Turbonegro
I know I interviewed Hank Von Helvete the frontman for Turbonegro. But as I read this over Im not sure if we actually talked about anything. I dont know if he is just tired or weird. Probably both. Anyway we chatted from his hotel room about Turbonegros latest album, Party Animals.
Check out the official site for Turbonegro
Daniel Robert Epstein: Are you guys doing a show tonight?
Hank Von Helvete: Yeah, were in Seattle.
DRE:
Awesome. You guys like Seattle?
HVH:
Its cool.
DRE:
Are you getting drunk?
HVH:
No, Im just in my hotel room, sleeping.
DRE:
I guess you got sound check in a couple hours.
HVH:
Nah, we dont do sound checks.
DRE:
Why not?
HVH:
We pay people to do it for us.
DRE:
I didnt know you guys had that much money.
HVH:
We dont. So we make the crew work extra for their money. 30 years ago they used to say you could get rich being in a band but not fucking anymore.
DRE:
No, you guys arent rich.
HVH:
Were fucking poor.
DRE:
Youre not poor. Youre doing alright.
HVH:
Yeah, well were not rich, thats for sure.
DRE:
What was the inspiration for Party Albums?
HVH:
The fall of the Roman Empire.
DRE:
I think youre messing with me.
HVH:
No, its true, man. We wanted to make this decadent party thing, when the world was about to end, you know.
DRE:
Do you guys feel like the worlds about to end?
HVH:
Yes and we want to play the party. Also you cant party every day, so you just got to make every day a party.
DRE:
Turbonegros really into partying.
HVH:
We used to be more into partying, but now were getting old.
DRE:
Is it tough to keep up that image of what you guys are?
HVH:
No, were just maturing. We cant walk around being hungover or drunk all the time. It would make it so bad.
DRE:
Are people in the band getting married?
HVH:
Yeah, I think were all married actually.
DRE:
That puts a damper on things.
HVH:
Yeah, kind of.
DRE:
Did you guys really feel that maturity when making this new album?
HVH:
Yes, in the sense that we spent more time in recording and perfecting the whole thing. We spent the longest time ever to make this record, than any other punk album in the world. No other punk rock album in the world used so much time and effort to record.
DRE:
Well punk albums arent supposed to have good production.
HVH:
There you go, youre supposed to sit in the studio and drink and do drugs, and be satisfied as soon as possible. Lets wrap and then party. [laughs]
DRE:
Do you guys still do drugs?
HVH:
I dont pry into other peoples lives. I dont do drugs. But I used to.
DRE:
Did you guys have any experience with modern roman type orgies?
HVH:
No. We just used what we saw in movies.
DRE:
[laughs] Like Caligula?
HVH:
Yeah, man.
DRE:
How about the sailor hats? Too Village People now?
HVH:
We used to wear denim like all the fucking time.
DRE:
And not so much anymore.
HVH:
No, now weve kind of developed the characters more so its more like we wear the denim on the encores.
DRE:
[laughs] Is the character hard to do or you just too tired for it right now?
HVH:
No, its not that clear a contrast when it comes to me as Hank, compared to Hank onstage.
DRE:
Are you guys over the sailor hats yet?
HVH:
Happy Tom still wears it. Its cool.
DRE:
People have really picked up on it.
HVH:
Yeah, its great and we can sell them.
DRE:
How was it working with Steve MacDonald as producer?
HVH:
Bringing in an outside producer was very interesting because weve never had one before. We didnt actually know what to do with a producer in the beginning, so he was just sitting there. But after a while he got more into the thing, we got to know him more and then we realized that he was actually a very good asset to the recording process. He could push us a bit further and make the recordings better. He made us fulfill our potential. When we felt satisfied, he was not and made us do it better.
DRE:
Howre you guys all getting along now?
HVH:
Were getting along fine.
DRE:
How many years has it been?
HVH:
Weve been together for 13 years. We always felt that we wanted to take this as far as possible and see how big we could get. Were still in the process of growing as a band so as long as things are getting bigger and better, well keep on doing it.
DRE:
But you feel like youre evolving past the theatrical aspect of it.
HVH:
Yeah.
DRE:
Is the midget still on tour?
HVH:
Yeah, hes still with us.
DRE:
I shouldnt say midget, I should say little person.
HVH:
No, its dwarf. We call him leprechaun.
DRE:
Well you guys pay him, so you can call him whatever you want.
HVH:
Yeah, we pay for him!
DRE:
[laughs] What do you guys like about the dwarf? Is it like a dream sequence?
HVH:
Yeah its kind of a nightmare thing.
DRE:
Are there dwarves in your nightmares?
HVH:
Yeah, pulling my toes.
DRE:
Thats terrible.
HVH:
Yeah, theyre looking for their crock of gold. Its really scary. Theyre like evil leprechauns.
DRE:
Did you have a problem with dwarves and leprechauns in Norway?
HVH:
Yeah, we have a big problem with them, theyre everywhere.
DRE:
[laughs] I meant growing up, to make dwarves pop into your subconscious.
HVH:
Its a rock and roll thing, I mean a circus thing. I usually mix that up because rock and roll and circuses are pretty much the same. Next time were going to bring an elephant with us on the road and just have him in the club.
DRE:
Even though youre married, what are the Turbonegro groupies like?
HVH:
Theyre males. We call them groupers. Boys who come to talk about groups.
DRE:
What do you know about SuicideGirls?
HVH:
I got a great birthday thing from them. I got some really cool pics because some of them are in our fan club.
DRE:
When are you going back home to Norway?
HVH:
Were leaving tomorrow. It would be cool to live in the states for like a couple of years, but in the end I like it better in Norway.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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