Silver

Norwegian glam-punkers Silver formed as early as 1997, when the members were still in their teens. The group’s main songwriters were two brothers hailing from the village of Moi in the southwestern part of Norway, vocalist Blanco Summer and his elder sibling, drummer Krazy Katzy. The latter had already had a lot of band experience in the ’90s with artists as absurdly diverse as Christian extreme metal band Extol and Norwegian cult indie popsters the Loch Ness Mouse. The two brothers had the privilege of a highly varied musical upbringing, being introduced to almost every aspect of rock history from an early age. This helped make their songwriting a lot smarter and more subtle than you’d expect from your average young punk group. The band soon relocated to Norway’s capital city, Oslo, where they were joined by additional members from the punk scene, and they quickly earned a reputation as something of a live sensation. With their hard-hitting songs, apt playing, and glam rock-styled hair and makeup, looking like the long-lost bastard sons of the New York Dolls and Finnish rockers Hanoi Rocks, they really stood out from the bands in Norway at the time. Although Silver released a self-financed debut EP, Billboard Blackout, in 2000, it wasn’t until playing the annual by:Larm festival in early 2001 that they got any serious attention. This eventually led to their being signed, and by late 2001 their debut EP proper, Riot 1-2-3, was released by CRR/Virgin and produced by Knut Schreiner of Euroboys and Turbonegro fame. Although this release was well-received, things did not take off for Silver just yet. They continued touring tirelessly through continental Europe, and thus managed to gain a strong and loyal following outside of their native country. Their first album, White Diary, would not be released until early 2004. This was their definitive breakthrough, and gained awards, new fans, and radio airplay as well as critical acclaim for the hard-working band. The epic single “Angels Calling” won them fans outside the punk rock segment, for a while threatening to make them household names in Norway. Shortly following the album’s release, drummer/producer/songwriter and spiritual leader Krazy Katzy (aka Emil Nikolaisen) quit Silver so that he could concentrate full-time on his highly acclaimed neo-shoegazer/indie rock band, Serena Maneesh. He was immediately replaced by Kimberley Jubb, the younger brother of guitarist Amy Jubb. ~ Anders Kaasen