Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.07.2004, Blaðsíða 22

On a mission to rock
by Hrafn Þráinsson
by Valur Gunnarsson
The longhaired man paced back and forth. He had been there when I arrived earlier during the day
to pick up the tickets. When I came back six hours later to see the show, he was still there. I could contain
myself no longer. Almost automatically the words came out, the same question I had posed to a thousand
girls in a hundred bars. “Waiting for someone?” I found myself saying. “Yes,” he answered. They all did.
This was usually my cue to exit, but pressing my luck I asked: “Who?”
“The band,” he answered.
THE GRUMPIEST
MAN IN DUBLIN
Two consecutive responses. This was
farther than I had gotten with most
people. I started feeling an affinity
with the man, a sort of friendship
even. I couldn’t just let him stand
there all by himself. I lit up a
cigarette and started pacing back and
forth alongside him. He pretended
not to notice, but I knew that even
if he didn’t admit it, he enjoyed my
company as much as I did his.
I had just started on my second
cigarette when the longhaired man
addressed me again. “There they
are,” he said as minivan approached
and darted on after it. Our
friendship, it seemed, had come to
an abrupt end. Inside the minivan sat
a small group of men. Even though
the sky was darkening, they were all
wearing shades. There was no doubt
that this was the band.
I started my autograph collection
at age 14. Now, at age 26, it
numbered two specimens; Willie
Nelson and Monica Lewinsky. My
first attempt at signature hunting
had occurred outside the Rica hotel
in Oslo, where I patiently waited
the best part of an evening for Bob
Dylan to emerge. Finally, he did, and
I approached him, but a bodyguard
waived me away. “Never on a Friday,”
he said as I stood there, pen and
paper in hand, another Friday night
unfulfilled.
Willie Nelson had been more
accommodating. At the end of the
gig he patiently stood around and
signed autographs. Perhaps time
passes differently in the plain he
inhabits, or perhaps it’s the weed, but
he didn’t seem to mind at all as time
passed and he signed for everyone
who wanted. He stood on the second
step of the stage ramp, but even so I
was a head taller. Still I felt small in
his presence.
Monica Lewinsky had been at
a book signing in Helsinki. Her
book was available in Finnish and
Swedish, and since my Finnish
barely suffices to order a kebab late
on a Friday night that seems on its
way to leaving me unfulfilled again,
I opted for the Swedish version. A
bodyguard took my copy of the book
and handed it to her, gesturing me
away. Perhaps this was a precaution
to prevent bookbuyers making some
sort of cigar-themed joke. She signed
my Swedish language copy, and
barely audibly I could hear her saying
“Thank you,” before another security
guard handed it back to me.
Actually, my autograph collection
did number more than two. It only
had two international celebrities.
But I did have quite a few local ones.
After my first year of university I
had spent a summer working as a
clerk in a Hagkaup supermarket in
the posh part of town. To keep my
sanity while never-ending legions
of groceries and cleaning products
marched down the conveyor belt, I
took to asking celebs out shopping
for their autographs on the back of
their receipts. This way I could also
study what dietary habits were most
likely to lead to stardom. Pop stars,
actors and TV presenters all obliged,
all but the President, out doing his
Sunday shopping, refused, saying I
would have to contact his office if I
wanted one. Damned if I’ll vote for
him again.
Lou Reed stepped out of the van.
The longhaired man excitedly
handed him a copy of The Velvet
Underground and Nico. On it was
a yellow post-it saying “To Sam,”
indicating to the Master what to
sign. The Master duly obliged. The
longhaired man was obviously used
to being in the presence of greatness
to come so prepared. I was not
fortunate enough to have my Lou
Reed collection about my person,
so I reached for my ticket and
handed it to him. Lou, usually the
grumpiest man in New York, at this
point the grumpiest man in Dublin,
and soon to be the grumpiest man
in Reykjavík, looked at me like the
pathetic creature that I was. Perhaps
concluding that it would waste less
time to be done with it, he scribbled
something unintelligible on the
ticket and vanished inside. And so
ended the greatest moment of my
life. The longhaired man strode
happily off with his copy of The
Velvet Underground and Nico,
dedicated to someone named Pam,
and I held fast to my ticket, hoping
the signed bit was not the part they
would tear off. I knew then that the
longhaired man and I would never
see each other again. But we would
always have the music.
