{"id":47713,"date":"2015-01-13T10:43:06","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T15:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47713"},"modified":"2015-02-25T08:34:49","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T13:34:49","slug":"interview-with-age-sten-nilsen-of-ammunition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/interview-with-age-sten-nilsen-of-ammunition\/","title":{"rendered":"Age Sten Nilsen of Ammunition"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once a spandex-clad frontman of the glam rock disciples Wig Wam, performing under the moniker of Glam and now a frontman of a super-group Ammunition \u2013 Age Sten Nilsen is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary singers to ever emerge from the Norwegian rock scene. Although there\u2019s been dozens of topics one would love to discuss with Age, it\u2019s Ammunition \u2013 the band\u2019s foundation, star-studded line-up and the debut album Shanghaied<\/em> \u2013 Hardrock Haven focused when enquiring the busy musician. <\/p>\n

\"Age<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Wig Wam disbanded not so long ago. Are you tired now of being asked about the band\u2019s end or comparisons drawn between your current efforts and Wig Wam\u2019s? Do you embrace your musical past, or perhaps try to break with it?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: I understand that people are curious about why Wig Wam broke up, but yeah\u2026 I’m a bit tired of bringing up the past. Especially since it keeps reminding me about negative things. I’d love to be able to look at the past with joy and pride. But there are so many negative issues that have come up in the wake of our break-up, that I just want to move forward and erase the past really. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Wig Wam was very specific a band \u2013 a kind of role-play, with specific costumes and your onstage personas\u2026 kind of KISS-esque aesthetics. Were you tired with the formula when you decided to disband?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: No, I wasn’t tired of it. The only thing I was tired of was compromises and the lack of positive input. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Was Ammunition already in the works when Wig Wam decided to disband, or was it a next step that was taken?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Not at all. I was cutting demos for what was supposed to be Wig Wam’s studio album #5. But when I read an interview on the net with our bass player and the guitar player saying that the band had broken up already, I started thinking about making a solo album instead until Erik suggested we should form a new band together. And when he did, Ammunition became the next natural step. And when Wig Wam finally made the break-up official, we were halfway done with Shanghaied<\/em> already. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: With the band name often preceded with your own, and dubbed Age Sten Nilsen\u2019s Ammunition, is the sound and style of Ammunition only your vision or a collaborative effort? Being a leader, are you more of a CEO, or a dictator \u2013 how do you think?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: At first Erik suggested “GLAMunition” for band name, more like a joke (laughs). But I thought our sound was more AMMUnition than GLAMunition. And so it was. Using my name was mostly to make sure my fans would recognize the band, you know. We will slowly develop into AMMUNITION. Our official website is www.AMMUNITION.no<\/a>, not \u00c5ge Sten Nilsen\u2019s Ammunition dot this or that. And no, I don\u2019t like dictatorships \u2013 I prefer democracy. I rather look at myself as a motor, maybe an idea-maker. And the more initiative that comes from the rest of the band, the better. But the truth is, that a lot of musicians hate to do the planning part, the logistic part, the financial part, the promotion part, the planning part, the endless-meeting part, the spend-countless-hours-on-the-phone part and all the other boring parts as well. Well, I find it pretty amusing. And those parts are pretty important to keep a band going. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: All of you bring different inspirations and experience into the band. How do you think it influences the band\u2019s sound, and what do you think is the strength of this particular line-up?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: I think the different inspirations will be easier to hear on the next album, after we have been writing together as a band. On Shanghaied<\/em> you\u2019ll hear my and Erik\u2019s influences, and what made this turn into a band in the first place. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What were the circumstances of Ammunition\u2019s foundation? Weren\u2019t tight schedules of the particular musicians a problem?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Shanghaied<\/em> and the band itself were more or less built brick by brick. Firstly, most of the songs were written by Erik and me, and then member by member the guys were brought into the band. And we are building this band unit day by day, bringing in all the members\u2019 influences and creative abilities. Right now Jon and me are about to start working on riffs and songs for the next album. To this day he hasn\u2019t written many songs, but I know what he\u2019s capable of, and many times during sound checks I have asked him what riff he just played\u2026 and he has just nodded \u201cWell, that\u2019s just something I came up with\u201d (laughs). So I started recording them, and now the approach is – let\u2019s put them together and bring them to life. I also know Robban is extremely keen on writing, and Hal and Lasse are two creative souls too. The next album will definitely explode in creativity. <\/p>\n

