Hello Kenneth, Atle and Joakim.Thank you so much for giving Blizz Of Rock this interview

I’m honored to talk with all the bandmembers in the great Norwegian rock band Rowdy & Raunchy.

Kenneth:  Nice one!!! Atle: No problem dude, it’s always nice that people show interest in what we do. Joakim: Thank you

When was the band Rowdy & Raunchy formed?  What is the story behind the name?

Kenneth:  Well a couple of years ago, both me and Joakims previous bands broke up (Skelektons and The Bods). And after just jamming nonsense for a while, we decided it was time to gather the forces again. Our buddy Vidar joined on bass, and after a while, Joakim brought Atle along. And with the four of us in the same room, it just clicked musically. And the rest is history as they say.. I was looking for a cool name for the band, and one day as I was watching a Mötley Crüe documentary, and someone summed up the band in two word: Rowdy & Raunchy. And I just kind of said to myself “Thank you, I`ll have that”.

Atle: Well personally I had been away from bands and music for a while when my old buddy Joakim asked if I would like to come jam with him and a few friends. Wanting to get back into music I immediately said yes, this was back in 2007 I guess. The band I joined was a sort of dying version of an old band of Kenneth, The Bods. The guys wanted to take the music in a different direction, away from what they played, which was a classical rock/brit-rock hybrid, to a more 80's hard-rock sound. Myself, coming from a metal/punk background found this interesting and as soon as we started jamming felt that things worked very well musically.

Rowdy & Raunchy have released two albums, two  in 2008 named “As dark as you make it” and “Broken hearts and broken bottles” How did that come about? And why two albums this year?

As dark as you make it(Demo 2008) Broken hearts & Broken bottles(2008)

Joakim: We were just producing so many songs at that time. Now we use more time on each songs to get them better than the old ones.

Atle: The first album “As dark as you make it”, which I consider more of a demo, came about when a friend of us asked if we wanted to come try out his new home studio. Since we where guinea pigs to his new studio project we didn’t pay anything for the recording so we figured this was a good chance to get some of our tunes down on tape. The second album “Broken hearts and broken bottles” I think was a more thought out project with songs that I think better project our current sound. This was done in Valhalla Studios in the fall of 2008.

Kenneth: Good songs deserve to be brought to the people, and as we had them, why not record them?

The band had some issues with the lineup, what happened?

Joakim: Since my main instrument always has been guitar, I wanted to play guitar in the band. But since there were so few drummers around, we figured that I could play drums instead. I don't regret that now, since I still can contribute with riffs and even play drums at them. And our bassist was moving to Bergen and we still haven’t found a replacement for him. And we tested some others vocalist before Atle got the balls to sing himself.  

Kenneth: I don`t even bother to start on this issue. If you ain`t got your heart and soul in it, you know where the door is. Over and out!!!

Atle: Well starting the band, as I said, the band was in a transition between two bands and basically two different sounds. The vocalist from the old band (The Bods) left due to several reasons I guess, me being an outsider,  I am not entirely sure of all of reasons, but I guess musically he was less willing to move to the hard-rock sound the rest of the band wanted. Our bass player left due to studying in Bergen in 2008. Because of the travelling distance from Bergen to Egersund we found it best he left the band, not too much drama around that. Having no base player is only an issue in live performances. Our drummer (Joakim) handles the base very well and can do most of the bass duties, except the live performances of course...

Why don’t you hire a woman to be the lead singer or bass player? Or maybe that is a bad idea?

Kenneth: Even though a hot chick on bass would kick ass, I still think we`ll  just keep them backstage..

Atle: Should I take this as an insult to my singing? Hehe,  well I started doing the singing basically because no one else wanted to, and finding a capable singer in a small town is not an easy task. None the less I think we manage pretty  well with the setup we have now. I don’t know if having a female doing anything in the band is such a good idea, you know a lot of drama can arise from those situations.

Joakim: I wouldn’t like that at all. Very bad idea!

*Hahaha* a lot of drama... Hahahaha. How is it to be a band from Egersund, do you think it would have been more easy if you started the band somewhere else?

Joakim: I don’t know. Maybe?

Atle: The music scene in Egersund, or should I say the rock/metal scene ,is quite small. We have a handful of bands which we know pretty well mostly due to rehearsing in the same location; the Egersund Rock Club. I don’t think today being located in a small town is as big of an issue as long as your band is complete. The biggest issue as I see it is recruiting new members if a band starts dissolving. We are pretty close to geographically to Stavanger where we have lots of live playing opportunities. In terms of music promotion outside of live playing most of that takes place on the internet anyways...

