Published: May 21, 2009 8:08 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight May 2009 Edition
Wilfred
Wilfred
The Norwegian band, Wilfred, will easily entertain you with their Southern Rock flavor. With a deep love and passion to make music, Wilfred has all the right stuff. What makes Wilfred's music even more enjoyable to listen to is the band's fantastic sound. In this recently interview, Wilfred speaks to our Webzine about their music. Enjoy!
Isaac: What was the best part of 2008 for you musically?
Wilfred: The best part of 2008 was probably that we started working with the producer Thomas Stenersen. He has taken "Wilfred" to the next level and helped us find our sound even as a live band. He is mostly known here in Norway as a great guitar player and his band Eva and the Heartmaker. In studio, he is more about taking the live energy to our band and bringing it into the session. So we rigged up and had an amazing time, almost as a concert in studio. Even if some takes was not one of our best, you still hear it's live and has energy to it and therefore a good take. A great way to work. Of course, we had to do a few extra overlays, but the live energy is still there. 9 songs have been cut so far, and we think it's going to be good music. Looking forward to our release this fall.
Isaac: What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment for 2008?
Wilfred: 272records in Hollywood wanted to use one of our songs on a compilation album for acoustic rock, which was of course a boost. And at the same time, a Norwegian record company wanted to use on of our songs on a compilation album for Norwegian music in China. This was released during the Olympic Games in Beijing last year. We have no idea how these records sell, for us, it's more about getting our music out there. And if people like it...amazing!
This year we got about 5000 US dollars from a Norwegian government fund to make a full -length album. Even though it does not cover all the expenses, we are extremely happy that they decided to support us.
Isaac: Describe the music scene in area.
Wilfred: Well, Norway is a small country with 4.5 million inhabitants. This makes the music scene transparent, and we sure have a lot of great bands here in Norway. We highly recommend everybody to take a trip over here to check out some of the bands and venues around. The hospitality on the different clubs and college venues are absolutely high class if you are a band. Norway is also a country packed with festivals in the summer; this is a great way to get to know some of the up and coming bands we have here. The Øya-festival is the one to check out if you are in the capital Oslo. By:larm Live is also a festival in Oslo. Their main focus is to present artists that are on the verge of success, either in their homelands or internationally. This festival takes place in Oslo each year and it's a great way to get some exposure.
One festival we are really looking forward to perform on this summer is the Tahiti festival.
This is a festival in the middle of Norway, it's located in Kristiansund, a town by the North Sea....beer, music, summer, sea and a lot of happy people are some of the things we are hoping to enjoy there.
Isaac: What has been the best venue to perform at and why?
Wilfred: "Cafe Mono" in Oslo is a great place to perform in front of a music loving crowd who are there to listen to your music. "Herr Nilsen" in Oslo has also been a great place to perform, the stage is located so that everybody can see you and the sound is absolutely great.
But we have to mention our trip to Afghanistan, this was in 2007 and we toured the country for a week. A strange experience to travel in a country that has suffered since the late seventies.
We got to visit an orphanage in Kabul and performed in front of the kids there, that was probably the strongest moment emotionally we have experienced so far. Suddenly, a little girl, maybe four years old, started dancing to one of our songs. Who knows, maybe she had lost her parents or she had seen something we in the western world only have nightmares about, still she found that music was enjoyable and wanted to dance. This is for us what music is all about, even though things are difficult, you still have the music to go to when you need some time off from your everyday life or just need to escape just for a moment.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Wilfred: Would you ask Tom Petty that question? (Ha-ha)….no, just Billy Bob-kidding here.
Well, this is a huge question. There are so many to pick from, of course, growing up in families that loved music has helped us a long way. USA is of course the cradle of rock - n-roll and there are so many artists and bands there that has been an influence to us here in Europe. Since 1903 and W.C. Handy`s birth of the blues through the good old sixties and seventies with the Beach Boys, The Band, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers Band and up till todays Tom Petty, Steve Earle, Weezer, Ryan Adams and many many more. That's over 100 years of great music and attitude.
It's almost impossible to mention just one, but if we have to, the one who probably inspire us in "Wilfred" most is Tom Petty, his repertoire from rockabilly to punk rock and his timeless hits. He has really worked his way up, from a young brat in Gainesville Florida, through the record companies in L.A, and to being a famous artist. He is the evidence of that you really can make it, even though you come from a regular family in a regular town.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Wilfred: There are too many egos in the music business, you can go to any VIP arrangement to act important and try to be someone your not, believing that you rule the world with your music next week.
It's not about taking over the world with our music at all; it's all about having a good time performing good songs in a great band. Perform live as much as possible. And if anyone wants to join our joyride as a fan or coming to a concert, you are absolutely welcome! Come have fun with us!
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Wilfred: This is a very difficult question, as a producer we have to mention is Brendan O'Brien. He has done so much great stuff, just listen to Resigned by Michael Penn from -97, The Thorns, the last album with the Wallflowers or his work on the last Bruce Springsteen albums. He is a true genius and we believe his magic hand brings out the best in each song, and we think his way of thinking would fit our music well.
Oooh..you asked about one artist...yeah...to be an opening act for Tom Petty would be awesome....wow……yeah or to sit around a bonfire with a few beers and acoustic guitars with Bruce Springsteen or Jesse Malin wouldn't be the worst thing either….Brendan Benson is an amazing artist and if our roads cross sometime, we hope we get the opportunity to work with him, he has some really great songs.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Wilfred: On our musical crusade Wilfred will serve you a dish of elegant and rough retro pop rock spiced with cleverness and confidence, with one foot in the Americana sound. In a musical picturem we paint love, champagne, cruelty and happiness in a musical landscape where Tom Petty meets Ryan Adams to share a bottle of wine with Sheryl Crow.
I think that would sum it up... (Hehe)
Isaac: What type of feedback have your received from fans about your music?
Wilfred: Many link us to the American Blue-Collar style that we like to be linked up to. Someone commented on our MySpace that it "sounds like Southern Rock is alive and well in Oslo". That's cool, we like southern rock to! Someone also said that we at least said something with our music. And thinking about that English is not our mothers tongue, that`s a huge compliment :-)
and www.wilfredmusic.no but it is the MySpace page that is being kept updated most for some reason.
Isaac: What can fans expect from you in the next five years?
Wilfred: This fall our record will be in stores and if you can't find it. Give us a shout at our e-mail address located at our myspace page, we'll send it to you. Hopefully, our CD release will bring a lot of touring so that we can get out to where people roam. Wilfred are a hard working bunch of buddies and if the sun shines on our path we probably are working with new songs and performing as long as we can walk, and of course having a good time doing it. And people are always welcome to join our little universe at a concert, buying our CD or at MySpace. Who knows you might like us too.
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Wilfred: Well, some of our friends and family have supported us all the way, and that means a lot. People showing up at concerts, people leaving nice comments on myspace, warms some musicians' hearts here in Wilfred. Thanks to all American fans to, hopefully we'll come over there soon.
Isaac: Final words…
Wilfred: Thank you so much for this opportunity Isaac; it has been a pleasure and also a challenge for us Norwegians doing an all english interview. Hope we did well!
