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Interview with Torstein Flakne of Stage Dolls:

01.2.03

Conducted and Translated by Roar Kleven

lynchomaniac@hotmail.com

Layout Terje Høiland



RON:

Congratulations on what can be looked upon as a ”comeback” (though the band never have laid down their guitars)  for you guys , it looks like it’s becoming a big success. Did you in any way expect this?

TF: Thanks a lot, we had not dreamed about something like this, even if we have been playing around Norway for the last few years and there’s been a great response and full houses almost everywhere we’ve been. But what’s been really great to see is that though our older fans been showing up, there’s also another generation of fans showing up singing along. That to me proves that they have been listening to our older records and maybe the former ”Best of” especially. So even if we knew we had a big audience and a following,  I had never expected this kind of response.

RON:

To what extent do you think that the TV Commercials have had any effect on your success?

TF: I’m shure that it has helped, but at the same time a Tv-commercial doesn’t necessarily make or break a record. I believe that Tv commercials are very effective tool to make people aware that a record is released. A band like us doesn’t exactly get a lot of goodwill in the media, there’s certainly seldom that we get big coverages , but in the end people make up their own minds. On the other hand, I believe that this kind music; Melodic Rock and the 80’s are on it’s way back and that also works in our favour.

RON:

There’s many versions of both songs and albums, thinking of ”Stripped”, ”Stage Dolls” and ”Commandos”, which versions do you prefer yourselves?

TF: On this album (Good times- Essential ) we picked the versions we thought were the best. ”Love cries” is in the American version, while ”Still in love” is in the Norwegian version.  So there’s no particular reason except that it’s the versions that we like best. 

RON:

Did the recordcompany have any influence on which songs that would finally end up on Good times-Essential……..???

TF: Petter Singsaas is the Executive Director of Universal Norway, he’s is a very updated man musicwise. He’s been with us since 85’ and apart from being the head of our recordcompnay he’s also a very good friend. So before we started we (the guys in the band), Petter and a couple of others from Universal Norway sat down and went through our material,and picked out the songs that eventually ended up on the disc! Of course there was some discussions along the way, but I think that we came out with a record that is quite reprsentative for the band! Making a record for the fans, as well as for ourselves.

RON:

Are you guys making a living as professional musicans or do you have jobs on the side?

TF: We’re all in the music business, but I’m the only one working as a full time musican and songwriter. Terje Storli (bassplayer) works with booking and our drummer Morten Skogstad is in PA and sound, actually the same firm that runs our shows.

RON:

On the latest two best of albums you’ve recorded a couple of coversongs (Warren Zevon’s ”Lawyers,guns and money” and Bad Company’s ”Shooting star”), any particular reason behind the choices of those songs or is it simply because the songs are great?

TF:

The only reason for choosing these songs are for nostalgic, as well as the both of them are great songs. Shooting star was acually one of the first songs that I played in a band.

RON:

From now on it is tours and festivals? Any plans of playing outside Norway?

TF:

From now on we are going to play every week until the end of September, as well some festivals and larger venues during the summer. But we’re playing only in Norway. We haven’t had contact with any concertpromotors outside Norway, but we’re getting a lot of E-mails from fans in both Europe and U.S.A that wants us to do gigs.   

RON:

A while ago there was rumoured a follow up to ”Dig”, can you comment on that?

TF: We’ve written some music, and our intention was actually to do another studioalbum but then we found out that we rather release a ”Best Of” instead first to get better time to finish the new studioalbum. Our plans is anyway to record and release a new studioalbum on Universal before Christmas, but this is not at all definate yet, but what we loosely have planned!!

RON:

Any other new sideprojects otherwise, given the fact that you have also released a soloalbum as well as writing song for others?

TF:

Not at this time, me and the other guys are focusing everything on Stage Dolls. The songs that I have written for others as you say are songs that have been written and found unsuitable for Stage Dolls and thereby have been put to use by others (Danish singer Sanne Salemonsen, Sha Boom, A-HA singer Morten Harket’s soloalbum and Tindrum). We in Stage Dolls are very selective when it comes to choose which songs we release on our albums, about 50% of all our songwriting never gets released. Some of the songs may end up getting used at a later time but not necessarily, cause most will end up in the can. We’ve got loads of material from the whole of our career’s that never will be used for various reasons; whether it’s quality or that they doesn’t fit Stage Dolls.

