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S.M.K.: From how many songs did you choose the final songs for the album?
Janove: WE RECORDED 17 SONGS. 12 ON THE ALBUM, TWO B-SIDES ON THE SINGLE AND WE HAVE THREE MORE TO COME. WE ALSO HAVE A COVER SONG READY. IT'S A COVER OF A DEAD NORWEGIAN ARTIST CALLED JOKKE.
S.M.K.: You played "Medisin og Psykiatri" live a couple of times, why didn't it make it on the album?
Janove: IT DID NOT FEEL LIKE THE NEW SHIT. IT FELT LIKE IT CAME FROM EVIG PINT. AND WE DID NOT WANT TO MAKE SONGS FROM WHAT WE THOUGHT WE KNEW, RATHER THAN TRYING TO COME UP WITH NEW APROACHES TO SONGWRITING. BUT MABY WE'LL RECORD IT AS A B-SIDE LATER.
S.M.K.: Do you already have an idea which of the new songs you are going to play live or is this something that will turn out eventually?
Janove: I ALLREADY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF SHOW WE ARE GOING TO MAKE. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT IT’S BETTER THAN EVER, AND WE HAVE MORE QUALIFIED SONGS SO THE SETLIST WILL CHANGE. WE WILL NOT PLAY TWO EXACTLY SIMILAR GIGS AFTER EACH OTHER THIS TIME.
S.M.K.: Whose idea was the title Blitzregn Baby?? And why the German name Dieter Meyer?
Janove: IT WAS ME WHO MADE THE SONGS SO THE IDEA WAS ALSO MINE. BLITZREGN IS WHAT WE CALL IT WHEN 50 PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOOT SIMULTANIOUSLY. AND THE SONG IS A BIT ABOUT THAT. DIETER MEYERS INST. WAS MADE TWO YEARS AGO. AT THAT TIME WE DID NOT KNOW THAT WE WERE GOING TO SIGN WITH UNIVERSAL GERMANY. SO IT'S A COINCIDENCE THAT IT'S A GERMAN NAME. WE'VE ALWAYS USED A LOT OF INTERNATIONAL NAMES ON EVERY ALBUM. NEVER NORWEGIEAN NAMES, CAUSE IT'S LESS EXOTIC TO US.
S.M.K.: Is there a motif or theme that runs through the whole album? Are there any connections to the last two albums?
Janove: NO DIRECT LINK TO THE PREVIOUS ALBUMS, BUT THIS IS A POST-WAR SCENARIO. SO IT'S SORT OF ABOUT THE SAME KIND OF PEOPLE AS BEFORE, ONLY LATER, WHEN EVERYBODY IS OLDER AND IN THE MENTAL INSTIUSION, TALKING ABOUT THE OLD DAYS. BUT THESE ARE NOT ORDINARY PEOPLE SO THINGS SLOWLY CHANGE IN THE INSTITUTION, AND THEY TAKE OVER THE PLACE AND START TO MAKE RIOTS. THEY INFILTRATE IT, AND IN THE END THE OLD VETERANS ARE ONCE AGAIN HOLDING CRAZY PARTYS AND HAVE OTHER DIRTY BUSINESS UNDERGROUND. THERE'S MORE HAPPENING IN THE CELLAR THAN JUST EGG STORAGE.
S.M.K.: Which land would you looove to conquer?
Janove: THE UK. JUST TO PROOOOVE THAT I WAS RIGHT.
S.M.K.: Is there a band that you would like to get on stage with?
Janove: WE LOVE G.LOVE AND MOTHER TOUNGE SINCE WE WERE KIDS. WE'VE MET BOTH AND THEY BOTH LIVE IN L.A. AND AS EVERY AMERICAN THEY INVITED US TO COME AND VISIT AND MAKE SOM MUSIC ANY TIME. SO MABY WE'LL DO THAT SOME DAY.
S.M.K.: Which German beer tastes best?
Janove: DON'T REMEMBER PARTICULARLY. BUT IN BELGIUM IT'S DUVEL.
S.M.K.: What are your favourite football-teams?
Janove: MINE ARE MANCHESTER UNITED, REAL MADRID AND JUVENTUS.
S.M.K.: Who do you think is going to win the football world championchip in 2006?
Janove: GERMANY. BECAUSE IT´S HOME GROUND, AND LIKE GARY LINEKER SAID: FOOTBALL IS A GAME WHERE TWENTYTWO PLAYERS TRY TO PUT THE BALL IN THE NET FOR ABOUT 90 MINUTES, AND IN THE END THE GERMANS WIN.
ALL THE BEST FROM THE JACKAL
Shirin: Let's talk about "Evig Pint", since this is the Evig Pint tour. This album is darker and much more aggressive than "Ompa Til Du Dør". Is there any special reason for that?
