(Original on www.kaizers.no, Text backup here)
The RA (Rogalands Avis) had a whole page on Kaizers' activities abroad yesterday, and that the band does not make money with this venture.(As we don't find a link to the article on the net, we must quote from it)
"Kaizers Orchestra have made a big effort to conquer the European record market during the last years. So long, no money rolls in for the record compony following the venture.", journalist Eskil Eriksen writes in the introduction. He has talked to Remo Rehder of Kaizers' record company Farmen.
- Well, in a sense that is completely appropriate and correct, reports Geir Kaizer, who read the paper over a cup of coffee home in Bryne this morning.
- Maybe it is not true that we try to really "conquer" the European record market, like as we were U2, despite it all we are a niche product, and we are definitely aware of that, but but, it's not such a big deal.
Anyway, there is something in the text that Hellraizer is startled about, namely that Remo explains why he doesn't make money by Kaizers' sales abroad:
"(...) In addition, it is costly to take Kaizers out on tour. A Kaizers tour includes between 12 and 14 people. All shall have salary, hotel and so on, says Rehder."
- This requires a little correction. Based on what Mr. Rehder says about tour expenses, one should nearly believe that he was in on covering them, but that is not the case.
- No, but, can you get a little tour support?
- When we were on "release tour" two weeks in April, for example, something Remo had had about six months to prepare, the new record had not hit the stores yet. Apart from that, many of the journalists we talked to hadn't got their promo copies of the album, and did know very little about Evig Pint, so there we stood without record and without anything to talk about in the rain weather in the Alps (?!? *lol*). Great release tour, as it were.
- And when we came back home and the tour had made a wide deficit, i.e. the money we got in from the organizers was not enough to cover bus and crew, which are our items of expenditure, the band doesn't get a salary, and we don't have hotels abroad, this was surely no release tour anymore (?). Remo didn't want to to contribute economically to back up the record release that we were out to promote in any case. All deficit was laid on us.
- Isn't it cunning how many swarm around when the money comes in, and how few there are when the bills come?
- Very cunning. When we asked Remo whether it wasn't in part his responsibility to support the promotion of his album financially, and take his part of the deficit, he rejected that. So no.
- But he has supported your earlier tours economically?
- An earlier tour, in singular. Yes, he contributed 50000 when we were out for six weeks last year in September/October, except for that there was nothing else to get, and we have made deficits on every tour we have done. That what he contributed makes up maybe 5 % of what would have been normal for a band with our activity.
- The bottom line is that he announced that it is expensive for us to go on tour, and makes it sound like it is him who finances it, and this is quite simply not the case. It is Kaizers Orchestra who take all risk.
- Remo also gives out the new Tønes album, which is for the time being only on sale in local stores in Sør-Jæren, to the artist's great astonishment, what do you think about that?
- Astonishment is surely the word one can use there. But it will be interesting to hear the new album of Tønes. He's a great guy, and he doesn't earn that the record company destroys him.
Let us hope that. Tønes album "Grønnare Gras" should come out in the course of sommer in any case.