Brimstone

Norwegian outft BRIMSTONE SOLAR RADIATION BAND can trace it’s history back to the tail end of the 90’s, when Rolf Edvardsen and Truls Biff Eriksen left the metal scene of their teenage years behind in search of new musical territories to explore.

After initially flirting with music Inspired by artists like Nick Cave, the duo starts exploring the US West Coast sound. This lush musical foundation is spiced with elements from more psychedelic-oriented bands though, with The Byrds, Santana and Pink Floyd as particular influences.

With a musical direction staked out they start making demos, using the moniker Brimstone. Eriksen handles bass and drums while Edvardsen takes care of everything else needed to complete the songs.

In this creative process the duo also starts getting a need for playing this material live, and it’s rather obvious that some additional members are needed to realize that wish. Finding musicians willing to ply their trade at psychedelic-oriented sophisticated rock in a town where the music scene consists of either pop or metal acts isn’t the easisest of tasks though, and to state that the search for the additional band members turned out to be frustrating and less than fruitful may probably qualify as the understatement of the decade. At last they contact an old aquaintance from the metal scene, now a highly regarded drummer known for his distinctly jazz-influenced style. His name is Thomas Grønner, and while initially rather sceptical about the stylistic direction of Brimstone he’s talked into joining. His brother Øyvind Grønner joins the band at the same time, a talented guitarist, keyboardist and percussionist.

A rehearsal space is then located, and soon after Brimstone hits the live circuit in Bergen, soon getting a good reputation locally. With positive receptions aplenty they decide to record a 5-track EP, which also turned out to be a succesful venture. One of the most satisfying results of this EP was the track The Magic Dragon, given extensive airplay by nationwide radio channel NRK P3. This lead to Brimstone landing gigs all over Norway, and following one of those gigs in Oslo Brimstopne found themselves booked to one of Norway’s major summer rock festivals - Øyafestivalen - as well as a band signed by indie label Big Dipper Records.

And so Brimstone started to make their debut album. They entered the recording studio in high spirits following these major lucky breaks, but as time went by and money was spent it became apparent that their musical standards had far outgrown the studio where they recorded their EP. Following many costly but unsuccesful sessions they emptied their piggy banks, brought along what they had done so far and sought out producer Bjarte Ludvigsen for help. Some new sonmgs were recorded at his studio, and he also managed to salvage most of the songs previously recorded. The end result was a debut effort Brimstone, now renamed Brimstone Solar Radiation Band, was at best only partially pleased with. Still, this self-titled effort got a lot of positive reviews, and a happy coincident for the band was that guest musician Erling Halsne Juvik became interested in joining the band. A multi-instrumentalist capable of playing most string-based instruments he was a welcome addition, and while the guitar is his main instrument his versatility did add many creative options to the bands musical palette.

Following the album release the band hit the live circuit again, and as one of many recent artists they discovered that while their popularity as a live act was very satisfying, album sales weren’t. Illegal downloading was an obvious answer to at least some of this puzzling state of affairs, but they also started thinking about venturing outside of the borders of their homeland, to see if playing for a European audience could make them interesting to a wider audience. Several individual gigs in various countries followed, and while the concerts were satisfying experiences in themselves, being named best foreign band at the ?European Championship of Rock? in Bilbao amongst the highlights, ad-hoc gigging around Europe travelling by car (which tended to break down whenever too much for comfort) and other aspects of non-organized gigging did take it’s toll on the band.

They overcame the negative impacts of the latter though, and while somewhat sceptical to both label and the band’s future at this point they decided to hit the studio again to make a second album. The recording of their sophomore effort Solstice was a smooth, problem free affair, and with added spices to their musical palettes from bands like Genesis and Yes this second discc of their was a product they were most satisifed with. The majority of the Norwegian press wasn’t impressed though, with a negative impact to initial record sales as a direct result. Once more they looked outside of the borders of Norway to overcome commercial difficulties, and with a generally positive reception for the album in Germany a tour was set up to try to make a name for themselves in that market.

The German tour turned out to be a major disappointment though. Nothing much had been organized, public relations for the concerts mostly non-existent, and instead of cracking the German market the only cracking that occured was Eriksen’s ribs when he fell off the stage early in the tour. And to add insult to injury the band was evicted from their rehearsal locals when returning to Norway.

New rehearsal locales were found though. Noisy due to the close proximity of many other bands, and with a tangible odour to to the 400 years history of the locales as a storage house for fish, but it would have to do. Supporting gigs for the likes of Turbonegro and Deep Purple followed, as well as performances at several festivals. None of these experiences were satisfying for the band though.

A second German tour was attempted, and while the first had been disappointing this second attemtp will be remembered by the band as an utter disaster. The only salvaging experience was the final concert of the tour, where a concert venue filled to the brim by stoned, enthusiastic psych-heads made Brimstone Solar Radiation Band realize that there were people interested in their ventures after all.

Back in Norway they decided that a lot of change had to happen for the band to get a chance to make it. They cut the ties with their record label, and started looking for professionals who could cater for all the sides of the music business they were inept at themselves - promotion, public relations, attracting label interest and basically everything not a part of the creative process of making and playing music. A lot of time and money was spent, but come 2007 and nothing much had happened. In fact, at this point they were without a manager, record company and lacking a booking agent to boot. Brimstone faced two choices - either to call it quits or to make a wholehearted attempt to succeed, this time handling all the non-creative tasks themselves too. The latter was chosen.

All the negative experiences lead to a sudden creative spur in the songwriting department. New songs were made by the truckload (more or less), and the band spent a lot of time rehearsing the new material. And when venturing out for the odd gig, it was a well-oiled musical machinery that hit the stage, confident in their material and performance. Bergen-based produces H. P. Gundersen witnessed one such live performance and was impressed by what he saw and heard, and offered Brimstone recording time in his studio. With his exttensive knowledge of the local music scene and a plethora of connections skilled guest musicians added an extra sheen to the band’s recordings. With a final mix of the album made by Bjarte Ludvigsen, Brimstone now had a solid album to promote. Now it was only a matter of getting it released.

With the help of a media agency brimstone then were able to land a stipend of about 50.000 euros, thanks to the album recently recorded, a promotional video and the efforts of the agency. With a sound financial foundation, a band recently schooled in marketing and the creation of strategy-plans Brimstone were now ready to deal with the music business. Record labels started getting interested in the band again as well as booking agencies, and deals were signed. Brimstone’s third full length production Smorgasbord was issued in the fall of 2009, with a planned strategy laid out for an organized attempt at cracking the German market in particular.
http://brimstone.no