Rune: There is a special reason. "Ompa Til Du Dør" was a very happy and danceable album. Therefore lots of people liked it. Everybody from a five-year-old child to the old grandma liked it. So then we decided to make a dark album to see who really liked us. I think we got rid of some of the old ladies.
Sh: If you had to sum up the general topics on "Evig Pint" in a a couple of words, which words would you use?
Rune: Darkness, death, heaven, hell, love and hate. In "Evig Pint" there is for example someone who is afraid of going to hell and in "Djevelens Orkester" there are already people in hell.
Sh: How does a song come into existence? Does Jan Ove come up with some ideas and you work them out all together?
Øyvind: I haven't workd on "Evig Pint", since I wasn't in the band yet. But we have already started with the new record, so I can actually answer this question (grins). The thing is, we have a rehearsal and than Jan Ove and Geir come up with some tunes and lyrics and then we get together to see if they can be put into practice. Jan Ove always has some ideas about how the drums or the bass should sound and then we try to find out if it's working or not. But all in all he does the biggest part of it.
Sh: Since there are a lot of topics concerning heaven and hell in the lyrics, what does religion mean to the members of the band?
Helge: It means a lot to me and Rune.
Øyvind: They are the 'good' people in the band (laughs).
Helge: But I don't think it means a lot to Jan Ove. He just likes to write about it.
Rune: I don't agree with that. I think Jan Ove is also into religion. He is asking a lot of questions and thinks a lot about it. Me and Helge, we really believe.
Sh: What are your musical roots?
Rune: My musical roots are jazz and rock'n'roll. But since I am getting older I almost like everything -- except for the kind of music our light technician Nils likes, techno!
Øyvind: I am also a jazzman. I have studied jazz. But I also like classical music and of course rock'n'roll. Well, I have a foot in every grave.
Helge: I have played classical piano since I was four years old, so that was the whole thing until I became 18 and then I started listening to some 70s music like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple. But in the end, I don't really listen much to music.
Sh: What about that mafia thing. Can you all relate to that?
Øyvind: No, we are not the mafia, hehe.
Rune: No, it's just Jan Ove's world. We are playing his world.
Sh: Which songs do you enjoy playing on stage most?
Rune: From "Evig Pint" I like "Hevnervals", "Evig Pint" and "De Involverte".
Øyvind: Since I am new and not that bored of the old stuff, I really like "Bøn Fra Helvete". And also "Evig Pint", which has a very heavy rock tune.
Helge: I like "Evig Pint", "De Involverte", but I also like to play the rim, so therefore I really enjoy "Bøn Fra Helvete".
Sh: Helge, do you enjoy being on stage with the gas mask or is it something that the band told you to do?
Helge: Actually it was my own idea. I think it's fun. On earlier shows I was the first one on stage and I really liked that.
Sh: Talking about the new stuff. What is "Medisin Og Psykiatri" about?
Rune: Actually I haven't studied the lyrics yet (laughter). I think it's about one guy who gets sick and has to go to the "psycho-house". He is given different pills and they mess with his medication.
Sh: All of you have been working on the third album. Can you tell us a bit more about it?
Øyvind: We already have about 20 to 25 tunes.
Rune: We have a luxury problem there. We have too much! We already have 25 songs and I think the third album is going to be greatest album ever. No, It's going to be the greatest Norwegian rock album ever.
Sh: Is it more the gypsy style?
Rune: It's much happier then "Evig Pint" and we also have some gypsy music inspired tunes. A lot of them are happier and faster.
Øyvind: It is more the happy rock tunes, not that much of the gypsy thing.
Sh: Do you like the German audience?
Rune: Of course!
Øyvind: They are the best audience in the world!
Helge: They are easy to do things with (laughter).
Rune: Honestly, Kaizers Orchestra likes to play for anyone. But we have played a lot in Germany now and we liked that a lot so far.
Sh: Is there a big difference for you between playing gigs in front of the big audiences in Norway and in the smaller clubs abroad, where you have to convince people? Is it fun or work?
Øyvind: I like playing in the smaller clubs, because you have more communication with the audience. In the smaller venues the Germans are great.
Rune: I think Kaizers Orchestra are best when they play in front of a new audience. In Norway everybody knows us and we know they like it. But it's a challenge to play in front of a new audience because we know we have to go out and kick their asses.
Sh: What did you do before Kaizers Orchestra?
Rune: I was born a rockstar (laughs).
Helge: I was paddling and sailing and working a the forest. That's what I did.
Øyvind: I was born a freejazzer. Actually I have been playing a lot of jazz stuff before almost nobody. I've been touring in the states and played in front of five people. Nowadays I still do this. After this tour I am going to play jazz in front of 5-20 people. But it's cool, because I know that those who turn up really love it.
