bands, met a lot of great people, and made
a lot of great friends. We’re just dudes that
want to play rock ’n’ roll, and we really
love playing live shows, and that’s what
we’ve been doing. There hasn’t been any
plan except for writing songs that we like
and want to play. I’m very, very thankful
that people enjoy what we do.
So, your emphasis was on the music
rather than becoming famous?
Ofstad: Yeah, I always just wanted to
play music—except for when I went to
high school and had to play jazz. I hated
that. I had a really good guitar teacher,
but he didn’t understand that I just
wanted to play Iron Maiden songs. I had
to play Joe Pass, which is cool—you end
up being a really good guitar player. But
when you have ADHD it’s boring. Jazz
is boring. Now that I’m older I like it. I
can enjoy it. Back then I just wanted to
get it done quickly and play really fast,
which is a stupid approach to playing
guitar [laughs].
“Svartmesse” also has a bit of an ’80s
reference. The guitar intro is almost a
nod to Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.”
Rolland: Stevie Nicks? That’s purely
intentional [laughs]. That song is the best
example of collaboration in the band.
The intro [sings the “Stevie Nicks” part]
was Maciek. I came up with the verse riff.
We didn’t know where to go with it, so I
went out for about an hour and when I
came back they had put it together with
the chorus, which I believe was Maciek’s
idea. The bridge and the key change
came together after that.
“Bronsegud” has a punk-rock vibe,
rhythmically speaking, but the guitar
licks have more finesse.
Rolland: I thought we needed something
that was a little faster and more punky.
It’s cool to play simple three-chord punk
rock, but it gets old pretty quickly. One
of the fundamentals of the band in the
beginning was that we set out to make
fancy punk rock in a way. And then we
started involving more elements of metal
and other stuff. That song is definitely a
throwback to the earliest ideas of what
we wanted to do with the band. It ties it
all together.
Do you have any advice for someone
just learning to play?
Ofstad: Yeah. Just play. It’s the only way
to do it, man. Just pick up the guitar.
You’re probably going to suck, but just
keep on doing it. A couple of years
back I saw Dave Grohl talking about
American Idol and he was wondering
how anyone could judge a kid playing
guitar when he’s 14 and he sucks—and
just say, “You have nothing to do with
music.” Of course, you’re going to suck
for the first two or three years. Your
band is going to be horrible, but then
you start a new band and you’re going
to be awesome. Go for it. Do what you
like and don’t care what people say or
do. The old cliché answer, but it’s the
only answer.
MOJO HAND Artist
Dustin Kensrue
of THRICE
Go to mojohandfx.com for more
information on our line of effects
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Visit thrice.net for artist information,
concert dates, and more Photo: MARCUS MASCHWITZ
PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 83