Kenneth: Yeah I think it would be easier in a bigger city. Especially getting new band members and booking gigs.

When did Rowdy & Raunchy give their first live performance? And how did that come about?

Joakim: I guess we had our first gig in 2008 at tribute in Sandnes. There were just something like four of our friends but we got drunk and had fun.*haha*

Atle: We played in the spring of 2008 in a bar called Tribute in Sandnes. The gig was arranged by Kenneth, and what I remember from the gig was basically that I was very nervous. 

Kenneth: We were supposed to be the opening act for an Oslo band named Freeshine. But we managed to play the shit out of them. BURN!!!

Does Rowdy & Raunchy have  material for another album in the future?

Joakim: We don’t have material for a whole album now, but it will come and kick even more ass.

Atle: Well we are constantly in the process of writing new material. Currently we have some songs almost completely done, but a new album this year I think is unlikely. The music we make is consistently improving. Our drummer,  which is originally a guitar player, is steadily improving in his playing and as his abilities improve we are able to write more interesting songs in my view.

Kenneth: What the fuck are you talking about? Of course we have. What else is there to do here, than to make kick ass music.. *Yeah*

Fantastic Logo

What are your favorite track(s) so far?

Joakim: My favorite track that are recorded  is “I'll Save Your world”. But, we got 3 new songs now that I think is even better than that one. They are filled with  more details that makes it a little more interesting for the listeners and a hell lot more interesting for me to play.

Atle: My favorite of the old songs is "I'll save your world". I think the song represents our sound very well, mixing the hard rock sound with melodic elements. In addition we used a female singer on parts of the song which I think makes the song  more complete in many ways and takes it to a new level.

Kenneth: It constantly changes, but as we speak I think it must be “Kick it up” or “Hell A”.  Pure Scandinavian rock

Who writes the songs/lyrics in the band?

Joakim: We all contribute with the songs. And most of the lyrics are written by Atle.

Kenneth: It depends on who has the most feelings for that particular song. Sometimes we write almost all of the song together, and in other cases it’s very individually. But in the end, we all contribute to the final arrangements.

Atle: We basically make the music together, constantly having inputs from everyone on what works in songs and what doesn't. Someone has an idea for a riff or a melody and we try to build up a song structure around that. In terms of  vocal melody I do most of that myself. I need to make vocal melodies which fit to my voice I guess. The lyrics are mostly written by me and Kenneth.

 “One is never enough” is maybe my favorite track, who wrote this kick ass song?

Joakim: I think Atle was composing most in that song.

Atle: Thank you for that, hehe, that song is actually the only song written almost completely by me.

Kenneth: I can`t remember how that song came around, but I think Atle had it pretty much done. I think it just missed the lyrics for a second verse, which me and Atle wrote one day at rehearsal.

Studio(2008)

Where may we find the albums, where could we buy the music from Rowdy & Raunchy?

Kenneth: Check out   www.myspace.com/rowdyraunchy  or  www.rowdy-raunchy.com . There you`ll find all the stuff you want.

Joakim: Our latest album Broken hearts and broken bottles you can soon buy on our website. But, all our recorded songs are free for downloading at our website.

Is it possible to see Rowdy & Raunchy live on tour?

Joakim: Hehe, I hope so!

Kenneth: Just book us at: post@rowdy-raunchy.com  and we`ll play wherever you want…

Any bands or artists you would love to have with you on your tour?

Joakim: Rise Against.

Atle: Warming up and going on tour with Metallica, hehe.

Kenneth: I`ll tour with Sixx:A.M. Anyday.

Rise against Metallica Sixx:A.M.

All together... what a show it would have been

If there was one place in the wide world that you could play Joakim where would that be?

Joakim: Folken, Stavanger.

Kenneth: Anywhere, anytime. I love playing live. But of course a gig at Whiskey a GO-GO or The Troubadour at the sunset strip wouldn`t suck…

Atle: Playing one of the major summer festivals would be fun, I would love to play Roskilde, hehe.

Rowdy & Raunchy is a rock band, where do you get your influence? Do you feel that Rowdy & Raunchy has their own style?

Joakim: I got my influence from different metal and punk bands. Metallica, Scar Symmetry, Rise Against and so on. But, its Lars Ulrich that influence me at most on the drums. Since we have various influences in the band and all guys are contribute. We make it to our own style.

