Steso

What's the meaning behind the band's name?

Steso is one of the main characters in a wicked Danish movie called Nordkraft. The band started out as a one man project, but I wanted to stay clear of “creative” band names like Dave Matthews Band. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great band, but the name doesn’t require much brain activity. Naming the band The Hergeir Staksberg band seemed cheap and lazy to me. Then one day I watched Nordcraft and the Steso character reminded me of me on many levels and eureka! The band name was there.

How the band started?

I’ve been in other bands, but always wanted to make music myself. That way you don’t have to compromise with the other members. So I started to make some ideas which grew into entire songs. Then I asked some of my very talented friends if they could help me out and add their unique touch to the songs. They all agreed to join forces and Steso grew to a five piece band.

What's the message to transmit with your music??

We’re not trying to save the world, win a nobel prize or protect the panda. Our “message” is more on a trancendental level. Our message is best put like this: when words fail music speaks.

What's your method at the time of writing a song?

Selfdicipline is the main ingrediense. If you manage to sit still and jam for an hour or two the songs will come to you all by themselves. I don’t think that songwriting is something you can plan. Songwriting to me is a leap into the unknown. As cheasy as it might sound. I think Forest Gump put it quite well when he said: you never know what you’re gonna get. The same goes for songwriting. It’s an adventure.

Which are your music influences?

I listen to bands ranging from Enigma to Slipknot, and my favorite genre is grunge, but that doesn’t make any sense if you listen to our music. I was in a band called Makrel for 10 years, so I’d say that they’re a great inspiration. And I’m sure that people who know Makrel will hear something Makrel’ish in our music.

Another thing is that I’m not an educated musician. I don’t know the names of the chords I play, I don’t know any scales etc. – and to top it off I’m not able to play fast. I have to be aware of my limits and use my abilities as good as I possibly can.

With this in mind. It was quite a revolution to me to hear the song Solitude by Black Sabbath. It was quite overwhelming to me to listen to my all time favorite song and realising that it was extremely simple and very slow. Solitude consists of only two chords, and to me the song is a mastepiece. So I guess Black Sabbath and Makrel are my main influences.

What plans do you guys have for the future?

We’re just about to release our debut album, so touring, record labels, airplay, reviews and interviews like yours are vital at the moment. But our main goal is to make a living out of music and share our music with the rest of the world.

Which has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show?

This is going to sound as boring as watching grass grow, but we’ve only played two gigs this far and I can’t really think of any pranks... sorry.

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are. Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other. Who would you eat first?

Hahaha a very likely situation. Well there’s a dilemma here, because the person who I would have chosen to go and seek help is the same person who I’d like to make a delicious buffét out of.

The happy traveller would be Jens. He’s always calm and is used to wander in the nature, so he’s be my first choice. On the other hand he didn’t start partying until he was 19, so in terms of meat he’s the least polluted of us. He’s also the biggest guy in the band, so he’d make the best steak in terms of meat amount. I’ve got a solution! We would get him to seek help and then when he returned we’d eat him.

Which country you guys would love to play?
Think Japan would be cool. There’s something fascinating about Japan and the japanese people. Come to think of it. I’d go anywhere as it’s not the location which is important. The people, the energy and the entire atmosphere are far more important than country borders and geography.  

With which bands you guys would love to share stage??

Loads. Massive Attack get the first place, Sigur Rós a close second and Guns N’ Roses and Shakira would share a third place.

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is going actually?

As long as the compass is pointing forward we’re pleased. And it’s pointing in the right direction at the moment, so we’re pleased.

Check out more of this band by going to: http://www.myspace.com/stesolid