To continuing to read the interview click the link below:
\n<\/p>\n

Continued…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Age<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Music acts of today can be divided into \u2018proper\u2019 bands and side projects. Is Ammunition more of a project, or a regular band? Do you plan to continue after the album\u2019s released?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Ammunition is a band. And we\u2019ll keep building this band and make it grow. Expect many releases from this band in the future \u2013 we have finally found a playground that works, thrills and make us all excited. And that\u2019s all that matters, isn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: There\u2019s a certain supergroup quality to Ammunition. What do you think about it?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: I really don\u2019t see this band as a \u201csupergroup\u201d (laughs). The motivation behind this band\u2019s line-up was to bring good friends and great players together\u2026 musicians I appreciated not only music-wise, but also as good friends and fun people to be around. Playing in a band should be fun, and a sense of brotherhood. I really missed that experience in my former band, so I thought it was about time to experience it. And here we are\u2026! I have a feeling that we\u2019ll do an interview 10 years from now\u2026 about the same band. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: I certainly hope so! Now let\u2019s move on to the topic of your debut album \u2013 Shanghaied<\/em>. Are you satisfied with the sound and songwriting on the album?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: I couldn\u2019t have asked for more. The songwriting was easy and so much fun. And Erik has provided the best sound possible as the album\u2019s producer. I have not only found a new best friend, I have also found a man machine\u2026 his work ethics is unbelievable. He simply won\u2019t leave the studio until every tiny detail is perfect. I have never ever worked with a better producer and nicer person in my whole life. And I can\u2019t wait to create new material with Erik, I tell you. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: How do you think Shanghaied<\/em> is different from the albums you recorded previously? Do you see it as a kind of evolution, a step forward?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Definitely!… And that\u2019s what mutual respect can do as well as the ability to listen to each other, for the purpose of making it better. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What do you think are the highlights of Shanghaied?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Man, that\u2019s a tough one. But \u201cSilverback\u201d is one for sure. I simply love that tune. But in my opinion so are \u201cTake Out The Enemy (Hallelujah),\u201d \u201cRoad To Babylon\u201d and \u201cTie Me Down\u201d too\u2026 Christ\u2026 they\u2019re all our babies, and I love them all to bits!<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Why Shanghaied? Why did this particular song title give the name to the entire album?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: At first the song \u201cShanghaied\u201d gave me an idea for the cover art. And then it occured to me that I\u2019d been shanghaied by my former band several times \u2026 it just made perfect sense. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: The album\u2019s cohesive yet there are some different flavors to particular songs music-wise. What\u2019s inspired you in terms of music and lyrics while working on the album?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Erik and I would talk for hours about our common inspirations and music that we loved. From making songs pin-pointed for a Wig Wam release, I guess we just were hungry for creative freedom. No rules. No limits. Just let the music flow. Even though we had some shared visions about what we wanted this album to sound like. Lyric-wise I finally weren\u2019t hung up on any conceptual limits either. I could simply write from my heart what I felt the song expressed in the first place. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Shanghaied<\/em> was mixed by Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Brad Blackwood. How did you hook up with him? Did any of you work with him before, maybe with some other projects?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: It was our manager Eivind Bryd\u00f8y\u2019s suggestion really. He had been working with Brad before, and advised us to use him. And he did a great job. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What do you think about the results of Brad\u2019s work and would you like to collaborate with Brad in the future?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: He\u2019s one of the best, so there\u2019s no question about it really. The album sounds excellent and I would surely trust him for the next one too. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: 2014 was also a year when Ammunition debuted onstage. Which do you think was the most important gig you played last year and why?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Every gig is important, my friend. And they all had different purposes. The first gig was a private corporation gig, which gave us a chance to just connect live without having too much pressure\u2026 to simply go out there and enjoy playing together, you know. The summer shows that we did made us tight, and gave us the possibility to get tight and socially connected. We all brought our families, friends and kids, and played the same venue, going through songs we all grew up with that inspired us in the first place. The gig we did with Sweet and Slade was probably the toughest one, since I just came in from Jan Groth\u2019s funeral and Erik had just lost his father. That gig made us connect even stronger. The show must go on, you know\u2026 I think the best gig we\u2019ve done so far was the release concert in Stockholm though. We are really about to make this band a real monster on stage. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Talking about The Show Must Go On and the fact of Queen songs being included in Ammunition\u2019s concert set list, you seem to be an avid Queen fan. How much of an influence was Freddie Mercury towards you, and what are your other major influences?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: We included Queen songs, some Zeppelin tunes and some Wig Wam classics in our very first concerts, since we didn\u2019t want to expose too much of our own material before the album was released. Queen is a major influence, but so is Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Sweet, Guns\u2026 But having a successful Queen show running in Norway for over 7 years, a lot of people over here expect me to at least do a couple of Queen classics. So why not. But I guess after a while, when people have connected to our original material, that\u2019s what we will focus on.<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Being so busy with Ammunition, how do you find time for your other projects? Apart from Nordic Beast and The Show Must Go On, is there anything else you\u2019re working on at the moment?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: You know, Nordic Beast doesn\u2019t play that often. I mean, hey, Mot\u00f6rhead and Europe are still both very busy! (laughs) And the songs that we play are old familiar tunes. The Show Must Go On have been running for over 7 years, so the songs are stuck in my brain. But of course, if the Ammunition schedule gets very busy, it will be harder to find time for other projects. But then again, Erik and Robban\u2019s band Eclipse will do some gigs, and while they\u2019re busy I will keep myself busy doing other things. Actually Tony Carey (former Richie Blackmore\u2019s Rainbow) and I are talking about performing together at some point, doing Rainbow classics from the first two albums. Tony is such a great guy and an amazing player. So I guess that could be an experience worth doing. I think we\u2019ll even bring in Richie Blackmore\u2019s son too. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: What are the band\u2019s plans for 2015? Any particular concert dates we should keep on our radars?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: After the release of Shanghaied our main goal is to get the live act rolling, you know. And hopefully we\u2019ll be able to keep ourselves busy on the road. And we will start focusing on writing new material for the next album while Shanghaied still is fresh. July 17th we\u2019ll do V\u00e4sby Rock Festival with MSG, Magnum and many more cool bands, so that could be especially worth checking out. <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven: Anything you\u2019d like to add in the end?<\/p>\n

Age Sten Nilsen: Thank you for having me, and I hope your readers enjoy Shanghaied. On January the 23rd, our official website www.ammunition.no will be launched, so pop in and check our live date route. Hopefully we\u2019ll bring some ammunition to your neighborhood!<\/p>\n

Visit the band online: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Ammunition\/1404489566506923<\/a> \u2013 http:\/\/www.agestennilsen.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Once a spandex-clad frontman of the glam rock disciples Wig Wam, performing under the moniker of Glam and now a frontman of a super-group Ammunition \u2013 Age Sten […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12393],"tags":[10532,10533,203,10534,10471],"class_list":{"0":"post-47713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcint2015","8":"tag-age-sten-nilsen","9":"tag-ammunition","10":"tag-interview","11":"tag-shanghaied","12":"tag-wig-wam"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}