Sh: Thank you for this nice interview!!
All: You're welcome!
Thomas: Can you please introduce yourselves to your German audience?
Hellraizer: Killmaster and Hellraizer.
T: Thank you, that was short. Could you repeat Jan Ove´s official introduction of the members on stage for us, please?
Hellraizer: No. I guess he wouldn´t have done that either. It is something that happens on stage. It varies from night to night anyway. Sometimes, there are some parts he says in Norwegian.
S: So, like that part about the drummer being an "askebeger" (ashtray)?
Hellraizer: No, he plays on an ashtray (laughs).
Killmaster: he is not an ashtray (laughs).
S (ashamed): Now that makes sense...
T: You´ve been touring for quite a while now. Have you had any highlights or lowlights so far?
Killmaster: We´ve had many highlights so far.
Hellraizer: Holland has been full of them.
Killmaster: It is hard to mention one special highlight. Maybe yesterday (Tillburg, thfs) and the Lowland Festival were the two best. The day before, on Saturday, was the worst - horrible. We started in Utrecht on the Zinin Festival.
Hellraizer: Were you there?
T and S: Yes, but we missed you. We came like half an hour too late...
Killmaster: They had this monitor guy there, the only one who got payed, because everything else was run by volunteers. And he was the only one who didn´t do his job.
Hellraizer: he almost killed us with the feedback.
Killmaster: Yeah, we almost killed him! There was feedback all the time. And then we played on the Huntenpop the same day. But two shows a day is actually too much.
(A little discussion ensues about how many gigs they play per week. Turns out to be roundabout six. We are impressed!)
T: Can you describe your music to somebody who hasn´t had the opportunity to listen to the CD or see a show?
Hellraizer: There was a funny description in Utrecht. The programme described our music as "industrial fjord Sigoeyner braak (Noise, thfs)" or something like that. I can´t make any sense of that.
S: Well, it is definitely not industrial.
Hellraizer: Yeah, I don´t know why, but we heard that a lot of times, that we are playing industrial.
K: Probably because of the barrels etc.
Hellraizer: Our music is maybe a twisted version of Gypsy rock. We got some straight rock things and we got some Gypsy stuff, then we got some ballads.
Killmaster: We call it Kaizerrock.
Hellraizer: Yeah, in twenty years that will be its own genre (laughs). But basically it is rock.
T: Your show is very well choreographed. Did that come incidentally or did you plan and rehearse that beforeHand ?
Hellraizer: It has developed through the time.
Killmaster: We have done many shows and it changes over time. Maybe if you see us next time...
Hellraizer: ...we will be standing there, watching our shoes. <general laughing> We just live out one side of ourselves and do just whatever we feel like. And there are no limits to what you can actually do. We do whatever we are comfortable with or what makes the show look funny.
Killmaster: We are a team, you know.
S: By the way, do you know that Finnish band Eläkeläiset, who released the CD "humppa til we die" a couple of years ago?
Killmaster and Hellraizer: No. Is that true? We have never heard of that.
K: There are always some people wearing their T-Shirts at your concerts...
S: They cover songs in a crappy humppa style with shitty instruments...
Hellraizer: Well, we don`t listen to humppa music at all.
S: So, who came up with the Ompa thing?
Hellraizer: It is just something we refer to as a genre - uffta uffta - that is Ompa to us. We have never listened to it, just started doing it. So, when poeple ask us if we can recommend any Ompa stuff, we actually can´t.
Killmaster: We can refer to the movie "Underground".
<Tourmanager enters in with clean suits that just came fresh from the laundry>
Hellraizer: We got our suits cleaned for the first time. (laughter)
T: Why do you think foreign audiences fall for Kaizers, even though they don´t really understand a word you are singing?
Killmaster: It is about energy, communication and music. It is not about language. Why do YOU like it? You should answer that! (well, he´s got a point there, thfs).
T: Well, we do have our reasons, but we wanted to hear your opinion.
Hellraizer: There is more to music then words. I don´t neccessarily understand every word Tom (Dick, Harry? we couldn't understand a second name) would say on stage, but I might think it is a great show anyway.
Killmaster: how many times do you go to a concert, see a band for the first time and you listen to the lyrics?
T: It depends on which language they sing. If it is German I listen more closely, if it is English I still listen.
Killmaster: Many people don`t listen to the lyrics.
K: Well, you have interesting lyrics, they are really worth listening to.
Hellraizer: That´s why we translated them into English... well, the most important thing about a show is that people enjoy it.
K: Will you keep singing in Norwegian?
Hellraizer: Yes.
T: While performing, have you ever accidentally slipped a handle or a crowbar? And the very German part of this question: Do you have an insurance for such a case?
