|
|
JR EWING started up in the winterdays of 1998, with the intention of doing something different from the oldschool-plagued norwegian scene. After a few months they recorded 6 songs at X-Ray Studios, which ended up as a self-released 7" entitled "INTEGRITAS.CONSONANTIA.CLARITAS". After a short while the 7" sold out, and the nice people at the Trondheim-based label LILAC SKY repressed the record. This sold out too, and it was never repressed.
After a short tour of Scandinavia in '98, a European tour was booked. This took JR EWING across central-Europe for 3 weeks, and they came back inspired and with a bunch of new songs. Before recording their acclaimed first fullength "CALLING IN DEAD", two split 7"s was recorded and released, with the bands BREAK (Norway) and SYC (Belgium). Both records were distributed and sold out within a few months, but musically the recordings was a let-down, and plagued by a singer with a flu which is easy to hear in the recordings. So the band was searching for a more unique sound, rehearsed alot, and in December '99 "CALLING IN DEAD" was recorded, during 6 days. Through contacts they'd made during their first tour, COALITION RECORDS wanted to released the album. This was a large step forward for the band, musically and otherwise, and JR are till this day happy with how this record turned out.
After a few line-up changes, including the change of 2 bass-players (Aaron Rudra and Nils Strand), they headed out for their 2nd European tour in the summer of 2000. With an additional new release, "THE SINGLES COLLECTED" (on german SCORCHED EARTH POLICY), a collection of the singles as well as tracks that never made it to these releases/comps, the tour turned out to be a success.
Back from tour, time was spent on playing shows around Norway, but a month or two after the tour, original drummer Jonas Thire left the band, to focus on his other band, AMULET. A thorough search was set in motion, and it ended with taking in Swedish drummer Morten Billeskalns. After just 2 months in the band, JR EWING headed into studio in February 2001 to record what was to be the 7-track 10"/MCD "THE PERFECT DRAMA". Musically it took a definite turn into a more melodic, trashy and un-polished sound. The songs were recorded in 3 days, which is easy to hear from the un-finished "feel" of the record, and till this day the songs are strong, but production-wise and musically it could've been done 10 times better. Still it was an important change for the band musically, and it was alot more experimental and more brave than before.
A month before embarking on their 3rd European tour. new drummer Morten Billeskalns had a medical condition which prevented him from going on tour, and he had to move back to Sweden shortly after. A new search for a drummer was set in motion, and through old drummer and forever friend Jonas Thire, they met and played with drummer Kenneth Lamond. He turned out to be exactly what they were looking for, and he's still with the band.
JR EWING ended up pulling off the 6-week European tour which was already booked by the time the drummer-problem occured. Playing shows all over Europe, including new places like Italy, Spain, Hungary etc, the tour was an inspiration to the band, and they came home tired, but hungry to make more music.
Time was spent making new songs and improving old ones, but when they were offered a Scandinavian tour with THE LOCUST and DAS OATH, they jumped on it. 8 shows in Scandinavia in August/September 2001, which was a great experience for JR EWING. Soon after this, the band went into Musikkloftet Studios once again, to record 2 new songs for a split 12"/CDS/7" with the US-band THIS MACHINE KILLS. The songs were called "PANIC" and "HOLIDAY NARCOTIC ". With the usual delays of pressing-plants and labels, the record was not completed upon the bands upcoming week-long tour of Germany and Austria in the Easter of 2002. Still the tour was a great experience, and once back from tour alot of work was put into making songs for a new fullength album. After a couple of months intense rehearsing and song-writing, JR EWING entered Musikkloftet Studios with engineer Tommy Hjelm once again.
"RIDE PARANOIA" was recorded through 9 days of May 2002, and 14 songs were completed. JR EWING was more ambitious and musically hungry than ever before when in the studio this time around. With a way more melodic, but also more hard-hitting sound, the 14 tracks turned out to be the record they always wanted to make.
The early summer of 2002 was spent playing shows around Norway once again, including festivals like the QUART-festival, were they opened up for norwegian deathpunks TURBONEGRO, infront of thousands of people. This show also included fellow bands/friends AMULET and THE TEAM SPIRIT.
13 songs are to appear on this upcoming album, and 3 songs, including an instrumental song (that will not appear on "RIDE PARANOIA") was released on a tour-edition 7"/CDS entitled "LAUGHING WITH DAGGERS". This was released on PRIMITIVE RECORDS (Norway, sub-label of TELLÉ RECORDS), some days before their upcoming tour with the US-band PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES.
The tour with PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES was JR EWING's best tour yet, and during 6 weeks in August/September 2002, they made alot of new friends and fans across Europe. More people than ever before at each and every show, and PGMG also ended up as JRs best friends. In the end of the tour, they were asked to support PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES on half their upcoming US WESTCOAST tour, and within days the tour was set in stone. This will happen in mid-November 2002.
"RIDE PARANOIA" is to be released on 2 different labels. In Norway the record will be released by PRIMITVE RECORDS, a brand new and exciting label from Norway. In Europe and USA the record will be released by GOLD STANDARD LABORATORIES (aka GSL), from San Diego, California. The label is done by Sonny Kay (once singer in bands like ANGEL HAIR and THE VSS), as well as Omar Rodriguez (known previously from the band AT THE DRIVE-IN, now from THE MARS VOLTA). The record will kick your ass.
The future looks bright for these 5 young men from Oslo, Norway, so stay tuned for the paranoia.
|
|
