Backstage rendezvous typically start with a song or a coy smile. This one started with a potato chip. Turbonegro frontman Hank von Helvete threw a potato chip at me, so I thought. With a smack of his lips and a wink, Hank assured me it was accidental and that he meant no harm; he was just channeling his aggression. When we were younger we used to trash the backstage rooms, he said. But we realize now that we have to pay for the damages Its not fun to throw a TV out of the window if you kill a man.
A ravenous performer and self-proclaimed oral sex master, Hank von Helvete was bound to leave an impression. It just so happened, in my case, to involve fried potato. Sitting in a backstage storage closet, we munched on snacks and smoked cigarettes while musing about the finer things in life like socialist rebellion and multiple orgasms. Moreover, we talked about the trappings of the rock star construct, when offstage and onstage personas collide and there become worse casualties than a ruined hotel or a smashed TV. Rock and roll is vice and in many ways, without laws. It is ruled by lusty transgressors and riddled with crime, the worst crime being dullness. Lucky for us, the Scandinavian rockers in Turbonegro are anything but dull.
Formed in Oslo, Norway in the late 80s, Turbonegro has spent the past twentysomething years redefining DIY rock grandeur. Like a hot, weeknight shag on the whiskey-soaked pool table of your local dive bar, Turbonegro has an unrivaled yet strangely underrated presence. The bands omnipresent Turbojugend fan base -- both intimidating and charming -- is one of the largest and most loyal in recent history, for good reason; Turbonegro is fearless and its music voracious. Complete with offbeat, sexually charged theatrics and a live show just short of madness, the bands music is like a bar brawl you can (and want) to dance to.
SuicideGirls caught up with Hank in Los Angeles on the tail end of the bands tour supporting Retox, its newest album, in stores now...
Erin Broadley: So how are you?
Hank von Helvete: Oh, great. Weve been cruising coast to coast and our shows have turned out to be quite cool. You know wicked, nasty, hot shows.
EB: Thats what its about. Now, Turbonegro has been around since the late 80s and you guys are known for your showmanship. But generally it seems that post-80s, rock has been less about theatrics and showmanship and more about an understated sense of importance.
HVH: Well, that [started with] with grunge. If you look at it in context -- and you have to have big glasses for this -- the reaction toward the glam scene was actually appropriate, I think. It became too silly after a while.
EB:: Right, the hair got too big.
HVH:: Yeah, Twisted Sister and Poison it went from being funny and theatrical and sexy and cool into being just clownish and ridiculous. It just became some weird science fiction theme movie. It became like Plan Nine from Outer Space. That reaction was good to bring back some manhood in rock. But then again, it went so far that it became rock and roll to be suicidal and depressed and being an introvert. Suddenly being a rock star was not cool anymore and being a fan of a band wasnt cool anymore. A DJ was the new rock star.
EB:: Like, the more you pretended not to give a fuck, the cooler you were?
HVH: Yeah, and then suddenly people just turned their back to rock and roll because theres nothing magic to hang on to. The magic is gone and, with Turbonegro, we kind of brought that back. In the mid-90s, Germans hated us for dressing up on stage, acting out, showing our ass, being politically incorrect, obnoxious and just having fun bringing dangerous humor on stage. People didnt like that at all; they left the venues when we played in the early 90s. But, after a while, it was bound to happen that the thing we created became cool. We were part of creating it to bring the rock star back to bring fandom back. Rock and roll is about making it easier for pissed off, lost teenagers to go to school on Monday morning to have something magic, something to dream about. Its not supposed to kill the kids; its supposed to give them life.
EB: Taking the bands attention grabbing theatrics into account, how do you find the balance to make sure your music is recognized as equally important?
HVH: We have always been quite confident in our own music and we would never, ever dress up to hide that we were. Without the [music] platform, we wouldnt be able to create an image anyway. The image really is based upon the music Weve always taken great pride in having good sounds and good looks. [Laughs] When I take off my mask, I generally cry back stage.
EB: [Laughs] You feel naked.
HVH: Yeah, I feel very lonely and vulnerable because of the lack of Suicide Girls.
EB: [Laughs]
HVH: They should come downstairs and give themselves to us.
