Interview: WIG WAM

*interview partner: GLAM*

Hello there Wig Wam,
GLAM: Hello Susi! How are you?

Susi: It`s great to get the opportunity to get this interview with you. I am a huge GLAM rock fan and so it`s amazing that i got the chance talking to you here. So please tell us something about your bandlife.
GLAM: Sounds great;-) 

1.Introduce Wig Wam to all those rock and metal heads out there first, please.
GLAM: Well, I would need a special edition ha ha But I’ll try to keep it short. The length doesn’t matter….does it;-) Wig Wam saw the first beams of light back in the summer of 2000. Teeny called me up to ask me to join a jamband for Friday nights in a pretty sleazy club here in Norway. Me, I had admired his previously work with Ole Evenrude and Dream Police, and I didn’t wanna miss out on this one. Plus it was all about just having fun, drinking beer and jamming on Friday nights. Sporty, whom I’d never met before was called in on drums, and an old bass player called Torkild. Torkild was more into Bob Dylan and stuff, and didn’t last long. I remembered Flash from previous bands I’d played in. And when we first got together it seemed as the perfect match. We played everything from Zeppelin to Van Halen, and we went under the name The Absolute Friday Band ha ha Which was the name of those Jam nights. We created quite a buzz, and soon the hottest club in town wanted us to play a proper gig during one of their 80’s nights. So we needed a REAL band name, photos and a poster right.

I just told the boys to bring whatever from their attics to the photoshoot, and I brought a digital camera. There and then our stage names and our band name was created, just a couple of weeks before the gig. February 24th we played our first sold out gig. Our kind of music had really gone downhill for a while, but now it seemed people were hungry for the good shit again. So we started touring with our show, mainly playing cover songs from Zeppelin, Van Halen, Kiss, Cooper , Sweet and so on. And we became more or less a cult band here. Nobody dressed like we do in Norway at the time ha ha And no one could set a crowd on fire like we did. We started to mix our own material with the cover songs, pretending they were also hits from the 70’s and the 80’s, and the crowd went for it big time. I also had this idea to create this fiction story about the band. We had people and press believing that we an American band, that flopped big time in the early 70’s. We were all half-polish, and were born in the Polish quarter of Brooklyn…called Bronzk…with a Z. We emigrated to Norway in 1976 to pursue our individual careers, and now we were back together again. We also created a story that we had actually written songs like Ballroom Blitz (Sweet), I Was Made For Loving You (KISS) and so on. That our demos from the past were stolen, and that we started to hear our own songs played on the radio with those other copy cats ha ha We even created a larger than life image during our first year, arriving in helicopters, limousines, international press conferences, red carpets and so on. At this stage we had a strong following here in Norway, yet we hadn’t released an album. The record industri here had literally thrown us out when we presented our material. They didn’t even appreciate us showing up for the meetings in full gear, arriving in stretch limousines ha ha. But at once The Darkness hit the headlines, they started calling us back. But we had already started the recordings on a cracked cubase in Teenys bedroom. So we turned them down. Then someone from our management sent the Norwegian broadcasting a demo of one of the songs, being Crazy Things. And we were suddenly invited to the audition for 2004’s Norwegian Eurovision Song Contes. We definitely thought someone was just pulling us off, but we showed up for the audition on our way to a gig. And the Norwegian Broadcasting just happened to love us. This was the first time a Hardrock band had been chosen for this show, and we enjoyed every bit of the promotion it served us.