RON:
”Dig” and your soloalbum ”Shoot the moon” had more of a ”adult” angle

both song- and soundwise, is this a direction something that you’re going to continue with keep on doing?

TF: It’s just the way it goes I guess!? I totally agree that they have a different sound from all of the other albums that we have done. But if you’re asking if there’s a plan behind it; I would have to say no! In my opinion Dig is the record that sound most close to what we do live. Then again things have a way of changing, once in the studio. For instance you may believe that one song will work out magnificently,  then another one that you didn’t have that much faith in proves to be stronger.

RON:

Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s you toured Europe and North America with some pretty big names can you name a few?

TF:

Blue Murder and Mr Big are the bands that I remember the most. We toured with Mr Big for a month on their tour for the ”Lean into it” album. This was right around the time that they had a hit with ”To be with you” and everywhere we went the stadiums were packed with people. They are also the nicest band that I ever have met! Only 6 months earlier Mr Big were opening up for King Diamond and they had to change in the crammy tourbus since the Dane wouldn’t even let them share dressingroom with him. They told us that they made up their minds there and then, that if they ever got a headline tour they would never ever treat their openingact like King Diamond had treated them.

Believe me they treated us real good, and what a band of incredible musicans!

RON:

Who inspired you guys in the start, and who inspires you now?

TF:

Bad Company, Slade, Sweet, a lot of the 70’s stuff really. People have a tendency of thinking of bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix when speaking about the 70’s, but for for us a lot of the bands from the Glitter/Glam era like Sweet were equally important. If people think of Sweet they usually think of their singles, but if you listen to their records you’ll also find that they have a lot more to offer than just their massive singles. A lot of American bands obviously, and Thin Lizzy and Queen of course. Queen was an incredibly good band musically, and I can’t think of any band to compare them with in today’s music scene. It was back in the times when musicans started experimenting in the studio with overdubs and effects, it was a magical time. I’m not really listening to a lot of music these days, and I may come out sounding like an old man now, but I get the distinct feeling I have heard the most of it before.

RON:

Right before christmas Stage Dolls,TNT and Tindrum played a surprisegig this must have been a pretty special night (a Norwegian Hardrock Happening IMO)?

TF:

It was a surpriseparty for A&R man Per Alm at what used to be Polygram Norway (now Universal). Per is sort of the grand old man of the label, and he  really deserved the attention on his birthday. All band played a few tunes each. He was really moved, and it was a great night for all of us. Eventhough we are buddies with the guys in both TNT and Tindrum we never work together, but were a bunch of guys where everybody knows everybody, and all of us have played with everyone at one time or another.

RON:

Do you know what Steinar Krokstad (former drummer of Stage Dolls and Vagabond, and 21 Guns) is up to nowadays?

TF:

He lives in Bergen (on the Norwegian westcoast), and he’s playing with Norwegian folkrock/ poprock performer Åge Aleksandersen and a lot of session and freelance work.

RON:

Ole Evenrud (Evenrude/Ole/Ole I Dole) produced the3 new songs on the new compilation, do you think that have had an effect on the tunes?

TF:

It’s kind of hard to say how much effect it have had on the tunes. What I can say however is that we are from the same musical generation so our thoughts are pretty much the same. He is a great producer, and I am very happy with the production he’s given us on our new songs. We might end up using him at a later time also, we’ll see…

RON:

The new songs, are they leftovers from earlier times, or are they written and recorded for this release?

TF: Both of them are new, written last year (2002)

New Comments:

In the times after this interview was done Stage Dolls have played to a sold out Rockefeller Musichall in Oslo (a thought that would have seemed impossible only a few months ago) as well as continued touring around Norway to sold out venues. They even had a few Tv-appearences, making their way in the Norwegian albumcharts and getting a lot of airplay on radio and Tv. Album sales of ”Good Times – The Essential” has passed 40.000 long ago, easily matching more contemporary Norwegian artists. The last I heard is that you would have problems booking them this year, as the tourschedule is filled up already. Now it’s time to see if TNT can match this as they too are getting massive mediacoverage in their ”comeback ” with the original lineup and a Tv-Commercial campaign for their Best Of these days! Anyway it seems like the Norwegian Hardrocklegends are moving, their wheels keep on rolling and nothing pleases a Norwegian Hardrockheart more than that!                

Roar Kleven