Booking, concerts and tours

An English retelling from Kjell Moberg's manuscript.

Booking for other bands began with a phone call from London in 1993 and expanded through a network of clubs, musicians and friends. I learned by arranging Norwegian tours for international punk bands, solving practical problems on the road and building exchanges between scenes.

I began booking other bands by accident. In the winter of 1993, Vice Records in London asked whether I would arrange a Norwegian tour for The Guttersnipes. I had never done a tour for someone else, but I knew bands and accepted. Their tour reached Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Halden and Oslo; its success led to another Guttersnipes tour and more requests.

The work grew through contacts. I helped Core, Ex-Cathedra, Grimskunk, Bad Preachers, Alians and Paprika Korps find rooms across Norway, while friends abroad helped my bands. Every tour taught me about routing, timing, venues, travel and communication. My records are incomplete, but the pattern is clear: a local club network became an international web of musical friendships.

The exchange turned toward China as well. I brought SMZB to Europe in 2005, and Wuwei and Kang Mao helped bring Jef to China. Later, October Party Records released albums by SUBS and arranged Chinese tours for Norwegian acts including Haggis, Good Time Charlie, Ninth and Blind Stereo. Those collaborations made booking part of a wider relationship between scenes.