Arvika

Arvika formed somewhere in the beginning of 2002 in Antwerp, Belgium and was brought together by long time friends Johan (drums), Jan (bass) and Frederic (guitar). After 2 years they joined forces with Wouter (guitars and vocals), so that a real band was formed. We first operated under the moniker “No Offence”, but that name was already being used by another Belgian band. So, after going on holiday to Arvika, Sweden, we named the band after this beautiful Nordic village. We rehearsed a while in the Music City in Antwerp, but we then decided to give things a turn and went to the Rhythm Cage in Kruibeke. From then on, things would never be the same…

Initially, we came together to play the music we liked without any further ambition. We covered songs from Nirvana, Feeder, Coldplay, Metallica, etc. and started writing our own material. But then there was an opportunity to perform live, so we took it with both hands. Our first live appearance took place on April 1st 2006 during Gidsenrock in Aartselaar. We liked it so much that this gig was followed by 4 other shows before the end of the year.
Finally, after more than a year of rehearsals and composing, the first real fruits of our labour came to light in March 2007, when we entered the studio to record our first demo. This 3-track demo, which was recorded at the Rhythm Cage and produced by “mix master Mark” contained the tracks “Poor Freddy”, “K.O.” and “Stronger Than The Trees”. You could hear influences from Feeder, Smashing Pumpkins, Blur and Camden.
After hearing some critics, we knew we needed a better vocalist to move the band up and forward. So, in May 2007 Jocelyn was enlisted to our ranks, which turned us into a female fronted rock band. After only being 3 weeks in the band, we hit the stage to perform at “De Deurnestraatfeesten” in Mortsel.
However, in September 2007 Jocelyn decided to quit the band. She wanted to sing another style of music and that was something we couldn't give her. After two months, we finally found a new frontman, Stein. So Arvika is now a five-headed band with one hell of a singer.
In February 2008 the time had come to enter the studio for the second time, once again with “mix master Mark” behind the mixing table. We recorded 3 brand new tracks “Another Sunny Day”, “Turned Out Alright” and “Just Another Way To Feed Yourself” and an older one entitled “Utopia”. We really felt that our songwriting skills had improved and that the new material is much stronger, so with our brand new demo under our wings, we hope to hit the stage very soon!
Greetings from Arvika
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