Kaizers Institution

Kaizers Orchestra is, proven, one of the most influential, critically lauded and loved Norwegian musical forces in the game today, whose fame is rapidly growing as their live shows and records are being discovered by more and more people. But how did it all start? And what are the six men who are daring enough to bang on oil barrels and sing/scream in their native dialect in front of thousands of fans really like? Read, and find out.
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Norway, the '90's.

Once upon a time in the lands around Bryne, Norway, two long-time friends, Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl received guitars for their birthday, and started to practice eagerly. They then 'gave birth' to the folk/pop/rock/strange band Blod, Snått & Juling (Blood, Snot and Beating), and they played around their hometown at bars and venues. The band eventually gathered a small group of diehard fans and were praised by (VERY local) newspapers. They recorded a studio tape in 1994, called Ein Glad Tunnel (A Happy Tunnel). All songs on the tape were recorded within the span of two days and all 50 copies were sold. Not bad for a local folk band eh? Their second tape, Sympatiske Fisk (Sympathetic Fish), had a more serious atmosphere, and all 100 copies were sold relatively fast. After starting work on their third tape, the band hit a creative barrier and it was left unfinished. Janove left Stavanger to join the army, and BS&J broke up. 

   
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1997-2000

Upon Janove's return, he and Geir started a new band called gnom (gnome). The folk/pop band featured members Helge Risa on pump organ, Rune Solheim on drums and Rolf Prestø on the stand-up bass. They only released one album, Mys in 1997. It didn't sell too well, with only 500 of its initial 1500 copies sold the first year of its release. However, on the album was included the song Hemmelig Beskjed (Secret Message), whose musical style differed immensely compared to other tracks on the album, with oil barrels as percussion and a certain ompa/waltz rhythm to it. Deciding to base their upcoming compositions on this style of music, Janove wrote the song "Bastard", a hugely Tom Waits-inspired pump organ tune featuring an oilbarrel solo. "Bastard" elicited such a response from the crowd, that the creative gears once more began ticking inside Janove's head. Soon, gnom was all but finished, however, an even bigger creation rose from its ashes...

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2000-2001

A line from "Bastard" goes (roughly translated): "A certain Mr. Kaizer took me in / he is the proud owner of the world's heaviest Siamese cat". After the dissolution of gnom, Janove and Geir started a new, more ambitious, more rebellious, an all in all different project. But first thing's first. This new band needed a name. The line from "Bastard" inspire them to use the name Kaizer, since they all thought it was very good. Thus, armed with a new image, style and sound, Kaizers Orchestra, was born, with Janove as the front man, Geir as guitarist, Rune Solheim on drums, Helge Risa on pump organ and Jon Sjøen (who replaced Rolf Prestø in gnom's later years) as the stand-up bass man. One of the very first performances of Kaizers Orchestra material, actually, an entire week of acoustic concerts by Janove and Geir performing separate sets of BS&J, gnom and Kaizers Orchestra songs commenced in June 2000 at Det Beste Stedet, Sandnes.

However, Kaizers Orchestra's first concert together was not a very big success as Geir became sick and hurt his hand while performing the now-trademark oilbarrel solo in the song "Bøn fra helvete". But they kept on working their asses off, trying to get gigs and a record deal. At By:Larm 2000, A music festival arrangement that may allow up-and-coming artists to secure a record deal, they released the Kaizers Orchestra EP (Also known as Gul EP) featuring the songs "Bøn fra helvete", the gnom hit "Bastard", "Dekk bord" and "Katastrofen". In 2001, Terje Vinterstø joined the band as the 1st guitarist, much to the chagrin of Jon, who didn't want to play in a "guitar band". After a lot of hard work, they signed a deal with BroilerFarm Records owner Remo Rehder, and after many recording sessions, writing sessions and mixing, they produced the album Ompa til du dør and the hard-working boys finally got their break. Ompa til du dør became, with extremely little commercial promotion at all, the best-selling Norwegian rock album of all time, and one of the most critically lauded Norwegian releases of all time. Their Tom Waits-inspired, Gypsy rock-infested, Eastern-spirited sounds and energetic live shows became a huge success with virtually the entire Norwegian musical fanbase, and amassed a slowly growing following of their own. Later in 2001, the Kaizers recorded and released their second EP, Død manns tango, which sold relatively good for an EP.

