Zeke, Motorhead, Nashville Pussy and Kick Ass Rock…A good conversation with the danish Hellroute 16!!!

Hi guys! If I’m not making a mistake u’re around since ’97! Would u like to tell us how was the band born and some of the most important things happened to u in these years? U recorded songs for many compilations, would u like to remember us some of them? Is there any that u’re particularly proud of?
Tom: Well, I was playing in this band, Powergrill, which was a kind of Ramones punkrock, and then I started to jam with Clod, an old friend of mine. We used to smoke pot and jam a lot, but since we both played bass, it had never been nothing but jamming. But now he was up for some drumming, and we soon had a couple of numbers. Then we got a guy named K on guitar, he was in a punk band called Intoxicated Bugs, but he was too political correct, and at a party at his flat, I spat a girl he knew in the face. She had tried to throw out an old army buddy of mine for sleeping, and she basically acted like it was her fucking flat and party. Anyway, K didn’t want any part of Hellroute after that, and soon after he also left Intoxicated Bugs because he wanted to play indie rock.
Mr. T.: It’s funny. I didn’t know Tom Hell at that time, but I also played in Intoxicated Bugs. And around the same time that K left Hellroute, they kicked me out of Intoxicated Bugs for wanting more discipline and less pot smoking during the rehearsing. But they were nice enough to introduce me to Tom Hell… And soon after I was the guitar player in Hellroute 16. I guess it’s right, it was around 1997 at that time. Soon after, Jens joined, isn’t that right, Tom?
Tom: Yeah, we thought Hetero Jens would be a good singer and front man, because he was as political incorrect as the rest of us, and I had seen some lyrics he had written that totally expressed the way we felt.
Mr. T.: Yeah, I remember. It took some beers and persuasion, but we got him! I think Clod played the drums for about two years. Then his back caved in. Since him, we have had five other drummers. It’s always a step back when you lose a drummer or a lead singer. Jens left the band about a year ago. But luckily, Steff joined the band right after, and learned the materiel in one month, and we were ready to go. But now we’re about to lose the best drummer we have ever had – to mainstream music. That sucks! So now, as always, we’re looking for a new drummer.
Tom: You ask about the most important things over the years. Some of the nice things are the first gig out of the country, in Germany.
Mr. T.: Don’t forget the bands first couple of gigs, and Gutter Island, a Danish punk rock festival, when we played with The Hives and a lot of other great bands.
Tom: It’s also great with all the compilations. I especially like the Dead Moon tribute “In a Cole Mine”.
Mr. T.: Yeah, and the new Pool Skate DVD “Chlorine”. It’s always nice when somebody likes the music and they spent money and free time on the band.
Tom:That was some of the nice things that happened over the years. Some of the bad things are changing drummer every goddamn year, and Jens bailed out last year. It’s always a damn drag and it’s setting us back.
Mr. T.: Damn right!

“Shortcut to shitsville” is really a kick in the ass! It makes me think to Motorhead, Zeke and Nashville Pussy! Do u agree with me? Which bands of the past influenced u the most and why?
Mr. T.: Thanks! Those are all great bands. That’s a compliment.
Tom: Yeah. And when it comes to bands that influenced me, I could write a 1000 fucking names. I mean, I started to play because of the high energy and simplicity in bands like MC5, The Stooges, AC/DC, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Dead Boys, and the list could go on and on.
Mr. T.: Me, I thought it would be a good way to score with the girls. My influence is my older brother’s records, things like Chuck Berry, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath.

Why did u choose the monicker “Hellroute 16” and the title “Shortcut to shitsville”?
Mr. T.: They named the band before I joined.
Tom: We are named after a bus, route 16. At the time we started up, me and Clod both lived on the wrong side of the tracks, and if we were going to a gig or something else, we used to say: “let’s ride the Hellroute 16”. It drove through the worst parts in Copenhagen, and at the end of the line there was an insanity asylum.
Mr. T.: The record is called Shortcut to Shitsville, because it seemed to fit at the time. After we recorded the tracks, we went to Germany to play. That’s where we got the cover photo. When we got home it all came together. Don’t you think it looks good?

My favourite song is “Satan on high Heels”! What is it referring to?
Tom: It’s about a girl, a pro heartbreaker. Buy the record, read the lyrics.
Mr. T.: Jens used to dedicate it to a girl we know, called Liv, because of her sexy dancing in front of the stage.

