It occurs to me that almost every rock star interview is, in at least one way, like Pee Wee's Playhouse, in that there is a word or phrase that sets all hellfire loose. In the case of Sahara Hotnights, an awesome neo-punk quartet from Sweden who just happen to be all female, that phrase is "girl band". It was, unfortunately, in my second question, and it was not something that otherwise lovely and friendly Josephine Forsman (aka "The Blonde One"), the Hotnights' drummer and co-songwriter, wanted to talk about.

I'm pretty sure we got over it, but the going was a little rocky for a while. So take my advice. Go see Sahara Hotnights. Plug into the Ramones-level energy of an intensive live act. Wither under the arena-queen-caliber sneer of lead singer Maria Andersson. Rock back from the Buzzcocks-intense onslaught of Jennie Bomb's Jennie Asplund. Shake your body to Josephine's murderous drumming. And, yes, you may find yourself noticing that they're all young and pretty. But don't say anything about "girl bands". I warned you.

Editor's Note: Most of the photos that grace this interview were taken by its author, who does not own anything approaching professional equipment but gamely did her best to capture good photos of the band. However, Josephine is the band's drummer, and as anyone who has every photographed a live band will tell you, getting good, interesting shots of a drummer is virtually impossible under any circumstances. In other words, we're not stupid, and we know that Josephine is in only one of the live shots. So sue us, okay?

Splendid: So, tell me about your tour. How is it going?

Josephine Forsman: It's going so well.

Splendid: Yeah? First time in America?

Josephine Forsman: Well, it is the first tour in America. We have been in New York and LA before, and now we are seeing the places in between. I think it is a good combination, us and The Mooney Suzuki. They're so good.

Splendid: Are the crowds different here from in Europe?

Josephine Forsman: It's very different. We've been touring a lot in England lately. And it is a lot different. It is very much more open audience.

Splendid: What, here or there?

Josephine Forsman: Here.

Splendid: And what do you mean by open?

Josephine Forsman: Much more, not that skeptical. You know, this kind of crowd (she crosses arms across her chest). It's not that here. Yeah, I just feel that the response has been better than we expected.

Splendid: Well, how do you feel about being labeled a girl band? Does that bother you?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, it does. I mean, when we started the band ten years ago, of course, we didn't think of that --

Splendid: Was that a common thing? You were 11, 12 years old and you decided to start a band. Were all your friends doing it, too?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah. I would say so.

Splendid: Because I don't think I was doing much of anything when I was 11.

Josephine Forsman: I don't know. We had a big interest, and I come from a very small village and everyone knew each other, and it was very natural. But, yes, (being labeled a girl band) bothers us, because that's not the main reason why we play. We just want to be an ordinary band, and of course that bothers us, but if we make it a problem it is a problem.

Splendid: Are a lot of people reacting -- I mean, you're all young and attractive; are a lot of people reacting to the way you look, and is that an issue?

Josephine Forsman: I don't know. They're probably doing that...the Strokes are all handsome young men, but I'm sure it's a lot more intense since we're girls.

Splendid: So what do you think it would take to break out of that?

Josephine Forsman: Just continue not to make it a problem. But it's very hard. We get frustrated. Because at the same time, we want to talk about it and say that it's kind of a problem, but we just want to focus on the music.

Splendid: You get compared to bands like the Donnas and the Runaways, and maybe you would rather be compared to other bands.

Josephine Forsman: Of course.

Splendid: Although I think the Donnas are great.

Josephine Forsman: Yes, of course, but they are so different from our band. And that happens all the time. We've had comparisons to Hole, because Courtney is a girl --

Splendid: Now that's ridiculous.

Josephine Forsman: So ridiculous.

Splendid: But on the other hand, it must help in some ways in terms of marketing and becoming known and all that.

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, I don't know actually. I think it's 50/50. It helps but it also doesn't help.

Splendid: You know, I'm talking to Sleater-Kinney later. And I know they're a girl band, too, but I think they've sort of transcended that category, so maybe if you just keep doing what you do, it will become less of an issue.

Josephine Forsman: Exactly. I met them a couple of weeks ago, and they're really nice girls.

Splendid: They're also really supportive of other women musicians, I think.

Josephine Forsman: Yes.

Splendid: Is that something you guys want to do when you become more established?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, but it's just -- we're focused on the fact that we're a rock band. And if we start doing feminist stuff...

Splendid: It's not what you want to do.

Josephine Forsman: Yes, but that becomes the main thing, and that's not the reason why we started the band. It's easy for the media to focus on that. So all the interviews are about the fact that we are girls, and I think that that isn't helping.

Splendid: So what, what should people be asking? What would be an interesting question?

Josephine Forsman: Ahhm. I don't know. I guess it is interesting, but... oh, god, I don't know, really.

Splendid: What about this whole garage thing -- it's so hot now and there are so many bands. What's it like to be in the middle of that, and do you feel like that oversimplifies what you're doing? Are you getting lumped into this big ball of hype?

Josephine Forsman: There is a lot of hype, that's for sure, and hype isn't always good. Because it tends to -- it goes like this (she waves her hand up and down). I'm a bit afraid of that. But I know that the bands that are coming now are very good live bands. We have so many good bands from Sweden, and they've been around for as long as we have.

Splendid: Tell me about that, the Swedish scene. What is that like? How did that happen? It's sort of a smallish country and yet you have half a dozen internationally known bands.

