Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)
The first and foremost reason is all the questions I get from people who have just found out that I'm no longer with the band and want to know all about it. It's a bit tiresome telling the same story - about something I'd much rather just get over with and forget - every time. I'm hoping that this FAQ may save me some time in that respect. Secondly, with the other Brats spreading malicious stories and rumours about me, I need a forum to tell my side of the story. Another not insignificant reason was a personal attempt to put it all into perspective. Finally, I've really always wanted to write a FAQ... :-)
After of the 21st of April 1996, after five and a half quite successful years in the band I originally named, I was no longer the singer of the Basement Brats.
I think I would say that it was a combination of approximately 25 per cent quitting and 75 per cent being fired.
It's a rather long story, but since you asked, here it is:
I had been rather dissatisfied with my personal situation in the band for quite a long time. I felt that whatever I had to say wasn't being listened to, that whatever I felt didn't matter, that whatever I did for the band wasn't being appreciated, and that the ideas I had weren't taken seriously. I felt that I had things of value to contribute to the band, but I wasn't given a chance to do it. I felt increasingly like something like a hired singer. The only difference was really that I wasn't getting paid...
This seemed quite opposed to the situation of a couple of the other members of the band. This may be slightly exaggerated, but they seemed to think that whatever they thought was right was indeed so. Whatever they wanted us to play, we played. Whatever songs they got tired of, we stopped playing. And of course, if they didn't like a song - be it original or cover - there was no point in trying to convince them otherwise.
I was also, as I have realised perhaps more after the fact, getting increasingly dissatisfied with the musical direction we were taking. Egil Pinås wrote some really marvellous tunes, but I myself have never really wanted to be in a pop group. I want to play raw, emotional, energetic, high-energy rock'n'roll - not sweet pop songs. Besides, a lot of these songs were quite hard to sing, and my singing voice, though quite efficient for straight rock'n'roll, is not really good enough for such adventures. I spent too much time trying to sing the songs properly, and the fun went out of it all. On "The Bratbeat" tour in Spain and France, when my voice started getting strained from singing several days in a row, those were the songs we had to cut from the set list. The audience seemed to like the rock'n'roll songs better anyway...
As a result of this, almost all of my inspiration seemed to vanish for long periods at a time, and my contributions became rare and far between (witness the amount of credits I've got on our last album, "The Bratbeat", compared to the previous releases). To avoid getting into an argument every time I opened my mouth, I instead started keeping my mouth shut and trying to just do what I was told, in the hope that things might get better soon. Of course they didn't, but I doubt that any other approach would have been more successful.
I never really had too much of a good time in the studio during the recording of "The Bratbeat". I liked the way we recorded our other records - everything live, except the vocals and other minor stuff, capturing the feeling and the energy then and there. I didn't like recording and re-recording layer upon layer for weeks. It was perhaps necessary with these new songs that were quite hard to both play and sing, but then again, I would rather not have played this kind of material to begin with.
After the recording was through, I spent long days and nights trying to put together both a CD cover and an LP cover while still trying to be able to get up and go to work in the morning - only to get a lot of shit about doing it on a PC instead of a Macintosh. For the record, my access to good Macintosh computers was rather limited, and doing it on a PC was probably the only way I could realistically have done it. I actually spent half a night - still having to get up early in the morning - desperately trying to port the LP cover to a Mac. But the Macs at my college only had PageMaker 4.2, so I couldn't import my PageMaker 5 for Windows files, I couldn't get the fonts to work etc. Finally I just had to give up. In my opinion, it's all basically the fault of the graphics business who are so hung up in their "Mac is the God of graphics and desktop publishing" world that they don't even realise that PageMaker for Mac can import PageMaker for Windows files.
