RatatoskOnline did an interview with the Norwegian (hard)rock band Skambankt.

We know (or think) Skambankt started of as a side project of Terje, but what can you tell us about Skambankt nowadays as a band ?  

Skambankt was officially formed a Saturday morning in 1994, because we had the opportunity to play at a show that night, but had no band. After a few gigs, we lost interest and went on doing other stuff.
Then, at a bachelor party in 2003, we played our old songs for fun. This was such a kick, that we went on to make an album.
So the “reunion” was a side project of Terje, but our very first recording (released on cassette only!) was actually taped the same week as Geir and Janove did the first recording with their first band. Complicated? 

What can you tell us about the musical influences of Skambankt?  

We’re basically influenced by everything we listen to at any given moment. But of course there’s sort of a foundation in classic rock/hard rock. That’s what we grew up with. No record store in our small town. Just older brothers and neighbors with AC/DC, The Sex Pistols, Judas priest, Mötorhead, Iron maiden and so on.

On your first CD you sounded somewhere between punk and rock and now you’ve seem to develop/grow a little like Greenday or Foo Figthers. Do you think you found you’re musical direction or are you gonna surprise us in the future?  

Well, we’re quite surprised that you think we sound like Green Day! But yes, our musical direction is rock, and we’re not going to step from that path anytime soon. But hopefully we’ll surprise you with how much better we’ll get in the future. 

I myself was very positive about Hardt Regn (see the review on our site). How are the reviews so far?   

We’ve been reviewed in a lot of different magazines, and still the reviews have been extremely good. There’s always exceptions, but that’s from people who admit they don’t even like the genre… 

My Norwegian might be as good as your Dutch, so what can you tell us about the lyrics of Skambankt and what was/is your greatest inspiration as a songwriter?  
 
Well, mr. Terje is away playing with another orchestra right now, but we can reveal that lyrics are inspired from life.  

Is there a specific song on Hardt Regn which are you proud of and can you tell us why?  

That’s always a tough one! There’s no way the four of us can all agree on one particular song. “O dessverre” has a really cool video though, so that makes it even more interesting.  

How is the Norwegian audience responding to a “Kaizer” playing punk and rock ?  

Well, some of the Norwegian music reviewers actually think we sound almost the same! So in that context, one could that the audience don’t care which band he’s in.
But on the serious side, they probably wish him all the luck he can get.  

Is there a major difference between the Skambankt audience and that of “Kaizers”?   

Yes. Kaizers Orchestra is the biggest rock band in Norway, and thereby their audience is much more mainstream. Skambankt attracts the crowd that would go see a Kaizers show in Groningen. 

I saw that you are touring most of the time in Norway and one show on Roskilde. Are there plans coming to Europe?

We’re playing a show in Copenhagen the 15th of May, at Gutter Island Festival. But apart from that there’s no real plan going to mainland Europe. We suggest that Groningen come visit us! 

What can we expect of a Skambankt-show ?   

You can expect a support act, but we don’t always bring one. That might disappoint you.
But you can also expect a very extrovert rock show. We don’t spend a million on lights, but we do have attitude and we play tight. 

Is there a band you would love to tour with ?   

Yes, many of course. A world tour with Ac/Dc would be cool. 

Thank you very much for your time and we hope to see you in The Netherlands soon! 

De nederlandse recensie van het nieuwe album van Skambankt, Hardt Regn is hier te lezen. Het album ligt nu in de winkels!