Zeromancer -by Nikki Neil

Born out of the ashes of Seigman’s remains, Zeromancer features Alex Moklebust (vocals), Kim Ljung (bass), Noralf Ronthi (drums), Erik Ljunggren (programming), and Chris Schleyer (guitar, formerly of Prick). Crowned “Best Newcomer” at the 2000 German Alternative Music Awards, the pop/rock electro-industrial outfit proudly carries the torch dropped by Orgy as they made a mad dash to catch the bandwagon.

Now, after achieving a noteworthy amount of success in their home continent, Europe’s best kept secret is coming to the U.S. Beware America…it’s time to prepare for the Eurotrash invasion.

I was reading your tour journals and it seems like you guys are having a good time out on the road.

Kim: Oh yeah. We love being on the road. That is what Zeromancer is all about. We’ve done a lot of touring in European. Four of us are from Norway and we’ve always had this dream about coming to the States and touring the country, so we’re kind of living the dream right now.

Is it what you expected?

For us, growing up that was just one of the goals we set because America is very different from Europe. Being able to drive around the country is a dream for a lot of people. So to be able to do that with a tour like this and the bus...it is great and the people have been really good to us. We get lots of positive feedback every night. It’s just a great opportunity for us. We’re just fortunate to be here.

What have been some of the highlights of the tour? I heard that a fan got married on stage a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah, that was funny. It was a real white trash wedding, but it was fun though. The Pigface crew does so much weird stuff on stage and they bring up all kinds of people so their show is never the same. There will always be some exciting moments with a tour like this. We’ve had some really good shows on this tour. One of which was in New York. It was a lot of fun. It has always been a dream to play there. That was a really good show. All the shows have been really good. We’ve been touring a lot and we are well rehearsed as a band, even though we have the support slot and we only get to play for thirty minutes. Half the time we don’t even get to sound check, but we have a routine so it is very seldom that things go wrong. It’s been a really good tour for us and it gives up the opportunity to play for a lot of people. We get tons of feedback every night, and we’ve met some of the nicest people.

Did the war have any affect on show attendance?

We played in Washington D.C. on the day the war started. That show was affected. There were not as many people at the show as we expected. It was an all ages’ show and I received a lot of e-mail from fans saying that their parents wouldn’t let them go because of the war. So that one show was really affected. Aside from that, I didn’t notice any real impact. I don’t think people were afraid to go out. At least that was the impression I got. I’m not from America so I can’t tell, but I feel safe.

Is Bile still on the tour?

Yeah.

Are they still insane?

ummmm yeah. But they’re nice people. We’re having lots of fun with them.

Do things get wild backstage?

Yeah (laughs). Are you trying to get backstage?

Me?? No,no,no,no…I didn’t mean it that way.

We’ll get you there.

That’s not what I meant. I was at a music convention a few years ago and Bile was there and they were raising hell - - setting fires, beating up Yngwie Malmsteen…I can imagine that this tour is a little crazy with them, Pigface and Thrill Kill Kult.

It’s a good bunch of people. It’s wild. All of the people are very nice. We didn’t know what to expect coming over here. We just knew that there was going to be a lot of people on this tour and that it would be total craziness. But, they are all nice people and we get along really well. We’re Norwegian so we are mellow. Everyone has been really helpful, especially Martin Atkins. As legendary as he is, he has become a good friend of ours.

Martin is a very nice guy. He is very down-to-earth.

Yes, he is.

I don’t know if you had a chance to hear the new Pigface album but it’s just great.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the album yet, but they have been playing a lot of those songs on stage.

Are you looking forward to going back to the Key Club?

Oh yeah. You’re from Los Angeles, right?

Yes. I saw you guys when you played the Cleopatra Records 10^th Anniversary Party.

Very cool. We are looking forward to going back. It is a very nice venue. We lived in L.A. for a year and a half so we have lots of friends there. It will be sort of like a homecoming show for us. It will be a lot of fun.

What did you like most about living in L.A.?

I travel a lot all over the world and still L.A. is my favorite city. There is so much I like about it. I just like being there in general. It’s like home for me. I like it because there are so many small cities and you have to choose your own city. I also like the climate. There’s a lot of bullshit going on and there are a lot of cheesy, flaky people, but I like it. Coming from Europe I can see right through it.

What is the wildest thing a fan has ever done to get your attention?

I don’t know (laughs). The usual stuff…(laughs).

Does it happen often?

Sometimes…yeah. It’s different than in Europe. People are so much more open here. People back home are very shy when they come up to you after the show and here they…you know…they just walk up to you and say, “Would you sign my chest.” They flash you right there. We’re not used to that, but it’s a lot of fun.

Well, I guess things could be worse.

(Laughs). Things are just crazier over here. It’s so much more rock ‘n’roll out here. Being in a rock band is so cool over here, but in Europe it is not. It’s not the same quality or…yeah (laughs). [No mater how hard I tried I couldn’t get any specific stories, so just use your imagination. – NIN]

How did Zeromancer come about? Was it an idea that you had for awhile or did the band just kind of happen?

