Photo credit: Jula Marie Naglestad
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Oh, I don’t have one! I don’t even have a driver’s license, if you can believe it. I grew up very politically active and was all about protecting the environment when I was younger, and one of my acts of defiance was to not get a license… How naïve was I?!
But living in Oslo you really don’t need one, public transport takes you literally anywhere. And getting one is so expensive now that I keep postponing it.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
If I’m really good I make my own food before I go, we call it matpakke and it usually consists of boring open sandwiches and leftovers from dinner. I also try to bring fruit and vegetables with me, carrots are my favorite. And we always ask for both sandwiches, healthy snacks and dinner from the venues.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I don’t think I’ve ever broken a string while playing before, I play way too softly. But I tend to mess up a bit when I put strings on my guitar (I’m not very patient). It costs you a whole new set of strings once one is broken, so I’m trying my best to stay calm and collected while stringing my guitars.
Where do you rehearse?
My rehearsal space is usually in my producer’s studio, a wonderful room in a basement close to where I live in Oslo. It’s got a huge window in the ceiling which gives the room a much more open feeling than most studios I’ve been to. I’ve had so many amazing moments in there – it’s where I recorded my first solo album, where I heard strings on my songs for the first time, it’s where I met my producer and my drummer. I feel like I wouldn’t be the same and my music certainly wouldn’t be if I never set foot there.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I’ve written so many songs in my childhood I can’t remember which one was the first. But me and some friends wrote a song called “Stupid Boy” when we were about 12. “Remember the time you said that we were two? Remember the time you said ‘I love you’?” Quite hilarious when I think of it now!
Describe your first gig.
I can’t say exactly when my first gig was, as I’ve performed my music in various forms since high school. I recall playing for family and friends in a café close to my bandmates house in Oslo, we got paid in beers and a meal as far as I can remember. It was a sweet and quite stressful experience as we played original material for the first time.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I have a day job now, I do customer service at the National Theatre in Oslo. I love customer service, and my colleagues are the best! The theatre was built in 1899 and so it’s got a lot of history within its walls. I also get to see a lot of theatre for free and that’s really enriched my life lately!
How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?
It’s been steadily growing the last five years or so, but the income is much lower than it would be if I was fairly paid for the hours that I put in. I think this is the reality of most musicians, sadly, and it’s gotten increasingly difficult now with inflation and the very unstable political situation in Europe and the world in general. Sometimes I forget how far I’ve come musically because it doesn’t seem to show up financially. But we have to keep on keeping on! It’s always worth it, with all the joy this profession brings me.
I have no idea where I’ll be in 10 years, hopefully still a touring musician with a growing audience. I hope to have released more music and to be able to continue working with amazing musicians and travel the world with my music.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Oh my, so many things I wish I’d known… but also, you live and learn, and that’s an important part of the game. I don’t know if I would have chosen this path if I knew some of the things I know now, so I guess I was better off not knowing! I could go on and on about how luck and privilege is essential to success, and that connections in and of themselves won’t get you anywhere – you have to work hard and you have to make something worth listening to. I’d tell myself to work even harder and to believe in my own ideas. Also: working with other people and getting feedback on your songwriting isn’t dangerous!