EB: I have a quote here from Happy Tom where he says, Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
HVH: Yeah. We always have been a bit sarcastic about things. People think that we use irony, but we always use bare sarcasm. If you take one step outside yourself, with this band you will see that what were doing is not very conforming, even in rock and roll terms. We are Norwegian, thats one thing. We dont look the typical rock stars. We dont act like typical rock stars.
EB: Youre not divas.
HVH: Well, we are but we cannot [compete with] California sexiness that standard bulky bodies and six packs. We dont sport six packs; we sport kegs.
EB: [Laughs]
HVH: [Laughs] And still we end up being one of the more powerful rock and roll statements in the scene and that is probably why Tom felt that we started out a parody and survived to be
EB: Like a big middle finger.
HVH: Yeah, because everything we do is quite the opposite of what any other band does. Were not pretentious. We feel that we are sexy but we know that we are not in the mind-frame of what sexy rock stars would be. Still, we act as if we are the hottest things to ever happen to planet Earth. We bring a little relief to the kids, to the audience, to see that all these fucked up northern European bodies can act out in a way that turns into sexiness.
EB: There are a lot of distorted images out there.
HVH: Yeah I show a body that appreciates life thats not being at the gym. If you deny yourself the pleasures in life [then] how the fuck can you expect to be good in bed? People see that I appreciate a good bottle of wine and good food. Chicks love that because they see that this guy, when hes in bed, hes not having sex with himself, hes having sex with a girl and giving her multiple orgasms such a lover of life, you know?
EB: [Laughs] Well, now your female fans that are going to read this interview and come knocking on your door.
HVH: Well, Im actually an oral sex master.
EB: [Laughs] I think that should be part of a singers job description: oral sex master.
HVH: With a lot of girls -- young girls, teenage girls -- their men idols are real handsome, fit guys, but when they go to bed with them they realize they just have the mirror so they can watch themselves, you know the American Psycho image. Guys who use every day of their life making their own body look beautiful just want to please themselves.
EB: Instead of all those hours spent in the gym, they should be honing their oral sex skills.
HVH: Yeah. And a hairy belly is a perfect pillow for a 19-year-old.
EB: [Laughs] Obviously Turbonegro has a healthy sense of humor. You take what you do seriously, but not so much yourselves. How does humor factor in to the band, especially with all the shit youve been through?
HVH: Theres a saying in Norway. It rhymes in Norwegian but the message is that, He who sees only joke in jokes and seriousness in seriousness has misunderstood both. If you dont see the joke in seriousness and the seriousness in a joke, then you havent understood anything in the world. And, of course, we are suburban northern European fuck ups from a very cold and dark country.
EB: You need a sense of humor to survive those winters.
HVH: Yeah, we call it gallows humor The funny stuff you say when youre being executed. You know, as you walk up to the gallows you will always find something funny to think about.
EB: Like if the executioners shoes untied or something? [Laughs]
HVH: Yeah this wasnt my first choice of necktie Im shocked over this chair.
EB: [Laughs] I need a better chair to be executed in.
HVH: Yeah, stuff like that taints our whole view of life dark humor, going to hell with a grin on your face. Also, the roads are always paved with good intentions so if youre a bit more honest about your intentions, youll see that if youre on your way to hell anyway you can do it with a smile and end up going to heaven.
EB: You guys have been through dark times but pulled through. Over the course of 20 years and with all the changes, how has the band kept from getting disillusioned?
HVH: Oh, 30 years ago we would have been multimillionaires with this band, with this greatness because competition wasnt that hard and people bought records. Thats not the point for us, anyway. We just wanted to hang out and play and just see how far we can take this train. It is a miracle in Norwegian standards that six fuck ups from the darkest area of the darkest country in the world can be able to tour the United States of America and sell out shows in Hollywood.
EB: Is it hard to readjust to life back home after a long tour?
