STAGE DOLLS
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 10th March 2010.
Norwegian band, Stage Dolls - Torstein Flakne, Terje Storli and Morten Skogstad - have just marked the 25th anniversary of their debut LP Soldier's Gun by putting out a new release. Entitled Always, the album received a glowing review on Rock Realms and has already hit the top of the national charts in the band's home country.
Torstein answers questions on behalf of the band.
Hi Torstein…, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Torstein: Hiya Jon…. Great thanks… Really busy with interviews as the record just came out in Europe! But, that’s really good, you know! It’s out here at home already, so we’re kinda chilling a bit here, but the touring starts soon, so all is good!
First of all, congratulations on that new record 'Always'. I've heard it has already hit no. 1 in the charts in Norway? I assume that’s a good feeling?!
Torstein: Oh yes! And thanks! It was a shock to see the album at #1, actually! We knew there were a lot of fans out there waiting for the album, but for a rock band to go to #1 here? That doesn’t happen very often. It was also our first #1 slot, so I guess the last 25 years haven’t been wasted, right, ha! ha!
Why the decision to release Always in your home country first?
Torstein: Well, we finished the album in November basically! AOR Heaven signaled very early on that February would be their release date, whilst our parent company here, Sony Music, wanted to push right away for straight after Christmas…. It was basically their decisions in the end. For us, it's given us more time to focus on each release, so it’s not a huge problem!
Have you been getting plenty of airplay too? Are any particular songs getting good feedback from listeners and radio stations?
Torstein: We've had fairly good rotation on Norwegian Radio with the three tracks, “Always”, “Rainin…..” and the ballad “Eye Of My Heart”, but I’m not too sure how other countries are fairing. Looking back, we've never had a lot of airplay at the time of a release really, but a lot of songs have grown into radio songs over the years, so I’m not too worried on that… “Love Don't Bother Me” and “Love Cries”, both became radio hits way after they were released and have maintained that….. I think this will happen now as well but it's pretty positive so far… It’s been better than before so far, for sure!
It’s 25 years since your first album, Soldier's Gun. Back then, did it cross your mind that you’d still be making music in 2010?
Torstein: I keep getting asked this… and to be honest, 2010 was a million years away back then. He! He! No, I really didn’t think so. I think it was after our 'Best Of' in 2003 that we really saw that this was something we could carry on with for a long time. There was a new generation of fans at the gigs that had discovered the old albums…, and I got the feeling that the music was somewhat timeless in a way then...
Back in 1985, I guess we were thinking about 5-10 years! Not 25… We thought, after that, we were really…., old, Ha! Ha!
How does the music scene across the world compare now to when you started? Do you have to approach a new record in a different way?
Torstein: I don’t really! I do things pretty much in the same way as before. The songs are made on an acoustic guitar, the band rehearses, we go into the studio and record together... The basic work is the same, except for the fact, of course, that everything now is recorded digitally and not to tape. You can, of course, redo everything, which is a bonus - but it's important to close your eyes and just listen to the music and not watch the screen.
The business side of things has changed a bit. With the Internet you can promote much faster, but it also means the market wants a faster response out of you, so it’s all relative!
Would you like those days to return, or is the modern world with digital recording and distribution better?
Torstein: Sometimes… A high-end analog tape-machine can record as good as digital I guess. Nobody thinks the sound of some of the Classics of the 70's (Queen and all that stuff..) sounds cheap, do they? But digital recording has opened up a lot of unknown bands to recording on their own at a reasonable price and that's a good development. Then, there’s the question of downloading... I don't necessarily think downloading is the biggest reason for less sales…. There's also the fact that there's more mediums available today for people to spend their money on, and you have to compete a bit more!
When did you start writing 'Always'?
Torstein: Pretty much in 2007. The first song was “Rainin' On A Sunny Day”, then the flow got going… For us, releasing albums to satisfy the business side of this industry has never been an issue. We want to produce something that we feel is good, and I thought the right way that this could be done was good song by good song…, no other way! Then, I wrote another one.. and another one.. etc.. and we started recording in the fall of 2008! We’ve been in and out of the studio ever since.
Are you continually writing new material, or do you make a conscious decision to sit down and scribe them all through in one ordered go?
Torstein: No, I'm not the 9 to 5 type of guy when it comes to that! I used to be once, but nowadays it takes time. When I'm in the mood things can go really fast. Some of these songs were written in a few hours, others took months. It's basically a struggle with yourself….!
So the project took 2 years from start to finish?
Torstein: Yes, about 2 years from when the first song (“Rainin’”) was made. Ronny Wikmark (who produced) was quite busy with other projects in the same period - we wanted him in on it all the way so had to wait of course! …..And, besides that, we've done a lot of touring too, so sometimes it just has to take that kind of time. You need to be on top of things in the studio.
How do think the new album compares to older releases in terms of style and quality?
Torstein: It's kind of hard to compare records… Each album reflects a certain period. But, having said that, we wanted “Always” to sound like a classic Stage Dolls album! We wanted to do what we do best, so to speak! We used a lot of reverb on the drums, which you don't hear much nowadays and we brought in the background singers that we’d used before…. To me it worked!
Time will tell, but right now, I feel it's the best album (and collection of songs) we've done!
Have you tried anything completely different this time round, as in new instruments or recording/mixing techniques?
Torstein: Some… I tried some of the new guitar software you can use these days but, in the end, ended up with my old Marshall! There's really no substitute!
Terje Storli (Bass) has a 12-string bass that he's been dying to use on previous albums…., this time you can hear it on “Rollin”… As we're both fans of Cheap Trick (Tom Peterson uses an 8-string bass), I think it really suits the song…. And, besides that, we got in a Harding-fiddle, which is a Norwegian folk violin with 4 underlying harmony-strings… You can hear that on “Where The Blacktop Ends”…. That’s it!
