::: jr ewing guitarist erlend was interviewed by email november '02. questions by matt b :::
have you ever visited the uk before (blame my lack of research) and are there any plans for future shows there?
Yes, we've been there twice. Our first time over was during our Europe tour 2001, where we played like 4 shows in the UK. The shows we're pretty low-scale, but we enjoyed it. The last time was this summer, when we toured with Pretty Girls Make Graves, and we had simply great shows there. Especially the ones in Leeds and London were awesome. We plan to come over sometime after "Ride Paranoia" is out, which is around February.
whats good about being in jr ewing?
Pretty much everything. We've gotten to see 18 countries, gotten an amazing amount of good friends all over the world, we can make the music we love, and people care about what we're doing.
whats bad about being in jr ewing?
The fact that we're always so fuckin' broke, and whatever money we make goes right into paying bills or other stupid band-costs. We've hardly ever "made" any money, but then again that's not the purpose.
same question, but replace 'in jr ewing' with 'norwegian'...
What's bad? That's it's so motherfucking cold here.
so how does it feel to be foreign?
Feels great.
is it true that every norwegian has been in a black metal band at some point in their lives?
Nope. But Andreas, Kenneth and me have all been seriously into metal when we were kids. You should see our passport-photos. Christ. Or Satan, if you please.
how happy are you with how the new album ('ride paranoia') turned out, is there anything you would change/add?
I'm really happy with the record, and some elements turned out better than expected, but some not as good as expected too. But overall, I'm proud of this record, and it has taken us a long time to get in the studio and record a full album, but I'm happy it turned out like it did. Of course we'd change things about it, but it's always like that. You got to record, and then move on and learn what worked, and what didn't. Not enough people get that.
how did you come up with the name 'ride paranoia'?
We had a hard time finding the title, but we needed something that reflected our music, as well as our lyrics. We want people to make up their own mind about it, and read it as they please, so we'll keep that kinda open for now.
how much would you say jr ewing's sound has varied over your releases, and where do you see the band going in the future?
It has varied a whole lot. We've released some pretty crappy records in our time, but all bands have, so fuck it. But we've developed alot as musicians and song-writers, and we hope that comes across. In the future we'll push things even further, and try to make better and better songs, and also keep experimenting.
'laughing with daggers' - what is this song about?
It's about a threesome gone wrong.
what is your favourite jr ewing song?
At the moment, a song that's on "Ride Paranoia" called "Midnight Episode". It's just a strange, but still kinda straigtforward musical creature. But it changes all the time. The opening track "Repetition Is Failure" was a favourite for a long time too.
whats your view on the whole napster/downloading music thing - would you be annoyed if someone downloaded one of your releases instead of buying it?
They're downloading it like crazy, and what can you do about it? Most people that has a real interest in music, wants to get the real record just for the "feel" and "look" of it, so it doesn't really affect us, I think.
so why the name jr ewing?,and maybe more importantly, who did shoot jr?
The name, because we were fans of "Dallas". I shot JR.
favourite record at the moment?
Deep Purple - "Machine Head". The drumming is insane, so is the guitar-work.
what album do you use to seduce the ladies?
The Stooges - Raw Power.
why should people come see your live shows?
Because we kick most sorry bands' ass.
want to plug the new album some more?
Not really. Get it when it's out.
thanks to erlend and jr ewing for the interview...