     
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2002-2003

In 2002, they play 122 concerts in Norway alone, and some concerts in the neighbouring country Denmark. They also release the EP Mann mot mann, which (aside from the title track) featured some live songs and the videos for "Kontroll på kontinentet" and "Mann mot mann". During the summer, Kaizers Orchestra made their international breakthrough by playing at the prestigious Roskilde Festival in Denmark, in front of 14,000 people from all over Europe and beyond. They also distinguish themselves by winning the Norwegian Alarm award for Best Live Act. On February 3, 2003, the Kaizers release their second album, Evig pint. Their sophomore release featured a much darker sound and mood. It receives outstanding reviews and sold well in Norway (if not as good as its predecessor) and is also released in some international territories. The video for the title track, received the Alarm award for Best Video of 2003, and on Svisj (A norwegian music video show) has become immortalized as the viewers' choice for best Norwegian music video ever. Ompa til du dør is re-released in some european countries as a special edition shortly after Evig pint's release, featuring two extra tracks; "Mann mot mann" and "Død manns tango" and a slightly altered tracklist.

  
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2004-2005

In 2004, the Kaizers play at one of the biggest music festivals in Germany, Rock am Ring and the germans are totally stoked by this army of gas masks, crowbars and oil barrels. This leads them to a deal with major record label label Universal Germany. Success seemed imminent for the Orchestra now. They played a lot of summer shows in Holland and Germany. In 2005 they played a lot of concerts in a lot of venues, most notably Prekestolen (Pulpit Rock), a tall mountain outcropping in Norway. They play some new songs here, including Delikatessen. They also play on top of the Universal building in Berlin, Germany. It's also the first time they play in Paris and Barcelona. They release the Maestro EP in Norway and some other european countries, featuring the title track from the new album, "Maestro", another song called "På ditt skift", that had been played live for a while, and two songs that were recorded only on the EP, "D-dagen", and "Sorti". Shortly after, they release Maestro. The record is also released in a lot of european countries. It receives outstanding reviews, and they start yet another tour, the Maestro Tour. First they toured about Europe, playing Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark and more. More and more people seemed to come to their concerts. After their european tours, time came to return to their roots; Norway, for Part 2 of the Maestro Tour. They play on famous Norwegian stages like Folken in Stavanger, and a double-concert on the huge Rockefeller Stage in Oslo. Maestro receives tons of media attention and is honored as album of the year and next best album in various newspapers, websites and magazines.

  
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2006

2006 started off with some concerts early in the year, for the final part of the Maestro Tour. In March, they released their first ever live album: Live at Vega, which is a recording of one of their gigs, at the famous Vega stage in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 6th of October, 2005. On March 27th, they had a tour finale concert in the Rockefeller stage in Oslo, where they played a new song. And the next day, for a lucky hundred people (Not me :'( ) who won a contest, they had a secret gig at the club Pigalle in Oslo, where they played a lot of songs they dropped from the setlist a long time ago, and the fans even got a crack at being a Kaizer, with playing drums, or doing a cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. Later, their first ever live DVD, Viva la Vega is released, featuring the Vega concert and four hours of extra material, is released. It received decent reviews, and wound up on first place on the norwegian music DVD list the first week.

A press release in April this year also stated that there would be more focusing on recording than concerts. During the summer of 2006, the Kaizers played at a lot of festivals throughout Europe, most notably their concert at Roskilde, at the Orange Stage, with 20.000 onlookers. They also played their first ever gig at a garbage dump, in Arendal, Norway. After the summer festival gigs, they announced the Grand Finale Tour: The final tour promoting the album Maestro, throughout Europe. After three shows at Vega, Kaizers Orchestra announced that they would have a sabbatical from acting as the group Kaizers Orchestra, and that the band members would pursue individual projects until fall 2007, when a new album would be recorded. Before their sabbatical, however, a 30-track demo was recorded for their next album.

