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Aloha...my name is Nathalie, your names are?
"Speaking is Øyvind Holm, but my bandmates are called Arve
Gulbrandsen(drums), Robert Skjærvik(bass) & Thomas Henriksen(Keyboards)"
How did the Dipsomaniacs form?
"The band was formed by me around 1992, then as I one-man project.
I needed something more catchy than Øyvind Holm. And even if I wrote and
recorded all my music by myself, I
wanted to give the impression that it was a band.
When Bumble-Bee Eyes was released in 1997, I needed a more permanent band to
be able to play live.
So the band gradually grew from a one-man band to a four piece, which we are
now."
The bandname is Dipsomaniacs, what does it mean?
"A Dipsomaniac is a person who periodically gets a strong craving for
alcohol.
That doesn't mean that we are all alcoholics. I just stumbled across the
word in the dictionary,
and thought it sounded like a nice name for a band, regardless of what it
meant.
Still we enjoy a few beers while on tour, so I guess you could say we have
our periods too :-)"
You know those stickers that salespeople in small recordshops put on the
records? If you would be a snotty recordshop owner, what would be the
description say on the Dipsomaniacs CD?
" 'catchy beatle-infected popmusic'. That is how I use to describe it, anyway."
Can you tell us more about the record Reverb Of Hollowness record? When,
where and how can we find it?
"RNH was recorded last fall, and it was released here in Norway last
September on Progress Records.
It has now been released in Europe on Stickman Records, seated in Germany,
so it shouldn't be impossible to find."
As it seems Bumble-Bee Eyes (your debut album) is out of print. Any plans
to re-release it?
"With the first, and now out of print, edition was only printed 200 copies.
So that explains why that has been a
bit hard to find. People are still asking about it, so we have decided to
press another 100 copies. It will be released on Apartment Records here in
Norway as we speak It is a vinyl only release, and I doubt that it will ever
come out on CD."
"Bumble-Bee Eyes", "Hell, Love Goodbye", "Two Way Mirror Panorama" all
remind me of the Beatles, the Zombies and, beat me up if you will but I am
still gonna say this, the Monkees. Is that an insult? Do you consciously
keep the songs pop?
"It is most certainly no an insult! Through the years I have had a near to
religious relationship with The Beatles' music, at least I am quite sure a
lot of people who know me would say so. And even if all the songs you refer
to, were written and recorded before I discovered The Zombies, their 'Odessey & Oracle' record from 1967 is today a part of my all time favourite records; a truly wonderful band. As for The Monkees, I can say they had their moments as well, but it's hard to
take a band like that seriously. Still, Mike Nesmith have proved that he had more in him than he was allowed to show while he was in the band."
Another band influenced by the Beatles is of course Guided By Voices. It
seems there are Dipsomaniacs links. Care to elaborate on them?
"For most people the connection is the lo-fi label that has been put on our
music. Neither Robert Pollard nor I have through the years spent much money
on studio time. Most of our songs are recorded on 4 or 8 tracks, in private
basements or any other location that seemed to suit the purpose at the time.
So I guess you could say that there is a philosophy that goes beyond
conforming our music to a market of consumers. I guess we share a deep
passion for music that tends to have more to do with an urge to express
ourselves through words and melodies, rat
r than jumping on the latest hype in hopes of fame an fortune. Once you
start investing a lot of money in recording, chances are that you lose that
focus, because then you start worrying about getting you budgets in balance.
I know it's a worn out phrase, but it's a bit like comparing love one hand,
and prostitution on the other.
Another Dipso/ GbV link is that we have just released a song called "2nd
Honeymoon", that I recorded with GbV's guitarist Doug Gillard. I sent him a
tape with me playing an acoustic guitar, and singing the lead vocals, and he
added more guitars, bass, drums and harmonies to my recording. It turned out quite nice, and the song can be found on our newest 7" called 'Whatever Misery For miles'."
The song 'In My Mind' has the line "all my life I been wondering where it's
at..". Do your songs reflect your personal life?
"People always tend to find what they are looking for when analysing a song.
So no matter what I write I am sure people can relate the lyrics to my life.
I am not saying that I don't ever write about myself, but most of the time I
find myself putting together words and phrases that I have collected from
books, papers & magazines
A lot like doing a puzzle really. I list the words in, what to me, seems
like a logical order, and then I simply fill in the blanks with my own word.