Hellraizer: happens a lot but we usually only hurt ourselves. On one of the first gigs I got my finger between the crowbar and the barrel and my finger got really big and I couldn´t move it for quite a long time.
Killmaster: he learned the hard way (laughs).
K: But you have never slipped it into the audience? It could cost some teeths..
Hellraizer: It could cost your head. But we hope that will never happen.
All: So, no insurance? (laughter)
Hellraizer: When we make contracts we have people sign that we don´t take any responsibility for whatever happens on the show. That´s the general regular standard contract.
Killmaster: We have played 250 gigs or more and we never hurt anyone.
Hellraizer: Just ourselves..
T: War is a very present theme in your songs. How is that?
Hellraizer: Just worked out that way, I think. It is war in a different way. 170 is directly about the war. But songs like Resistansen are about that other side of the war. Like what happens between the civilians, who have a very uncertain future. It is fascinating to write about that uncertainty, because you don´t know if you will live tomorrow or die tomorrow. Still there is no reason to let your head hang down and be depressed. You just party on and just hope that everything turns out good.
Killmaster: We talked to an Eastern-European guy and he told us that this is the way war is. You need culture and you need music, even when there is war going on. He was from Croatia. These are fascinating themes. (Shirin confirms this statement according to her own experience from the Iran-Iraq war)
Hellraizer: It is the thing that is described in that film "Underground" by Kusturica. If you read the lyrics of "Resistansen", it is very much the same topic. Hide in the cellar and dance on the table, while there is war going on outside.
Killmaster: Yeah, the songs are very much like short movies.
T: Mafia is the other big theme. Do we have to be afraid of a Norwegian conspiracy to take over the continent?
Killmaster: I can't answer this question...
Hellraizer: We tried to take Greenland once, but we didn`t succeed (laughs)...
(Pause - They fall silent, look sideways - We encourage the two of them to go on)
Hellraizer: Well, the big themes are loyalty, trust, love, hate. Those sorts of relations. You never know who you can trust. You think you do everything right and some day you get your feet in cement boots and stand at the lake ready to feed the fish. That is what happens in "Sjaafoer til Passajer" and "Rullette" and "Ta kontroll paa kontinentet". And there are links between those songs.
S: Did you make up all those characters by yourselves?
Hellraizer: Yes!
T: The Norwegian embassy has links to your concerts. Do you feel like ambassadors to Norway?
Killmaster: No, we are just doing our thing. We just make music. I don´t think of myself as an ambassador.
(Jan Ove floats in, tired, and starts rummaging through the suits)
Hellraizer: There is lot of good stuff coming from Norway though. But the music industry is kind of overlooked, it is not considered a serious business in Norway.
S: Except for the Black Metal part, maybe.
Hellraizer: Yes, but they do their own thing. They are not included in the official Norwegian programs.
Killmaster: Maybe we are ambassadors of the Norwegian music scene.
Hellraizer: Yeah, but not of the Norwegian state. They don't take us seriously. It's not like in Sweden, where music is a big industry people take seriously. In Norway it's not. Politicians are not supportive or help people out like they do in Sweden, where they invest in music and bands, so they can afford it and make money out of it. You have to do everything on our own in Norway. We got little tour support, and only for a few shows.
Killmaster: It's nothing, really.
T: how do you play Russian Rouellette? In "Rullett", Tony is asked to put down his mandolin and take his turn to spin the drum of the revolver. The explanation on the website suggests otherwise, as it is stated that the sixth person is bound to die after the five players before him did not.
Killmaster: 'Cause you do not spin the drum after each man. You just spin it once.
K: But this is what the refrain says: "Tony, it's your turn to spin the drum".
Hellraizer: It's just his turn to fire it. It's just a way of saying this.
K: This question also refers to "Fra Sjafoer til Passajer", where Dominique thinks of himself as responsible for Tony's death, which would only make sense when the participants did not spin the drum each turn.
Hellraizer: Yes, he knows that this is the last chamber, he should not have let him gamble, so he is the one, who's whacked in "Fra sjafoer..."
T: The band history contains a lot of bickering against you, Geir. Why is that?
Hellraizer: What do you mean?
S: In the prosessen you say that you felt miserable on that gig in Rick's and spoiled the show.
Hellraizer: Well I was sick, I had the worst cold.
K: It's only your bad luck that is pointed out. You were sick, you smashed your finger, ...
Hellraizer: Oh, I wrote that myself
(general laughter)
T: Even the part about you being the worst guitar player Jon ever heard,...
Hellraizer: Oh yes, Jon told me afterwards. It was taped and it sounded awful. I never played the electric guitar before that show.
K: And what do you think yourself? Was it that awful?
Hellraizer: Yes, he was right. The guitar part was terrible.
Killmaster: But he's developed.
(general agreement)
T: Yes indeed. Thank you for the interview.