Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.06.1985, Blaðsíða 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.06.1985, Blaðsíða 3
WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 21. JÚNÍ 1985-3 A world apart where the music never ends by Steinunn Sigurdardóttir. Photos Páll Stefánsson. A rock group on tour, like any other travelling show, is really a law unto itself. To quench some curiosi- ty, and share the experience with others, a reporter and Iceland Review photographer joined up with one of the country's top groups, Band of Ogres (Thursaflokkurinn), on a short winter tour playing in schools, dance halls and community centres in the north of Iceland. The Ogres comprise Egill Ólafsson on keyboards and vocals — who also composes the band's material and is incidentally a well-known actor — Tómas Tómasson on bass, Thórdur Árnason on guitar and Ásgeir Óskarsson on drums. Their highly distinctive music is progressive in style, even though much of it often involves traditional Icelandic songs in modern arrangements. The band's members, along with two other musicians, also make up a second group called High Fliers (Studmenn), who starred in a comedy about a rock tour, On Top — one of the most popular films ever made in Iceland. In other words, when talent like this goes on the road, everyone listens. The story begins early in the -morning on the Ides of March, the 15th, at the Band of Ogres' recording studio in Reykjavík, where people are buzzing around, making ar- rangements, talking on the telephone an drinking incredibly bad coffee as a video-equipped coach rises out of the midtown ocean of vehicles and waits to ferry them north. With a play to act in, lead Ogre Egill will join up with flu-stricken Thórdur and fly out later in the day. There is a lot of waiting to do before boarding the coach, but they had so much practice waiting between takes when On Top was being filrned that it just comes naturally now. But with a show booked for Saudárkrókur tonight, dawdling like thir: makes Egill see red, and he takes the bull by the horns and drives them into the coach. The Show Must Go On First stop on the outskirts of Reyk- javík. An old man with a walking stick shuffles along the pavement. Tómas, someone says — a burnt-out young musician. Actually when he finally does appear he doesn't look all that much younger. He trudges on to the coach, unwilling or unable to speak, and promptly arranges himself over two sets of seats under a red sleeping bag. All the stories about the lifestyle of rock stars come to mind — and the tour has just begun. When aspirin fails to work on Tómas it's agreed to make a penicillin stop along the way. The weather puts on an authentic show of winter, and our very presence on one white, windblown heath looks like a daring act of defiance, but then it takes courage to move art around Iceland. The coach bounces onward, to an unidentifiable beat, and the trip is starting to swing even though the in- struments are still silent. Stage costumes are rocking to and fro on. their hangers, swaying gracefully on hills and curves and bending dou- ble when the brakes are slammed on. The show has already begun. Egill and Thórdur are already waiting at the Saudárkrókur com- munity centre, having narrowly escaped being left stranded at the air- port, and Egill dismisses the town's taxi service as a hoax, a list of telephone numbers put on the wall out of sheer malice. Thórdur is in no better health than the prostrate Tómas, and when asked how they are supposed to perform with half the Ogres ailing, the answer is a simple: "the show must go on.” Well, after this trip you can see that touring is not the easiest way to make a living. It takes hours just for the basics of unloading the coach, lugging equip- ment around and making sound tests, and the gear seems to put on extra kilos on every trip at an electrifying rate. Everything needs to be con- nected back and forth by fat cables and skinny cables, and every piece of equipment has to go in exactly the right place. While Ásgeir unpacks his drums from boxes of all sizes, tour ar- ranger Júlíus settles himself down in the hall to insert dozens of plugs in- to the mixer. All this for the moment the town has been waiting for. "Good even- ing," Thórdur says into the micro- phone. "Why couldn't you all stay at home tonight?" No, there certainly weren't many people at home that night; while Júlíus was still tinkering with the mixer almost all of Saudárkrókur was already outside, croaking to be let in. Some of the songs get the audience raring to dance, but they have to make do with rocking in their seats; others are tender, and what should they do then? All material is original, written by Egill and tried out on tours before being recorded, a system the Band of Ogres has used ever since it was formed in 1975. Actually the members' acquaintance dates back to their teenage years when they jamm- ed in garages and belonged to various groups. Doesn’t it take years of work- ing together, playing and roadying alike, to create a coordinated whole out of talented individuals? What does the group feel about be- ing on the road again, one more tour to add to all the others? Difficult, ad- mittedly, but that extra energy ar- rives from somewhere, driving them on, and for Some unknown reason it only takes half the time to set up at the last gig that it does at the first. Thórdur makes it plain, however, that after returning from a tour they all want to call it a day. And the coach rolls on, the next stop the school at Stóra-Tjörn whose smorgasbord conjures up nostalgic Continued on page 4 ICEUMIK. Bergen ■ Os/o ■ Copenhagen ■ Gothenburg ■ Stockholm — From — New York ■ Chicago ■ Detrott ■ Battimore/Washington This season, Icelandair goes to Scandinavia like never before! With improved direct schedules from New York to Copenhagen on quick same-plane service via Iceland. With flights to Oslo’s close-in Fomebu Airport, most convenient to the city. With the only transatlantic service from the U.S. to Bergen. With special options that permit you to fly to one city and retum from another or from Luxembonrg, our chief continental gateway, at no extra cost. . With no lower scheduled fares. THE BEST PART OF YOUR TRIP TO SCANDINAVIA COULD BE A FREE STOPOVERINICELAND. Fly Icelandair roundtrip to Scandinavia and you’ll enjoy a free 48-hour stopover in Reykjavik. Package includes roundtrip transfers between airport and hotel, 2 nights accommddations at first-class Hotel Loftleidir or Hotel Esja, continental breakfast daily and a guided city sightseeing tour! We also offer a free 24-hour stopover to passengers traveling only one way. For information, restrictions and reservations for all of Icelandair’s low fares, call Icelandair toll-free at 1-800-223-5500. In New York City 757-8585. Subject to change. ICELANDAIR NOW MORf THAN EVfR YOUR BEST VAIUÍ TO fUROPt

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