So bits and pieces that I write is probably about my own life, but I don't
think people, if they don't now me well, are able to tell my lines from the others.
I am not interested in preaching through my lyrics. I see the words and the
music as a whole; the music & the words must suit each other. With my words
I simply try to reinforce whatever emotions each piece of music tries to
express. So if my songs reflects my personal life in any way, it has to be the over-all mood of each song. If you get the mood, you can probably say a lot about how I felt while writing that particular song, and in that respect my songs can be looked
upon as pages in a diary."
I would like to say how much your lyrics remind me of Costello at times. Is
songwriting for you as essential as the writing of the music?
"Thanks a lot!! I love Elvis Costello, and have always been intrigued by his
way of writing.
I guess I answered your question above, but I'll have to say yes. Even if
the words, as I said, very often happen as a result of a random word play,
they are important to me. I don't go for any silly rhyme. I have certain
standards that I try to work by
When asked about this earlier, I have said that my lyrics are my melodies
clothes, and therefore they have to fit the personality of the song they
dress up. The words need the right sound, and I need to find the right
amount of words to get the phrasing right. And as I said above, it's all to capture the mood of the music. A light song, needs light sounding words, and so on......"
How do you go about writing the songs? Do you jam in the garage? Or do you
sit down, take pen and write the lyrics on a paper first?
"The music always comes first. Usually I just grab my guitar, and start
playing something. After fumbling around in the dark for a while, ideas
start to emerge. Most of these ideas never make it to complete songs, but
they are all a part of the creative
ocess of writing an album. So with 11 songs on RNH, I have probably thrown
away 30.
Still the music is the easiest, and less strenuous part. The lyrics usually
takes months to conclude."
When you were a pimply teenager what records were playing in the jukebox?
"I discovered The Beatles when I was 12. So for years I only listened to
their records.
I guess you could say I was quite a loner when it came to music in my teens.
I kept listening to the music my parents grew up with, while most of my
friends bought Wham & Duran Duran records."
Being a rockmusician isn't your main job, you are a teacher. What do you
teach? And do the students come to *grade* your concerts?
"I teach English, Norwegian, Religion & Civilisation.
About my students....NO! They are only 9th graders, and too young to get
into the clubs we play.
I know that some of them have bought our records, but most of them don't
understand what we do.
They are caught up in the 'Spice-Girls-hell'."
Can you tell us about upcoming concerts (in Europe or the US)?
"At the moment there are no plans to tour. I am currently working on new
songs, for our next album.
Plans are to start the recordings later this summer, and to have the new
album out this fall. Then we'll see where we end up. Our booking agent have
talked about Sweden & Denmark. Our label in Germany, Stickman, also wants us
to go to Germany, but I have no dates at the moment."
As you have already done some concerts, do you have any weird stories about
life on the road?
"I am sorry, but I have no scandals to relieve. We are probably too little
known, to get enough attention for scandals to happen in the first place. I
guess playing for 15 people, when 10 of them worked at the club, is the
weirdest experience yet."
How is the music-scene in Norway? Is there one? Do you collaborate with
other musicians?
"I think there is a good music scene in Norway at the moment, at least at the
underground level.
4-track tape recorders, cheap vinyl production, and the internet have been a
blessing for the music scene, I think.
If you want to be heard, you can do it by yourself now. Don't need a big
record company to distribute & promote you music.
I am collaborating with a guy called Filip Andersen at the moment. He has
his own little label called Krank Records, where he releases his material as
Ring. I am adding a few tracks on a couple of his songs. I don't know when
or if they will be release yet."
Bumble-Bee Eyes was out on Peephole Records. Will the new one be out on
that label as well? Can you tell us a bit about the recordlabel? Is it
easily available outside Norway?
"Peephole Records was just a name I took when I released BBE, to give the
impression that it was released on a label.
It is my imaginary record label so to speak. After that BBE Dipsomaniacs
signed a deal with Progress Records here in Norway, so like RNH the next
album will be out on that label. The vinyl edition will however be released
on Apartment Records.
If you can't find our records where you live they can be ordered through
Apartment's mail-order. Just send an E-mail to: pgalaen@ub.ntnu.no"
http://www.kindamuzik.net/interview/dipsomaniacs/dipsomaniacs/375/
Meer Dipsomaniacs op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/dipsomaniacs
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