It was kind of a desperate move. I played bass in Seigman, with Alex and Noralf (drummer). We were all in Seigman, which split up in 1999. It was a sad thing to do because we weren’t ready for it. The band had been really successful back in Norway. We split up because we had a pact with each other that if one of us were every to leave the band we would all quit. So, that is what happened and we weren’t quite ready for it. We kind of ran away from it and moved to Portland, Oregon then we ended up in Los Angeles because we had to get away from Norway. We live to play music, but we had to get away to start something new and we wanted to do something different. Then we hooked up with Chris and here we are.

Did you make that same pact when you formed Zeromancer?

No. We’re not going to do that again. We did two very successful tours with our old band, so we really weren’t ready to end it. You should really check out Seigman.

I’ve heard a couple of songs, which I really enjoyed, and I’ve read a lot of positive feedback from fans regarding Seigman’s work. In the U.S., Zeromancer’s second album (Eurotrash) was released before the first (Clone Your Lover). Was there a reason why it happened that way?

We released Eurotrash in Europe in 2001 and then we signed with Cleopatra in August of 2002 and they wanted to release our most recent work so people could hear something fresh. The label released Clone Your Lover this year as more of a back catalog thing, which is why it was kind of backwards. I think it was the right thing to do. They couldn’t have released both of them at the same time because marketing wise it is not a smart thing to do. I think they made the right decision. When this tour is over we will head back to Europe to finish our third album. It should be out in Europe in September and out in the U.S. at the same time, which would be nice because then America will finally be caught up with Zeromancer.

Will the new album be an extension of Eurotrash or will it be different?

It will definitely be different. There will be a little less programming and not as abrasive. There will be a few melancholy songs. It’s going to be a good album, so I’m excited.

Was Eurotrash a big hit in the European dance clubs?

Yeah, it’s done very well. “Need You Like a Drug” was #1 on the dance charts in Germany. “Doctor Online” and “Send Me an Angel” also did very well. We’ve already booked a European tour for the fall. We’re headliners in Europe. It would be nice to do that over here too, but we’re not ready for that yet. Zeromancer is a touring band. We like to be on tour and that is what we told Cleopatra. After we played their Anniversary party at the Key Club we told them that they had to put us on a tour bus and send us across America. That is the only way to go at it. We love to perform. We love being on stage.

The love and enthusiasm for the stage really shows in your live show.

So far we have played twenty-seven shows in a row and we’re not tired. The energy and enthusiasm automatically happens when we walk out on stage.

Is Eurotrash the equivalent to White Trash?

Yeah. When we lived in L.A. we thought that we were better than the locals because so many people were flakes and there was just so much bullshit to deal with. We kept saying to ourselves that it is not like that back in Europe and…we were wrong. (Laughs) When we went back home we said, “Oh no. It’s actually much worse out here.” The term Eurotrash came about because of the people we worked with in L.A.—the producers and engineers—we would make fun of them and call them White Trash and they would call us Eurotrash.

The first album is titled Clone Your Lover, which to me sounds a bit creepy. How did the title come about?

We like to play around with words—like the name Zeromancer—because these days you have to come up with original stuff that people will notice. that you don’t see everyday. We named the album after the song but, basically, we just like to twist things around.

Have any of your songs ever been featured in a commercial?

No.

Do you want them to be?

Yeah…I don’t know…it would really depend on the commercial. If it were for something cool, I wouldn’t mind. But, I don’t know. There are a lot of cool commercials out there and there are a lot of shitty ones too.

So I guess it would just depend.

Totally.

Chris used to play with Prick. Do you know what the scoop on the band is? Will we ever here from that project again?

Kevin is working. He came to our show in Cleveland. He’s a really nice guy. He and Chris hung out and caught up on thongs and had a really nice time. He’s doing stuff on his own – out of his house – on his website under the name Prick, so he’s going. But, I don’t think he has a band together.

The Internet has become a very resourceful tool for musicians, especially for those who want to release their music independently.

Yeah. It is so much easier these days to communicate with fans. In the old days people would have to send you a letter and that could take awhile and then it would end up in some manager’s office and you never saw it. It’s so different now. We each have our own personal e-mail, and we answer e-mails every day.

It’s a great promotional tool as well as a good way to build a bond with your fans.

We really like it. My friends back home and my parents visit the website. They may not understand everything that is on the site but they still get a feel for what is going on.

“Doctor Online” is somewhat of a controversial song. Did you receive any backlash for it?

No. We thought we would experience some problems over here but no one has complained.

What is your philosophy on life?

To have a good time all the time. I got that from Spinal Tap. I actually have quite a few philosophies that is just one of them.

What bands do you listen to for enjoyment?

I like Sigur Rós a lot.

They are on tour right now.

I know. There have been several occasions where they have played a show in the same city that we were playing in, so we are having a hard time catching their live show.

You’re going to just miss them in L.A. They are playing a few days before you get here.

We’re in Phoenix now and they were here four days ago.

What do you do when you are not playing music?

I just play music. I write and play music all the time and I travel. When I travel I write. I’m happy when I’m working.

For more on Zeromancer visit www.zeromancer.com