After the opening show concert I got an interview with the three guys in Stratosphere, Flipside, emPhazer and FreeFall. After getting some refreshments after an exciting concert they sat down for an interview in the press room.
by Tor Ivar Hansen, photos by Helge Øyvind Hoel
At
first I asked them how they attended The Gathering in the first place. Flipside
has been at The Gathering since 1996, while emPhazer's first gathering was in
1999 and this years party is FreeFalls first ride of TG. Flipside came across
a program called Fast Tracker 2, in which he started to make some simple mod
music in 1996 and from there and forth today lays a lot of practice and fun
while composing new music materials. Now he's joined by two more companions
and together they have played at the stage here tonight. All three are very
well satisfied with the tonight concert.
What is your personal opinion about The Gathering?
Flipside: “For me The Gathering has always been something special. It's where I first came in touch with the tools which have helped me to get where I am today.”
EmPhazer: “The Gathering is a great opportunity for many people to exchange thoughts with others who have the same interests as them.”
FreeFall: “Well, since this is my first time at The Gathering I really don't have anything else but my first impression which is generally good. I see a great variety in interests among the people here.”
Together they agree that The Gathering is a great place for everyone to get new contacts, meet a lot of interesting people and extend their social network. There is something about the mood here. You are set in a different state of being and seeing things from many different angles. Things in music, programming, or even gaming that might seem difficult for you can turn into ease by observing others coping with that specific thing. You learn from others, like you learn them. They do to a little degree feel that the gamers have taken over a part of this party that the demosceners originally had.
Do you have any message to the attendances here at TG?
The answer was a clear yes. Flipsides says that for him The Gathering was the foundation of his career in music. And each and every one of them encourages the people here to take a part in the competitions that is running. “Don't be afraid that someone's better than you, each contribution is considered separately and if you maybe don't discover the TNT at your first try a constructive critic may give you a hint in what direction you need to improve.”
What do you think can contribute to an increase in the interest for music and
scene contributions in general here at The Gathering?
To this question they took a break before answering. While chewing candy and ripping paper cups they think out some suggestions. And what they came up with was as follows.
Increase the prize for music and demoscene competitions in general. Bigger prizes makes more people interested.
Bring celebrities and respected people to The Gathering and let them have pep-talk seminars and encourage the young people considering to start producing music, but who is in need of an extra push.
Show more material, demos, music and so on. The more people see, the more they may be impressed and encouraged by. Personal development is also very important. You may make a career out from this interest. We are.
Experienced people should welcome the newbie's with more openness and constructive critics rather than teasing and insults. This may reduce self-esteem and stop people with a good potential from developing themselves.
How important do you think The Gathering is for the demoscene people in Norway ?
Together they say that The Gathering is extremely important for promoting people to the demoscene area. They feel the age of the people have decreased with the years and hope that gamers will more and more discover the usefulness of the demoscene people in game making. With the increasing amount of gamers here at The Gathering they hope still more and more of them will discover the greatness of the demoscene area. The media sometimes present computer parties as a dirty place for nerd to sit down and play violent games. This is not true. If you see between all of the gamers there is very much true art not being discovered. It is the people here that meet and makes social connections that really contribute to make this area of computing and art to grow.
Stratosphere is staying for the whole party and they are open to comment and help new people to develop and maybe even deliver a contribution for the competitions.
At
first I asked them how they attended The Gathering in the first place. Flipside
has been at The Gathering since 1996, while emPhazer's first gathering was in
1999 and this years party is FreeFalls first ride of TG. Flipside came across
a program called Fast Tracker 2, in which he started to make some simple mod
music in 1996 and from there and forth today lays a lot of practice and fun
while composing new music materials. Now he's joined by two more companions
and together they have played at the stage here tonight. All three are very
well satisfied with the tonight concert. 
Together they agree that The Gathering is a great place for everyone to get new contacts, meet a lot of interesting people and extend their social network. There is something about the mood here. You are set in a different state of being and seeing things from many different angles. Things in music, programming, or even gaming that might seem difficult for you can turn into ease by observing others coping with that specific thing. You learn from others, like you learn them. They do to a little degree feel that the gamers have taken over a part of this party that the demosceners originally had. 
