Amund Maarud (Guitar/Vocals)
Henrik Maarud (Drums/Vocals)
Per Tobro (Bass/Vocals)
Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen (Hammond B3 Organ/Drums/Vocals)
Influences
Cream, Led Zeppelin, Queens Of The Stone Age, Ramones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Knack, Mötorhead, Them, Faces, Humble Pie, Grand Funk Railroad, Wishbone Ash, Free, Nirvana, 13th Floor Elevators, The Sonics, The Detroit Cobras, The Band Of Gypsys, Black Sabbath, Groundhogs, Deep Purple, The White Stripes and the list goes on..
Sounds Like
--------------------------------------------------- BUY THE ALBUM/EP HERE
-I have always dreamt about being in a band, says Amund Maarud, singer and guitarist in the Norwegian power-quartet The Grand, without the slightest touch of irony.
Well, most rock musicians do just that, right? So what´s up with Amund?
Thing is, Amund has actually always been in a band. More accurately; Amund has always fronted his own band. He has put out three albums, the first one when he and drummer brother Henrik were in their mid teens and still played with their father. He has travelled his native Norway for the last five-six years as a professional musician, and is actually a decorated veteran of the remarkably large Norwegian blues scene. He has headlined festivals and he has played with and alongside guitar legends, international as well as local. And yet, Amund Maarud is not even 25.
The Grand´s debut EP, released on The Grand Recordings/Sonet in May 2007 received excellent reviews from the Norwegian music press and the band is said to be one of the most exciting things to come out of the Norwegian music scene this year. Their dirty and razor-sharp, but still highly psychedelic and eclectic sound makes one think of creative pioneers like The Groundhogs and Cream, or garage-greats like The Sonics or 13th Floor Elevators, but in spite of their marijuana-hazed musical foundation they refuse to be just another one of those middle-of-the-road-retro-bands and remain relentlessly inventive and fresh-sounding.
Now, the great thing about The Grand, says studio-engineer Sven Olsen (Ricochets, Sivert Høyem, Dum Dum Boys), who recorded and mixed The Grand´s debut EP, is the fact that the quartet works as a four cylinder engine. This is not at all about Amund showing off his impeccable guitar skills, he says. Every member of the band is crucially important and they somehow seem to feed creative energy off each other on stage. Even this early in their career, these guys have gained a reputation for their mesmerizing live performances boasting multiple-personality-disorder-style guitar playing, out-of-whack Hammond organ, thundering ten-minute-long drum solos and growling bass guitar hung well below the belt buckle.
The Grand`s musical direction came about in a very unusual way:
-We struck up this routine of jamming at the end of our shows. After a while that was the coolest part of the evening, the one everyone in the band looked forward to, even though sometimes the audience didn´t dig it. Some even got seriously mad and flipped the bird to us as a parting gesture, so that´s really what sparked the whole thing, Amund confesses. -After a while some of these jams turned into full songs, and we just kinda took it from there...
Upon hearing the four songs that make up The Grand´s debut EP, Freeloader, Lust to win, Girl, you´re a waste of time, and Traveling Bound, the latter of which has received heavy rotation on Oslo´s indie radio stations, it seems one is instantly transported through a strange time-warp. Has Rick Rubin travelled back in time to produce Leslie West´s Mountain? Did Cream actually secretly make a ”Disraeli Gears Part II”? Has Groundhogs teleported from the dirty backstreets of London´s early seventies to the east side of Oslo, Norway anno 2007? Perhaps their first album, due October 2007, will provide some answers?
Oh, we are living strange days indeed. The Grand is busy putting together the most remarkable soundtrack!
'Another Deal' is the first single from the forthcoming Palace Of Pleasure album, scheduled for release in August/September 2008.
The single will be available as download only (iTunes etc.), but you can download it for free for a limited period at: www.myspace.com/palaceofpleasure
Yes, I managed to miss the release of the first PoP single since I joined the band (and my first single release ever!), but that's what happens when you're in the middle of the north Atlantic, running around in viking clothes. Anyway, I hope you'll follow my belated advice and check out our new tune. Download it for free and start dancing! :D
Huba. I’m giving my song ‘Sunday’ away for free. Just click ‘download’ on my page, and it’s yours. Please pass it on to your brothers & sisters, anyone you love!
Hello The Grand, In your presence even my shadow acquires the sensation of touch. Your eyes show as many deep and full shades of fire as a thousand supernovas. You are dressed with filaments and people take pains to make you fully incandescent this evening. Transistors bridge where your vanity would never go. May you always have stables of horses to service your needs. Your cleverness helps me breathe without the need of oxygen. In your absence I am forced into finding other forms of amusement while thinking about you. The music that flows from your instruments overwhelms me with creativity. All my thoughts are lost to your graceful gaze? How beautiful is the snowshine in your eyes, so directly current from the static in your mind. Your beauty is equal to the smoothness of a polished gem. Polished rock candy comes ever to mind when thinking of you. Entranced by the sweet harmony of your lips, I gaze beyond reason to find the oasis of your brilliant soul. Your eyes are like spheres of crystal water filled with shimmering dreams.
Greetings from Siluet!Great Rockin'!Hope to see you in the summer, we'll play the Vinjerock Festival on Aug 2nd and some more dates in Norway(i hope:)Take care!
