After months of chaos, in what has been described as The Hostile Takeover of Oslo Metal Club Rock In, Rock In has now changed both its name and booking manager.
The chaos began in early March when Rock In’s owner, Erman Atabay, was more or less forced out, and Rock In was taken over by new owners.
Despite promises from the new owners that Rock In would continue as before in an earlier Facebook announcement, many realised that this would not work without the previous staff—especially when the new owners are not even fans of rock and metal.
They have not officially announced the name change through their official channels but continue to post cryptic updates on Rock In’s Facebook page, often by sharing posts from Jørgen Lintoft, who served as the booking manager from March to May.
On May 5th, Jørn Hansen announced on his private Facebook page that he is the new booking manager of the former Rock In, and that the venue is now called Fot.
“I can now announce that I am the booking manager at the former Rock In. We are changing the name to FOT and going all-in on concerts where soul, nerve, interplay, and rhythmic play are the focus.
We are offering an alternative to the city’s concert venues—not auto-tune pop, but also not yesterday’s heroes at outrageous prices.
A new generation of musicians who love the liveliness in music now have a new playground, and EVERYONE who wants to listen is welcome.
The range of genres is broad, but the good vibes must always be present.
Here, people should dance, make friends, and maybe even find a lover.
FOT is the city’s new dance floor and meeting place. Together we are creating a space to be together again!
Now I need to sort out a dedicated email address for FOT, etc., but for now, you can contact me at ******. I can also be reached in all other ways. It’s still early days…”
Fot simply means “Foot,” and many have speculated about the strange name. Some wonder if it could have something to do with the expression “rockefot” (rock foot), but in this case, it is inspired by the Norwegian saying “å få fot for,” which, as described in the dictionary, means:
få fot
- Music, slang, about performers
Succeed with a song or solo; get rhythm and improvisation to work. - Music, slang, about the audience
Feel the urge to move.
Fot now has its own Facebook page here: Fot on Facebook.
For those who hoped Fot would continue with rock and metal, this is disappointing news. Fot’s profile is simply music in various genres and has so far focused on free concerts from Thursday to Friday with unknown bands. Among them is Jørn Hansen’s own band Jam Solo & The Bandits, which plays funk, reggae, and soul.
Other bands that have played so far include the indie rock band Vaguely Ordinary, Trio D’Blö, Sheldon Blackman, Tova Karina, and Jakob Friis.
What former booking manager Jørgen Lintoft’s new role is remains unclear, but he is still involved and has promoted Fot on his Facebook page. Among other things, he posted videos from concerts at Fot on the 3rd of May, boasting that the venue was packed. However, the videos show that there were very few people present. On Facebook, a person named Hector Marcelo Fuentes wrote on the 5th of May that he attended the Latin Touch concert and stated, “Unfortunately, way too few people this time,” but praised the concert and the good sound.
Thus, Rock In is history for now, and the legendary metal pub, which had been around since 2000, is now over. What should have been a 25th anniversary of rock and metal has now been replaced with reggae, funk, soul, and indie rock.
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