Psyched Up Janis was a Danish

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

formed by

Sune Rose Wagner Sune Rose Wagner (born 24 July 1973) is a Danish songwriter, guitarist, and singer, best known for playing in the rock group The Raveonettes. In addition to his own bands, Wagner has produced, recorded, and mixed albums by acts such as Dum ...

, now a member of

The Raveonettes The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly B ...

, Martin Bjerregaard, and Jakob Jørgensen.

Biography

Sune Wagner and Jakob Jørgensen played their first concert in

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),demo entitled ''I Never Change'' in 1992. That year, the band moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Martin Bjerregaard joined the band to be a drummer. The trio went to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to record the self-financed EP, ''I Died in my Teens''. The song by the same name made Single of the Week in

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

Psyched up Janis recorded their debut full-length album ''Swell'' in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with

Craig Leon Craig Leon (born 7 January 1952) is an American-born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England.''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2005'', Routledge, 2005. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many ...

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. In 1995 the band signed with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

record company This Way Up/Universal. The year after, they moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to pursue their career, but without much luck. They opened the largest stage at the

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. Martin had just left the band, so

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

's drummer was borrowed for the concert. In 1996 the band recorded the album ''Beats Me'' in England which was mixed at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

. Jesper "Yebo" Reginal from the band Thau became the new drummer. In 1998 Psyched Up Janis toured Denmark with the album ''Enter The Super Peppermint Lounge''. Sune played drums on the album himself. In 1999, after moving to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, they released the acoustic album ''The Quiet Album'' and played a "last concert" together at the 1999 Roskilde Festival. Some old demos were released that same year under the name ''Hi-Fi Low Life''. The band reformed, briefly in 2009 and again in 2014 playing live concerts and the

Roskilde festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

. Jakob Jørgensen later formed the band Knallert. Yet later (in 2015) he played bass in Childrenn. Martin Bjerregaard toured and recorded with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-band The Saints and later joined the band

Racetrack Babies Racetrack Babies were a Danish punk rock band, formed in Copenhagen in 1998. Their successful first album produced two MTV music videos for the singles "Changing Weather" and "It's OK". The band recorded three albums with various personnel chang ...

. Sune has played with surf-band The Tremolo Beer Gut and occasionally with

Sort Sol Sort Sol is a Danish rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods (stylized as SODS). The name ''Sort Sol'' was taken in the early 1980s. It translates to English as ''b ...

. In 2002 he presented his new band

with Sharin Foo.

Discography

Albums

*''Swell'' (1994) *''Beats Me'' (1997) *''Enter the Super Peppermint Lounge'' (1998) *''Hi-Fi Low Life'' (1999) *''The Quiet Album'' (live, 1999)

EP

*''Where the Lights Won't Shine'' (1996)

Singles

*"I Died in My Teens" (1995) *"Vanity" (1996) *"Airhead" (1997)

References

Danish musical groups Danish rock music groups {{Denmark-band-stub