Wig Wam – Bigger than ever

When Wig Wam hosts the Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday night, it’s an old friend they’re visiting. 17 years ago, they had their first breakthrough in the competition, and in Saturday’s “last chance” they are back as guests.

– It could not fit better. They needed something on the route, and we are ready, says Åge “Glam” Sten Nilsen to Dagbladet.

– Grand Prix means a lot to us – we are happy for everything that has happened here, and I follow every year, I, says Trond “Teeny” Holter, who also participated in the contribution to Lily Löwe in this year’s MGP.

The MGP performance takes place at the same time as the group, thanks to a music-loving director in the USA, is experiencing an increase in popularity internationally that not even the participation in Eurovision gave them.

Trends

Since January 13, the group has had more than ten million streams on Spotify and YouTube, and is on over 80,000 playlists worldwide, the band can tell.

The reason for the success is – perhaps surprisingly for many – the superhero series “Peacemaker”.

– I had no idea what “Peacemaker” was or anything. There were some younger people who started to explain about John Cena, sort of, and I had not even heard of him, says bassist Bernt “Flash” Jansen, to resounding laughter from his band colleagues.

“Peacemaker” is the new series from James Gunn, the man behind the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films and last year’s big movie “The Suicide Squad”. “Peacemaker” is also a spin-off of the latter.

Gunn is known for using his characteristic musical taste in his works, and when the star director needed a theme song for the new series, the choice fell on Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” from 2010.

The song, combined with a very humorous choreographed opening sequence, has become a viral sensation. If you search for Wig Wam on Twitter now, you will find a stream of people who have opened their eyes to the Norwegian rock band.

Classification

Darick Robertson, one of the creators behind the superhero hit “The Boys”, is one of those who has taken an interest. On Twitter he writes:

– Thank you James Gunn for introducing me to Wig Wam’s music, and reviving my love for a type of metal I was obsessed with as a 14-year-old.

He is one of many who sprinkle praise on Wig Wam and the song “Do You Wanna Taste It” on social media.

– Happened damn fast

The members of the band themselves say that it is difficult to take in the success the exposure in the TV series has already brought.

– A lot has happened in a few weeks. It is not many weeks since we sat and looked at a booking site where we were away. Things have happened damn fast, says Åge Sten Nilsen.

The incident Nilsen refers to has aroused interest among several international media, including the music and entertainment website Billboard, and since that much has happened, to say the least. The band has got both a new booking company and manager, and is in the process of booking gigs abroad.

Wild speculation: This is what the experts believe

According to them, the hype that now surrounds them tops the ninth place in Eurovision in 2005 by a good margin:

– The impact of this is far greater. Eurovision applied “only” to Europe – this applies to the whole world, Nilsen tells Dagbladet.

The music veterans are still clear on what opportunity MGP is, and how important it is for those who want to succeed that they take advantage of the opportunities they have:

– Use all the opportunities that arise, as long as you can be presented there as yourself. It does not matter where you play, as long as you show who you are, Nilsen says while the rest of the band agrees.

The band has, to put it mildly, complied with its own advice, and can tell about concerts in Hunderfossen Adventure Park, wild conditions at a shopping center in Iceland, appearances on children’s TV and sold-out Japan tours.

However, the touring life the guys have lived has cost, and it has not always been so easy to reconcile family life with playing up to three concerts per day:

– You live completely in your own bubble. You do not know which class your son is in, and at least not what his teacher’s name is, says drummer Øystein “Sporty” Andersen, while the other members nod in agreement.

When asked how the band managed to maintain the pace they held for a period, they agree that it is the kick from the audience that has kept them going over the years.

Now, however, they agree that they have laid the foundation that needs to be laid, and in the future, quality will prevail over quantity:

– Now we will take the jobs we want, and we will enjoy it. When we go on stage now, it’s like a group that wants to play, says Nilsen.