Drammen ist wohl eine der hässlichsten und verachtetesten Städte Norwegens, die weniger für Indie Musik Szene als für ihre Papierindustrie bekannt ist. Doch Delaware bekennen sich zu ihrer Heimat. Sie sind zu viert, obwohl das Cover und Booklet ihres Debut-Albums "...And Everything Reminds Me" anderes vermuten lassen. Das liegt daran, dass zu dem Zeitpunkt als die Fotosession anstand, der Bassist, der bei den Aufnahmen spielte, die Band gerade verlassen hatte. Da die Fotos aber in den Kasten sollten, ließ man sich kurzerhand als Trio ablichten. Inzwischen haben sie in Morten Ødegaard Skaret einen festen Bassisten gefunden.
Why did you choose this band name?
Richard Holmsen (vocals, guitar): When we started out in 1999 we didn't have a band name. Then we were supposed to play a support show, so we had to have a name. We were looking for a name that looks and sounds nice. I bought a record by a band called Drop Nineteens and the name of the album was "Delaware", so we stole our name from their album.
In America, a state, a city and a river are called Delaware. Is there any connection?
R: No, it's just a name. We wanted a name that people don't associate with anything. It doesn't reflect our music.
People might think you are from the USA.
R: We like confusing people.
What did you do before you became successful?
R: We had jobs and some of us still have. I was a poor teacher until half
a year ago. Then I started doing music full time.
Jon Fredrik "Joffe" Torgersen (guitar): I'm working at the post office, actually.
But I'm thinking about quitting the job.
Petter Laugerund (drums):I'm still working as a plumber at my father's company.
R: It's hard to make a living just out of music but we try to. If you don't
have any job besides you can focus more on the music, travelling around, doing
gigs.
What kind of music do you listen to?
J: Puressence is definitely my favourite band. Muse is also one of my favourites.
R: We like U2 or Depeche Mode and also some low-fi stuff.
J: And old grunge music.
Morten: I'm more into hardcore.
How would you describe your music?
R: We try to make our own style. We've been compared to a lot of bands but
we try to do it our own way. That's why we've been compared to so many bands
because someone says "a rockier A-ha", "Manic Street Preachers", "Coldplay"
or whatever…
J: We do not intend to make the same music like other bands. We want to sound
different.
Are you annoyed by these comparisons?
J: No, not really. I mean, you have to be compared so people can put you in a genre. We're quite used to it. But we feel we have something different from anybody else. I'm not sure if we have.
What will the next album sound like? Are you already working on it?
J: We're trying to make songs wherever and whenever we can.
R: We don't want to make the same album again. Not because we don't like it
but we've already done this kind of stuff so we have to go on and change.
Do you still live in your hometown?
J: Yeah. It's cheap there. Also, we got our rehearsal studio there, which is for free. Drammen is a small city with about 60.000 people. Nothing much is happening there. You have time to do whatever you want to.
Do you think about moving away?
R: Not yet. Maybe in the future. We're big Drammen fans. The city is in the middle of everything. It's 45 minutes from Oslo and the airport.
What's your favourite b-side of anyone ever?
P&J: "Chans" by Kent.
R: "Marigold" by Nirvana which is on the heart-shaped box single. It's the one
with Dave Grohl singing and Kurt playing the drums.
Marika Böhm
Aktuelles Album:
"…And Everything Reminds Me"
(Columbia/Sony)
web-page: http://www.delawaremusic.de