Even though the Icelandic rock scene is full of interesting
new things, there is always something that stands out. A
band swept through my mind that had stuck there since
I saw them play live in Bar 11: Jan Mayen. The band
contains four members: Valgeir, guitar and vocals; Ágúst,
guitar; Sigursteinn, bass; and last but definitely not least,
the drummer, Viðar. All good and hard-to-pronounce
Icelandic names. Jan Mayen was formed originally in
early June 2002 but with a few minor changes, they now
play together rock solid as never before. Asked for how
they describe their music, Ágúst answers that they must
be “somewhere between pop and punk”. In my opinion
something of a blend of Pixies and Iron Maiden, which
he also says they are influenced by, along with a Swedish
band called Bob Hund and the better known Sonic
Youth.
Their self-titled EP album, which has sold out, shows
that they simply know how to rock. It was recognised
as one of the 10 best Icelandic albums in 2003 by
Morgunblaðið and they were also named the most
promising band of ´03. Even though the album is sold
out now, you can download it for free (how sweet is that?)
on their website www.jan-mayen.com which is in English
and Icelandic. One of their songs, called Nonsense, has
been played regularly on radio stations such as X-ið.
For interested readers, they will be playing Icelandic
Airwaves, a music festival held in Reykjavík in August
and are almost done with recording an album which will
be released sometime next fall. Until then, Ágúst says
they will stay on a mission to rock and enjoy themselves
and that´s probably what they have been doing, most
recently in Roskilde Festival among the 90 thousand
other music fiends stuck up to the waist in mud last
weekend. This time it was as guests, but they´ll probably
be elevated from the mud and onto the stage before long.
A quick review of Jan Mayen
NIGHTLIFEMUSICand�����
Hitt Húsið, Tuesday, 13th July, 18:30
VARIOUS BANDS
A gig to support the disabled held by a group called
Götuhernaður (Street Fight). Bands playing are
Dáðadrengir(Icelands premier Hip hop band),
Lokbrá(rock), Dys(hardcore), Innvortis(punk), I
Adapt(hardcore) and Andrúm(floyd). No Admission.
NASA, Saturday 10th July, 23:00
GUSGUS
GusGus are an Electronic band. They’ve been around
forever it seems and are Iceland’s premier dance music
composers and remix makers. They’ve remixed artists such
as Björk, Purkur Pilnikk, Depeche Mode and Sigurros.
Members are; Earth, President Bongo, Buckmaster De La
Cruz and Biggi Veira. Dance nasty! Admisson 1.500ISK
Jómfrúin, Saturday, 10th July, 16:00
JAZZBAND BAKLANDIÐ
Brothers Óskar and Ómar will be playing sax and
guitar. Backing them up are Jóhann Ásmundsson on
double bass and the islands greatest drummer (or any
islands greatest drummer); Sigtryggur Baldursson
former member of bands Þeyr, K.U.K.L and Sugar-
cubes and current member of drummer duet/band
Steintryggur. No Admission.
Listasafn Sigurjóns, Tuesday, 20th
July,20:30
JAZZBAND B-SHARP
This five piece band is going to play contemporary
jazz both by the band and then some standards by
other young jazz musicians. The bandmembers are:
Jóel Pálsson on tenorsax, Ólafur Jónsson also playing
tenorsax, Erik Qvick on drums, Þorgrímur Jónsson
on Double bass and Simon Jormyn on guitar. Same
band will also be playing at Deiglan up in Akureyri
on the 22nd of July. No Admission
Café Reykjavík, Thursdays & Sundays
CUCKOOS CABERET
Upstairs at Cafe Reykjavik. you will find a city´s a ca-
beret. Songs, sketches and stunts. Abba, The Beatles
and Vikings with cellphones are all part of this 3
hour dinner show. 7.30pm - Thursdays and Sundays
Pravda Barinn, Thursday, 15th July
VÍNYLL
One of towns finer rock bands Vinyl. Frontman
Kiddi sings, his twin brother drums, while Snake
plays guitar and Addi plays a Rick. Vinyl is off to
New York later this month to play in Central Park
with another local band, Maus.
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