Phil
04-18-2006, 09:48 AM
It’s April 5th and Tina has just finished her post-set “meet n greet” to audience members at The Maze in Nottingham – a venue which has just seen about a hundred Midlanders thoroughly charmed and wowed by Tina’s show. Tina is well into her UK tour – a tour which is soon to develop into a sold-out tour of her Danish homeland.
The Maze isn’t exactly lavish. The backstage area consists of a toilet (shared with the bar and punters), and a small windowless room, about 2 x 3m square and furnished with a threadbare two-seater sofa, a knackered layzee chair, and a fridge packed with the Dickow staple. Diet coke. And some Heineken. For Dennis presumably. The walls of the backstage room look like they have been decorated by a blind man with an AK47. The Ritz it isn’t.
Having come off stage Tina stayed out front to meet some fans. Now sat quietly in the corner of the backstage room, Tina is nourishing herself with some jelly sweets from a Haribo Party Mix, and wrestling with an unpeelable tangerine. Or nectarine. Or Satsuma. Whatever. It has pips.
Dennis, Teitur and her dedicated manager Jonathan are crashed out on the sofa, anticipating open season on piss-taking.
Tina has excitedly agreed to take some questions from her Fan Forum…….
We start with a bit of a quick-fire warm up to gauge what kind of a superstar she really is…..(nb: TD is Tina!)
P: Crazy Night Out or Cosy Night In?
TD: (immediately) Cosy Night In….
P: Bottle of Bollinger or Cup of Cocoa?
TD: Bottle of…. What’s that?
P: Bollinger
TD: What’s that?
P: Champagne
TD: Definitely…Anytime! Cosy night in with a bottle of champagne.
P: Denmark P3 or BBC Radio 2?
TD: Radio 2….. oh (expletive), I can’t say that… P3!
P: Jonas Bjerre or Johnny De Luxe?
TD: (hesitates…) oooh…. Both very nice…… erm.. what do you mean?
P: … whatever…..
Teitur: You said Jonas Bjerre is a babe!
TD: erm…(looking sheepish) Jonas Bjerre?
P: London or Århus?
TD: Århus….. og London
P: Fame or Fortune?
TD: (without hesitation) Fortune…..of course fortune. (looks confused) Is that fortune as in money or is that success?
P: Big feet or Big hands?
TD: Big hands!
P: Large Sales or Critical Acclaim?
TD: Critical acclaim (leans in close to the mic)……. And large sales!
P: Run in the forest or Swim in the sea?
TD: ooooh both. Buuut….. a swim in the sea.
P: Being Danish or Being Famous?
TD: (without hesitation) Being Danish.
And now onto some longer, more complicated questioning (Parkinson style), taken from the website:
P: Ok… the rest of the questions come from your website.
TD: Are they all meant to be quick answers? Coz I’m not too good at quick answers....
P: This is from Lasse, your old…
TD: My old school mate!
P: Who in the whole world would you like to duet with?
TD: You see, these are the types of questions which take me about an hour to answer….cos I take it waaay too seriously.
P: Right, well, I’m gonna have a beer whilst we’re waiting (goes to the fridge)….
TD: Can you pass me a bottle of champagne (smiling)… or just a Coke…
(2 minutes pass as Tina thinks….)
TD: Ok, well Bob Dylan. Thom Yorke, Leonard Cohen…. Teitur! I would like to work with Teitur. He’s my biggest idol.
Teitur: And your sexiest friend!
P: This is from Michael in Seattle..who is still dancing apparently.
TD: Alright! Oh cool!
P: What do you think about when you’re singing the same song night after night?
TD: I think about the singing. I think about what the band is playing. But mainly I think about my voice. I almost get to the point where I’m completely blank in a way. And sometimes if I get really nervous whilst I’m up there, I think about my legs.
(confused looks from everyone in the room!)
TD: Just to get out of my head, and into my body. I think “how are my legs standing right now?”.
