Badger

The band with their songwriter team Figenschau/Måseide grew in popularity in their hometown Tromsø. They caught the interest of Robert Dyrnes of Yellow Snow Records and were released on a compilation cd of promising bands in Tromsø in 1999.
Later in 1999 they released an EP «Faster Days» which was played frequently on local radio stations. The year after they were invited to play at by:larm 2000 in Bergen – a festival for upcoming bands.

2001 became quite a busy year. They released their first full length cd «Every Other Sunday» which was followed up by a Norwegian tour including Elverock festival at Sjøvegan and yet another appearance at by:Larm 2001 in Tromsø. Later that year an invitation came from David Bash and International Pop Overthrow to perform at the festival in Los Angeles. The IPO festival in Los Angeles in July lead to yet another visit to IPO which was held in New York in December the same year.

At the start of 2002 Sindre Helmersen and Gunnar Hammer decided to leave the band in pursue of other careers. They were replaced by Håvard Stangnes on lead vocals and guitar and Kim Karlsen on drums. Håvard Stangnes previously played in the band toreBrumm and Kim Karlsen came from Popmart and Soul Patrol. With their new line up they toured Northern Norway.
Previously Figenschau/Måseide stood for all the song writing but it was soon noticed that their new addition to the group Håvard Stangnes was a talented songwriter as well.

In 2003 the guys went into the studio again. Again they had produced a very strong album. They followed up their recording sessions with an appearance at IPO in Los Angeles and a tour of Southern California. And they managed to get their new cd played on local radio stations in Los Angeles. Although the album was available in July through certain record stores in the U.S. the release date of «C’mon Girls!» in Norway was 22nd of November. The release was followed up by a release concert in Tromsø. Both the concert and the album received good reviews. The album was played on both local and national radio stations.

During 2004 the band was busy touring all across Norway. No shows were done abroad. While on the road they wrote a lot of new songs. These songs were added to their setlist.

In the beginning of 2005 they went into Nordlyd Studio to record some of the new songs. They continued touring the northern part of Norway during the spring and early summer.
But a devastating incident gave a shattering blow. During the summer Inge Frederiksen became increasingly ill and was hospitalized in mid-August. He was diagnosed with the disease HLH. After 3 weeks of treatment he lost the battle to the deadly disease and died on September 6th 2005.

After a period of time the band finally decided to continue as a 4-piece band. In 2006 Badger returned to Nordlyd Studio to finish recording «Astroturf», «Motorcar», «She Comes in Colors» and «Champagne Velvet». Recordings from 2005 with Inge Frederiksen were included on «She Comes in Colors» and «Champagne Velvet».

In 2007 Badger was invited to play at the International Pop Overthrow in Liverpool, UK. The IPO festival was back in Liverpool that year and Badger held their concert at the famous Cavern Club. Håkon Rundberg teamed up with the band on keyboard and backing vocals. This was their 4th appearance at IPO. Badger has previously played at IPO in Los Angeles and New York City in 2001 and in Los Angeles in 2003.

During 2008 Håvard Stangnes and Kim Karlsen were involved in several other projects throughout the year and Badger held no concerts this year.

In 2009 Badger expanded their sound with a 3-piece horn section consisting of Fred Glesnes (saxofone), Christian Hyld (trumpet) and Torbjørn Ingvaldsen (trombone). A horn section had previously been introduced on their live set on some occasions but was now a part of their whole set. This is in addition to keyboard which has been part of their sound since the album «Every Other Sunday». Jan Erik Vik, Håkon Rundberg, Benjamin Mørk and Ole-Morten Indigo Lekang have all taken turns behind the keyboard on stage or in the studio.

In the spring of 2010 Badger took part in Driv’s 10 year anniversary and performed along with 9 other bands and artists.
In October later that year they started recording what was to become their 3rd album. Due to Håvard Stangnes’ and Kim Karlsen’s involvement in other projects it took the band 3 years to finish the whole album.

In 2011 Badger played at the Bukta festival. They also contributed on a 12” vinyl which was a tribute to The Pussycats. The album «Grr…? Grr…!» was released in connection with the festival in limited edition and Badger’s contribution was their version of «Why Have We to Wait».

During 2012 they released two singles from their upcoming album. The singles were « I Tell You What You Wanna Hear» and «Motorcar». In August they were invited to the Havnnes festival and continued to tour the northern parts of Norway.

In 2013 they finished working on their 3rd album. The long awaited album «Stars, Guitars & Motorcars» was released on October 4th. The album received good reviews and the release was followed up by an unplugged concert at Backbeat, a live performance on NRK radio and a release concert at Blårock.

Badger held no concerts in 2014. Both Håvard Stangnes and Kim Karlsen were involved in other projects throughout 2014 and 2015. By the end of 2015 they were invited to perform at Roy Stenersen’s tribute concert. It was their first live performance in two years. Håvard Stangnes and Kim Karlsen have since continued their involvements in different projects.