We had the opportunity to talk to a very young punk from Norway recently. He is Thomas Seltzer, age 14, from the band AKUTT INNLEGGELSE (Acute Admission)

MRR: How long have you been in a band?

Tom: We started only a year ago. There are two of us who are 14 and two are 16.

MRR: Why did you form a punk band?

Tom: What answer do you usually get? Boredom. I'd like to say it was something else, but...

MRR: Where do you live?

Tom: A peninsula outside Oslo, a suburb.

MRR: Are there a lot of punks?

Tom: Just us.

MRR: What do you sing about?

Tom: All the normal stuff... racism... There's a lot of it in Norway. We don't sing about it though just because everybody else does. But it's all been said before in interviews. That doesn't mean it's not important. I'd think about that stuff even if I wasn't a punk.

MRR: What are some of your impressions of the US?

Tom: Big. A lot of mixtures. A lot of everything. A church right next door to a massage parlour. Lots of contrasts. All the ads on TV, in Norway there's no ads.

MRR: Is that bad or good?

Tom: Both. When you come to the US, everything's in lights. You go AAAGH!! I was in cultural shock for weeks. Even at night you have to wear sunglasses.

MRR: Are there any other young Oslo bands?

Tom: There's OLE REIDARS and BARN AV REGNBUEN (unfortunately, a member of both bands was recently killed in an auto accident, a giant loss for all of us), and SVART FRAMTID (Black Future). Here, punk is spread out in four parts of the country.