Blues Basement – the band through the years
Blues Basement was formed in 1985 in Bodø by guitarist Eirik Stensvik and bassist Peter Glanfield just after a game of tennis. These two discovered they had more in common than just hitting the ball at each other – a genuine love of the blues. This was the music they both grew up with in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s on both sides of the Norwegian Sea. Peter had played in various blues, jazz and folk groups in the London area and Eirik Stensvik had played lead guitar from a young age in several groups in the Bodø area.
So the original trio Blues Basement was formed in Eirik Stensvik’s bomb- and soundproof basement studio with drummer Bjørnar Bye on drums. Blues Basement started off like most blues bands playing mostly classic blues material – both American and British with heroes like John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and B.B. King. They played their first gig in 1986 in Bodø – an outdoors concert. Blues Basement recorded their first studio songs in Ringkjøp Studio in Bodø in 1987.
After a while Marit Bakken joined Blues Basement in 1987 as vocalist and the band recorded more material. Still the band concentrated on playing blues standards.
In 1987 Elisabeth Skaar Kristensen replaced Marit Bakken on vocals and Blues Basement started playing more public gigs – mainly in the Bodø area. Harald Olaussen replaced Bjørnar Bye on drums. Sindre Myrbostad on keyboards also joined Blues Basement making the band a quintet. The band recorded some songs for The Norwegian Broadcasting Service – amongst other things a version of “Morning Blue” (Halonen/Rautio) (on the album “Ten Years”).
By this time guitarist Eirik Stensvik and bassist Peter Glanfield had started composing some of Blues Basement’s concert material and the band also recorded the Stensvik/Glanfield ballad “You said you loved me” in 1988 (featured on the album “Ten Years”). The new blues boom has hit Europe and Norway and blues music is as popular as ever. In 1989 Kjell Åge Sommerbakk replaced Sindre Myrbostad on keyboards and Pål Mauseth replaced Harald Olaussen on drums. Ole Marius Lund replaced Elisabeth Skaar Kristensen on vocals.
By 1990 the band had changed personnel again with Frank Ørnøy replacing Pål Mauseth on drums. The band intensified live concerts and toured extensively all over Northern Norway. The album “Arctic Blues” was released in October 1990 – recorded live at Sinus in Bodø and received excellent critics especially from abroad. “Gone Fishing Blues” is also recorded on this album in Basement Studio”. In 1990 Blues Basement played in the “Arctic Border Blues Festival” in Kirkenes, Nikkel (Russia) and Murmansk (Russia). Geir Hovig in the Norwegian Broadcasting Service NRK featured Blues Basement on his programme Hovig’s Hangar and has often played their music in later years.
In 1993 Blues Basement, now a quartet consisting of Eirik Stensvik, Peter Glanfield, Frank Ørnøy and Ole Marius Lund sent British blues producer Mike Vernon (Blue Horizon) a demo and invited him to come over to Bodø to produce a CD for the band. In the space of five hectic days and nights “Blues Power” was created with Vernon also providing added instrumentation back home in London: Ian Gibbons on keyboards, Pete Wingfield on piano and Mel Collins on tenor sax. The CD received good reviews – not least abroad.
Blues Basement changed personnel again in 1995 with Kjell Andreassen (well-known from the Norwegian band “Tysfjord Song and Cement”) joining on vocals and rhythm guitar and later Robert Karlsson on drums. The band continued to tour actively, particularly in Northern Norway playing concerts and festivals.
In 1996 it was time for the band to record again, and this time they decided to make an unplugged CD: “Where The Eagle Flies” Unplugged. Guitarist Eirik Stensvik received a music scholarship and spent a couple of intensive weeks in Chicago mixing acoustic songs previously recorded in “Basement Studio” – the band’s own recording and practice studio. Guest musicians on this album included Jan Gunnar Hoff on piano, Finn Sletten on drums and Erik Berntsen on saxophones and Derec O’Brien (USA) on guitar. On this recording Bruce Iglauer and Julian Herzfeld at Alligator Records in Chicago helped Eirik Stensvik to mix the record at their major studio in “The Windy City”. Stensvik received plenty of genuine live input on this trip checking out the major blues clubs in Chicago.
In 1998 Odd Krogh replaced Robert Karlson on drums and Blues Basement took its present form as a quartet. The following albums have been issued with Kjell Andreassen on vocals, rhythm guitar, Eirik Stensvik on lead guitar, Peter Glanfield on bass, harmonica and vocals and Odd Krogh/Finn Sletten on drums: High Tide (EP) in 2001 with four self-composed songs and with the help of Svein Huse on tenor sax and Terje Jonassen on keyboards. The CD “Blue Tales” was released in 2005 and consisted of both newly composed songs and previously released songs – all self-composed. The band toured and played concerts all over Norway during this period.
In 2008 the CD “Seven” was released in October consisting of 12 self-composed songs and showing Blues Basement injecting some more rock into their songs. The vocal backing group “Di De Bei” helps out on a couple of songs as well as Sindre Myrbostad (previously Blues Basement) on piano, Carl Henrik Buschmann on keyboards and Rune Pettersen on keyboards. Blues Basement continues touring and spreading their blues music.
The band has plenty of plans for the future and already has material for new recordings. We enjoy playing live for audiences. It’s still great to play the music we love and the blues will live for ever. Blues Basement is alive, well and kicking ..in Bodø and all around the world!