Roger Houdaille

Ex Norwegian has several records to their name, all starting with the first single “Something Unreal which, as Roger puts it, “became something of a viral hit…for 2008 standards at least” and has kept the band going to this day. The highly cultish babysue proclaimed Ex Norwegian to be

“easily one of the best pop bands of the twenty-first century.”

With the release of “Something Unreal: The Best Of Ex Norwegian” introduces Roger’s work to an even larger audience. Ex Norwegian came out of the band Father Bloopy; originally his stage name in another group The BJ Experience, which formed in 2000. The BJ Experience will occasionally reform for special occasions and high paying offers and its catalog is readily available on streaming platforms. Under the Father Bloopy guise several releases led up to the mainstream release, “Ginger, Baby”, in 2007.

 

As a musician in South Florida, Roger has performed with almost countless local bands and some not-so-local professionals; notably playing bass in a memorable debut live show by Mika and the unmemorable rip off by Latin singer (un)sensation Noelia. More recent projects include playing bass on a couple progressive rock outfits  – the Dave Kerzner Band; first gig playing alongside Steve Hackett on stage – and as part of Fernando Perdomo’s Out To Sea band performing the progressive rock circuit, including Cruise To The Edge festivals at sea. There’s a more a more detailed list in the bands section.

 

Roger’s musical tastes developed fast after discovering The Beatles and moving on to Badfinger. By middle school it was The Who and The Kinks; in high school it delved into more obscurer music compared to his peers becoming obsessed with bands like Family, Patto and the whole British psychedelia trip. All throughout this time actively recording his own songs. In high school, Roger was a four year member of the Miami Beach Senior High School Rock Ensemble directed by the late and great Doug Burris. With this group there was a lot of class missed but also great opportunities like performing around the country—including Disney World and inside the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame.

 

In 2000, Roger established an underground indie label of oddities, Dippy Records, mainly as a vehicle to release and promote his and his friends projects. In 2008 the Dying Van Gogh label was created with Transcendence leader/bandmate Ed Hale, effectively merging his TMG Records with Dippy Records into one “super indie” label. The changes in music industry gave the upstart label a chance to score a billboard top 30 hit with Ed’s “Scene In San Francisco“. However, with that success also came heartache and the label didn’t quite make it out in one piece. The focus now is the label conglomerate Think Like A Key, which incidentally is the name of Roger’s publishing company too.

 

Aside from music, Roger was a philatelist for a while; more recently a connoisseur of dank memes. In 2007 he experienced a political/spiritual awakening after hearing Republican congressman Ron Paul on the Daily Show, promoting his candidacy. It’s been a long road since then, and there’s no looking back. Raise your hand if you are still reading this…