.
   We were also talking about and practicing ideas on "nature resources", another way of growing food and way of food household based on Chinese-Japanese "zen-like" Yin-Yang "macrobiotics", but based on the notion of "protein-imperialism", on how the Industrial Societies exploited the Third World — and to practice the theory on the local level, "how many people can get green food from the same acre as a cow need to give a piece of meat", etc. We also tried to create a collective around a former Marxist-agitator, vegetable grower, green knower theoretic, story teller and blablabelizer old man Anders Björnsson in Värmland — a Guru, wow — ... (then I had to leave the group, for my own simple "unmarried" mind...) We are regarded as one of the factors in Sweden creating "Gröna vågen", the "Green Wave", later being a necessary part of all political parties.

A photo montage on the green record inner convolute, by Mera. Click on it to see bigger.
 

Some records:

”Träd, Gräs och Stenar” Decibel Records 3702 1970 (CD release Silence SRSCD 3602 1995).

”Rock för kropp och själ (Rock For Body and Soul)” Silence Records SRS 4608 1972.

”Djungelns Lag (The Law of The Jungle)” Tall 1 1971

An afterburner 1973: ”Mors mors (Bye Bye)” Tall 2.

Since then the band have reunited itself several times, first 1979 for a concert series against nuclear power plants.
  1981 in the era of punk for some tours around Sweden, with Thomas Tidholm, with the name T. Gås (a play with the TG&S characters meaning T Goose)
  1995 the band reunion once again, and we are still playing. We have some concerts every year, some big, some small. We are not a museum of some lost times, we are improvising the music alive in this NOW.

Träd, Gräs och Stenar Homepage: Rock for body and soul where you find most useful information and can communicate with the band by the guest book.
This page in Swedish: På gång & senast , is what I write of last and coming gigs.

NEWS! First new recordings in 30 years! Träd, Gräs och Stenar ”Ajn schvajn draj” (Silence SRSCD 4758). Get it here: www.hotstuff.se/ www.ginza.se/ www.skivhugget.se/ www.aquariusrecords.org/

First review in English www.stonerrock.com
Review at Hellride Music
Prog-Reviews Nr 10 - 2002
At Aquarius Records
Interview in Psychedelic Fanzine
Review in The Wire january 2003
Tämä ruotsalaisen psykedeliaklassikon huikea paluu paljastaa,...
Donato Zoppo / PROGMAGAZINE

CD records available: ”Träd, Gräs och Stenar” studio recording 1969 (Silence Records SRSCD 3602) reissue 1995. Buy at www.hotstuff.se/ www.othermusic.com/ www.aquariusrecords.org/

”Gärdet 12.6.1970” Ti'llindien, TILCD 01 released 1996. Order by e-mail: subliminal@chello.se Homepage: Subliminal Sounds

Pärson Sound double cd, Ti'llindien, TILCD 02. Released March 23 2001. Very beautiful, strong and hypnotic music from the years 1967/1968. Order by e-mail: subliminal@chello.se Homepage: Subliminal Sounds www.othermusic.com/   www.aquariusrecords.org/

International Harvester ”Sov gott Rose-Marie” (Silence SRSCD 3614) reissue november 2001. 25 minutes bonus track. Order by e-mail: subliminal@chello.se Homepage: Subliminal Sounds www.hotstuff.se/ www.othermusic.com/  www.aquariusrecords.org/

Harvester ”Hemåt” (Silence SRSCD 3616) reissue november 2001. 8 min bonus track. Order by e-mail: subliminal@chello.se Homepage: Subliminal Sounds www.hotstuff.se/ www.othermusic.com/  www.aquariusrecords.org/

”As essential as any Amon Duul I or Taj Mahal Travellers record I can think of offhand -- and that is very high praise indeed. Following "Hemat", Harvester morphed into Trad Gras Och Stenar for yet another four albums or so of sustained wonderfulness. Highest recommendation! [JG]”
www.othermusic.com/2001september5update.html

Other Music Top 10 2001: Parson Sound/ Harvester/ International Harvester/ Trad Gras Och Stenar reissues:
The mere epilogue to Parson Sound -- the aural equivalent of a
woozy, toilet-hugging, projectile vomiting session, records that
will damn near make up for every weak-ass obscure psych record you
bought this year.
www.othermusic.com/2001top10.html Matt Hanks

International Harvester- Sov Gott Rose-Marie - Milestone first album by one of the most exciting and most innovative groups in all of Europe in 1969. This features a brilliant fusion of doomy fanfares, to heavy acid rock, to demented chanting, to mysterious folk music, to long improvised tracks that sound like Grateful Dead jamming on folk music with Pink Floyd. Krautrock made in Sweden! With a bonus track.
www.shroomangel.com/shroom/rs7.asp

Allan's favorites at Aquarius Records 2001
Sandra Barrett on Sov Gott Rose-Marie at gullbuy.com
On Hemåt at Aquarius Records
On Hemåt at Forcedexposure
Review in The Wire January 2002

Träd, Gräs och Stenar ”Djungelns lag”, reissue december 2002, bonustrack 32 minutes (Halv 1-2, 1/2 Special, released in New York).