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2007

During their sabbatical in 2007, all members of Kaizers, except Helge tended to their side projects; Geir with his Zahl heartland rock project, Terje with punk meanies Skambankt, Øivind with far too many projects to count, Rune with his friend Øystein Kloster, and Janove with composing the music for a theater production called Det Tusende Hjertet, as well as some new stuff for his solo project. Also during their sabbatical, they negotiated an early release from their contract with Universal, due to disappointing sales and little effort from the major label to promote and distribute Kaizers Orchestra. However, the boys could not hold their peace for long, as they decided to perform again, upon receiving a very special invitation, at the Sziget festival in Hungary. They also held another concert in what could have been the place where they would become the house-band that would play there exclusively, Cementen. And finally, they were invited to play at the prestigious art exp Documenta 12 in Germany.

In fall 2007, Kaizers Orchestra entered the studio once more, to record their fourth album. However, unlike their three previous albums, they decided to take a break from tradition by recording it in Berlin, Germany, rather than in Jørgen Træen's Duper Studios in Bergen. The band had been contacted by respected producer Mark Howard, who'd been told of the Kaizers by none other than Tom Waits. From November to December 2007, the boys worked hard day in and day out to create another musical masterpiece. The album title was eventually revealed to be Maskineri. The first single, "Enden av november", was released in December. The video was released shortly after. The year 2007 ended on a high, with much anticipation and excitement for both the awaiting fans and the band.

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2008

2008 started off with a bang. As more and more information about the upcoming album Maskineri popped up all over the Internet and other media, the band's fans had their share of new Kaizer stuff. On Friday, February 15, the band released their entire new album for previewing on MySpace, joining a very select club of artists that have done the same thing. On February 18, Maskineri was released in Norway. It received very high marks from most major news publications in Norway and ascertained a respectable spot on the album charts for quite a while. The subsequent Maskineri Tour was a success, with touring throughout most of Europe. A live video for the album's second single, "9 mm", was shot by dedicated Kaizerfans. Later that year, Kaizers played at a plethora of prolific music festivals in the summer and spring.

In fall, information about a new live album was released, known as 250 Prosent. During the Maskineri tour, the band has purchased a new piece of recording equipment and recorded every single one of their shows, if only for their personal perusal. However, they were so impressed with some of these recordings that they decided to release a collection of them, albeit in limited quantities; the album was to be released exclusively on vinyl, as a way of giving the aged format a deservant "boost", as it were. The tracklist was originally supposed to cover twelve songs; four from each of their four albums, however these were eventually scrapped. The album was released both on vinyl and in digital music stores. Around the same time, the "250 Prosent Tour" was also announced - a very special tour, in which the band would completely change their regular setlists and play some of the dropped and unperformed songs in their catalogue. This tour became a hit with the band's die-hard fans, but did not sell as well as earlier tours. In December, the band stated that 2009 would be a less active year for them, with less touring.

    
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2009

Early in 2009, rumors spread like wildfire around the Kaizer fans community when an anonymous source claimed that Kaizers Orchestra had booked studio sessions in southern Norway. While fans were excited at the thought of a new record, many had their doubts about this being more than a mere demo recording session or some such. On February 14, as if a Valentine's Day card to their fans, information was released pertaining to a new album; namely, a collection of re-recorded "surplus material" from their entire career. This album came to be known as Våre demoner, its name coming from a track from the demo for Maestro which was leaked a couple of years earlier. The original idea for an album with unknown and dropped songs supposedly surfaced while they were on the "250 Prosent Tour" in 2008. The tracklist consists of many songs already known by die-hard fans either as live recordings or demos as well as some material that by all means no Kaizer fan should have head before. The album is scheduled for release on April 27.

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It's time to introduce the band, alright? Say Hallelujah!!
On the pump organ...all the way from Transylvania...Mr. 250 Percent...Helge Omen KAIZER!!!!