P: And what’s with the legwarmers? (Tina is often spotted onstage clad in a skirt and what, to the untrained eye, look like monotone legwarmers).
TD: I just like them. And my lower legs are too skinny for my thighs……
P: Do you set yourself goals? And what’s the aim for the next 12 months?
TD: No I don’t. I think it’s important at the moment to take things a day at a time. I want there to be more people each time I come back to a city. And 12 months is not a long time in the grand scheme of things. In 12 months I want to have written and recorded another album; and to have sold out my December tour in Denmark.
P: Which was the first venue you looked for when the Danish tour was announced?
TD: I suppose Copenhagen, cos that’s the biggest. The one in December is a big venue and that’s really exciting.
P: Erwin in Holland wants to know: What’s the most embarrassing CD you have?
TD: I have quite a few. I don’t even remember what’s in my collection…. I have lots of Bon Jovi. The really early stuff. Before Slippery When Wet
P: Hard-core bad taste!
TD: I was way into that when I was 10! There will be some Def Leppard stuff in there too.
P: Why isn’t chocolate pålæg sold outside Denmark?TD: I haven’t really thought about that which is strange, because Galle & Jessen (manufacturers of Danish sweets) was a big part of my life when I lived in Denmark!
P: There’s a Forum thread which asks: What are you listening to right now?
TD: This very minute, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and I’m listening to Teiturs new album in the car… cos he makes us! And cos we love it.
I’m also listening to Jenny Wilson – the one I got from Gaffa to review! Still listening to Bob Dylan….and erm… me! I do lots of demos all the time so listen back to them.
P: From Rachael in Birmingham - Who would win in a fight? She-Ra or Wonderwoman?
TD: I have no idea who they are….
(quick clarification…. But Dennis knows all about them it seems)
Dennis: Wonderwoman would kick ass.
P: What’s the process in releasing the next single? How do you choose the track?
TD: Is this because they disagree?! (smiling) I read that somewhere…..
In this case it’s quite a difficult one. It’s trying to second guess what people in the industry would want to hear now. We’re not going with the big single this time. We know that English radio is well into “Give In”, but we didn’t want to release that as a second single, as we need more of a build-up.
P: Can you draw?
TD: Not very well…. Well, I can actually….
P: Has anyone got a pen? (looking around the room)
Tinas self portrait, drawn over a period of about 15 minutes is to be scanned in here on the site!
P: Alex from Norwich is planning a round the world trip…. Where should she visit?
TD: If I had to say one big city, it would be New York, which is a cliché but….. New York is just breathtakingly crazy. San Francisco is really exciting and beautiful and sunny and lovely! Or Copenhagen….. and Randers! Maybe Rio actually. Of all the cities I’ve been to that’s actually the place I’m most looking forward to going back to.
P: This is from Daneska - a fan in Copenhagen. Do you worry about being able to preserve your privacy as a known artist – and as a potential future celebrity?
TD: No I don’t worry about that. It’s ok to be famous as long as its being famous for good things, and I feel that I’ve been honest with people. Sometimes I worry that if something bad should happen then the press might make something out of that because I am known.
P: The Danish press are quite positive about you.
TD: They are very good yes.
P: How come you’re not in Billed Bladet or Se og Hør?! (Danish tabloid magazines - P)
TD: Well, sometimes I am. But I say no to things. But my Mum has told me I have about 4 pages in “Kig Ind” this week!
P: How aware are your friends in England of the scale of your success in Denmark?
TD: I don’t think they have any idea. But when I’m back in Denmark I don’t think about it much. I don’t have anyone following me around or have people shout things at me, and I don’t think it will ever be that way. We’re not like that in Denmark….. unless you’re someone like Nik and Jay, who’s market is that generation. I don’t have that kind of celebrity, and I don’t think people draw opinion on me in that way.
P: There are some people who think that you will have a great future fronting tv or your own king of show in Denmark later in your career. Perhaps even the weather!
TD: That’s great! Apart from I speak Jysk…… I have a warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach about Denmark.