Träd, Gräs och Stenar ”Mors mors”, reissue december 2002, bonustrack 27 minutes (Halv 2-2, 1/2 Special, released in New York).

"Recorded live in Sweden and Denmark 1972. Originally released on the band's own Tall imprint 1973 in an edition of 1000, reissued here for the first time, in conjunction with the band, from the original master tapes and with previously unreleased bonus material. Complete with liner notes from the band and more tasty pictures, flyers etc. These two independently produced albums by Swedish psych/kraut/stoner legends Trad, Gras and Stenar upon initial release only reached the turntables of 1000 turned-on souls each, and for records of this magnitude (ahem, these are easily the band's best two albums - the studio recordings on Silence that you may have heard never captured the true organic force of this band, plus the sound on these albums is amazing - two mics into a reel-to-reel - unreal!), that is not enough. In a world where seriously inferior artists of the era (Grateful Dead, Faust, Ya-Ho-Wa) have boxed sets and large record sales to show, the true bliss of these trance-inducing, throbbing hallucinatory jams, its Ornette-esque guitar lines and Liebzeit/Tony Allen voodoo-drumming deserves to be heard by more than the psychedelic fatsos who don't blink twice spending the 100 - 200 dollars it would take to obtain an original copy."
Get both records at
Subliminal Sounds
www.othermusic.com/
www.forcedexposure.com/
www.aquariusrecords.org/
www.midheaven.com/
www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/
www.waysidemusic.com/

Comments on the records at Aquarius Records

Contacts:
Jakob Sjöholm: gamla.viksund(at)telia.com
Torbjorn Abelli: torbj(at)tgs.nu
Bo Anders Persson: boanders(at)brikks.com
Thomas Mera Gartz: mera(at)comhem.se

About the band, and the times around 1960-70, can be read about in my ”BOOK” possible to download on this site at the page BOK, but sorry, only in Swedish.
Some other pages:
Invar Loco Nordin have a good story of the band and two records. 2007. English
English: TRÄD, GRÄS OCH STENAR. Torbjörn Abelli interview by Klas Sjögren , based on this in Swedish TRÄD GRÄS OCH STENAR interview.
Also published in Swedish:
Träd, Gräs & Stenar and other 70:th bands, articles in Gränslöst 3/98.

In Swedish (only show some with photos):
Stephen Malkmus interviewing Träd, Gräs och Stenar in the music magazine SONIC no 3, summer 2001.
Interview with Mera and Dogge of the rap group The Latin Kings in the big morning newspaper Dagens Nyheter 3/8 2001.

Village, Västerås 2/2 2001
TG&S av Conny Blom i NTS.

YETI - the abdominable zine presenting SWEDEN'S ORIGINAL TRIBAL PSYCH-FOLK TRANCE-ROCKERS Träd Gräs och Stenar: YETI. You can buy this zine there.

Reviews in English of some concerts: Tanto, The Happening and Kafé 44.
Review of a film festival where films by TG&S were shown: Med pupillerna i kosmos/ With the Pupils of the Eyes in Cosmos. English.

---------------

And groups, in the shape I did know them and had the joy to play with them, that don’t exist any more:

Kalousch, where I was one of the drummers for some years, 1996 - 2002, were playing Sufi trance dance music in the Moroccean traditions of Aissawa and Hmadsha. Very intense. Often completely without electric amplifying, and rather at the middle of the floor of the room than at the stage. My friend Roland Keijser (whom I earlier had the pleasure to play together with in the group Arbete & Fritid) was blowing ghayta, lira, ney etc., Abdelghani Najraoui played different drums called tbal, ganga, bendir etc., Henrik Wartel also, me too, and Jalal Boutmoudit and Bengt Berger likewise. Lars Gulliksson often the second ghayta player. Arne Forsén, Anders Nilsson and Håkan Falthin were blowing nfar. Also been touring in Sweden with guest musicians from Morocco, Mustapha Lakssis, Abdebrahamr Madhani and Mustapha Ben-Seyed. Cooperated for a moment with another Arabic music oriented Swedish group, Urban Turban.
  Kalousch did not make any record, but Roland Keijser made one with similar music where some of us are playing:

Kool Blaasa, RUBCD 21, 2001.