Loads of Wig Wam fans showed up, and the Norwegian Eurovision show was turned into something more like a Rock concert. We ended up #3, but created a big buzz here, release our album 667..The Neighbour of The Beast and had the snowball rolling. We were invited back the next year, because the Norwegian Broadcasting really believed in us. We had just re-release the 667..album with a new title and through a better label. The album was re-titeled Hard To Be A Rock’n Roller, and had done ok. So we were writing for our next album, and were like 2 songs ahead in the studio. Those songs were A Rock’n Roll Girl Like You and In My Dreams. When we accepted the Eurovision spot for 2005, we picked In My dreams, and won. Our single went straight to #1 here in Norway, and we decided to release the 3rd edition of our debut album with In My Dreams included. Both the album and the single went Platinum and we toured like crazy. Sometimes even doing 2-3 gigs a day. In total we did 287 shows that year. And when we made # 9 in the international Eurovision we were even recognized outside of Norway. We toured Germany with Gotthard, toured Sweden with Alice Cooper. We were selling out show after show in Norway, and also had the record released in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, Scandinavia and on Iceland. We had 5000 people showing up in a mall on Iceland and it was total Wig Wamania.

We only took 5 days off during Christmas, and the 3rd of January we were back in the studio recording Wig Wamania. Had it released March 17th and were back on the roadeo;-) At the end of 2006 we were almost torn apart. We had been working soooo hard, and constantly living on the road being Wig Wam 24/7 made the whole situation between the band members a bit tense in periods. So I accepted an offer to do one of the main characters in the musical CHESS with an English cast mainly from West End. I moved to London for a while and really enjoyed the new found freedom and being around other people. At some weekends I would travel to Norway though, to do a gig with the guys. In 2007 we went on our first Japan tour. Our first Tokyo gig was sold out 2 months before the show, and we had a great time over there. We released our Live In Tokyo album and the DvD Made In Japan. But the rest of that year we moved closer and closer towards a break rather than a break up. I saw it coming. So I produced a Queen show called The Show Must Go On with a big production including full choir, band, dancers to premiere during the fall of 2007. And I’m glad I did. Just before going to Japan the last time, October 2007, Wig Wam decided to take a break and to not set any date what so ever for getting back together. We just needed to spend some time away from each other and get new inspiration. My Queen show ended up selling over 100.000 tickets, selling out Norways biggest venues and 2008 turned out to be a great and successful year for me. I became the host for the Norwegian version of the TV show Singing Bee (hosted by that guy from ´N SYNC in the states), re-releasing my first solo album Wolf & Butterfly, doing a major part in the musical Which Witch in Norway as the Executioner and more. Late August 2008 Wig Wam started to plan for studio sessions again, and recordings were to begin around November. But teeny also had made a name for himself, as a producer. So the sessions were postponed. At this stage I was getting very hungry for studio work again, so I recorded my 2nd solo album instead, GLAMunition, released it in February 2009, went on tour and then FINALLY we got together again to work on Non Stop Rock’n Roll…..and looking at this answer now I almost wrote a book ha ha .

2. What does Wig Wam stand for? Who got the idea of calling the band Wig Wam?
GLAM: I did. It stands for Weird Individual Geeks Willing After Midnight….

Actually, when we got our first gig and were to shoot our first “promo” photos, we were putting on make-up and outfits that made me feel like we were a bunch of outcasts. I remember feeling like we were a some kind of Indian tribe preparing for battle you know. And Sweets Wig Wam Bam started to spin around in my head and it just popped out. The guys went YEAH MAN!!!

Sometimes it even happens on tour that the promoter actually has a tent set up for us as our wardrobe. Cool idea;-) But freezin’ cold here in Norway.

3. So congratulations on the release of your new album which is available since January 2010. So please tell us a little bit about the recording sessions and about the songwriting. Was it a long process or didn`t you spend much time doing all this?
GLAM: It was a pleasure writing and recording Non Stop Rock’n Roll. It all started with the four of us getting back together again. We really had some heart to hearts, and we started the process by getting rid of the old skeletons that had been chasing us. We decided to make this album as a band effort. Get together in the rehearsal room and simply jam and stuff you know. We also started playing demos we’d done separately during our break, and picking up the acoustic to play bits and pieces of newer ideas. Teeny and I could even collaborate on each others ideas without protecting the individual work like some holy cow you know. All for the benefit of the album. Let’s put our egos aside. And it worked. We started recording sessions and arranged it along the way. Then did final sessions where for example the guitars were recorded in one stretch and so o. Because then we finally knew what we were after arrangement wise.