Then came the tour. The sad thing is that I was never really looking forward to it very much. As it unfolded, I would see that I didn't have a reason to either. Oh, I can handle driving for hours in a mini bus and such, and the beginning of the tour was actually all right. Into the second week of the tour, though, I was getting really fed up with Spain. I mean no offence to Spanish people in general - or the ones I've come to know in particular - but I got tired of things like the dirt everywhere, the impossibility of getting any hot water to shower in, bastard promoters (fortunately the exception, not the rule), the fact that only about five per cent of the entire Spanish population speaks anything but Spanish and their local languages (okay, I don't speak Spanish, but I do speak something else than my local language) and the generally stressful atmosphere where it seemed impossible to relax even when we had a couple of days off. The main thing that sadly pushed me over the edge, though, was when the person who had arranged the Spanish gigs for us and came with us on large parts of the Spanish tour to help us get around, got involved in a relationship with one of the members of the band while she was on the road with us. I found that amazingly unprofessional of her and frustrating to me.
Normally I don't really give a shit about anybody's love life - or any other personal matters. I hate gossip, and I don't care what people do that isn't any of my concern. I would have cared equally little had this happened after the tour or something like that. However, this happening while the five of us were on tour together, living in a crowded mini bus much of the time, unfortunately seemed too much for me. I felt that about the only thing which had kept me from quitting the band long ago - the unity between the five of us - had suddenly vanished. Instead of the five of us, I felt it was suddenly the four of us - plus the two of them. The fact that I was really the only one who felt this way made it rather "the three of them," plus "the two of them," plus me lagging behind somewhere.
In a more normal situation, I would probably still have kept these feelings all to myself. However, my general unhappiness with my situation in the group, my general unhappiness with the situation in Spain, plus this on the top, definitely made me a bit "grumpy" (an understatement, I admit) and, I'm sure, not very pleasant company for a while. As a matter of fact, I became quite depressed, very unhappy about everything, and basically went around crying any small amount of time I was by myself.
My mood - and the situation as a whole - improved at least a thousand per cent as soon as we got back into France - a country which I found very pleasant and where at least a two-digit percentage of the population understands English. Most things seemed okay at that point, but my unhappiness there for a week or so in Spain would turn out to be the direct cause of what would happen later.
After we got home to Norway, we had a "holiday" for a couple of weeks, during which I kept going around considering whether to quit the band or not and even planning my next musical project. We got together again for a meeting on Sunday the 21st of April. There, at that meeting, just as I was about to present my thoughts of quitting, two of the guys gave me an ultimatum - that if I didn't quit the band, they would. I would call that pretty much being fired.
In a last attempt at a reconciliation, I apologised for my behaviour during that one week in Spain and offered to work towards a constructive solution. However, this seemed impossible, so naturally I walked away, rather than getting the blame for breaking up the band if those two had offered to quit instead (and probably feeling guilty as well).
So, in the end, I spent fifteen - out of a total of twenty-seven - of my leave-of-absence days during my sixteen months of Civilian Service (I'm a conscientious objector to military service) being kicked out of my band with basically nothing to show for it.
Orginally, I didn't really feel like throwing out any names, but since then most have been revealed elsewhere, so:
Egil was the one who fell for the Spanish groupie. Nils and Mads were the ones I named as the biggest "egos" in the band prior to the tour, and they were also pretty much on Egil's side. At the infamous meeting, Egil and Mads wanted me out and Nils finally went along with them with the argument "well, it's probably for the best...".
Ulf, if I have understood him correctly, didn't much enjoy the Spanish experience himself, and at the meeting, he was the only one but me who was willing to try and work towards a constructive solution.
I believe Egil sang most of the songs, while Ulf sort of picked up Egil's previous role as guest singer of a couple of songs here and there.
The remains of the band finally broke up after a second disastrous tour of Spain in December 1997, where they after various complications ended up going as a three-piece, leaving Ulf in Norway.
I would say we're all to blame. The funny thing about is that the name "Basement Brats" suited us very well - we were all childish brats. Hopefully, I at least, ahve grown up a bit after this.
