To gin & tonic with Ingvar Pipkin
To gin & tonic with Ingvar Pipkin
“I have never drunk alcohol this early in the day before, I think” my interviewee laughs, while he opens the premixed gin & tonic that I brought us. We are comfortable sitting opposite from one another in each our own sofa backstage behind Halvors, a room that was chosen because it’s probably the room he has been in the most during his long time at Ås. I open up my PC and get myself ready to interview the leader of Rockeklubben, Ingvar Pipkin.
Journalist: Hanna Lindeman
Translator: Ingrid Bjørnevik Nygaard
Photographers: Jørgen Berg Yndestad and Jonas Lund Hagen
Ingvar’s history begins far away from Ås, since he is born and raised in Russia. His dad, on the other hand, was introduced to Norway through culture exchange, and therefore the family moved here in 2009. They lived in different places in Follo, but at one point they moved into the old part of Skogveien, long before today’s modern student’s apartments were a reality. “I still get nostalgic walking by, even now with all those new buildings.”, Ingvar says. Therefore, he was not a stranger to Ås when he became a student here in 2018, but that was not the reason he ended up studying here. “I wanted to study something related to the environment, so NMBU was the most relevant university. It was just a plus to be so close to my family”.
However, it doesn’t take long before we begin to talk about music, which have always been a part of Ingvar’s life. His dad played a bunch of different instruments, and hoped his son would do the same. Ingvar tried several instruments, including the saxophone, but was never able to settle down with any of them. Either the teacher was awful, or it just didn’t hold his interest. That was before he got to try the bass in middle school, which for him was the perfect mixture of rhythm and melody. Nevertheless, he believes having tried that many instruments is a huge advantage. It gave him a great – and broad – musical foundation, which with no doubt would come handy later in life.
The first years
Believe it or not, in his first year on Agrarmetropolen, he lived at Hankattens Faderloft: “Even if I have lived here before, I didn’t know anything about the Ås’s student world.”, he laughs. His first impression was overwhelming: the hundred-year long history and all the traditions that came with it, but he still has a lot of good memories from his time as a hankatt. It was nice living in a social apartment where a lot of people came and went all the time, and he got a strong start in the student association.
Nevertheless, after a year he felt it was time to pack the bass and move to Mølla. Ingvar wanted to see if there was anything that could suit him better, since he didn’t feel the life as a hankatt was something for him in the long run. It wasn’t exactly difficult, there are many student associations at Ås. “At one point I even believed there was a student association for people who liked their pillows cold.”, he laughs. “The only thing I knew was that I didn’t want to be a part of a student association that required too much attendance, and one where there wasn’t a strong hierarchy.”.
His decision landed on Rockeklubben, where Ingvar already knew some people. When he first joined there was around 15 members, and the Rockebodega was not even close to the magnificent show that it is today. It was a smaller affair in Halvors, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t people there. Often it was completely full in that small room. Then COVID came, and Rockeklubben, just like many other student associations, suffered a setback. In 2020 there were only around 6 people left. Ingvar got an ultimatum: Either he took over as leader, or they could just as well put down the student association. That, you can say is a lot of responsibility for one person, but Ingvar took it head on. His time in Hankattene suddenly came in handy, since he had made a lot of friends and acquaintances from the student association world, that now proved to be valuable contacts.
After the worst part of quarantine ended, they again had the opportunity in 2021 to arrange Rockebodega, but this time it was expanded. They were now going to be using festsalen. The night was a real hit, and it was packed inside the hall. The wild success led to a flood of new members that found their way into the student association. They also experienced becoming more recognized in the student association world, and they suddenly got invited to both birthday parties and anniversaries to other and more established student associations. The days were they only played in the dim light in Halvors was over; They put up concerts on smaller stages in both Ås, Ski and Oslo, and everywhere audiences showed up to show their support.
To find your place
For every little break to think while he’s speaking, Ingvar looks around the room. Although it is dimly lit was still possible to see what was written on the walls around us, in all different colours, form and sizes. Several band names and artists are written both high and low, and Ingvar knows many of them. He points at them and throws in both the year and if they played during UKA, on Sprellfestivalen or at semesterkickoff. “Sliteneliten!”, he burst out with a big smile. “Many of them started in Rockeklubben.”.
