THE HIVES HIRE SOPRANO FOR TUSSELS IN BRUSSELS

The Hives DVD Tussels In Brussels was released on Tuesday (November 15) and the collection not only features the band’s electric set and collection of videos, it also features a mini-movie.

Instead of the tired behind-the-scenes and backstage footage that most bands have for their DVDs, Sweden’s favorite sons decided to create “DW Johnson’s The Hives, Hinduism, & Me” with director Kalle Haglund. Vocalist Pelle Almqvist told our cameras that the band liked the idea of a third party telling the band’s story, and they also like the cinematic effect achived through the mini-movie.

“We watched them all and all of them had the exact same band documentary part that was, you know, aftershow party maybe and then filming out the window of the van and meeting crazy fans and stuff. They were all so similar it was kind of boring and we decided that if we can do something as far removed from that as possible we’d be in fine shape. It’s a story about a journalist that kind of meets us a couple of times, and it’s a story of his life and the band’s trajectory. The voice of the journalist is done by Little Steven from The Sopranos (TV show) and the E-Street Band.”

The Hives Almqvist talks about how they recruited Bruce Sprinsteen and the E-Street Band guitarist Little Steven to narrate their short film for the DVD.

“We met him for the first time, we met him… Apparently Bruce Springsteen had seen us on TV and liked us and thought that Steven would like us since he was just starting his radio show, the Underground Garage thing, so when they got to Sweden on that tour they kind of looked us up and kind of had us come down to the show and support and then we’d sort of known him for a couple of years and he’s a friend of the band and so we just kind of asked him if he wanted to do it, and he said ‘yes.’ It was pretty simple.”

The Hives are currently working on their third release, the follow-up to the commercially disapointing Tyranasaurus Hives! Almqvist was in New York part promoting the DVD, Tussels In Brussels, and part Christmas shopping.