My original answer to the question, written just a short time after the fact, was:
"It obviously won't be the same. It may be as good - that remains to be seen (on the other hand, off the top of my head I can't really think of any band that has actually improved after changing their singer). I don't want to exaggerate my own importance to the band when I was in it, but the vocalist of any band is - obviously - the "front man" in several ways. I definitely did not feel like the front man behind the scenes, but on the records it was my voice you heard singing the songs, and on stage it was me you saw standing in front (occasionally jumping up and down). Egil, as I will be the first to admit, is a very good singer. This can be witnessed on the songs "Better Be Going" (from "Tales from the Basement") and "Time Out" (from "The Bratbeat"). Actually, I've always said that he's a better singer than me. On the other hand, though, he's definitely a very different kind of singer than I am, so the band will probably sound quite a bit different (one particular fellow has always said that when Egil sings, it sounds like a completely different band). My personal guess is that they will probably turn in a more "power pop" sort of direction. Anyway, the bottom line is that I guess we'll all just have to wait and see - and hear.
A couple of months ago, a thought struck me... The Basement Brats has always been compared a lot to the Ramones (not totally without reason, I guess. For a start, I took the name "the Basement Brats" from the two Ramones tracks "Beat on the Brat" and "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement"). Well, what if Joey Ramone was fired (or quit, for that matter) from the Ramones, and C.J. started singing all the songs? How many of us would actually consider that to be the "real" Raomes? Like Egil and me, C.J. probably sings better than Joey. And like Egil and me, C.J.'s singing voice is very different to Joey's. And like Egil and me (without wanting to boast to much), Joey probably has a lot more personality and energy in his singing voice than C.J. has. 'Nuff said.
I actually say the "rest-Brats" (or "Rest-Yugoslavia" as a good friend of mine called them at one occasion) this summer, and it was approximately as could be expected; pretty tame. They had a couple of new songs that were quite good. They also had a couple of new ballads (!) that were simply complete and utter boredom. And it was all so... "nice". When they played the old songs that I used to sing, it sounded like a band doing half-hearted cover versions of Basement Brats songs. The funny thing was that when Egil sang the passages - of his own songs, even - that I used to have problems with, his voice actually cracked and sang out of tune too!
The nicest thing about it is that 99 per cent of the poeple I speak with express the same opinions about the musical qualities of the "new" Basement Brats vs. the "old" as I do. I understand they even say the same to other people... So it's not just me being grumpy."
Now, almost two years after the fact, I can confirm that they did indeed "develop" in the direction indicated by the above mentioned concert. They turned drastically in a "power pop" oriented direction, even more so than indicated by the "Bratbeat" album. Indeed, they put out several "teenage ballads," as I like to refer to them - songs that I would probably, despite my tendency to keep my mouth shut, have tried desperately to avoid in my time in the band. Another tendency was lyrical cliches worse than ever before and increasingly tasteless covers - a long way from Merinuk's marvellous 1994 "Tales From The Basement" cover indeed.
In short, their output since firing me was definitely not to my taste. Other people may have liked it. Indeed, I understand that outfits demanding a somewhat similar level of brain activity, like the Spice Girls or Backstreet Boys, are quite popular these days.
I would say I have a quite good relationship with Ulf, who indeed played with me in Dammit for a while. We also played a bit in another project, but that's another long story.
As for the others, my relationship with them is basically non-existent. I chat with Nils and Mads when I meet them, Egil greets me only when he's drunk.
Probably not, but it's not really up to me. I wouldn't necessarily jump at the chance to rejoin the Brats anyway. That would depend on a lot of things. But it's hypothetical - and probably unlikely - anyway, so it doesn't matter.
A lot better than before, that's for sure! I spent five and a half years working in and for the band, not letting a day go by without thoughts of the band going through my head. For the first few months after they dumped me, I still couldn't help thinking about the band every fucking day (somewhat more bitterly than before, though). But the sky has cleared since then.
I feel that what happened was sad and unnecessary, and that it's basically just a pity. I feel that we could have sorted out our problems in a much more constructive fashion. I also feel that I was not treated in an altogether fair way. And while I could certainly have been more fair myself at times, I was ready to make an attempt at fixing things. Some others weren't, so I guess we're even (at the very least). I must also admit - although I'm aware that it may be a sort of selfish thought - that I had some problems with "the Basement Brats" still using that name. I just didn't feel they were the Basement Brats any more. Now I understand they aren't anyway, so all that remains now is taking back my music. :-)
Finally, it's my understanding that the "relationship" between the one Brats member and the Spanish organiser went down the drain pretty quickly (one person called her a "cock teaser" at the time), so the basis of the whole "conflict" didn't even exist anymore a short time later... But hey, I'm not bitter! ;-)
You're kidding, right?
