Norway's 120 Days Return To North America

Back in November when ChartAttack last spoke to 120 Days, they were about to embark on their first North American tour. The Norwegians return to our shores this week, which recently had singer Adne Meisfjord in the mood to talk about the first time around.

"I have to say, Toronto was maybe the worst show on the entire tour," Meisfjord says with a laugh. "There was no one there, except a camera crew. It really was the worst, but it can only go one way from there.

"I think the North American audiences are a bit more easygoing than the European crowds, especially the Norwegian ones. I don't know if you've ever been to a show in New York, but people there tend to stand a bit still and say, 'Hmm, is this cool enough for me to like?'"

The singer also found that, sometimes, stereotypes are rooted in truth.

"I think when you visit a place for the first time, especially a place like America, you have these stereotypes drawn up in your head. I found, for the most part, they were accurate. It was the way I thought it would be, like the crowds in New York were very hip, and the crowds in San Francisco were very flamboyant. It was great. It was our first tour, so we're really happy with the way it went down."

The band are a bit of an oddity in that they play electronic rock that's simultaneously danceable and dreamy, making listeners unsure as to whether they should start dancing or spacing out. The ethereal quality of the quartet's sound is personified by Meisfjord's escapist lyrics.

"We grew up in this really shitty coastal town on the west coast of Norway," he explains. "For us, playing in a band was a ticket to get out, and I think that idea is a big part of 120 Days, so there is a lot of escapism in the music and the lyrics."

Meisfjord and the rest of the band have a clear disdain for the generic American-style rock that's popular in their homeland.

"Norway is a very rock 'n' roll country," he explains. "Outside, there's a lot of electronic music that's known to people outside of Norway, just not inside.

"Being in an environment where you listen to a lot of shitty rock music, but still know there are these great sounds out there, that makes you want to go out and try and figure out your own sound and not try to just rip off The Ramones.

"It saddens me to listen to a lot of rock music. I hate the way that some people describe boring rock 'n' roll, they describe it as 'real.' That is the biggest misconception of all. If there's one thing that describes 'real' rock 'n' roll that came out in the early '50s, it's that it was something new and exciting, something like a soundtrack to the youth rebelling. That seems to go over their heads when people talk about 'real' rock today."

But the 120 Days guys are more than willing to subvert their country's stagnant scene.

"I think, of course, people's minds can be changed," Meisfjord says. "People have gotten used to hearing stuff on the radio, like three-minute songs that all sound the same.

"We're on a mission to, well, I don't know if we can change that, but offer an alternative. As long as someone gets it, that makes it worthwhile."

You can make sure that 120 Days don't have another bad Canadian experience by checking them out on these dates:

March 1 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
March 2 Montreal, QC @ Mile End Cultural Centre
March 3 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
March 4 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
March 6 London, ON @ Call The Office
March 7 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Lounge
March 28 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards