Pling pling. ..

When you google Painted Romans you get many hits. Amongst them are. .. well, painted Romans - which are basically small plastic war figures, a Roman painted house in the UK. .. and THIS Painted Romans.

THIS is the moniker of a cold blooded northerner from the remotely situated town called Trondheim, located somewhere in the middle of Norway. Yes, that's Norway - as in the nasty oil nation!

Pre-historic times. ..

The year was 2006 and I suddenly found myself on the bum after "dissolving" Wallpaper Silhouettes. WS eventually became four members, and indeed did we have a blast during our eight years of existence; two acclaimed albums, loads of gigs, a road documentary screened in cinema, and many other achievements now gone down as part of history. WS's two core members were Tony Jacobsen and myself. We were best friends prior to forming the band, good friends towards the end, and the best of friends again after we split. Nowadays Tony is enjoying his creative freedom with We Are Monsters, as much as I enjoy mine.

And then. ..

. ..some time after the split I saw my chance to pick up on many loose threads from a musical past and began working on a solo project (because I knew so few musicians!) This I did for almost two years, although I had been talking to former WS members about putting on a gig. And by the end of 2007 I was joined by Jan Ottar Nystad (guitar and backing vocals) and Jo Henning Dahlø (percussions and backing vocals) to do so. Then «Evil Wigs And Bedroom Moments» was completed and released on 1st of October 2008. ..

Painted Romans is and always was a diary, a place to put down so called poems and ideas about love and hope and lust and desire and aims and struggle and pain, most aspects in life really. .. And indeed with a song archive as extensive as the one sitting in boxes scattered around in my living room, I can honestly say that each song represent a page in the book. .. of days gone by. ..

So here is some sort of conclusion. .. Perhaps Painted Romans is a small weeping in a painful autumn day. The brush of a cool ocean breeze in winter. An aggresive shedding of all rules, with no hidden agenda. Only a longing need to say what others don't, or to say it differently. A wish to break down crooked gestures. A wish to interpret freedom. A wish to interpret life in general, as lived by every fate, humans and animals. But only perhaps. ..

mats d.

The Spirit of 2010:
The Painted Moron pictured here with his better half and singist on "Don't Be Serious!" Spectacular!