Atle: My influence is mostly metal and punk/hardcore, band like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Trivium, Black Dahlia Murders, Nofx, No Use For A Name, Millencolin, Killswitch Engage etc. I love the mix of a hard rock/metal sound with melodic elements. I honestly think we have somewhat of a uniqe sound, however hard it is for a rock band to have that today. I feel we manage to mix an old school 80's rock/metal sound with elements newer punk and metal sounds.

Kenneth: Vains of Jenna, Backyard Babies, Sixx:Am, Turbonegro, Guns `n Roses, Foo Fighters.. There`s so many that I can`t name them all here. I think our band got a pretty unique style. Can you name another band that plays kickass rock n roll, dresses in black clothes and loves to drink beers? Didn`t think so…

Your main page http://www.rowdy-raunchy.com is a great page. Who runs it?

Joakim: Kenneth runs it. But, out friend BK from Pawnshop made it.

Kenneth: Internet is the future, so we just have to roll with it. Both our homesite and our myspace site is pretty cool.

Anyone special you would like to thank?

Atle: Not really, hehe. *just kidding* Our fans of course. THEY ROCK!!!

Kenneth: The makers of Gibson Les Paul and Marshall Amplification and all our fans and friends.  THANK YOU!!!!

Gibson Les Paul Collection Marshall

What’s your opinion about the Rock ‘n’ roll coming back?

Atle: Is it coming back? Where did it go? I think Rock 'n' Roll in some form will always be around. It might not always top the charts but the main spirit of rock will never go away.

Joakim: Rock 'n roll never dies!

Kenneth: Where is it??

What sort of age group are you attracting with your music?

Kenneth: Age doesn`t matter. It you want rock 'n roll that can lift you up and out of your everyday life, but not so far that it makes you want to slash your fuckin' wrists. If you want songs to drink to, if you want songs to put your arm 'round your girlfriend or your best mate to, then it doesn't get any better than us.

Atle: Teenage girls. That is where the money is.

Joakim: Hmm.. I guess 14-50?!

If you got the chance to have a concert in the US, what could they expect from Rowdy & Raunchy?

Atle: A massive classical stadium rock show, fuck that grunge shit, bring back the 80's excess!

Joakim: Rock n roll and head banging!

Kenneth:

Any instruments you would love to learn how to play, that you don’t?

Joakim: Hmm.. Piano!

Kenneth: The guitar maybe??

Is there a funny story you could share with us?

Joakim: Some years ago I played in another band and we had a gig at a pub. We were really looking forward to play it, but when we turned up, there where no one there to see us..

If you could turn back the time and choose a new date to start a band, when would that be? And why this year/decade?

Joakim: Maybe it would be 1970's and nobody had heard a band that sounded like us.

Atle: Early 80's. That period had such a potential for what it could do with hard-rock/Metal. The foundation had already been laid with Black Sabbath and AC/DC amongst others and the new technology really put this period as an exciting time to be a band. Then again if we started up in that period we would probably sound like an AC/DC clone or something...

Kenneth: Sunset Strip 1986. You know why…

What is the highlight of your career as rock musician?

Joakim: My highlight was last practice with the band!

Atle: I would say our first gig in our home town. Really a fun experience to play for a packed home crowd.

Kenneth: When we got our first recordings back from mixing. Just playing it really loud in my living room, and thinking to myself “Who`s the rockstar now!!!!”

Anyone you would love to meet, that you have not met yet?

Joakim: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Jason Newstead!

Kenneth: Wouldn`t mind doing a line with Slash and Nikki Sixx..

Atle: James Hetfield, the riff-maister.

What is your opinion about Blizz Of Rock? (www.blizzofrock.com)

Atle: I really like the page and the interest and effort you do to bring out new bands, really cool.

Kenneth: It`s really cool site that knows exactly what rocks all about.

Joakim: A kickass website..

Who would you like Blizz Of Rock to interview?

Kenneth:  Pawnshop.

Atle: k[nine], Egersunds best metal band.

Any final words for your fans?

Joakim: Rock 'n Roll, No control

Atle: The album is out soon, oh and keep on rocking.

Kenneth: Come see our gigs, and please buy a t-shirt and a cd on your way out..

Thank you so much Joakim and Rowdy & Raunchy for using time to answer these questions.

Joachim: Thank you! Kenneth: No problemo amigo! Atle: Thank you for taking an interest in the band.

Blizz of rock wishes Rowdy & Raunchy all the best, take care my friends