You mentioned the backing singers... Who are they? I understand you worked with them before on your self-titled release.
Torstein: We worked with three guys from New York (Darryl, Angela and Vaneese). They’d been on our albums in the 80's and we’d met up with Darryl quite by chance last year. It was so strange because everybody was still in the business and sounded just as good.
I'm also really glad to have Mark Spiro singing on some of the songs. He can really make a song shine!
Do you get all the songs finished before hitting the studio, or do you like to jam and ‘create as you record’ too?
Torstein: I think that, although some songs are finished...and we know exactly what we want to do, there’s a lot of freedom to express ideas and work stuff in as well. There's some tracks that we have spent more time on here… Like 'Taillights' for example – that song is really unusual. The song really doesn’t have a pattern (verse-chorus-verse) and we tried a lot of things before finding out just how that one would click!
Do you have particular favourite parts or tracks on the album?
Torstein: Well, yes! “Taillights” is maybe my favourite? It's a bit symphonic, and I love the guitar solo!
Then, there's different songs... “My Strangest Friend” is totally the opposite. I like that as well. Mari, who sings with me on that duet, worked next door in a neighbouring studio and was in doing her stuff on the same day… We just asked her to come over and try a duet. Quite by chance it turned out beautifully! She's a really talented singer.
How would you actually describe your sound to somebody who hadn’t heard you before?
Torstein: Good melodies! Big drums! Big guitars!
You have obviously been an influential band over the years. Do you ever hear your own style in other artists’ work?
Torstein: There's been one or two bands in Norway over the years that've been similar but I’d hate to say that really! There was a Tribute album being made a couple of years ago here, which is an incredibly humbling and wonderful thing to hear...
Having been together for 25 years we’ll meet people from time to time that tell us they've been influenced by us, and yes, I admit, that's a good feeling!
Who originally influenced your playing and recording approach?
Torstein: Me? Oh, I grew up with the guitar heroes of the 70's; Brian May, Thin Lizzy, Mike Slamer (from City Boy) just to name a few. I was never into the ‘Guitar-God’ shredding type of thing - playing as fast as possible, I was more into what the guitar could do for a song. I think you can hear a lot of influence from those people in my playing. I'm also a big fan of Rick Nielsen and Mike Campbell from Tom Petty’s band.
You’re well known for your touring schedules...?
Torstein: Yes definitely, and we’ll be out again very soon. It’s the reason we walk the earth in my opinion! We're starting a big Summer tour in Norway in Mid May, finishing with a couple of club dates in the big cities in October…. I think it will be around 40 dates all together. So, for anyone going to Norway in the summer, check out our web page. The dates will be announced in early April on http://www.stagedolls.com/!
Any chance we’ll see you play the UK?
Torstein: Definitely!! Last week we just confirmed that we're coming to play the Firefest Festival in Nottingham on the 31st of October, and I’m really looking forward to that. It's been nearly 20 years since we played in the UK, so it'll be a big occasion!
Do you use the backing singers at your live shows, or do you not bother trying to recreate the album experience on the stage?
Torstein: We've used the background singers for the last 2 years yes, it brings another edge to the show.. Terje is very pleased with that! He can preserve his opera-voice, ha! ha!… But, for Firefest, I think it will just be the band. But, don't worry, it will be good!!
Does any particular gig from over the years stand out, or have there been too many good ones to remember?
Torstein: There's been a lot of good ones for sure - it’s harder and harder to remember them all – but, still, I have to say that getting to play the Marquee Club in London for the first time was a major buzz for me. I guess it was like a football fan going to Wembley? Seeing “Stage Dolls At The Marquee Tonight” on the board – oh, that was big!
Do you have any favourite story from the road you’d like to share?
Torstein: We get asked this one a lot too! I could tell you the ‘one fan’ story, but then I did that in another UK interview… I know… We did a tour with Fish back in the early 90's in Europe, which some of you might remember - and being in Berlin, we went to the old Olympic Arena there. There was a big lawn outside the Football Stadium, so we had a friendly soccer match between Scotland and Norway. I have to admit, Scotland won...! Next time we'll do cross-country skiing, Ha! Ha!
Have you done your best to live the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle over the last 25 years? Do you still try to live it?
Torstein: Ha! Ha! Really? There are always myths about this life and I think it should be that way…. But to go on for 25 years you have to take care of yourself too, of course. I think I live a more healthy life now than 25 years ago, that I will say, and thank God for that. We enjoy being on the road for sure, but there's still a lot of hard work.
Do any of you have any other projects on the go at the moment, or is it all about Stage Dolls at present?
Torstein: Right now, the band is my focus. I've done some songwriting on the side over the years and have also played guitar on some different projects… It's good to do something else in-between, get new ideas and stuff, but I feel my creativity right now is best with this band.
Do you hope to still be recording in another 25 years, or do you think you will have retired to a big mansion by then?
Torstein: Ha! Ha! Never say never! As long as I feel I have something to deliver I will still be making music I guess!
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Torstein: Yes Jon, there is and The Answer is: Yes. I saw the match. Norway beat England 4-0!! Ha! Ha!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Torstein: A friend of mine is playing in Trondheim tonight and I thought I go and hang out.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Torstein: I just want to say Hi to all fans in the UK and we’re looking forward to Firefest! See you there!
Thanks for your time
Torstein: Thanks mate!!
Thanks again to Torstein for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of the Stage Dolls' latest album Always here. The record is out on AOR Heaven (except in Norway).
http://www.myspace.com/stagedolls