And just as it was getting started, so our time ran out. Tina, Teitur, Dennis and Jonathan piled into the back of a minicab (no limo for these guys!), and got straight off to bed – ready to take on tomorrows gig.
The Maze isn’t exactly lavish. The backstage area consists of a toilet (shared with the bar and punters), and a small windowless room, about 2 x 3m square and furnished with a threadbare two-seater sofa, a knackered layzee chair, and a fridge packed with the Dickow staple. Diet coke. And some Heineken. For Dennis presumably. The walls of the backstage room look like they have been decorated by a blind man with an AK47. The Ritz it isn’t.
Having come off stage Tina stayed out front to meet some fans. Now sat quietly in the corner of the backstage room, Tina is nourishing herself with some jelly sweets from a Haribo Party Mix, and wrestling with an unpeelable tangerine. Or nectarine. Or Satsuma. Whatever. It has pips.
Dennis, Teitur and her dedicated manager Jonathan are crashed out on the sofa, anticipating open season on piss-taking.
Tina has excitedly agreed to take some questions from her Fan Forum…….
We start with a bit of a quick-fire warm up to gauge what kind of a superstar she really is…..(nb: TD is Tina!)
P: Crazy Night Out or Cosy Night In?
TD: (immediately) Cosy Night In….
P: Bottle of Bollinger or Cup of Cocoa?
TD: Bottle of…. What’s that?
P: Bollinger
TD: What’s that?
P: Champagne
TD: Definitely…Anytime! Cosy night in with a bottle of champagne.
P: Denmark P3 or BBC Radio 2?
TD: Radio 2….. oh (expletive), I can’t say that… P3!
P: Jonas Bjerre or Johnny De Luxe?
TD: (hesitates…) oooh…. Both very nice…… erm.. what do you mean?
P: … whatever…..
Teitur: You said Jonas Bjerre is a babe!
TD: erm…(looking sheepish) Jonas Bjerre?
P: London or Århus?
TD: Århus….. og London
P: Fame or Fortune?
TD: (without hesitation) Fortune…..of course fortune. (looks confused) Is that fortune as in money or is that success?
P: Big feet or Big hands?
TD: Big hands!
P: Large Sales or Critical Acclaim?
TD: Critical acclaim (leans in close to the mic)……. And large sales!
P: Run in the forest or Swim in the sea?
TD: ooooh both. Buuut….. a swim in the sea.
P: Being Danish or Being Famous?
TD: (without hesitation) Being Danish.
And now onto some longer, more complicated questioning (Parkinson style), taken from the website:
P: Ok… the rest of the questions come from your website.
TD: Are they all meant to be quick answers? Coz I’m not too good at quick answers....
P: This is from Lasse, your old…
TD: My old school mate!
P: Who in the whole world would you like to duet with?
TD: You see, these are the types of questions which take me about an hour to answer….cos I take it waaay too seriously.
P: Right, well, I’m gonna have a beer whilst we’re waiting (goes to the fridge)….
TD: Can you pass me a bottle of champagne (smiling)… or just a Coke…
(2 minutes pass as Tina thinks….)
TD: Ok, well Bob Dylan. Thom Yorke, Leonard Cohen…. Teitur! I would like to work with Teitur. He’s my biggest idol.
Teitur: And your sexiest friend!
P: This is from Michael in Seattle..who is still dancing apparently.
TD: Alright! Oh cool!
P: What do you think about when you’re singing the same song night after night?
TD: I think about the singing. I think about what the band is playing. But mainly I think about my voice. I almost get to the point where I’m completely blank in a way. And sometimes if I get really nervous whilst I’m up there, I think about my legs.
(confused looks from everyone in the room!)
TD: Just to get out of my head, and into my body. I think “how are my legs standing right now?”.
P: And what’s with the legwarmers? (Tina is often spotted onstage clad in a skirt and what, to the untrained eye, look like monotone legwarmers).
TD: I just like them. And my lower legs are too skinny for my thighs……
P: Do you set yourself goals? And what’s the aim for the next 12 months?