Mecki Mark Men
(1966-68) In this group I was playing drums, some bamboo flute and tenor saxophone. The band was formed around the music by the formidable Hammond organ player Mecki Bodemark. The breakthrough was 1967 with two drummers, electric bass, electric guitar, two horns and Mecki organ and song. One of the first bigger psychedelic groups in Sweden. House group at the famous rock club Filips in Stockholm in company with Hansson & Karlsson and Baby Grandmothers. Television. Support act to Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at Stockholm Concert House, and to Jimi Hendrix’ tour in Sweden 1968. LP-record sold 20000 copies in USA and Japan. 2 singles.

Gartz Freeformorkester/ Gartz Free Form Orchestra 1966.
  Once I had a free form group where I was playing alto saxophone (white plastic like the one Ornette Coleman used) and flute + ”graphical” compositions (ink brush paintings with poems) for the band to spontaneously interpret (alto sax, tenor sax, elec. cello, elec. bass and drums). A bewildering, musically revolutionary concert at a performance of music-and-poetry at the University of Uppsala. A big discussion ”if you are allowed to play like that” burst among the audience.
  Together with Hasse Nordström who was the sax player in Mecki’s I was ”the sax terrorists” that suddenly appeared in different jams blowing wild.

Hot Boys (1973), a group (several members from TG&S) playing songs by Thomas Tidholm. LP ”The Hot Boys: Varma smörgåsar (Hot Sandwiches)”, Silence SRS 4624. Tours.

One more LP record with Thomas Tidholm songs: ”Obevakade ögonblick (Unguarded Moments)”, Silence SRS 4697 1984.

Arbete & Fritid (Work & Leisure) 1974-79 (the years I was involved, but the group had existed since 1968-69)
  I was playing electric violin, electric guitar, singer, flute, tenor sax, drums in this group. A great group of improvisation, very adventurous long tunes which were open to all kinds of musical influences and instrument mixtures. Influences from Swedish folk musik, the Balkans, Turkish and Indian scales, over jazz, rock, atonal art music, pop songs, schottische, tango and waltz, drones, space music, crazy free form with the roar of laughter ready any moment, pure word babble and lecture as tenor sax solo. Anything could happen at any moment. Great seriousness, big humor. One of the most musically reckless groups of the Swedish 1970 decade. Existed in several personnel shapes but all the time the cello, elec. guitar, violin, singer, toys player Ove Karlsson was the anchor of the group. During the time I was member Roland Keijser, Torsten Eckerman, Bosse Skoglund, Tord Bengtsson, Torbjörn Abelli, Janne Zetterqvist, Thomas Tidholm and Ulf Ärtan Wallander were playing. Touring around Scandinavia and around once again and again, music forum, jazz clubs, rock clubs, schools, jails, people festivals, music festivals etc. Several LP-records. Television.

This CD was possible to get, a collection of studio recordings (not long live adventurous wild ones): Arbete & Fritid ”Deep Woods” (1993) resource rescd 501. It was found at this address http://www.cabal.se/mnw/, but nothing now. Pity. Earlier released as Arbete & Fritid 1969-1979 MNWCD 224.

Otherwise the last record of the group: ”Håll andan” (Keep the breath)”, MNW 92P 1979 (try to get it if you can).

ArbArch/Archimedes Badkar (The Bathtub of Archimedes) 1978 - 81 (meaning the years I was a member)
  When Ove Karlsson quit Arbete & Fritid we (I, Tord and Torbjörn) continued for a shorter time as trio. But we met Archimedes Badkar, another group of improvisation also influenced by free music and folk music, which also had lost members. The remains of both groups joined as ArbArch, that after some time took back the Archimedes name. Bengt Berger and I found out a funny solution of being two drummers. We used the same bass drum and constructed our drum sets sitting facing each other. Also in this band I continued to mistreat the electric guitar. But the African music influences was very strong in the band, both by Bengt who had been studying in Ghana, and by Christer Bothén in Mali and Morocco. Both influences tried to coexist fore some time, but split up in two new bands: Bitter Funeral Beer Band and Bolon Bata.

