June 14 - July 14 '00

I'm spending the month in Denmark where I lived from '84 to '97. My wife has her family here and we have many friends who we haven't seen for a few years. It's great to be here and see people and it is also great to know that our decision to stay in Seattle was the right one for us.

The music scene in Denmark which has never been very dynamic seems to have reached an all time low. Being a tiny country there has traditionally been very little room for any underground and for the same reason very little do it yourself activity at all. Unfortuneately things haven't changed a lot in the DK (Danish Kingdom) as far as the major labels are concerned. Readers in the States might find it hard to believe that major labels play a large role in rock culture here but as the country is so small, there is very little life outside of the mainstream.

The fact that the majors have pretty much given up on rock music might be a good thing. Just as it probably would be a good thing if the the Danish government pulled all support of rock music, but that's a different rant. With the absence of competition from the majors, a number of upstarts seem to be getting a foothold.

I had the chance to meet with Lars Krogh of Bad Afro Records who have been releasing Scandinavian garage and punks bands for about a year and a half. He has also been one of the main contributors and editors of Moshable, an internationally known garage rock fanzine. They released the second Helicopters single and have since been involved with many of the goings on in the Scandinavian garage scene.

Their latest release is with Danish band the Burnouts. Also recently out is the debut of Swedish The Royal Beat Conspiracy "Gala Galore" which is a super cool eclectic sixties inspired pop outfit. What is exciting about this label and these bands is that they seem to have tapped into the international garage scene and have found fans and respect from the rest of the world. Not an easy thing for Danes to do.

I also got to talk to Anders from Gearbox (Anders Gearbox) who books international things like the Makers, Supersuckers, Nashville Pussy, Nomads, Helicopters etc. Although there is a certain futility in trying to get the Danes to rock, he has quite a successful thing going with these bands and a style I much approve of.

Pianist Esben Just who I used to play with in the Groovy Greasebags has started a Cope Records based on a collective/co-op model that shares profits and responsibilities of running a label with the bands who are interested in being involved. The idea is to have a working model and a shared experience pool for bands who would otherwise put their records out themselves. The benefit is that the label can take care of the paperwork hurdles and distribution. They can keep the cost low because they hire in freelance promotion and the band covers most of the cost of production. That's kinda like most independent labels in the States, right?

I had a great evening together with Christian Bech (ex. Cactus Circle), Tim Christiansen (ex. Dizzy Miss Lizzy) and Jan Poulsen who works at the Danish National Radio, has about 20,000 records in his living room and is a walking talking rock encyclopedia. We all played our latest recordings for each other and I was very excited to hear Christian and Tim's new stuff.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy were for a number of years one of the most popular Danish rock bands and were led by Tim Christiansen. After two platinum records he chose not to milk it to the end and put the group to rest. Since then he has spent the last three years collecting mellotrons, vocoders and other vintage toys, has written and recorded with several projects, but the world still awaits his debut solo album. The album is yet to be mixed but I got a copy and honestly believe it is one of the best powerpop albums I've heard in years.

By the way, Tim has a Mellotron in perfect condition for sale. Roughly $3000, if interested feel free to contact me.

Christian Bech's band Cactus Circle only released one record before throwing in the towel. They were also part of a surge of young Danish bands that burst onto the scene in the late nineties. Their sound was strongly inspired by sixties garage and psychedelic rock but was also somehow tied to the Danish Jazz tradition that has been a strong influence to young musicians here for years. Their album was mostly misunderstood by most Danes but is still one of my favorite albums and one that is still spun regularly at home and on the road. Christian's new material is unmistakably in the same style, but has been honed and strengthened.

Our Fifteen Minutes, who I recorded a few things for are threatening to complete the EP trilogy started a few years back with "My Girl is My Girl" and "Rumkrig". I saw Phrede, Peter and Julie who have been amassing an impressive array of $50 keyboards and writing a ton of songs. They have plans to record in the DK soon so perhaps I will have a chance to fly over soon and do some work.

That's what I did on my summer vacation aside from the amusement parks, but that's a different story...