TD: No I don’t. I think it’s important at the moment to take things a day at a time. I want there to be more people each time I come back to a city. And 12 months is not a long time in the grand scheme of things. In 12 months I want to have written and recorded another album; and to have sold out my December tour in Denmark.
P: Which was the first venue you looked for when the Danish tour was announced?
TD: I suppose Copenhagen, cos that’s the biggest. The one in December is a big venue and that’s really exciting.
P: Erwin in Holland wants to know: What’s the most embarrassing CD you have?
TD: I have quite a few. I don’t even remember what’s in my collection…. I have lots of Bon Jovi. The really early stuff. Before Slippery When Wet
P: Hard-core bad taste!
TD: I was way into that when I was 10! There will be some Def Leppard stuff in there too.
P: Why isn’t chocolate pålæg sold outside Denmark?TD: I haven’t really thought about that which is strange, because Galle & Jessen (manufacturers of Danish sweets) was a big part of my life when I lived in Denmark!
P: There’s a Forum thread which asks: What are you listening to right now?
TD: This very minute, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and I’m listening to Teiturs new album in the car… cos he makes us! And cos we love it.
I’m also listening to Jenny Wilson – the one I got from Gaffa to review! Still listening to Bob Dylan….and erm… me! I do lots of demos all the time so listen back to them.
P: From Rachael in Birmingham - Who would win in a fight? She-Ra or Wonderwoman?
TD: I have no idea who they are….
(quick clarification…. But Dennis knows all about them it seems)
Dennis: Wonderwoman would kick ass.
P: What’s the process in releasing the next single? How do you choose the track?
TD: Is this because they disagree?! (smiling) I read that somewhere…..
In this case it’s quite a difficult one. It’s trying to second guess what people in the industry would want to hear now. We’re not going with the big single this time. We know that English radio is well into “Give In”, but we didn’t want to release that as a second single, as we need more of a build-up.
P: Can you draw?
TD: Not very well…. Well, I can actually….
P: Has anyone got a pen? (looking around the room)
Tinas self portrait, drawn over a period of about 15 minutes is to be scanned in here on the site!
P: Alex from Norwich is planning a round the world trip…. Where should she visit?
TD: If I had to say one big city, it would be New York, which is a cliché but….. New York is just breathtakingly crazy. San Francisco is really exciting and beautiful and sunny and lovely! Or Copenhagen….. and Randers! Maybe Rio actually. Of all the cities I’ve been to that’s actually the place I’m most looking forward to going back to.
P: This is from Daneska - a fan in Copenhagen. Do you worry about being able to preserve your privacy as a known artist – and as a potential future celebrity?
TD: No I don’t worry about that. It’s ok to be famous as long as its being famous for good things, and I feel that I’ve been honest with people. Sometimes I worry that if something bad should happen then the press might make something out of that because I am known.
P: The Danish press are quite positive about you.
TD: They are very good yes.
P: How come you’re not in Billed Bladet or Se og Hør?! (Danish tabloid magazines - P)
TD: Well, sometimes I am. But I say no to things. But my Mum has told me I have about 4 pages in “Kig Ind” this week!
P: How aware are your friends in England of the scale of your success in Denmark?
TD: I don’t think they have any idea. But when I’m back in Denmark I don’t think about it much. I don’t have anyone following me around or have people shout things at me, and I don’t think it will ever be that way. We’re not like that in Denmark….. unless you’re someone like Nik and Jay, who’s market is that generation. I don’t have that kind of celebrity, and I don’t think people draw opinion on me in that way.
P: There are some people who think that you will have a great future fronting tv or your own king of show in Denmark later in your career. Perhaps even the weather!
TD: That’s great! Apart from I speak Jysk…… I have a warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach about Denmark.
And just as it was getting started, so our time ran out. Tina, Teitur, Dennis and Jonathan piled into the back of a minicab (no limo for these guys!), and got straight off to bed – ready to take on tomorrows gig.