Euroboys is a Norwegian band. They were formed in 1990 under the name Kåre and the Cavemen, but changed their name to Euroboys in 1997 for releases outside of Norway. In 2000 they changed their name to Euroboys for all releases including inside Norway.
Beginnings
Kåre and the Cavemen originally came from a smalltown north of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
called
Harestua
Harestua is a town in Lunner kommune, Viken county, Norway. It has 2318 inhabitants. Harestua is located 46 kilometeres north of Oslo, and functions as a commuter town to the capital. It is served by Harestua Station on the Gjøvik Line
The ...
, and started out as a
Beastie Boys inspired hip hop/punk band with founding members Kåre João Erik Pedersen (bass, vocals),
Knut Schreiner
Knut Schreiner (born 18 December 1974 in Bergen, Norway), is a Norwegian singer, musician and producer currently residing in Oslo. Also known by his stage name Euroboy, he has been part of important Norwegian bands like Kåre and The Cavemen know ...
(guitar) and Werner Holm (drums). They soon concentrated on punk rock, as Dag Gravem relieved Pedersen of his bass duties. In the fall of 1990, the group's musical orientation changed permanently to '50s and '60s instrumental garage rock heavily influenced by
Link Wray, as Holm left and Pedersen took over the drums.
During the early nineties, Kåre and the Cavemen established themselves firmly in the Norwegian garage underground, supporting acts like The Cosmic Dropouts and Peau de Pêche while still in their teens. Garage rock entrepreneur Arne Thelin heard the band live as well as on their 1990 demo tape ''Rock with the Cavemen'', and recorded a number of tunes by the group in the fall of 1991. Of these recordings, only the tune Monster-a-Go-Go has surfaced, on hobby
ornithologist and leatherwear enthusiast Thelin's 1993 sampler LP ''Penguins and Bondage''.
In the spring of 1993, Kåre and the Cavemen recorded a number of radio jingles for the Norwegian National Radio's brand new P3 channel. These jingles were used throughout the nineties on P3's ''Rocksrevyen'' (Rock review) show.
Around this time, Schreiner and Pedersen started concentrating on other musical projects, among these The Abusers, The Cavebones and the Thelin-lead Kwyet Kings. A rare Kåre and the Cavemen performance took place in the summer of 1994, when the band held a release party for Pedersen after he had served a DWI sentence.
Breakthrough
Disillutioned with their other projects, Schreiner and Pedersen regrouped with Gravem in 1995. At the same time,
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
's seminal ''
Pulp Fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
'' movie and its soundtrack was starting to influence mainstream popular culture. This development created an unexpected interest in Kåre and the Cavemen's music, which now also incorporated elements of
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
and
exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny Exotica (Martin Denny album), album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon Wa ...
. Still young and fluent in the styles of
Link Wray and
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known a ...
, the band suddenly became a popular live act at media kickoff parties as well as
biker
Biker or bikie may refer to:
* A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports
* A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports
** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...
conventions. The group again entered the studio, and released the EP ''The Mood'' on Hit Me! Records in the spring of 1996. During these sessions, material for an entire album was recorded. Of these recordings only a cover version of
Hava Nagilah on a 1996 radio promo single has surfaced. (Some of these songs, including Hava Nagilah, were re-recorded for Kåre and the Cavemen's 1997 debut album ''Jet Age''.)
In the summer of 1996, the band was invited to the
Quart Festival, Norway's most important rock festival of the nineties. Anders Møller, previously of The O-Men and
Gluecifer
Gluecifer is a Norwegian hard rock band based in Oslo. Formed in 1994, they produced several underground releases during their first years of existence and soon claimed to be "kings of rock".
History
In 1997, the album ''Ridin' the Tiger'' ...
joined the band permanently on percussion. Soon after, Kåre and the Cavemen landed a deal with Norwegian National Television's brand new
NRK2
NRK2 (NRK To) is one of the TV channels of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). It was launched on 1 September 1996.
History
The channel started its regular broadcasts on 1 September 1996, but the evening before, a live simulcast, led ...
channel. For two seasons they were the house band on the comedy/talk show called ''Direkte Lykke'', gaining media attention for music and antics alike. About the same time, they signed a three album recording contract with
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
.
In the spring of 1997, Kåre and the Cavemen's debut album ''Jet Age'' was released, peaking at #7 on the Norwegian album charts. In many ways a summing-up of the musical styles the band had developed through the years and presented on TV, the record established Kåre And The Cavemen in the Norwegian rock elite and was critically acclaimed. In the early summer, 19-year-old Per Øydir joined the band on organ and electric piano, adding new dimensions to the band's sound. Kåre And The Cavemen toured extensively in Norway, did the key Scandinavian festivals as well as a tour of the European continent and the US, after a
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
subsidiary released the album stateside. In connection with these gigs, they changed their international name to Euroboys.
Apex
In 1996, Schreiner had joined
Turbonegro
Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian Rock music, rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style.