4. We learnt that you are from Norway... well when I think about Norway first I think about all the Black Metal bands from there... I think you got more BM bands there than Glam bands? So how popular is GLAM Rock in your part of the country which status has it?
GLAM: I guess Black Metal is more like an underground movement even here. And I think the scale of the Black Metal scene has been put “a bit” out of the proportions.. First, those scary devil worshipers are really just normal guys with an abnormal image ha ha I remember going to a Japanese bar with the Satyricon guys. They were very polite, and 100% normal people calling their wives and Mothers back home you know. I…believe it or not…even sang HELP! In a funeral and Satyr played the guitar wearing a suit…and the Oslo Gospel Choir did the background vocals. As for glamrock…I think we’re the only one’s in this country to do the kind of “glamrock” that we do. The others are more into sleaze glam, the Swedish way. We are far more into the old school hardrock. And we’re not bragging about how cool we are, how much cocain we do etc. We’re proud to stay clean. Adrenaline pretty much do it for us you know. We’re here because of the love for this music and for the craftsmanship of being a live band. We live for those hours ON stage. While others tend to live only for those hours OFF stage and BACKstage.

5. So whats Wig Wam doing now after the release of this great album.... I see you will tour a bit and also going to Japan... did you already where there or is it the first time you will travel there? Which other countries you like to tour? Did we get to see you in Germany maybe too?
GLAM: This time we are focusing on promoting the album before touring it. We will head out on tour in March, doing a big tour for the benefit of the Cancer federation along with 34 other major names in Norway. Then our own headline tour will take over. We are going to Japan again in April, and yes we’ve successfully done Japan before. We did our first tour in 2007 and came back to do the Loud Park Festival in Tokyo later the same year. And last year I went to Japan with my GLAMunition band for a small solo tour. We are also planning a great deal of European dates and Norwegian dates of course, and would love to come to do some dates in the US and Canada too. We are also supporting KISS in Norway, which especially I look forward to.

6. Are you planning to do music videos for the new album or for any kinda promotion?
GLAM: We just finished the last shots for the DO YA WANNA TASTE IT video. You can check out some clips from the making of it on youtube. We even got a secret model for the Car-Lyle part.

7. On February 26th you will be on the radio show: Glam on Air. Do you perform live there and what`s this radio show all about? Is it a norwegian radio show?
GLAM: I guess that was just our website promoting one of many live radio interviews. In some of them we do Do Ya Wanna Taste It acoustic. This one was just me I think broadcasted on Fighting Words Radio.

8. Another question is... how important is hairspray and make-up to you?
GLAM: It’s a part of the game isn’t it. It’s become my gimmick in the band to use my custom make-up you know. It’s as important to me as a soldiers uniform you know. It helps people to recognize which team you’re on. In my case some people tend to think I’m pitching for the other team though…but that’s something we don’t wanna go into ha ha.

9. Last but not least it would be great if you would leave some little message for all your fans out there and for the new fans, too.
GLAM: Dear readers of Rocket Queen…where ever you’re from. We are doing our very best to come and see you guys and to rock you all live. In the mean time….here’s Non Stop Rock’n Roll for you. And it goes to 13… Stay MEnTAL!!

Susi says thank you for taking the time you spent doing this interview with me.I wish you the best for the future and hope to see you live in Germany some time, would be amazing. Keep it GLAM, Susi

Glam: My pleasure Susi. And we are making serious plans to come to Germany of course. We did a tour there with GottHard, and would LOVE to come back. And WILL DO ;-) See you on the road. We’ll make you our special guest!

Interview by Susi Eggers, Rocket Queen (March 2010)
www.rocketqueen-susi.de