Hives
April 7, 2002

The buzz surrounding Swedish rock band the Hives has grown so loud that it seemed wrong not to feature them in the radio.wazee spotlight this week. You can find their single "Hate To Say I Told You So" on their album "Veni Vidi Vicious" and on the compilation of album tracks, singles and B-sides, "Your New Favourite Band."

The story of the Hives goes that in 1993, 5 adolescents (the oddly-named Vigilante Carlsetroem, Dr. Matt Destruction, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, Chris Dangerous and Nicholaus Arson) in the small industrial town of Fagersta, Sweden, each recieved a letter with a time and place. A year later they, led by the genious of a mysterious Mr. Randy Fitzsimmons, began to appear in various public places in and around Fagersta. By 1995 they were well-known throughout the middle part of Sweden, and record company executive Peter Ahlqvist heard about the five kids in mod suits with shaggy haircuts. Intrigued, he signed them to a Burning Heart side label, and in 1996, a mini-CD "Oh Lord! When? How?" was released.

After impressing Ahlqvist with their plans for a full-length debut album, the Hives move up a notch to Burning Heart, and in 1997 the band recorded and released "Barely Legal." According to the band’s official bio, "people all over the world [were] speechless."

After touring all over Europe and making a trip to the U.S., in 1998 they released the EP "a.k.a. I-D-I-O-T," featuring 4 new songs. Legend has it that later that year the band lost contact with Mr. Fitzsimmons, and not much happened for a while. But, once their sophomore full-length "Veni Vidi Vicious" hit the streets, bringing the people "punkrock music avec kaboom," as they call it, nothing was ever to be the same.

Two years and more than 250 shows later, the Hives have been featured in England’s leading music magazines, including Q, NME, I.D., Kerrange, the Face and the Guardian, as well as had their music featured in a provocative lingerie commercial showcasing disco dolly Kylie Minogue on a velvet mechanical bull.