GOOD OL' BOYS / goodolboys.no
De har holdt på så lenge vi kan huske. Etterspurte og folkekjære i
hele Skandinavia er de Suliskongen og Lofotsheriffen.
De er Good Ol' Boys - trygge, hardføre , ramsalte karer med dype
røtter i et dramatisk landskap av fjell og jord, hav og strie strømmer.
Begge har enorm respekt for de nådeløse omgivelsene hvor kystfolk
til alle tider klorte seg fast, trossa iskald storm, frådende regn og og
illsinte bølger, ofte med livet eller håpet som innsats.
Begge bærer i seg bevisstheten om under- og overjordiske skapninger,
født av trolske naturkrefter som vilkårlig fordelte angst, skyld og
fortvilelse med usvikelig sjenerøsitet. Begge er oppvokst der
mørketida gir liv til saftig bannskap og skrøner, udødelige myter og
sviende lengsel. Begge har opplevd at det skimrende nordlyset våker
ved drømmenes vogge og grav. Hver for seg har de sett forbi
storhavet, ut i verden. Hver for seg har de reist til Nashville og skapt
ny norsk historie i countrymusikkens hjemland. Hver for seg har de delt
sang og scene med sine egne idoler, de fremste amerikanske artistene i sjangere fra tradisjonell western til outlaw country rock.
De har kryssa hverandres veier, gått et par av de samme stiene - men aldri samtidig. Ikke før nå. Sammen utgjør Arne Benoni og Ottar Big Hand Johansen et kraftsenter på vår musikalske arena.
Duetten "Good Ol' Boys" kommer som single og video allerede i starten av oktober.
Full CD med tittelsporet + helt nyskrevne låter, slippes 1. februar 2017.
Utgivelsen følges opp med landsomfattende kulturhus-turné i februar og mars. I tillegg gjester de festivaler og lokale markedsdager og arrangementer utover våren, sommeren og høsten 2017.
Arne Benoni er en av våre sterkeste tolkere av Jim Reeves' sanger. Til strålende kritikker turnerte han i 2014 med sin egen kabaret i forbindelse med 50-års-markeringen for Reeves' bortgang. Benoni har tidligere samarbeidet og opptrådt med verdensstjerner som Dottie West og Lynn Anderson. Han har til med stått på scenen i Nashville's legendariske Grand Ole Opry!
I 2015 feiret Ottar Big Hand 50 år som artist. Jubileet var på ingen måte et endelig mål, men en viktig og imponerende milepel i en lang karriere. Blant andre høydepunkter trekker Big Hand gjerne fram minnerike opptredener på Bluebird Café i Nashville, 2 Spellemannpriser og hederstitlene Æresslusk i Sulis og Ambassadør for Fauske kommune. Dessuten har den røslige nordlendingen gjort seg fortjent til Oslo kommunes kulturpris som han ble tildelt i 2014.
RITA BOLLAND / facebook / website
Rita Bolland is a Norwegian singer and songwriter making her European debut with the release
of her new single “Echo” on New Cut Music.
Rita has been singing for a long time, but turned professional just recently when she started to
write and sing her own music.
The alluring single “Echo” will be released throughout the world on the New Cut Music label.
She is currently working on a full album.
OTTAR 'BIG HAND' JOHANSEN / bighand.no
Spellemannprisen (equal to the US Grammy Awards)
1988 for the album "Game Of Hearts".
Spellemannprisen (equal to the US Grammy Awards)
1985 for the album "Oh Yeah!" (Claudia / Big Hand / Casino)
What do you do after you’ve racked up 50 years of hits, sold-out shows and major
music awards? Well, if you’re you blast off toward even greater glories. And that’s
what the internationally celebrated Norwegian star has done with his new album,
"Big Hand - 50 Years On The Road". The project pairs Johansen in duets with
such old friends and fellow spotlighters as Joe Sun, Claudia Scott, Sugarfoot,
Too Far Gone, Billy T Band, A-11, Bill Booth and Casino Steel. Co-produced with
Bjorn Nilsen and Knut Hem, the album was released by New Cut Music May 29,
2015, and has earned great praise from both Americana audiences, and those
who swear by more classic country, and rave reviews from the media.
Most of the songs are originals, co-written by Johansen and a variety of
Norwegian and American composers.
The first single from the album “Starting All Over Again” has been in the European country music Top 30 since its release in May, peaking at number 19.
