Notörious: Hard Rock Domination from Norway

Notörious: Hard Rock Domination from Norway

Fans of Mötley Crüe and Van Halen are destined to connect with a lifelong favorite when encountering what the almighty Notörious has to offer the world at large.  Notörious would be right at home within the wilds of the Sunset Strip, but this band hails from Bergen, Norway – a city world famous for black metal infamy.  Glamorized is the just unleashed magnum opus from Notörious via Sliptrick Records, jam-packed infectious hard rocking anthems that will pulsate rapturously in your head long for the rock and roll ages ahead.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with the rockers in Notörious to find out a whole lot more about this raging band on the rise.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Notörious, and how long the band has been together.
NOTÖRIOUS is:
Chris Hoüdini – lead vocals
Nikki DiCato – lead guitar/backing vocals
Andy Sweet – bass/backing vocals
Freddy Kixx – drums

Nikki and Andy met via another band, but we soon felt the chemistry wasn’t right with the other members, so we left and started working on our own project.
Chris joined not long after and we hit it off right away.
After some back and forth we found Freddy, and the band was formed early in 2018, with the intention to bring back to life the classic sound of the hard rock/glam metal bands that ruled the Sunset Strip back in the early 1980s. The band is inspired by classic groups like Mötley Crüe, Van Halen (not Van Hagar), Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Europe, Skid Row and Poison etc. Being a Norwegian band, we also draw inspiration from the black metal scene and incorporate some elements in our own music.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
We are located in Bergen, Norway. The local music scene is pretty good and there are a lot of good bands that are active now.
Off course Bergen also has a rich music history with the famous black metal scene, classical composers and so forth.

How did you wind up signing with Sliptrick Records?
We where shopping around for a record label to release the album, and they simply gave us the best offer.

Select two songs from Glamorized and what inspired the lyrics.
Summer Nights
Summer Nights was inspired by that feeling you get when you have the last days of school and everybody comes home for the summer vacation. You know there will be parties, friends, girls and basically good times. A place where you wish you could stay forever, but you know the nights will get dark earlier and soon you feel the cold air of the autumn in the morning. That is what gives the summer times it’s magic, and we get goosebumps just thinking of it.

Have A Good Time
The title basically says it all. This is a song about getting ready to go out and have the best time of your life! You kick off the evening at home, listening to good music, fixing your hair, put on some tight jeans and a leather jacket and you’re ready to go. You have a couple drinks before you go out and meet the rest of the guys, head to a club and meet some girls. That’s what this song is all about, just go out and have a good time with the boys!

Who did the cover art for Glamorized and how much input did you have on it?
Overhaus, with the very talented Robert Høyem, did the design for the album. We had a meeting and discussed the style and feeling we were going for. Robert had a bit of artistic freedom, but we were on the same page regarding what we wanted, so without much hassle, he delivered a cool concept not only for the album but also merch, posters for live gigs and digital promotion.

What could one expect from a live Notörious show?
First of all, energy! We give the audience our best, and they return a massive amount off energy, so I guess you have kind of an evil circle right there. But we love it! Our shows are full of facemelting riffs and solos and our catchy choruses are easy to sing along to which makes it difficult to not have a good time. We have something for everyone, both hard and soft songs which makes it attractive for both boys and girls of any age. To quote the mighty Diamond Dave; “We sell smiles for a living.”

What are you looking forward to the most about Oslo Sleaze Fest 2?
We are really looking forward to play, until now, our first show in Oslo! And we know the venue is great playing at, and the hosts are real pros. And of course meeting the other bands and share the same stage! We will bring Oslo the Sleaze Fest Circus!

If Notörious could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Wow, that’s a hard question, and there are so many cool bands we would have loved to open for, Mötley of course being one of our big inspirations.
But I think we must go with the early Van Halen! Mostly because of Dave.
But the whole deal with Eddie with his innovative and ground-breaking guitar playing and the amazing vocals and showmanship of Diamond Dave, amazing! The whole attitude, just party and having a good time is so cool and it’s rare to see these days.

Has Notörious ever played here in the States or plan to do so in future days?
We have so far never played outside Norway, but we really want to! And the States are definitely a place we aim to visit as soon as we can. Hopefully we can team up with another band and tour as a support act. We have many plans for the future, so stay tuned!

Are you or any other members involved with any other projects outside of Notörious?
No, nothing serious. Couple of the guys are doodling around with some black metal, just to satisfy their inner demon.

What’s up next for Notörious?
We are working on world domination.
On the way, we aim to write some good music, play some fun shows and meet a lot of cool people!
We are already very lucky, because many bands don’t agree about the style of music they want to play. But we are all on the same page, and we have a lot of fun creating the music we want to hear, playing the music we want to play. And it’s amazing for us that other people like it too!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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