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The Ken Hensley Summer Party - August 5th 2006 Julie Andrews wasn’t there… but still it was one
of the greatest Saturdays of my entire life and I’m not just talking
about my musical career! Monica and I left Alicante on Wednesday (2nd) to fly to Oslo, Norway where our dear friend Petter Johanssen met us for the ride to Gressvik, the little town with the big love for music, and the place where we always have the Summer Party. This year we brought Meli, one of Monica’s sisters and Miguel Angel, her “baby” brother, not for any particular reason but because we thought they would enjoy it all. When we arrived the band was in the middle of rehearsals and I met Syd Ringsby our “new” bass player for the first time. These guys had worked hard and so we were quickly into the swing of things and I felt very encouraged by the sound and the feel of the band. I had decided to make some major changes to our set up so now Eirikur (Erik) Hauksen is handling most of the lead vocals, leaving me in my familiar role of directing the band from behind the B3 and taking responsibility for the primary harmonies. Erik has a great voice and David would be proud of the way he handles some of the older Heep tunes (for the record, I think Bernie Shaw does a good job on them too!). Ken “Jr.” Ingversen is still on guitar and is now singing more harmonies. Ken is a great player and a really excellent “team player” so I am happy he is (and will be) around. “Wild” Willy Bendiksen is still pounding the drums and keeping all of us amused while Syd has blended in perfectly already. After a few hours we decided to retire to Odins Kro, the local bar and one of the party’s primary supporters, for some dinner and to get caught up. We are going to be doing a lot of work together in the future so we had a lot to talk about. Erik had kindly made his house available to Monica and our guests for the length of our stay so we went there and got moved in. THURSDAY AUGUST 3rd From what I heard, ticket sales were going well for this year’s party so the band and I were able to focus on getting the show tightened up. The room we rehearse in is very loud so we had to be pretty careful but it was already beginning to sound really special and quite different and this was a result of the changes I mentioned earlier. Erik handling most of the lead vocals, adding the fourth (Ken’s) voice and changing the show to take out a lot of the slower tempo stuff and replace it with interesting and powerful rock songs. The first three songs are all segued (connected) so the opening of the show is very powerful and, as a direct result of this, I decided to drop “Free Me”. It just sounded like a pop song and this is very definitely not a pop band… hmmm… interesting! When we play both encores the show is close to two hours long but it doesn’t feel like it and, in my experience, that’s a really positive thing. Anyway the set we ended up with was this… OUT OF MY CONTROL Finally we decided we had done all we could do and that we didn’t want to damage our ears so we went back to Odin’s Kro (which I later re-named Fawtly Towers) for dinner and a few beers. There was a really good vibe this year and everyone seemed to sense that we were in for something special… FRIDAY AUGUST 4th Last day of rehearsal and time to run the show and iron out as many bugs as possible. We worked hard while Monica and her family were working hard shopping and, once we decided that we had done all we could do, we packed up and went for dinner and to get some rest. We had to prepare for two shows on Saturday which looked like being a long, long day! SATURDAY AUGUST 5th I didn’t sleep much and this was partially because I was really excited about today’s adventures! We met at 8:30 am, had some coffee and loaded ourselves into the two Bell 44 helicopters that had been rented for our ride into the mountains where we were to be part of a two-day festival. There wasn’t much room in these machines so it was just the band and Magne Ostby, our sound engineer and movie director/cameraman. What a journey this was! I wish I could describe how beautiful the scenery was. We flew over the towns and villages, the rivers and lakes until we reached the foothills of the mountains where there was still a little snow left. I saw herds of reindeer, sheep and lots of tractors… it was simply spectacular. Of course Magne filmed the whole thing so it will show up somewhere but if you ever get the chance…… And I couldn’t resist the temptation of mentioning that I knew the guy who made all of this magnificent scenery! The flight took 1 ½ hours (they say it’s a six hour drive from Fredrikstad but I didn’t see a road for a long time) and, as we got deeper into the foothills and lower mountains, we had begun to wonder where on earth the place was and what was going to happen, until we made a left turn over a huge lake and there, all of a sudden, was the festival site. We could see one big mountain lodge and the stage and there were tents all over the hillsides. It was an incredible sight and we were all very thrilled by it. When you’ve been in this business as long as I have it’s hard to imagine there is anything new but this was a first… for sure!! We landed (it’s amazing how these guys manoeuver these helicopters) and went straight to the stage to check the rented equipment and prepare for a 12:00 (noon!!) show. This was where we ran into our first snag, because the Leslie blew up almost as soon as I turned it on, but this is also where we ran into our first miracle! Within 30 minutes there was a C3 and a Leslie in place and working perfectly. This would have been a miracle in any major city but deep in the Norwegian mountains… I said a couple of thankful prayers right there!! (FYI… the Hammond B3 and C3 are identical except for the cabinet. The B3 has legs and the C3 is full enclosed. One was built for churches and the other one for homes). Because of the flight time and our schedule back in Gressvik we organised a 45 minute set which was… OUT OF MY CONTROL As we began to quickly check the gear the people emerged from their tents and other places and the audience area quickly filled up. Those who didn’t feel like moving just watched from their perches on the surrounding hillsides… it was just so cool. Our first live show together went well and, considering it was so early, the response was fantastic, but we were already late and we had to run so we said goodbye to everyone and thanked the organisers for a job well done and jumped back into the helicopters. We did a quick victory loop over the site and, with everyone waving goodbye, headed back across the mountains for another look at the beautiful scenery. Being late robbed me of my siesta but, by the time we landed, all of our adrenaline was running powerfully and we were looking forward to the next show. By the time we got to the show site in Gressvik all of the gear was up, line-checks were done and we went straight into sound check. Once we had everything pretty much the way we wanted it, it was time for dinner back at Fawlty Towers and then a little rest before show time. After the opening act had finished, Monica and I went up on stage to personally thank the long list of people who had made all this possible. I did this deliberately, because it’s important to acknowledge the amount of hard work and dedication that goes into something like this, which is very different from a normal show. This year (our third) the place was absolutely packed and, from the moment we started, the energy form the band to the audience and back again was fantastic. There was so many high points (like when someone in the audience yelled for “Rain” just as we were preparing to play it) but it ended up being the best live show I have been a part of since probably 1974!! We had done both encores before retiring to the bar/backstage area to recover and celebrate and everyone was buzzing about the show, the sound… everything. This was tremendously satisfying and I was very thankful… It was a long day and another late night but it was also one of the greatest days of my musical life and one I doubt I will ever forget. The blessings of God come in many forms and this was definitely one of them! Sunday came and was running fast and we had to do a photo session for the posters for the “Live Fire” tour in October and some publicity stuff but it went well and quickly so, after saying goodbye to some of the guys, we drove to the marina and got into Rino’s boat for a 30-minute ride to the other side of the fjord for dinner. After a great meal and some good wine we headed back out to sea and stopped for a while to enjoy a swim, some more wine and to watch the sunset. A perfect way to end a perfect weekend, even if I didn’t see Julie Andrews! God bless, |
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Copyright © 1996-2007 Ken Hensley |
