Description
FREDRIK BAKKEMO ONWARD – THESE WORDS STILL PRAY
This book is part of the narrative about Norwegian straight edge in the 90s, starting from what remains as the most central record release from the era. This is an era of Norwegian music history that has never before been documented to any particular extent. Straight edge in Oslo arose in the environment around the Blitz house, but posed a number of critical questions about punk culture. Onward was a band for the insiders, but with an aura that continues to touch, even outside the closed circle around the band. Onward had been disbanded for a year when in 1994/95 they gathered for a "come back" with a somewhat adjusted line-up full of Jacques Derrida's language philosophy, vegetarian food and Chain of Strength. This new edition of the band went on tour in Europe, then recorded "These Words Still Pray" at Athletic Sound in Halden. The book is also a tribute to the band's guitarist and founder Peter Amdam, who died in June 2016.
Fredrik Bakkemo (born 1977) was at Onward's release party for "These Words Still Pray" at Strømmen in 1997. He published straight edge fanzines in the 90s/00s and ran the Bodø-based record company Smart Patrol Records for about 10 years . He has a master's in family therapy, works as a psychotherapist. This is his first book.