Backstage Pass - Fusskalt - Interview

ATP

For the record, who's answering the interview?

FUSSKALT

I'm Nick Jensen, and I guess you could say I'm the founder of the band.

ATP

What is your band's name? How did you come up with that name?

FUSSKALT

The name of the band is Fusskalt - pronounced something like Foos-kaahlt in english - yes, go ahead and try it ;) It's really a "germanification" of the danish word, "Fodkoldt" - which means something like it being a little bit chilly at floor level... you know. Time to fetch your slippers. A bit silly, yes - but I guess it came up in a natural conversation like "Is it just me, or is it a little fusskalt in the studio today?" - and we thought - hey, band name - and laughed a bit... and a week later the logo was made, and then it kinda stuck.

ATP

So who's in the band and what instruments do you each play?

FUSSKALT

Well it's me, Nick - rhythm guitars, and then there's Lars - vocals, Thomas - lead guitars, Janus - bass and Jonas - drums, and most important: cowbell.

ATP

How would you describe your sound. What makes you unique?

FUSSKALT

I think it would be presumptuous to think that we're unique or special, because we're really not. We're leaning against better musicians and bigger artists, and take inspiration in them - and put something together that we enjoy, and have fun playing.
But our sound is probably some kind of "polished" stoner/metal/desert/rock thing. I wouldn't mind it being a bit more dirty, but I'm not the only one who has something to say - and apparently our good friend and producer, Henrik, has the final word... haha. But we usually listen, because he is mostly right about his part.

ATP

What bands have influenced each of you?

FUSSKALT

phew... let's see. I don't exactly know what influences each of us, but we can usually find common ground in bands like Sasquatsch, Mustasch, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Clutch, Alice in Chains - but I don't think we overall, or generally sound like any of them, even though some songs may lean more towards one band or another.

ATP

How experienced are you on the stage, a virgin or whore?

FUSSKALT

haha, brilliant. As individuals, somewhere in between. Most of us have a fair deal of live experience from previous bands. As Fusskalt though, we've just recently popped the mutual cherry. But we're definitely keen on whoring... I mean touring a lot more.

ATP

How would you describe your shows?

FUSSKALT

a bit hard to define at this moment. We've only been playing small venues - with tight and tighter fit on the stage... But we're enjoying ourselves, and we generally try to give a solid performance, worthy of whatever people pay in admission. So far, the response have been really positive - which we're really thrilled about (thank you, everyone who shows up).

ATP

Tell us about your favorite show and why?

FUSSKALT

I think it had to be the first one, which was October 2014, with Slowjoint, Lobotomy Kit and Bersærk - pretty much full house in the middle of nowhere - and all nervousness and excitement aside, it was great fun. And we weren't flu-ridden like we were last time, with Stone Cadaver But it was also great fun, and we're looking forward to playing with them again in May - they're awesome guys, and they sound great live.

ATP

Tell us about your worst show and why?

FUSSKALT

No worst show so far - they were both a really great experience for us, and we got some amazing feedback from the audience and staff at both shows. But I'm sure we'll get to play that gig, where everything goes wrong and someone falls off the stage or gets locked out of the venue by security. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it...

ATP

Tell Us About Your Dream Show, who you'd like to play with and where?

FUSSKALT

that'd probably be supporting one (or more) of our main inspirations during summertime at a festival. Or "that gig in Odense (DK)"... which we haven't played yet, but for some reason has become synonymous with the most epic show ever... in our minds. I can't even remember why, but it's probably pretty silly.

ATP

Do you have a street team and how can you join?

FUSSKALT

I've hard of street teams, but have yet to discover what it's all about - but if everyone else has it, then we should probably too. We're fairly active on social media, and we try to reach out and support stations, 'zines, venues and bands, because we think it is important and because we appreciate it when someone reaches out to us. But this is also quite time consuming, so everyone who interacts with us and help spread the word about Fusskalt, are by definition part of the Fusskalt family.

ATP

Do you have a record label and if not are you looking for one?

FUSSKALT

We would just like to get our music out there - and we'll finance the process ourselves, to the extend we're able. If a label would be interested in picking us up though, we're definitely willing to talk.

ATP

What are your plans for the future, in a year, 5 years?

FUSSKALT

5 years in human time? That's like 10 years in Fusskalt time... It all depends really. But we wan't to play live a lot more and we wan't to keep getting new music out - preferably something like a 5-track EP each year or something like that. And possibly make a new video. 5 years seems so far away. I guess we just wan't to keep pushing on, and see where we end up next year... And the year after that. And so on.

ATP

Finally, do have any words on what Arm The Pit means to you?

FUSSKALT

Arm The Pit (and communities etc. like it) are vital to up'n'coming artists. It helps us get more visible (and audible) in a time where mainstream is getting pushed ever harder, in an effort to get the most from a hit album, before it looses its relevance as well as the interrest of the audience. I hate to say that it's a tough competition, when it shouldn't really be a competition at all - but money is the new black. Either way, we appreciate every little thing someone else does for us, to help us speed up the process and assist us in achieving our goals. - so a big thank you, from everyone in the band, for talking to us.