Josephine Forsman: I guess it's partly that when one band gets big, other bands get encouraged, and it just keeps on. But I don't know. I just know that we have a lot of good bands, but they've been around for a long time. It's not that they have just popped up now. But they are all very good live bands, and that makes me more confident that it's going to last. Because it's good live bands that are the most important thing.

Splendid: Is there a lot of communication between bands. I know you have some connections with the Hives, for instance.

Josephine Forsman: Yes, and we are all like a big family. I think that has a lot to do with it as well.

Maria Andersson and Johanna Asplund come over and say something to Josephine in Swedish. It turns out to be "Are you coming to dinner?"

Splendid: Do you have to go?

Josephine Forsman: They're going to dinner.

Splendid: I don't want to keep you from your dinner.

Josephine Forsman: Maybe five minutes more?

Splendid: Okay. I just want to go back to when you formed the band. You were all playing instruments before that?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah. Well, we played the piano and guitar.

Splendid: And you played the drums?

Josephine Forsman: I didn't play the drums before I joined the band, but I played other instruments.

Splendid: You know, maybe it's different in Sweden, but I played the drums in high school -- I was terrible -- and I got all kinds of grief for it, because it's not the kind of things that girls were supposed to do.

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, but I don't think it was negative -- or if it was, I think that just made me want to do more.

Splendid: So who are some of the drummers you really admire?

Josephine Forsman: I really admire, I think I would say, Bonham, and...I don't know, Moon.

Splendid: He was so great, but you must be too young to remember him?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, of course, But I don't know. Dave Grohl. I loved him as a drummer and I still think he's one of the best rock drummers.

Splendid: So did you guys -- I heard somewhere that you were inspired by a Nirvana song?

Josephine Forsman: Yes.

Splendid: Which one was it?

Josephine Forsman: Well, not a particular song, but Nirvana. When they came along -- and when Kurt died in 1994, around that time -- we totally went gung-ho over Nirvana.

Splendid: You don't really do the whisper to a scream thing.

Josephine Forsman: No, but we did. Very much. And Maria tried to sing like him.

Splendid: Yeah?

Josephine Forsman: Yeah.

Splendid: That must have been very interesting.

Josephine Forsman: (She laughs) Yes. We have some demos and it is very interesting.

Splendid: So how did your sound evolve from that to what you're doing now?

Josephine Forsman: I don't know. We just started to -- we didn't do our own songs when we were 11. We started that later. And, I don't know, we just...

Splendid: It's too bad. You think about what an 11-year old would write about -- it might be kind of fun.

Josephine Forsman: Yeah.

Splendid: Like, don't take my lunch money.

Josephine Forsman: (laughs) Yeah. It's hard to know why you change the way you do. We just did.

Splendid: So you all still get along well? It must almost like being sisters, being together for a long period of time.

Josephine Forsman: It is. We have two sisters in the band, the guitarist and the bass player, but it's really not a difference because we are all like sisters.

Splendid: So what do you do when you're not touring and not playing?

Josephine Forsman: Ahm, the usual stuff. You know, just, we've been out very much lately, so it's just family stuff. I recently became an aunt.

Splendid: Oh, nice. Boy or girl?

Josephine Forsman: Girl.

Splendid: Great. I have a little boy. That's why I'm so late. I was waiting for the babysitter.

Josephine Forsman: Aww. Yeah, that's amazing. That has taken up pretty much all of my time.

Splendid: Do you see that fitting into your life eventually?

Josephine Forsman: Yes, definitely.

Splendid: I think it's interesting, going back to Sleater-Kinney, now that Corin has a baby, she's making it work.

Josephine Forsman: Yes.

Splendid: Patti Smith has kids and takes them to school every day. It's probably easier because you have more control over your life than if you worked in a factory or an office.

Josephine Forsman: Yes, I don't think it's a problem.

Splendid: So tell me about this town where you grew up?

Josephine Forsman: It's very small. 2000 people. It's industrial. Not very pretty.

Splendid: So it's not the picture a lot of people have of Sweden with the pine trees and cross-country skiing...

Josephine Forsman: No, definitely not. I wouldn't say that. I'm always asking my parents why... (laughs) I think about it all the time.

Splendid: My family was from Sweden originally. We don't know where, because they were all really poor when they got here.

Josephine Forsman: Okay, yeah, but there is not much to say. I know it was very good to be brought up there, very safe and secure.

Splendid: The first album, is that going to be released in the US eventually?

Josephine Forsman: In a month.

Splendid: And I understand that you guys weren't happy with the way it came out.

Josephine Forsman: No, it was the first album. We don't know anything about recording. It was just a horrible time recording.

Splendid: How long did it take?

Josephine Forsman: It took like two months, on and off. It was terrible. But I really love the songs. I'm so proud of the songs.

Splendid: Do you think you'll go back to them eventually?

Josephine Forsman: I think the songs -- really, the only difference between the first recording and the second one, it's just the sound. I don't know if we'll go back to that.

Splendid: So what are you doing next?

Josephine Forsman: We're going home after this and then the album is coming out in Australia, so we're going there.

Splendid: Have you toured there before?

Josephine Forsman: No.

Splendid: It will probably be even more open and loose and out of control than here.

Josephine Forsman: Yeah, it will be great. And then Japan. Yeah.