HVH: Yeah, well, no. Actually, it keeps us mentally healthy. Were rock stars here in Hollywood but were not that big of rock stars either. Were like an underground phenomenon and when we get back home were just normal. Norway is a very down to earth country In Norway we look upon Americans and actually envy their ability to take great pleasure in being special. Because in Norway, youre not supposed to be special -- you are supposed to be like everybody else. If you are special, then you have to hide that fact and be very humble all the time. I personally envy Americans who, if they do something special [or] do something great, they can take the pleasure and say aloud that they are special. Generally in America, success is looked upon as a positive thing for a human being, you know. In Norway its kind of taboo to have success. Our families have always been like, Well, its okay that your band is doing great but arent you going to get a job soon? So, thats weird. But then again, that keeps the fighting spirit alive. Were like, Fuck them. Well show them.
EB: Well, you guys have an exceedingly loyal fan base. Offstage, have you found yourself in situations where fans expect your frontman persona to carry over into all aspects of your life?
HVH: Well, of course. All fans are potential stalkers. All fans love a person they dont know. And to love a person you dont know, you have to make up what this person is all about because you dont know them and then you kind of get all these expectations of all that. A lot of fans dont get the fact that when I go off stage, I take off my makeup and I take off my costumes and I dont put bottles up my ass and I dont kiss boys, just to prove that I think gay is fun.
EB: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about the band?
HVH: Well, its always about the gay thing. They think that since we have the gay humor we should have that all the time and always be flirting with gayness all the time, just for fun. The impression that we are taking part of that party culture is actually wrong. Go on, have fun, but dont be disappointed if we are not always ready to take part in frolics like that.
EB: Right. There is a difference between an onstage persona and an offstage persona.
HVH: Yeah. Alice Cooper said that the very minute he realized that when he was off stage he must stop being Alice Cooper and just be Vince, that was when he saved his own life. Because there was a time when he was Alice Cooper all the time because people expected him to be and he started to expect himself to be. He became this self-destructive madman with a high party factor going all the time. Then he became an alcoholic, and then he began having mental problems. He became consumed by his own character.
Success can happen to you or you can choose success. If it just happens to you, you will not be mentally prepared to deal with it. We were unfortunate to have to put the band on hold for some years so I could deal with my heroin addiction and, in retrospect, that was actually a blessing, you know, because when the question of a comeback came up I was able to choose [this career] on my own terms.
For more on the band check out www.turbonegro.com
A ravenous performer and self-proclaimed oral sex master, Hank von Helvete was bound to leave an impression. It just so happened, in my case, to involve fried potato. Sitting in a backstage storage closet, we munched on snacks and smoked cigarettes while musing about the finer things in life like socialist rebellion and multiple orgasms. Moreover, we talked about the trappings of the rock star construct, when offstage and onstage personas collide and there become worse casualties than a ruined hotel or a smashed TV. Rock and roll is vice and in many ways, without laws. It is ruled by lusty transgressors and riddled with crime, the worst crime being dullness. Lucky for us, the Scandinavian rockers in Turbonegro are anything but dull.
Formed in Oslo, Norway in the late 80s, Turbonegro has spent the past twentysomething years redefining DIY rock grandeur. Like a hot, weeknight shag on the whiskey-soaked pool table of your local dive bar, Turbonegro has an unrivaled yet strangely underrated presence. The bands omnipresent Turbojugend fan base -- both intimidating and charming -- is one of the largest and most loyal in recent history, for good reason; Turbonegro is fearless and its music voracious. Complete with offbeat, sexually charged theatrics and a live show just short of madness, the bands music is like a bar brawl you can (and want) to dance to.
SuicideGirls caught up with Hank in Los Angeles on the tail end of the bands tour supporting Retox, its newest album, in stores now...
Erin Broadley: So how are you?
Hank von Helvete: Oh, great. Weve been cruising coast to coast and our shows have turned out to be quite cool. You know wicked, nasty, hot shows.
EB: Thats what its about. Now, Turbonegro has been around since the late 80s and you guys are known for your showmanship. But generally it seems that post-80s, rock has been less about theatrics and showmanship and more about an understated sense of importance.
HVH: Well, that [started with] with grunge. If you look at it in context -- and you have to have big glasses for this -- the reaction toward the glam scene was actually appropriate, I think. It became too silly after a while.
EB:: Right, the hair got too big.