During Ingvar’s leadership, has Rockeklubben gone from 6 to 90 members and has therefore become one of the biggest at Ås. They have expanded their activities with more social gatherings, has collaborated with Lærken on open mic at Bohemen and arranged music bingo and songwriting courses. “I am very proud of where we are now, and that we have been able to make so many arenas where our members can develop themselves musically. It was especially cool to watch Rockebodega in November last year,” he notes, “Most of the bands playing there was pretty new, but they took it quite seriously and they put in a lot of effort into making it as good as humanly possible.” That he has grown into the leader role is quite clear: “There was a lot easier to arrange it this time than in 2021, because now I knew what I was doing”. However, he makes it clear that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the people he has had, and have, around him. “I have been extremely lucky with them, and that they have shown themselves and has bothered to show up at all times.”
One of the most important things for Ingvar is that everyone should feel included in Rockeklubben. Therefore, English is this student association’s language, and that has led to a great diversity of members. “The international students are a hugely underestimated resource that is not included enough!”, he says firm. For him, Ås is the place where everyone can find a group to join, or to make their own. There must be room to be different: “The most important is to be yourself, and to not let others influence affect your ideals – and goodness. Never compromise.”.
Even though it has taken some time to complete his bachelor, Ingvar doesn’t regret one moment: “NMBU has let me take more subjects than I had to, which have been hugely exciting”. Therefore, Ingvar has ended up with expertise in ecology, zoology, administration and international development, in addition to his bachelor in renewable energy. When asked about the road ahead, he is not entirely sure, but there is no doubt that it would be cool to work in the music industry, either as a musician or as an organiser. Now Ingvar can look back at many eventful years at Ås, but everything has an end after all. Ingvar might be done with Ås for now, but there is no doubt that the work he has put down for Rockeklubben will last many years. Who knows, maybe he’ll be sitting on the same couch again in a few years, but this time with his own band’s name on the wall?
Greetings
Dear Ingvar!
The first time I met you, I thought you were big, scary and strict. However, it has been shown that the opposite is true, and that you are one of the warmest and most inclusive people I know. You are fair and a great leader for Rockeklubben, and I have appreciated your input when it comes to lead Studentstorbandet.
You are an incredible person, and I will forever appreciate everything you do for the everyone around you. Thank you for both your leadership and perhaps most of all, your friendship.
Hugs and kisses: Torebassen <3
Halla bitchboi, now the years have gone by, and you are leaving the Ås-nest.
So here is a small greeting from us in ditch to you, our steady and reliable amazing bassist bastard.
It is said that quantity has a quality of its own, and it turns out that no quantity can compare to the ironhanded Ingvar Pipkin, because that is quality at its best.
One thing is to hold a student association alive: it’s another thing to dynamically lead a group of scatterbrained students with a love for music through venue shutdowns, the lack of rock-bodegas, a loss of rehearsal-space locations and storage relocations etc. Ingvar can do it all, except maybe keeping calm during soundchecks.
Ingvar is a cliff in Ås; not just because he is steady and reliable, but also because he is so enormously tall!
Ingvar is not only a handsome guy with a charming leader-style. This bachelor charms everything and everyone with his strong physique and medium-length hair! Or maybe it is his ketamine-dealer style he is wearing on stage during concerts?
One thing we can say for sure is: Rockeklubben would have shut down without you. You are just as much of a driving force there as you are in all the bands you play and have played in. You raise both the quality and the joy of playing.
Honestly without you Ingvar, the band would be a bit shit. With strong hands and a look that makes the knees weak and bodies warm, you carry us to good memories and great quality that we will always appreciate, and we hope that you do too.
A more solid bassist is hard to find. When you are picking up the bass are you taller and steadier than anyone else.
It has been an honour to experience your rise, and we hope that you don’t fall; it’s a bit much to catch…
Rock on babe,
Best wishes from all of us in D.I.T.Ch
Glory to our supreme leader, president Ingvar!
No no, we know that you’re probably squirming while reading this greeting, but nevertheless, you are our supreme leader, and Rockeklubben would not have been what it is today without you. You have put in an insanely amount of effort to get the club up and running, and even at times when you can freak out a bit, you still maintain complete control. You are a great leader and a good friend, something that makes our “only” one-hour meetings, are so pleasant even when they last a couple of hours. You motivate us and push us to do our best, both for you and for our student association. Therefore, we salute you, our supreme leader who rules with an iron fist, and who will continue to haunt us (and the storage room) in good and bad.
Hugs from the rest of the RK board <3