History
Earl ...
on lead guitar, taking the stage name
Euroboy. His playing and producing skills, largely gained through playing in Kåre and the Cavemen, soon proved to be instrumental in making these suburban death punks one of Europe's most feared and respected underground bands. Around the release of Turbonegro's 1998 classic ''Apocalypse Dudes'', Kåre and the Cavemen laid low for a while. After Turbonegro singer
Hank von Helvete
Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby (15 June 1972 – 19 November 2021), also known as Hank von Helvete and Hank von Hell, was a Norwegian singer best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Turbonegro.
Career
Von Hell's former band Turbonegro is most we ...
's mental breakdown in the fall of 1998, Schreiner again turned his attention to Kåre and the Cavemen as recordings for their second album ''Long Day's Flight 'till Tomorrow'' commenced. This album is generally considered to be the finest Kåre and the Cavemen release. It owes much of its artistic success to Per Øydir's contributions, although Schreiner remains the main composer and producer. A musically matured and more focused effort than ''Jet Age'', ''Long Day's Flight...'' offers a many-faceted yet distinctive blend of a wide range of musical influences, ranging from easy listening through psychedelia to progressive rock. The album debuted at number three on the Norwegian album charts, and the group once again toured Scandinavia and the continent following releases in various countries (US release on
Man's Ruin Records
Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label owned and founded by San Francisco Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. After the 1994 release of Man's Ruin's first record ''Experimental Audio Research (EAR): Delta 6'' Kozik worked with artists whom ...
).
Disintegration and new beginnings
In the fall of 1999, Kåre and the Cavemen recorded and released their last domestic release under their original name, the ''1999 Man'' EP which reached number three on the Norwegian singles charts. On this recording, it was evident that the band was leaving their exclusively instrumental musical direction. Tensions were growing within the group, and during the recording of the band's third album ''Getting Out Of Nowhere'' (2000), Pedersen, Gravem and Øydir quit. Schreiner and Møller finished the album and continued with new members as Euroboys.
Aftermath
While Schreiner and Møller have released yet another Euroboys album (''Soft Focus'', 2004), Schreiner has largely been concentrating on the resurrected and much more successful Turbonegro. Schreiner and Møller are co-owners and engineers/producers at Crystal Canyon Studios in Oslo. Øydir has focused on his '60s beat groups The Indikation and Peter Berry And The Shake Set; both considered among the most uncompromising and competent bands in their genre. Pedersen and Gravem have continued their collaboration through the psychedelic rock band Kåre João on the ''Sideman'' (2002) and ''2'' (2005) albums. 24 May 2006, Kåre and the Cavemen reunited for a single concert in Oslo with the line-up of the ''Long Day's Flight...'' era as part of a Link Wray tribute show. The instrumental music of Kåre and the Cavemen may still be heard as radio jingles and on soundtracks, but also in its own right on connoisseur radio shows such as ''
Little Steven
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...
's Underground Garage''.
Past and present lineups
*
Knut "Euroboy" Schreiner – guitars/vocals (1990–present)
*Anders Møller – drums (1995–present)
*Christer "Chris Summers" Engen – drums/percussion/vocals (1998–present)
*Mats "Matt Summers" Engen – bass/vocals (2000–present)
*Trond Mjøen – guitars/vocals (2002–present)
*Erling Norderud Hansen – keyboards (2001–present)
*Kåre "João" Erik Pedersen – vocals/bass/drums (1990–2000)
*Dag Falang Gravem – bass (1990–2000)
*Per "Kid" Øydir – keyboards (1997–2000)
*Stefan "Rockman" Høglin – keyboards (2000–2001)
*Ole "First Valley" Øvstedal – guitars (2000–2001)
*Werner Holm – drums (1990)
Discography
as Kåre and the Cavemen
Albums
* ''Jet Age'' (1997)
* ''Filadelfia'' (1998)
* ''Long Day's Flight 'till Tomorrow'' CD/2LP (1999)
EPs
* ''The Mood'' 7" (1996)
* ''...reverberation!'' CD/7" (1996)
* ''Girlfriend in Tacoma'' (1997)
* ''Down the Road of Golden Dust'' (1999)
* ''1999 Man'' (1999)
Demo/promo
* ''Rock with the Cavemen'' (1991)
* ''Hava Negilah/Spanish Kiss'' (1996)
* ''Rubber City Revolution/Spiral Slider'' (1997)
as Euroboys
Albums
* ''
Getting Out of Nowhere
''Getting Out of Nowhere'' is the third album released by the Norwegian band Euroboys. It features two covers, one of the song Master Charge, originally written by James Williamson and Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1 ...
'' (2000)
* ''
Soft Focus
In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while ...
'' (2004)
EPs
* ''1999 Man'' (1999)
* ''Party Animal/Witchbanger'' Pict. 7" (1999)
* ''Turn That Sound Up/Scarborough Fair'' (2000)
* ''Hot Rod'' (2001)
Demo/promo
* ''Mr. Wild Guitar'' 7" (1998)
* ''Filadelfia'' (1998)
* ''
Scarborough Fair'' (2000)
* ''Looking for a Break In'' (2001)
* ''One Way Street'' (2004)
External links
Unofficial homepageHomepage of Kåre João
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1990
Garage punk groups
Norwegian rock music groups