HVH:: Yeah, Twisted Sister and Poison it went from being funny and theatrical and sexy and cool into being just clownish and ridiculous. It just became some weird science fiction theme movie. It became like Plan Nine from Outer Space. That reaction was good to bring back some manhood in rock. But then again, it went so far that it became rock and roll to be suicidal and depressed and being an introvert. Suddenly being a rock star was not cool anymore and being a fan of a band wasnt cool anymore. A DJ was the new rock star.
EB:: Like, the more you pretended not to give a fuck, the cooler you were?
HVH: Yeah, and then suddenly people just turned their back to rock and roll because theres nothing magic to hang on to. The magic is gone and, with Turbonegro, we kind of brought that back. In the mid-90s, Germans hated us for dressing up on stage, acting out, showing our ass, being politically incorrect, obnoxious and just having fun bringing dangerous humor on stage. People didnt like that at all; they left the venues when we played in the early 90s. But, after a while, it was bound to happen that the thing we created became cool. We were part of creating it to bring the rock star back to bring fandom back. Rock and roll is about making it easier for pissed off, lost teenagers to go to school on Monday morning to have something magic, something to dream about. Its not supposed to kill the kids; its supposed to give them life.
EB: Taking the bands attention grabbing theatrics into account, how do you find the balance to make sure your music is recognized as equally important?
HVH: We have always been quite confident in our own music and we would never, ever dress up to hide that we were. Without the [music] platform, we wouldnt be able to create an image anyway. The image really is based upon the music Weve always taken great pride in having good sounds and good looks. [Laughs] When I take off my mask, I generally cry back stage.
EB: [Laughs] You feel naked.
HVH: Yeah, I feel very lonely and vulnerable because of the lack of Suicide Girls.
EB: [Laughs]
HVH: They should come downstairs and give themselves to us.
EB: I have a quote here from Happy Tom where he says, Most rock 'n' roll bands start as a riot but end up as a parody. We started up as a parody but ended up as a revolution."
HVH: Yeah. We always have been a bit sarcastic about things. People think that we use irony, but we always use bare sarcasm. If you take one step outside yourself, with this band you will see that what were doing is not very conforming, even in rock and roll terms. We are Norwegian, thats one thing. We dont look the typical rock stars. We dont act like typical rock stars.
EB: Youre not divas.
HVH: Well, we are but we cannot [compete with] California sexiness that standard bulky bodies and six packs. We dont sport six packs; we sport kegs.
EB: [Laughs]
HVH: [Laughs] And still we end up being one of the more powerful rock and roll statements in the scene and that is probably why Tom felt that we started out a parody and survived to be
EB: Like a big middle finger.
HVH: Yeah, because everything we do is quite the opposite of what any other band does. Were not pretentious. We feel that we are sexy but we know that we are not in the mind-frame of what sexy rock stars would be. Still, we act as if we are the hottest things to ever happen to planet Earth. We bring a little relief to the kids, to the audience, to see that all these fucked up northern European bodies can act out in a way that turns into sexiness.
EB: There are a lot of distorted images out there.
HVH: Yeah I show a body that appreciates life thats not being at the gym. If you deny yourself the pleasures in life [then] how the fuck can you expect to be good in bed? People see that I appreciate a good bottle of wine and good food. Chicks love that because they see that this guy, when hes in bed, hes not having sex with himself, hes having sex with a girl and giving her multiple orgasms such a lover of life, you know?
EB: [Laughs] Well, now your female fans that are going to read this interview and come knocking on your door.
HVH: Well, Im actually an oral sex master.
EB: [Laughs] I think that should be part of a singers job description: oral sex master.
HVH: With a lot of girls -- young girls, teenage girls -- their men idols are real handsome, fit guys, but when they go to bed with them they realize they just have the mirror so they can watch themselves, you know the American Psycho image. Guys who use every day of their life making their own body look beautiful just want to please themselves.
EB: Instead of all those hours spent in the gym, they should be honing their oral sex skills.
HVH: Yeah. And a hairy belly is a perfect pillow for a 19-year-old.
EB: [Laughs] Obviously Turbonegro has a healthy sense of humor. You take what you do seriously, but not so much yourselves. How does humor factor in to the band, especially with all the shit youve been through?
HVH: Theres a saying in Norway. It rhymes in Norwegian but the message is that, He who sees only joke in jokes and seriousness in seriousness has misunderstood both. If you dont see the joke in seriousness and the seriousness in a joke, then you havent understood anything in the world. And, of course, we are suburban northern European fuck ups from a very cold and dark country.
EB: You need a sense of humor to survive those winters.
HVH: Yeah, we call it gallows humor The funny stuff you say when youre being executed. You know, as you walk up to the gallows you will always find something funny to think about.
EB: Like if the executioners shoes untied or something? [Laughs]
HVH: Yeah this wasnt my first choice of necktie Im shocked over this chair.
EB: [Laughs] I need a better chair to be executed in.
HVH: Yeah, stuff like that taints our whole view of life dark humor, going to hell with a grin on your face. Also, the roads are always paved with good intentions so if youre a bit more honest about your intentions, youll see that if youre on your way to hell anyway you can do it with a smile and end up going to heaven.
EB: You guys have been through dark times but pulled through. Over the course of 20 years and with all the changes, how has the band kept from getting disillusioned?
HVH: Oh, 30 years ago we would have been multimillionaires with this band, with this greatness because competition wasnt that hard and people bought records. Thats not the point for us, anyway. We just wanted to hang out and play and just see how far we can take this train. It is a miracle in Norwegian standards that six fuck ups from the darkest area of the darkest country in the world can be able to tour the United States of America and sell out shows in Hollywood.
EB: Is it hard to readjust to life back home after a long tour?
HVH: Yeah, well, no. Actually, it keeps us mentally healthy. Were rock stars here in Hollywood but were not that big of rock stars either. Were like an underground phenomenon and when we get back home were just normal. Norway is a very down to earth country In Norway we look upon Americans and actually envy their ability to take great pleasure in being special. Because in Norway, youre not supposed to be special -- you are supposed to be like everybody else. If you are special, then you have to hide that fact and be very humble all the time. I personally envy Americans who, if they do something special [or] do something great, they can take the pleasure and say aloud that they are special. Generally in America, success is looked upon as a positive thing for a human being, you know. In Norway its kind of taboo to have success. Our families have always been like, Well, its okay that your band is doing great but arent you going to get a job soon? So, thats weird. But then again, that keeps the fighting spirit alive. Were like, Fuck them. Well show them.
EB: Well, you guys have an exceedingly loyal fan base. Offstage, have you found yourself in situations where fans expect your frontman persona to carry over into all aspects of your life?
HVH: Well, of course. All fans are potential stalkers. All fans love a person they dont know. And to love a person you dont know, you have to make up what this person is all about because you dont know them and then you kind of get all these expectations of all that. A lot of fans dont get the fact that when I go off stage, I take off my makeup and I take off my costumes and I dont put bottles up my ass and I dont kiss boys, just to prove that I think gay is fun.
EB: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about the band?
HVH: Well, its always about the gay thing. They think that since we have the gay humor we should have that all the time and always be flirting with gayness all the time, just for fun. The impression that we are taking part of that party culture is actually wrong. Go on, have fun, but dont be disappointed if we are not always ready to take part in frolics like that.
EB: Right. There is a difference between an onstage persona and an offstage persona.
HVH: Yeah. Alice Cooper said that the very minute he realized that when he was off stage he must stop being Alice Cooper and just be Vince, that was when he saved his own life. Because there was a time when he was Alice Cooper all the time because people expected him to be and he started to expect himself to be. He became this self-destructive madman with a high party factor going all the time. Then he became an alcoholic, and then he began having mental problems. He became consumed by his own character.
Success can happen to you or you can choose success. If it just happens to you, you will not be mentally prepared to deal with it. We were unfortunate to have to put the band on hold for some years so I could deal with my heroin addiction and, in retrospect, that was actually a blessing, you know, because when the question of a comeback came up I was able to choose [this career] on my own terms.
For more on the band check out www.turbonegro.com
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
clio:
R.I.P. TRBNGR
confy:
proud to be norwegian 