The Blue Van

The Blue Van is a blues-rock band from Denmark consisting of Steffen Westmark (vocals and guitar), Søren Christensen (keyboard, vocals and guitar), Allan Villadsen (bass), and Per Jørgensen (drums and vocals).

History

The Blue Van was founded in Brønderslev, Denmark when the members were in the 6th grade at school. The group soon moved to Copenhagen, where they first recorded two EPs, and in April 2005 they released their first full-length album—The Art Of Rolling. The band is also known in the United States, due mainly to numerous shows in and around New York City preceding the release of The Art of Rolling, as well as their participation in events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Village Voice's hip Siren Festival. Their second album, Dear Independence, was released in October 2006. The band toured extensively with Australian band Jet to promote Dear Independence. Fans were treated to early renditions of "Rico", "The Odyssey", and "Don't Leave Me Blue". In the first quarter of 2007, the band announced that they would be going into a recluse state in a farm house to write material for their 3rd album. "Silly Boy", the lead single from their third album Man Up, was featured in a 2008 US commercial for the Samsung Behold cell phone. It was the first of many syncs from the band's catalog using "Man Up", " Silly Boy" and "I'm a Man". Those and others have been featured in various TV series, including 90210, Call Me Fritz, Revenge, Shameless, Free Radio, Private Practice, the German series "Countdown-Die Jagd beginnt", CSI NY, NCIS, Entourage, Mercy, Dallas, Lie to Me, and numerous commercials including Scrubs, Red Lobster, Samsung, Common Law, Telus, Time Warner Cable, and NFL football. "Silly Boy" is a part of the movie "The First Time", starring Dylan O'Brien. "Man Up" has also been used in the MLB 09 video game. Most recently, their song "Independence" was used as the theme for USA Network's new show, Royal Pains. "There Goes My Love", a single, was used in a debut Apple iPad commercial that first aired during the 2010 Oscars.^[1]

The title track from their 2010 album Love Shot appears in the 2012 male-stripper film Magic Mike which stars Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, and in an episode of The Hard Times of RJ Berger. "I'm a Man" was used in the new American Pie (American Reunion) and also appears on the soundtrack. "Man Up" as well was used in the trailer for Adam Sandler's "That's My Boy" and soundtrack. "I'm A Man" was also used for the trailer for "Fright Night" starring Colin Farrell.

The band has just completed their 5th album entitled "Would You Change Your Life" and will be heading back to the US to tour in March/April 2013.

Facts

• In February 2011 a musical named "Product of DK" based solely on the music of the Blue Van, was written and performed by students at Tørring Gymnasium, Denmark.
• Christensen and his wife appeared in an episode of House Hunters International that debuted on November 30, 2012, in which they searched for a home in Copenhagen.

Name

The band name is derived from the "Den blå vogn" - a van that collected mentally ill people in Denmark. The song Don't Leave Me Blue from the Album Dear Independence was featured on the MTV Danmark show Smacking New, which showcases new and upcoming bands.

Discography

References

External links

• The Blue Van's website
• The Blue Van's Myspace