“All my clothes are second hand, fuck you! I’m in a band, no regrets i got no shame, no heart so i feel no pain…” this sentence taken from “Come my way” is great!!! Why did u write this song based on your “no class” style!? What does it mean to be the soul of “No class” in 2003?
Tom: The Con My Way lyrics is written by Jens, so you have to take the no class thing up with him, but it’s about being broke and conning your way in to gigs and getting free beer, basically things we all know about.
Mr. T.: Yeah! I guess the “no class” thing is seen through a “normal” person’s eyes. There are a lot of people that think that we have no class, because we don’t smoke big cigars and sip expensive liquor. We smuggle the cheapest booze with us, so we only have to buy sodas. In that way we can party three times a week for close to no money. Max thrills for minimum cash!!

What is the songwriting process u use to follow? Is there one of u writing lyrics and someone other composing music?
Tom: The singer writes 90% of the lyrics, and I write the rest. When it comes to the music, I make the riffs or we jam in the rehearsal room and make the music that way.
Mr. T.: That’s right. Most of the time Tom has a good idea of how the music should be played. I follow him, but I try to make my own contribution. We can’t both plat the bass-line!

I suppose that u performed a lot during your career? Is there any live show that u remember for any particular reason?
Tom: Yeah, I remember when we played at some youth hostel for homeless young psychotics, and Jens accidentally broke some of my teeth whit his microphone. I spat’em out and played on. Then there’s the Joey Ramone and also the Joe Strummer (Clash) tribute concerts, where people went totally crazy.
Mr. T.: (Laughing) Yeah, after the gig at the youth hotel, it whistled when you spoke. But it was a good show, filled with energy. Maybe too much? They started fighting when we finished. I think there were seven fights that evening.

I met “The Defectors” during an Italian festival. Do u know this band. They’re Danish too and their music has beat roots. Which Danish bands do u appreciate the most?
Tom: Yep, we know the Defectors, and they’re great. Other great Danish bands are Colombian Neckties, Screaming Eric and the Erections, Nekromantix, Los Retardos, The Headfall Attitudes, Baby Woodrose, The Magic Bullet Theory, The Untamed, No Hope for the Kids, Young Wasteners, The Caps, Powergrill, Cherry Bombs, the Wrecking Dead, Gorilla Angreb (Gorilla Attack) and The Blue Van.
Mr. T.: Yeah, those are all great bands!

I suppose u love women and it’s not easy to find someone ready to release an album named “Movers, shakers and masturbators” with that kind of cover! Who are your favourite pornostars and which are the parts of women body attract u at first sight?
Tom: Fuck all those political correct assholes. Christy Canyon in the 80ties, Stacy Valentine in the 90ties. But it’s a damn hard question, there are so many good-looking porn stars, and I’m a big tit man myself.
Mr. T.: I hadn’t noticed your big tits! I get all my porn from Tom Hell, so I don’t really care what they’re called, as long as there’s more woman than guys in the movies!

Which are your favourite drink, record, and the band u really can’t stand. Please, be nasty guys!
Tom: I don’t have a favourite drink, but I like vodka a lot. Favourite record, that’s an insane question. There are so many, but Funhouse with The Stooges from 1970 is one of them. I personally think all dance boy bands should fucking hang from lamp poles, you know, like pretty Christmas decorations.
Mr. T.: My favourite drink is any one with equal amounts of vodka, gin and tequila. Favourite record…I don’t know. Maybe Darkness Forever (live) with Turbonegro – that’s good party music. I don’t know the name of the bands, but all that house shit! One of my friends is really in to that, so I had to stop visiting him, because I couldn’t stand the music. Sorry René.

Which are fortunes and misfortunes for a rocker in Denmark? If u could choose a place to born again which nation would u have preferred as homeland?
Tom: The fortunes is that you get in for free to a lot of the gigs, and there is not so much competition, because there are so few bands, which bringsus to the misfortunes, playing for the same 60 people and a lot of backstabbing. I would prefer Denmark at any time as my homeland.
Mr. T.: Yeah, Denmark is fine with me too. The fortune is that there are a lot of great concerts in Copenhagen. But that’s also a bad thing, becauseit has to be a big name for people to get the lead out and go to the show. Lazy bastards! They don’t know that we could lose the bands if they don’t support the whole scene, and not just show up when their friends are playing.

What should we expect from Hellroute 16 in the future to come? Do u have any new songs ready? Something’s going to be nextly released?
Tom: We have tons of songs, we just need someone to release it, and if that’s not gonna happen, we do it ourselves, as we’re used to.
Mr. T.: That’s right.

So guys the interview is over. Now u can say what u want!!! Everything is permitted!
Tom & Mr.T: Fuck Eros Ramazzotti, and we hope to come and play in your town in the future. If any one wanna book us or release something, we’re up for it.

Intervista realizzata da Bruno Rossi.
Traduzione realizzata da Margherita Realmonte.