Bitter Funeral Beer Band 1981 - 86
  The Bengt Berger 13-personnel group, playing his compositions based on music from Ghana. 2 LP-records. Touring in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Austria and India. Skeppsholmsfestivalen 1985, Voss Jazzfestival 1986, Pori Jazz, Deutsches Jazzfestival in Frankfurt, Jazz Ost-West in Nürnberg, Summer Jazz in Berlin, Jazz Yatra in Bombay and New Delhi.
  Another group within the group, a ”society” of drums, Stockholms Gahuklubb, could play in smaller and simpler circumstances.

”Bitter Funeral Beer Band”, ECM 1179 1982.

”Praise Drumming”, Dragon DRLP 142 1987.

Råttan Frittz (Frittz The Rat) 1982 - 88
  Another electric more heavy funk improvisation oriented group that grow out of Bitter FBB, where all were members. I was drummer and ”singer” (reading poems), two electric basses Sigge Krantz and Thomas Huhn, alto sax and electric guitar trough samples and synthesizer Jörgen Adolfsson, percussion samples Lise-Lott Norelius, Mattias Helldén electric cello. Dror Feiler saxophones earlier. Friends Tord Bengtsson, Bo Anders Persson, Stefan Agaton were guests.

Maxi single ”Som Eld (Like Fire)” Urspår Urmax 2 1984.

Peter Bryngelsson Triangulus/Reliker 1987-88
  Percussionist in the Peter Bryngelssons composition ”Reliker” for 13 players. Drummer in Triangulus. Tours.

Prins Lätt (Prince Light)1987 - 94
Drumming in this group (the name is the son of another group, Kung Tung (King Heavy), old blues- och rock songs, popular songs, covers, all words in Swedish by Thomas Stålberg (guitar and lead singer) and by Anders Åborg (elec. mandolin, slide guitar, accordion and second singer). ”Light” in the sense easily loaded into an ordinary car with personnel, equipment and all, half acoustic orchestra with tuba, Per Sjöberg (earlier Per-Åke Holmlander) instead of elec. bass, and a small drum set of only bass drum, snare and a small Zildjan splash. Pubs, private parties, weddings, Hultsfredfestivalen, EP-record 1988.

A collected works CD named ”Nåt att gnaga på (Sumthin' to gnaw on)”.

Stockholms Vattenorkester/Lilla Vattenorkestern (Stockholm Water Orchestra/The Small Water Orchestra) 1991-94
   Tuomo Haapala are creating very big ”situations” or ”happenings”. The first, Aug. 1992, were 150 persons, musicians, divers, canoeists, lights, sound, actors performing a huge happening at, on, in, under, besides the water of Stockholm Ström during Stockholm Water Festival. Stockholm Water Orchestra was the music part of it. The group also made some concerts at other occasions.
  The Small Water Orchestra were playing (1992-93) at indoor pools on and with water and instruments sounding by water.

Flygande Nunnan/ Rikets Säkerhet/ ASS/ Psykmaskinen/ Kapten Free Form Freak & Dom Stendumma Flummarna (The Flying Nun/ The Security of The Kingdom/ Art Society of Stockholm/ The Psychic Machine/ Captain Free Form Freak & The Stoned Stupid Hippies) 1982-.
  A bunch of people of the same large gang which have appeared under different names playing trash and heavy rocknroll in slightly different personage.
  Rikets Säkerhet, the poet Mats Barrdunge with unbelievable agitating rapping. Hultsfredfestivalen etc.
  ASS with Mikael Katzeff, Per Wikström. ”Collage-music” several tape recorders, mixers, efx, elec. guitar, elec. violin, saxophone and voices.
  Psykmaskinen, crazy fools playing the utmost feedback.
  Kapten Free Form Freak & Dom Stendumma Flummarna, playing Swedish rock songs, own and others, in the tradition of the ”leftist” music movement, so called ”progg”.

Gudibrallan (God In The Pants), the first ”punk” group of Sweden, ten years earlier than the punk: Gudibrallan - the band that refuses to die! Reappears every time the front man Örjan Tejre want to act, backed up by some gang put together by Mikael Katzeff.

And then there are other groups I have been involved in, for shorter meetings or fun or... Söderdårarnas Spelmanslag, De Galna Anarkisterna, Peter Mosskins Gäng,
Helen Bohman ”Stenblomma (Flower of Stone)”,
Djungelungnen och Soldansargrabben,
Sten Bergman ”Lyckohjulet (The Wheel of Happiness)”,
Broder Molns Spelmän,
Anita Livstrand ”Mötet (The Meeting)”,
Christer Bothen´s Bolon Bata, Johannes Bergmark Co, The Aleph Sanctuary Percussion Orchestra...