I remember going to a Stockhaus (do not read Stockhausen) show at Café Opera in Bergen. Mid-way through the show, Kristian Stockhaus with his band (consisting of Frode Flatland and Øyvind Solheim of Ungdomskulen, waddayaknow) took a minute to explain how Stockhaus would morph into a new rock band (after releasing two studio albums, a Datarock split, and one EP as Stockhaus).
The fairly lo-fi indie band Stockhaus was telling the mesmerized audience they wanted to rock out. Then they said their new name was to be Standing Ovation, and gave us a few samples from their new set. The new songs were pretty much straight rock ‘n’ roll leaning towards a Jimi Hendrixish sound, with songs like This is Voodoo.
Then they went on to develop beyond imagination, outgrew both the Standing Ovation name, and their second name, Goddamnit, played tons of shows, recieved awards, did a few by:Larms and released three 7″ on local label Sex Tags.
Then, about five years after that first gig at Café Opera, Ungdomskulen release Cry Baby on German Ever Records - one of the best Norwegian records of recent years. Only a year or so after this release, we hear that a second album is on its way. Of course we had to check it out.
Hey Kristian. It’s been brought to our attention that Ungdomskulen is working on that difficult sophomore album. It took you guys five years to make the first one. Where’s the fire?
Kristian Stockhaus: The reason the first record took so long, is that we needed to “find ourselves” as a band. We spent those five years creating a lot of music, playing loads of live shows, experimenting, stuff like that. When we felt we had found our way home, putting out a record didn’t take long. And since we’re home now, all we need to do is refurnish. The fire’s in our hearts.
Well, it’s a great home you’ve got. Does this mean we can expect more music along the lines of your previous record? Or has life on the road the last year changed your music in any way?
KS: Well, yes, the second record is going to be different. But only as a natural development, like taste buds that mature or intellect that gets stimulated and blossoms like a cactus. We’ll never make Cry-Baby again, but of course there’ll be echoes from it.
So, any revelations? Working titles? Any big surprises?
KS: I can tell you this much: The record is going to be 8 songs long, just like Cry-Baby. It’s going to be rather complex, kind of like improvisational Lego building, where the pieces belong together in a fundemental way. But they all come from different boxes. We’ve made a really beutiful ballad that feels a bit like it’s made out of Robin Hood Lego. And some songs kind of belong in the Star Wars lego universe. Incidentally, Frode has made a fuzz pedal out of Lego, which correlates really well with the Lego allegory.
What inspired you to make a ballad? Were there lyrics that required a low gear, or was it the challenge of writing something that is a bit atypical for Ungdomskulen?
KS: The challenge definitely lay in doing something we hadn’t done before. The “ballad concept” isn’t very homogeneous, and pretty charged, rock historically. So it felt right to move into that territory and take a turn there. That said, we’re not talking about a new “More than words”. The lyrics are always the last part, first the music, the melody, then the lyrics on top. So there’s not a story of an ex girlfriend or anything, lying there and asking for a grandiose ballad.
I see we’ve used the word “fire” a few times already, but we haven’t talked about the fire. You were one of the bands that lost all your gear in the infamous
We’ll leave it be. So, what do you want to sing about every night?
KS: Something that is real and fuzzy at the same time. Not anything negative or dull. Adventurous with a twist of reality!
Ok, good luck with that. Any final words to the fans out there?
KS: Yep, be yourselves and stay away from school and drugs!
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