Norway’s Home Groan is part of a musical smorgasbord. There are as many as five active lineups playing everything from folky art songs to driving hard rock sounds. Keeping the different bands straight keeps leader Martin Hagfors busy, but it also gives us a vast collection tunes from a prolific songwriter.
Now a veteran of the music business, Martin started simple and worked his way through the system, gaining experience and connections which would later become invaluable. Never afraid to experiment with different instruments, Home Groan’s music is a fresh sound with a positive, folk spirit.
Martin is a true Working Class Musician, constantly writing, playing and managing his career so that he controls his destiny. I had a chance to ask Martin a few questions about his bands, his music and his plans for Home Groan.
Project Opus: Tell us a bit about Home Groan, how it started, where you come from, who is involved?
Martin Hagfors: Well Home Groan kind of developed out of a desire to record my own material after a fairly fruitless stint with Polygram Publishing. The band grew out of the studio sessions and soon became a great live band. The bass player, Odd Eirik Fleischer, I have known ever since I did sound for his old band, The Contenders, in the early nineties. I tweaked their sound while they did a few shows in Sweden as the support band for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The drummer, Even Finsrud, I ran into in the studio: steady and versatile. The guitar player Bengt Olsson, an ex-Swede with a sweet touch, and the latest addition, Mona Varpe, came along after doing a duo festival gig with her off a small Island on Norway’s northernmost coast. We were booked as Groan Together. She is an indie rocker who plays keyboards, theremin and sings. This is the present live lineup. We also have a couple of affiliated members who are mainly studio musicians. Lars Håvard Haugen (www.myspace.com/larshhaugen), an extremely great picker and trombone man, and electric piano man, Vidar Ersfjord.
You are involved with all sorts of different projects that are all closely related (Home Groan, HGH, Cream of the Crop, Groan Alone and Groan Together). How do all these projects relate to each other? Is there a different musical style that you’ve identified for each one?
Well it does get confusing. Home Groan is the straight rock band. HGH is a trash duo with me and the old drummer from the mega rock band, Motorpsycho (motorpsycho.fix.no). We have developed our own style of music that we call Trash Grass and tour extensively in Norway, Germany, Italy, Holland, etc. We are kind of Woody Guthrie showing up a Kurt Weil cabaret, complete with a spiritual leader by the name of Father Seb. He helps us out and is an inspiration. Crazy cat.
Groan Alone is me solo where I play anything I want, and Cream of the Crop was formed as a tribute to Home Groan around the release of our “best of” album three years ago. Cream of the Crop boasts members from Hellbillies, Motorpsycho, Jaga Jazzist (www.jagajazzist.com), Askil Holm and little old me from Home Groan (www.homegroan.net). Seven or eight piece band that plays Home Groan songs only! They are all intertwined and the press goes crazy trying to keep track of it all. Home Groan has released 10 albums and HGH has 4.
Where did you get you start in the music business? When did you know it was going to be your career?
I started out as a soundman. Music and songwriting has been my main interest ever since I was a kid, but sound was my ticket inside. I did sound in clubs around Boston and have worked with numerous acts: Tracy Chapman, Mick Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Etta James, Astor Piazolla, The Pixies, Steve Earl, David Johansen, Albert King, Rick Danko, Giant Sand, Richard Thompson, BB King, Albert King, Queen Ida, David Lindley, Les Paul, Bob Wills. The list is very long.
Anyhow, I wound up moving to Norway and continued sound work. Got a gig doing sound in a theatre, got a publishing deal and the ball started rolling. Eventually I phased out sound work altogether, but still produce a few albums every year in a studio I share with some muse friends.
Where do you find the inspiration for the songs you write? Do you have a message in the songs? (Hope, Rebellion, Heart Break…?)
I have written or co written about three hundred songs. This I can do - I can write. Never really had a problem with it. Music speaks to me and if I’m only working as a lyricist I more often than not get my cues from the feel of the song. I like to play down the pathetic songwriter (including myself) with some humor and politics every once in a while.
Some would define you as a folk based singer songwriter, but you are also seen as experimental. How would you describe your sound? Has it evolved over time, or do you use the different projects to explore different avenues for your creativity?
I love the feel of folk music and it is the basis of a lot of my work. But I’m also a sucker for tight rock music. I get a kick out of spacing out with experimental noise and feel I’ve got a knack for country-flavored material as well. Pop I love, hooks and all! Music is music, and I like to let the songs dictate which bag they eventually wind up in. HGH is more folky, but is also more experimental than Home Groan. HGH incorporates toy pianos, funky microphones, banjos, toy bass guitars etc. Home Groan is a regular rock band. I like them both. Groan Alone gives me the opportunity to be more of a storyteller as well. Cream of the Crop live is a bulldozer - a real power trip.
You have a lot of experience in the industry. Is there anything you wish you knew when you were just starting out that you can pass along to those just breaking into the business?
Don’t do it for money. Don’t sign any papers until you are really sure and have gotten a second opinion. Never forget you do it for fun. Enjoy it as much as possible and develop the ability to laugh at yourself.
You have a very active tour schedule and a significant collection of albums, so I have to ask, playing live or recording in the studio, which do you prefer?
Nothing beats a great live show! On the other hand one of my favorite moments is listening to the completed album prior to release.
What can fans expect from seeing you live?
I strive to be consistently good. I never want to put on a bad show. Not giving your best can destroy you as an artist. It’s bad for the brain. Expect to be entertained and to hear songs with a twist.
What makes a great fan?
Fans that follow you through the years and that stay interested.
They can and should be critical and are moved by music. They give you space and respect your privacy.
You’ve been a Part of Project Opus for a while, and have a web page for all of your projects. Would you say you have embraced the Internet to build your fan base? Does this level of exposure help you, or create a whole set of different challenges for a band?
The Internet is great for a lot of things, but as an artist there are just so many pages out there that it’s hard to stay on top of it. I wish I had someone full time keeping things up to date and promoting the sites. Project Opus deserves to sail up to the top!
You have a very active tour schedule that seems to keep you in Norway and obviously you have a solid fan base at home. Do you have any plans to tour beyond those borders?
I do tour quite a bit with HGH in a bunch of different European countries but never in the US or Canada. Bring us over! We’ll be going out with a band called Kaisers Orchestra for a fall tour of Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and I believe Holland. TBA…
What’s next for you and all your projects?
HGH is recording a new album in September and I am currently collaborating with Big Bang (www.smallbang.net) and The National Bank (www.thenationalbank.no) as a songwriter on their upcoming albums. I always have a bunch of stuff going on, I’m producing a band now in August but come September, gigs galore…
Thanks Martin.
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