Here are some reactions from country radio djs:
Hans Nair, Osttirol Radio, Austria Rating: 10 - “Fabulous track”
Peter Anderl, ORF Radio, Austria Rating: 9 - “Good overall sound”
Joe Bartolo, One Radio, Malta Rating: 10 - “Top marks”
Olov Lindgren, Radio Avesta, Sweden Rating: 10 - “Great to have him back”
Erik Topholm, Country Kanalen Radio, Denmark Rating: 10 - “Excellent”
The winner of two Spellemannpriser (equal to the US Grammy Awards), one with Claudia/Big Hand/Casino, the other for the solo album “Game Of Hearts”, Johansen has long been pivotal in the growth and popularity of Norway’s music industry, notably through festival and concert appearances with Big Hand Saloon and through his American tours with Joe Sun. In the process, he has shared the stage with such country music
immortals as George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
More recently, his prominence earned him a mentorship on the popular Stjernekamp series on NRK-TV and netted him the
2014 Cultural Award from the city of Oslo. This year, Johansen is booked to perform at many festivals, and there will be an array of television, print and social media appearances.
For Ottar “Big Hand” Johansen, the 50-year mark is a milestone, not a goal post. It is said to have been many Norwegian sailors, coming back home from across the Atlantic, bringing their brand new telecasters and Buck Owens records with them, who are mainly responsible for boosting the popularity of country music amongst the Norwegians back in the 60´s. One man is still carrying that torch.
TORE ANDERSEN / toreandersen.no
Spellemannprisen (equal to the US Grammy Awards) 2010 for the album "Right Around The Corner".
A professional singer and miscellaneous instrumentalist since 1982, he was one of Norway´s most prominent
singer/songwriters.
Tore grew up in a musical family with his mother's piano at the middle of the living room. She was classically trained,
but Tore soon decided to switch from piano to his dad's old Hansson acoustic guitar. The familty moved from Oslo,
hrough Halden and finally to Stjørdal, one hour north of Trondheim. Tore's spare time was soon to be dedicated to
music, band practises and non-stop guitar picking in front of the record player.
After 11 years on the road, Tore's first goal was achieved in 1993 by the release of The Hero in Me (BMG/Ariola).
Characterized by radio DJ Rune Halland as "Norway's first modern country album", it contained radio favourites
like "Watching the Snow" and "Hearts, they fall in love". Recorded in Nashville with several of the city's best session musicians, among others Jerry Douglas and Brent Mason, the album contained only new and original songs. The critics were very positive.
After switching record company, Tore released Tore Andersen (New Cut Records) in the fall of 1998. Recorded at the Waterfall Studio in Oslo with Jørun Bøgeberg and Ottar Johansen as co-producers, this album presented a tougher and less polished side of Tore. The critics agreed that Tore had grown both as a songwriter and as an artist, and several of the major news papers ranked the album very high. The singles "Between two rivers" and "Hard water" received a lot of airplay. The album was followed with heavy touring covering most of Norway, and also concerts in USA, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
After the turn of the century Tore has been involved with several projects, mainly as a songwriter. However, Tore still loves to perform live, and among other gigs you can still hear him every year at the country festival Norsk Countrytreff in Breim on the western coast of Norway. He also enjoys performing with his old friend Ottar "Big Hand" Johansen and his band "Big Hand Saloon". Some of the side projects have distingushed themselves, especially Knut Hem's album/project "Hemisfair", which in 2007 released the album "Blue Blue Grass of Home". That album was even nominated for a "Spellemannspris" award.
During the last years, Tore has frequently visited Nashville to write songs with an increasing number of good friends. Some of the results from these visits are presented on his latest album Right Around The Corner (Wilma Records, 2009). Produced by Tore, assisted by Ernst Nikolaisen, and engineered by Kai Andersen in Athletic Sound, the new album demonstrates the musical span in Tore Andersen's musical universe.
Tore Andersen passed away on December 26th. 2015.
NORVILLE
Ottar “Big Hand” Johansen, known as the Johnny Cash of Norway, has had his share of
magical moments. A major star and national television host, Johansen has been recording and
touring for three decades. He has received seven Norwegian Grammy nominations and two
Norwegian Grammy awards; plus a string of silver and gold sales status records, based on
hits like “Song For Sulis,” “I’m Still Your Fool,” Prisoners Of The Blue,” and “Blue Norwegian
Moon.”
Singer, songwriter and producer Joe Sun, a Nashville icon and legend originally from
Minnesota, has spent 40 years at his trade; working both his US and international careers with
success. Joe’s self-penned and co-written songs like “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to
You,” “Bombed, Boozed and Busted,” “Some Lucky Stardust,” and his faith-inspired “I Came
on Business for the King” - cut by Johnny Cash on his last recordings – have endeared him to
fans from Europe to the Bluebird Café in Nashville.
Tore Andersen is the Norwegian Grammy winner 2010 for best country music album of the
year “Right Around The Corner.” He is a much-respected singer/songwriter in Scandinavia, as
well as in the Nashville creative environment. Tore topped the Norwegian national radio NRK1 charts for several weeks with his hit song “Goodbye Blues.” He joined NorVille in 2009.
Brent Moyer, a native Wyoming singer/songwriter/guitarist living in Nashville, will be an associate member with NorVille; as will Karen Pendley, a folk singer and fiddle player living in Nashville. Karen specializes in Celtic and traditional Norwegian/Scandinavian folk music and American bluegrass music.
newcutmusic.com