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Kaizers Orchestra
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Kaizers Orchestra (... known as simply Kaizers, mostly to fans) is an alternative rock band, formed in Norway in the year 1999. The current band members are Janove Ottesen (a.k.a. "The Jackal", lead vocal), Geir Zahl (a.k.a. "Hellraizer", 2nd guitar, 2nd vocal, oil barrels), Rune Solheim (aka "Mink", drums), Terje Vinterstø (a.k.a. "Killmaster", 1st guitar, oil barrels, backing vocals), Øyvind Storesund (a.k.a. "Thunder", stand-up bass, whistler) and Helge Risa (aka "Omen", pump organ, piano, accordion).
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Kaizers Orchestra is a hard-hitting, alternative rock band, with heavy eastern European influences in their sound. Founded in 2000, right after the members had partied like it was 1999, at a time when people thought the world was going under and stacked canned food in their basement in fear of computerbreakdowns and killer bees from Australia. Kaizers Orchestra absorbed the anxiety and the populations massive fear of the breakdown of civilisation, blended it with the pounding of norwegian oilbarrels, and just came out from the cellar sounding like nothing else on the planet. Their lyrics are in Norwegian because Mr. Kaizer demanded it, but don´t feel bad if you don´t understand a thing, just know that they deal with un-Norwegian themes like war, mafia and religion, mixed with half joyous - half bitter love/drinking songs in addition to some uncomprehendible stuff. The three studioalbums the band has produced present a huge variety of songs, ever changing moods, disharmonic noises and just plain beautiful tunes. It´s all in there!
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Kaizers Orchestra has, despite the band's obvious Eastern European influences, never actually played a show in Eastern Europe yet. This is about to change: The Gentlemen will be playing at the Sziget Festival in Hungary on August 9th!
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The Norwegian sextet Kaizers Orchestra builds cathartic rock songs that borrow heavily from the dirges of Tin Pan Alley and Eastern European folk music. Formed in the late '90s in the city of Bergen, the band consists of Jan Ove Ottesen and Geir Zahl on vocals/guitar/oil barrel, Helge Risa on pump organ, Øyvind Storesund on accordion and bass, guitarist/percussionist Terge Vinterstøen, and Rune Solheim on the drums. Their signature sound eventually led to a record deal with Scandinavian label Broiler Farm, and the band released Ompa Til du Dør in 2001, an album that won the Norwegian Grammy and went on to become the highest-selling rock debut ever issued in the Norwegian language. Evig Pint followed in 2003, resulting in numerous awards and even more impressive record sales than its predecessor. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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The Norwegian sextet Kaizers Orchestra builds cathartic rock songs that borrow heavily from the dirges of Tin Pan Alley and Eastern European folk music. Formed in the late '90s in the city of Bergen, the band consists of Jan Ove Ottesen and Geir Zahl on vocals/guitar/oil barrel, Helge Risa on pump organ, Øyvind Storesund on accordion and bass, guitarist/percussionist Terge Vinterstøen, and Rune Solheim on the drums. Their signature sound eventually led to a record deal with Scandinavian label Broiler Farm, and the band released Ompa Til du Dør in 2001, an album that won the Norwegian Grammy and went on to become the highest-selling rock debut ever issued in the Norwegian language. Evig Pint followed in 2003, resulting in numerous awards and even more impressive record sales than its predecessor.
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Kaizers Orchestra was formed by Janove and Geir in 1999. The two childfriends had earlier created several bands together before, like gnom and Blod, Snått og Juling. Like with their old bands, all songs are sung in the Norwegian Bryne (Bryne, Stavanger is Janove and Geir's hometown) dialect. Despite the release of their only album Mys, any recognition eluded gnom. However, one song they during gnom's active period, called "Bastard", received such response from the not-so-large crowds, and, with its Tom Waits-inspired melody and lyrics, as well as the unusual inclusion of oil barrels as percussion, inspired them to reinvent their sound, image and name. While Janove and Geir's past bands had a more folk/pop sound, Kaizers Orchestra was going to be entirely different.
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Kaizers Orchestra