Today marks exactly twenty years since Made in Spite came out. 10 April 2006.
I don’t remember everything about that January recording weekend at Neslandsvatn Lydbureau — but I remember the feeling. Cold outside, warm inside. Eldar Melkvik had set things up beautifully on the second floor, and the band delivered from the first beat. We were inspired by the sound of Motörhead’s 2004 album Inferno, and you can hear it — without stretching that comparison further than it deserves.
Four songs with an open, hard-hitting production that holds up surprisingly well today.
We never made it big. We never made the album we should have made. But we made this — and I’m proud of it.
Here are a few thoughts on the songs and the memories behind them.
BAD BOY (FOR YOU)
One of our heaviest songs, rhythmically at least. It grooves like hell, and it has done since day one. I have a strong memory of Kartfestivalen the year before: sunshine, a good crowd in front of the stage, and that song just landing.
Lyrically, it was an outlet for a frustration I didn’t have many other places to put — someone I really liked who clearly preferred a different type. Rock doesn’t solve anything, but singing about it helps.
MY GENERATOR
A driving rock’n’roll song that I think is underrated in our repertoire. The lyric is simple: a tribute to the people who liked what we were doing and gave us energy back. But Bård’s solo lifts it into something else. Melodic, powerful, and with a weight that gets your legs moving. Play it loud.
HIGH ROAD DOWN
This is Knut Eirik’s composition, and there’s something about it that sets it apart. The backing is ridiculously good — just accept it. The tempo is more slow-burning than the rest of the EP, leaving room for something that almost feels like free fall under control.
Vocally, it sits right at the limit of what I could pull off, and that gives it soul rather than perfection. Then there’s Bård’s guitar solo. One of the best I’ve heard from a Norwegian guitarist, honestly. The finishing touch is Kristian’s little drum hit towards the end of the solo, around 2:22. Listen for it.
INSTANT STAR
The song I have the most mixed feelings about on the EP — not because it’s bad, but because it’s the most exposed. A stripped-back sound, with the vocals right up front in the verses. But the chorus and guitar riff are strong, and it’s actually the lyric I’m happiest with.
It’s about the Idol phenomenon that was everywhere in 2006: the idea that a pretty enough face could make you a star without having earned it. “Instant, instant star. Just add the water you’re an instant star” — inspired by a Bowie quote, with references to Ziggy Stardust woven in. Not bad for a hard rock EP.
THE BONUS TRACKS — FOR THOSE WHO WERE THERE
If you have the bonus edition we released online in 2007, you’ll also find “SAM (Stargirl And Me)” and “Lemmy’s Heart.” We recorded them in Skien for the student compilation Hits out of HiT. This is the 2007 recording of “Lemmy’s Heart,” rather than the 2004 demo.
HiT stood for Høgskolen i Telemark, Telemark University College, where Knut Eirik and I had both studied. Kroa i Bø, our student pub and concert venue, was affiliated with the college, which is now part of the University of South-Eastern Norway. Kroa was where so much of it happened: we had both first worked there as volunteers and later in paid roles. Knut was a door supervisor and technician. I was general manager for four years, from 2005 to 2009, though I had little influence over bookings. We were closely connected to Kroa, and someone decided that was enough for the HiT compilation.
LEMMY’S HEART
“Lemmy’s Heart” was our most popular song from the beginning: always last on the setlist, always a winner. It’s about being a fairly straight-laced person while still feeling a rock heart beating hard inside. Lemmy’s heart was the ultimate expression of what it means to live out the rock, and it felt right to write about it.
I think it was the second or third lyric I wrote and brought to the guys back in 2004, when we first started as Powerage.
SAM (STARGIRL AND ME)
“SAM (Stargirl And Me)” came from two things at once: an idea for a riff I had — and couldn’t play — and ten seasons of Stargate SG-1. Sam is Samantha Carter, the heart and humanity of the series. The lyric is about her taking me into outer space. SAM is, of course, also an acronym for “Stargirl And Me.” Nothing complicated. But it’s rock.
AND THEN THERE’S THE FIFTH SONG
We recorded five songs that weekend, not four. “Refugee of Love” was never fully mixed. The younger half of the band thought it didn’t quite hold together tempo-wise. The older half — Knut Eirik and me — disagreed. I still disagree.
It’s punky and boogie-heavy, and it always had great energy live. You can hear the unofficial, unmixed recording on ReverbNation and make up your own mind.
REMEMBERING ELDAR
Eldar Melkvik is no longer with us. He died far too young, and that makes these memories a little heavier — and a little more important to preserve. He was a lovely man, a skilled sound engineer and musician, and it was a privilege to make music in his studio.
Thank you to Bård, Knut Eirik and Kristian. Three of the best musicians I could have had the pleasure of sharing a stage and making music with. It was a joy — and I’m still living off it.
THE MUSIC BEHIND THE MEMORIES