As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I also spoke with In Flames bassist Peter Iwers. I was very curious to learn more about the restaurant he owns and runs with his band mate, guitarist Björn Gelotte, in Gothenburg, and how it pertains to his career and philosophy in music. Fortunately for me, he was happy to oblige, while he and the rest of In Flames and their road crew soaked in the warm spring weather sunbathing, playing soccer, and coincidentally grilling barbecue. All while, once again, enjoying the soothing sounds of R&B and soul music of yesteryear.
Tell me about your restaurant. What’s it like? What’s managing it like? Is it just a single restaurant, or is it a franchise out in Sweden?
It’s a single restaurant that we started… four years ago now, actually. It’s called 2112, it’s in Gothenburg. We make gourmet burgers and stuff like this [gestures to barbeque grill], chicken wings, ribs, and sausages. Everything’s made from scratch… we don’t buy anything half-cooked; we make everything in-house… It’s our dream to do it; a really good place with great food, made from the ground up in a really high-class way, without it being too… Well, it’s a very, very down-to-earth place. It’s food for everyone, but it’s really… high class food, even though it’s just a burger; it’s a gourmet burger.
And you carry Anders’ beer, as I understand
Yeah, we do. We have a lot of different types of beers. And obviously, as soon as he [Anders] makes a batch, we get it into the restaurant.
Do you pair Anders’ beers, or any beers, with any of the dishes you make?
Our staff will recommend a beer to each burger, if asked. We don’t really have anything [like] that on the menu, but yeah definitely. We have really, really good beer “knowers,” and they know a lot of wine, and that stuff.
Do I have to ask whether or not the name 2112 is a reference to the band Rush, by any chance?
It’s definitely a reference to Rush. I’d say it’s more of a tribute to the band that we love, and we just decided to name it [that]. It’s a cool place; if you’re a Rush fan you’ll make the reference, if you’re not a Rush fan it’s [still] a cool place for a bar.
Anders mentioned that there’s a lot of parallels between people who brew beer and metal fans, and that there are a lot of metal fans who brew beer. Do you feel that there’s any crossover between cultures surrounding food and cultures surrounding music?
Good question. I mean, I think a lot of us have a huge interest in both beer and food. We all love to cook, which is why this is here [references barbeque grill], to make you feel a little bit at home, I guess. I don’t know if it goes hand-in-hand, but I know all of my friends are into both metal and food. So, maybe.
I learned about your restaurant through a YouTube video where you served both Anders and Matt Heafy of Trivium, who is also a food blogger. Have you served anyone else in the metal community?
Yeah, there’s a lot. The whole idea when we started the place was to have a place where we could actually hang out after a show. And for us, sometimes you don’t want to go to the “loud rock bar” and have really, really loud music. Sometimes you just want to go to a hotel bar and have lounge music. We don’t have lounge music, but we have, like, Van Halen or AC/DC, Iron Maiden, stuff like that. So a lot of bands come over after their shows, a lot of bands that happen to play in Gothenburg. And obviously all of our friends in different bands as soon as they [come in to] the city. We’ve had people from Slayer, to Marilyn Manson, to Trivium, to DevilDriver. All of our friends.
In Flames will be on tour through the United States until the end of May. Be sure to check out my photos from the concert, which will be up shortly.