Oh yes, several things. I regret that I didn't quit before they presented their ultimatum to me - as I was considering quitting at that meeting anyway. I regret that I was so "humble" at that meeting, as I have come to realise later that the fault of what happenes was at least as much theirs as it was mine. I also regret to some degree the way I acted during that week or so on the tour - although to act differently, I think I would have had to be equipped with another personality. I have the unfortunate disability to not being very good at hiding my unhappiness about things - at least not over a long period of time. Besides, there's seldom smoke without a fire; as I've explained, what happened wasn't due only to what happened then and there.
Well, you're looking at it now! :-)
Actually: yes and no. I initially told the boys on the day I was getting fired that I'd keep running it if they kept informing me about what was going on with the band and such. Since then, I sort of changed my mind about it, and they didn't keep informing me about what is going on with the band anyway.
As you will have seen, the pages have now been reorganized into "The Basement Brats Museum," a format intended to not require much attention once I have filled them up with material.
As you will also have noted (since you're reading this), the pages have moved to <http://home.sol.no/~oleo/bb/> and my new mail address is <olemo@olemo.com>. Please inform everybody you know and update your links and bookmarks everywhere.
I started up a new band called Dammit with some of my good friends. The original line-up consisted of myself on vocals, David Aleksandersen and Christer Jakobsen on guitar, Ulf "RC Rasken" Larsen on bass, and one of my favourite drummers, Torben Jolma. Since then, Christer and Ulf had to quit (no one has been fired, mind you) and were replaced by Ann-Charlott Kindblad on guitar and Steinar "Stenis" Nilsen on bass.
Since I moved to Sweden a year ago, things have naturally been a bit more quiet. We were present, however, on a compilation album called "(Seventeen And A Half Is Still) Jailbait," released last year by Demolition Derby Records, Belgium, and we have put together an album's worth of material that we are presently spamming record companies and others with in the form of self-made tapes and CDs.
One of the nicest things about the project is that I've even been inspired enough to start writing songs (complete ones, not just the lyrics this time), and they're actually turning out quite good too!
It's not the Basement Brats - it's a whole fucking lot better!
No, he was still playing with the remaining Basement Brats. He was just playing in my band as well, plus another project or two (which was why he had to quit Dammit in the end. He actually got too much on his hands to deal with, besides personal/private concerns).
Several recordings were released over the next couple of years a.m. ("after me"), most notably Japanese 1+2 Records' "Curse Of The Brats" - a compilation of the "Blast-Off" EP, the "Tales From The Basement" mini album and some previously unreleased songs. There's also a "Tribute to the Saints" album supposed to be coming out some time (also on 1+2 Records, I believe, which is probably why I still haven't seen it after several years :-), with one Brats tune recorded during the "Bratbeat" sessions. I also put together a "Bratology" collection with unreleased material from the Brats' early days when we were young, naive and honest. Due to complications, it has not been released. Yet.
I actually gave them a copy of it's printed editon (both the English and the Norwegian version) when I first wrote it in the summer of 1996, and a revised, shortened edition was printed in the local newspaper. I was pretty sure they wouldn't like it and that I would probably get a lot of shit again (besides my having tried to be as fair as possible in everything I've written here, and despite the fact that everything here is the truth - although "the truth" is sometimes a subjective matter). But they actually haven't said a word about it... That doesn't mean they like it, but anyway, that's really their problem...
Last revised: 13 Apr 1999
Author: Ole "Magnum" Olsen
E-mail address: olemo@olemo.com
World Wide Web: http://home.sol.no/~oleo/
Snail mail address: Ole M. Olsen, Fregattvägen 7, 6 tr. S-181 37 Lidingö, Sweden
Telephone/fax: + 46 7672209
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