Helge Risa

Pump Organ, Electric Piano, Accordion, Hubcaps

All the way from Transylvania, Helge is without a doubt one of the most supernatural band players ever. He is the one who made the gasmask the iconic symbol it is today. He claims to never have even heard of a pump organ before he laid his hands on one. Also, he seems to be in a state of trance whenever he plays the organ, which is ornated with a very old lamp, a picture of Martin Luther, several candles and an old WWI helmet. Whenever he takes his mask off, he turns into plain old Helge Risa. He has a strong grip on his religion, and plays hymns on the organ on his day off.
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And on drums today, tomorrow and any other day. but not yesterday...he plays on wheels, he plays on a lightpost, he plays on a bucket, he plays pretty much on everything! Owner of the world's biggest red ashtray...Rune Mink KAIZER!!!!

Rune Solheim

Drummer

Rune is one of the most mysterious of the Kaizers. Known for making mind-numbing rhytms with numerous objects, including the second biggest red ashtray you're ever going to see. If you are lucky enough to see it that is. Rune is in the best condition of all the Kaizers, and they say he goes to sleep with his tanktop on. One of these days, Rune is going back to his roots, namely nature. Also has one hell of a hat collection. Secondary jobs include beating the shit out of nearly everything.
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On the double bass...member of Wunderkammer, Cloroform and the Big G upstairs...Øivind Thunder Whistlin' Dixie KAIZER!!!

Øyvind Storesund

Double bass, whistler

Øivind, the artist formerly known as 'Curly' Kaizer, namely because of his...well...his formerly curled hair. Joined Kaizers as their second to none bassist after Jon Sjøen quit the band cause of personal issues. He fit in quite well with the band, actually, so well that rarely anybody could hear the difference between him and Jon. Also, he is the only Kaizer who has had any sort of formal training with his instrument. Also in such award-winning bands like Cloroform, Wunderkammer and the big G upstairs, the Frode Gjerstad Trio. When not playing on his bass, he whistles famous western songs, for no apparent reason.
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On the first guitar, always playing on a Firebird Original, he used to tour a lot in eastern Europe with Johnny and the Sexual Problems...Sold a few horses, got a decent price...and his name is Mr. Terje Killmaster Pearl A.K.A Mr. Long Island Ice Tea, Mr. Terje Killmaster KAIZER!!!!

Terje Winterstø Røthing (a.k.a. Ted Winters)

1st Guitar, Oilbarrels

Always armed to the teeth with his Firebird guitar, Terje is the 'blondie' of Kaizers. Throws insane riffs that, according to legend, made the corpse of Fredrik Meltzer rise from his grave. Terje is also the one you'll be seeing hanging out in bars after concerts, mostly at the Kaizers favourite getaway place, Mono in Oslo. Early in Kaizer history, he was notorious for wearing a shirt that had been used by his father, and his grandfather, and did not smell nice...exactly. Terje also plays in Skambankt, a crazy band nobody's ever heard of. The biggest dress-code violator of all the Kaizers.
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On the second guitar...and I can tell you two things about this man, two things...the devil made this guitar for him, but the Lord made him this suit. He made him look good in black, red, blue...pretty much any color! His name is Geir Hellraizer Gegg KAIZER!!!

Geir Zahl

2nd Guitar, oilbarrels, occasional vocal

I can tell you two things about this man: The devil built his guitar for him, but the Lord made him his suit. He always looks good in black, always looks good in red, well, the Lord can make you feel good in pretty much any colour. Geir Zahl, also born in Stavanger, is a childhood friend of Janove's, and they were barely ever seen apart. After playing in a couple of bands with him, he took a little break from music while Janove was in the army. Upon first starting in Kaizers Orchestra, he injured himself in an infamous stage accident (read: his crowbar slipped, and he injured his finger) and the first Kaizer bassist, Jon Sjøen, regarded his guitar-playing as one of the most god-awful things he'd ever heard. Also, Geir is the guy who represents Kaizers the most when there's interviewing to be done. Co-writes songs with Janove sometimes, and also composes songs on his own. He has also released a solo album called Nice For a Change.
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Hailing from the darkest depths of Norway...killer of more bulls than your average Matador...the conductor, the Maestro...the owner of his very own mental institution...Mr. Janove "The Jackal" Who is your Daddy Methanol KAIZER!!!

