Norwegian rockers Syme have been classic UMR favorites ever since they released their debut, Swing Swing, in 2005. They’ve already completed two successful tours in America, performing both at SXSW and CMJ music festivals. These interviews were conducted during their first tour across America!

Listen to the interview, mp3 style:

Introduction mp3

Interview mp3

Or read the transcript, eyes style

Where does the name Syme come from?

KETIL: It’s from the book 1984 by George Orwell. He’s one of the minor characters, in a way. He’s a guy called Syme who’s an expert in the language “Newspeak.”

How did Syme come together as a band?

BEN: The last day of high school we played a cover song - we were asked to play a cover song - so then we played this Swedish song. I played the drums, he played the bass, and he played the guitar - had a great solo with it. And that might seem completely irrelevant to some today, but the fact is that after that concert, or that one song, the whole summer, this was the last day of high school, and the whole summer we played together.
KETIL: Cause we started playing together
FREDERIK: Yeah, we started playing together and that’s…
BEN: And the whole summer we were together almost every day playing in the basement of his house, and 4 years later we came together in Bergen.
FREDERIK: We knew this guy, Eyvand, our guitarist, we knew him from our home town. He was a friend of ours. He liked our band and he played guitar so it was natural to ask if he would join our band. Then we were four, and we needed a drummer, so we had an audition in Bergen five years ago…
VIDAR: Still haven’t paid me!
FREDERIK: Shutup! So three guys showed up and this was the best of the three so we picked him.

How would you compare Syme to the other bands you guys are in?

KETIL: The other bands we’re working with are slightly different, but I would say Syme is the band where everyone comes together with their own influence, in a way.
FREDERIK: It’s the band we’ve been working on the longest. We’ve been playing together, more or less, as this band for five or six years now. I think it’s a good thing to have other projects that are different so that you can have an outlet for musical perversities, or whatever.

Why do you sing in English?

KETIL: In Norway you grow up and you learn English from your first year at school, and all your influences in culture and music, especially, are from English speaking artists. So in that way it’s kind of normal to sing and work in English, and most Norwegian bands do actually. Within Norway there aren’t too many people and we’d like our ideas to go further than just Norwegians, I guess.

Why is Syme touring in the US and how is the tour going?

FREDERIK: We’re here in the us because we’re trying to sell our syme product, which has grown strong in norweigh and playing in the US has been a really good experience. It’s just that we get better and better every time we play a show, and playing five or six shows in a row just, yeah, makes the band stronger. So it’s got nothing to do with how many people show up to the gigs, it just has to do withwhat we put into it. From my point we put 110% all the time, and that’s real important.

Why does Syme make music?

KETIL:Music is definitely the most beautiful artform there is, so we just want to make great art. ….And get free chips backstage at concerts.

Now that we’ve got that over with, some easier stuff…Is this everyone’s first trip to America /NYC? If so, is it what everyone expected it to be?

KETIL:Vidar (the drummer) has studied medicine in atlanta for 6 years, and I’ve been to New York for a holiday two years ago, but the rest of us are nubies. Personally I really love New York, and think it’s one of the friendliest towns I’ve ever been to.

Have you guys had some really great or terrible experiences yet?

KETIL:The squirrels in Central Park, the Planetarium at Museum of natural history and some transvestite-heavy parties are highlights so far. We were really worried about bringing our tons of musical instuments through costums, but when we got there they treated us like kings. One of the costums people just couldn’t believe we were not the Beatles.

In Norway, if I’m not mistaken, you recently headlined many tours. How are you dealing with being an opener again?

KETIL:Being an opener is just like being a goalkeeper at a penalty shootout in the world cup, you have nothing to lose.

How do you feel about the bands you’re set to open for? Had you heard of any of them before this tour?

KETIL:I sat hidden under my desk at the record shop were I work the other day, listening to some Middle Distance Runner.
Think they’ll suit our music just fine!

Are you excited about the Montreal Pop Marathon and CMJ showcases?

KETIL:We’ve been hearing some really good things about Montreal, so I think that festival gig will be one of the highlights. Great bill as well, and I get to practice my french
between the songs.
I expect CMJ to be more chaotic as we’re playing two shows on one day, but still it’s hopefully going to be some people with golden
handshakes cheering at the back.

Is making it big in America one of your main goals? If so, why?

KETIL:Focusing on the American market seems like a win-win situation for us right now, as this first US-tour has started a nice little Syme-buzz in Norway as well.
For some reason both american friends living in Norway, american magazines (like you!) and US labels have flattered us so much with their
praise that we just couldn’t resist giving you back some love.

What sort of a fan base do you have in Norway? Do you want more Norwegians, Western Europeans or Americans to like your music? Why?

KETIL:See above

I heard a rumor about another album in the works. When do you guys plan to release it?

KETIL:We’ve been playing quite a few new songs on tour now, so we can’t wait too long before we hit the studio. Our goal is to get things on tape by the end of the year.

Do you think you’ll ever hit the Midwest or west coast?

KETIL:We’ve already been talking about coming back to the US early next year, so I think we’re very likely to try out some other parts
of the country then.

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