The Contenders (band)
The Contenders were one of the most popular Norwegian roots rock bands of the early 1990s, playing more than 200 gigs and releasing three albums. Band members Bjørn Kulseth – vocals & guitars Stein Kulseth – vocals, piano, accordion, guitar & mandolin Odd Eirik Fleischer – bass & vocals Per Ivar Stræte – drums Arnfinn Tørrisen – guitars (1991– present) Former members Stein Ramberg – guitars (1988–1989) Bjørn Gulliksen – vocals & guitars (1987–88) History In the fall of 1987, Bjørn Kulseth was waiting for the release of his first solo album Away, recorded in England that summer and due for release under the "project name" Hi-Yo Silver! in March 1988 . Having broken up The Act in January 1987 after four years of regular gig playing, he was now yearning to get back on stage. So initially just to have some fun and play a few gigs, Kulseth rounded up his younger brother Stein and the rhythm section they had played with while growing up in Flisa, a rural village close to the deep forests by the Swedish border. The last recruit was Bjørn Gulliksen, the front man of The Ramblers from Kongsberg who were also handled by Kulseth's manager. From the very first show – playing mostly pub rock classics and a few new originals by the Kulseth brothers – the response was strong. As word got around that the guy from The Act had a new band with three frontmen, offers for gigs started coming in. So when his more pop oriented solo album bombed – great reviews and close to zero sales – Bjørn Kulseth just kept on gigging with The Contenders and writing new songs with his brother. After a few months, Bjørn Gulliksen found two bands to be one too many and was replaced by lead guitarist Stein Ramberg, who had played with Bjørn Kulseth in The Act in 1984. In the spring of 1988, The Contenders started a residency at Cruise Café, Oslo's main venue for Americana music. Every week the band invited other Norwegian performers they respected as special guests: Singers like Trond Granlund, Henning Kvitnes, Jan Dahlen and Pål Andreassen. On the back of this residency, The Contenders were hired to back US singer-songwriter Steve Young (best known for Eagles' cover of his song “Seven Bridges Road”) on a Norwegian tour. In the summer of 1988 the band recorded demos of three of their own songs. A version of “Ain't That Brave” from this session was included on the Norwegian Garage Rock collection Rock 'n' Roll Stowaways Vol. 1. Later that summer they played alongside Tom Russell and Backstreet Girls at Down on the Farm: An event that started out as a barbecue for musicians and friends and in a few years become the premier Norwegian roots festival with audiences up to 5,000. First album In the spring of 1989, the band hired Oslo's all digital BEL Studio for four nights. Thirteen songs were recorded and produced by the Kulseth brothers