Janove Ottesen

Lead vocal, occasional piano player and oilbarrel-beater

Lead vocal, occasionally piano player and Began his musical career together with his childhood friend Geir Zahl with the coverband Destruction. Owner of the 'strongest' dialect voice in all of Norway. Janove, after playing in the critically acclaimed Stavanger band "Blod, Snått og Juling" together with Geir, joined the army, but jumped ship just half a year later, to start a little band called "gnom", with the catchphrase "Too great songs for big sales". This turned out true enough, as the first (and last) gnom album was released in 1000 copies. And did not even sell half of them in the first year. One particular gnom song, "Bastard" became the very inspiration to what would be the style and sound of his new project, hinanimously named 'Kaizers Orchestra', originally with just him and Geir (Again!), but later some other high profiled (cough!) musicians joined the band. Always looking suave, with the coolest in suits and ties, this norwegian doesn't let much hold him back. Also, he is the most gifted Kaizer in the art of carpentry.
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The band has released many recordings over the years. This is a complete listing of all their official album and EP releases. A more in-depth discography, with singles, side projects and more can be found here at Dr. Mowinckels Akuttmottak.
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Kaizers Orchestra EP (2000)

01. Bøn fra helvete
02. Bastard
03. Katastrofen
04. Dekk bord
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Ompa til du dør (2001)

01. Kontroll på kontinentet
02. Ompa til du dør
03. Bøn fra helvete
04. 170
05. Rullett
06. Dr. Mowinckel
07. Fra sjåfør til passasjer
08. Resistansen
09. Dekk bord
10. Bak et halleluja
11. Bris
12. Mr. Kaizer, hans Constanze og meg
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Død manns tango (2002)

01. Død manns tango
02. Katastrofen
03. Sigøynerblod
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Mann mot mann (2002)

01. Mann mot mann
02. Bøn fra helvete (live)
03. Død manns tango (live)
04. Mr. Kaizer, hans Constanze og meg (live)
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Evig pint (2003)

01. Di grind
02. Hevnervals
03. Evig pint
04. De involverte
05. Djevelens orkester
06. Container
07. Naade
08. Min kvite russer
09. Veterans klage
10. Til depotet
11. Salt og pepper
12. Drøm hardt (Requiem part I)
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The Gypsy Finale (2004)

01. Sigøynerblod
02. Bak et halleluja
03. Resistansen
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Maestro EP (2005)

01. Maestro
02. På ditt skift
03. D-dagen
04. Sorti
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Maestro (2005)

01. KGB
02. Maestro
03. Knekker deg til sist
04. Señor Flamingos adieu
05. Blitzregn baby
06. Dieter Meyers Inst.
07. Christiania
08. Delikatessen
     09. Jævel av en tango
10. Papa har lov
 11. Auksjon (i Dieter Meyers hall)
12. På ditt skift

Bonus disc

01. Action
02. Kalifornia
03. Tokyo Ice til Clementine
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Live at Vega (2006)

Disc one

01. KGB
02. Delikatessen
03. Knekker deg til sist
04. Hevnervals
05. Container
06. Señor Flamingos adieu
07. Blitzregn baby
08. Bøn fra helvete
09. Mann mot mann
10. Kontroll på kontinentet
11. Christiania
12. På ditt skift
13. Dr. Mowinckel
14. Di grind
15. Dieter Meyers Inst.

Disc two

01. Evig pint
02. Ompa til du dør
03. Maestro
04. Mr. Kaizer, hans Constanze og meg
05. Sigøynerblod
06. Bak et halleluja
07. Resistansen
08. 170
09. Die Polizei
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Maskineri (2008)

01. Moment
02. Apokalyps meg
03. Den andre er meg
04. Bastard sønn
05. Maskineri
06. Toxic blod
07. 9 mm
08. Volvo i Mexico
09. Enden av november
10. Med en gong eg når bånn
11. Kaizers 115. drøm
12. Ond sirkel

Bonus tracks

13. Du og meg Lou
14. Romantisk salme i F-dur
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250 Prosent (2008)

01. KGB
02. Apokalyps meg
03. Container
04. Maestro
05. Dieter Meyers Inst.
06. Maskineri
07. Volvo i Mexico
08. Enden av november
09. Sigøynerblod
10. 170

iTunes exclusive bonus track

11. Ompa til du dør

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Våre demoner (2009)