Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2006, Síða 20

Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2006, Síða 20
/// Three bands, three costume changes. I bet that was fun. – It was hectic. Schizophrenic. /// Rass is known for being a political band, yet you didn’t make any political statements during Rass’ performance. – That’s true. We avoided this for two reasons. Number  one, we wanted to end on a jolly note, in keeping with  the festival setting. That’s why we did “Congratulations.”  Number two, we wanted to avoid preaching between  songs. We prefer to keep the politics within the songs  and not shout about them between songs. That kind of  behaviour gets on our nerves, frankly. /// Do you think this was the most significant musical event you’ve ever taken part in? – In many ways, yes. It was a big concert, a successful  concert, and the crowd enjoyed themselves from start to  finish. And seeing such a blend of musicians get together  to convey this message was refreshing, too. /// Do you think the message got across? – Yes. Even if the only message we managed to deliver  to the government is that there are people who care  about this issue, this does a lot. [Minister of Industry]  Valgerður Sverrisdóttir softened her views the day after  the concert. /// Do you find that convincing, or do you think it’s more PR? – Well, yeah, it is PR. But at least it’s acknowledging  these views. Sadly, that hasn’t always been the case.  Usually, they just dismiss any criticism. /// Were you surprised to see international acts like Damon Albarn so interested in this issue? – No, not really. These friends of Iceland are involved  in what’s going on here, and they seem to have an  engaged relationship with the country. In many ways,  they’re maybe more in tune with the situation than the  Icelanders. /// How so? – Maybe because our world view is so narrow. One thing  I can tell you that did surprise me, though, was all the  star treatment these big names got. But every time they  got media attention, they used the opportunity to talk  about this issue, which I thought was admirable. /// Was this concert a one-off, or do you think it will get the ball rolling again regarding this issue? – I think it will energise people to try things again.  The concert itself might be a one-off, but the artists all  enjoyed themselves. Most importantly, this showed that  when something is well thought out, it can work. Jolly Protest Rocker Interview with Óttarr Proppé, vocalist for Ham, Rass and Dr. Spock by Paul F. Nikolov 07|01|2006 In August 2004, the Reykjavík  Grapevine brought you the story  of farmer Guðmundur Ármanns- son at Vað near Egilsstaðir. At the  time, Guðmundur was in a dispute  with the National Power Company,  Landsvirkjun, over the rights to build  an access road through his land, for  power lines to deliver electricity from  Kárahnjúkar to the aluminium smelt- er in Reyðarfjörður. Guðmundur was  having none of it. Later Guðmundur  allowed a group of demonstrators to  camp out on his land and conduct  their operations from there, after the  group had been chased off of their  original camping site near Kárahn- júkar. The Reykjavík Grapevine spoke  to Guðmundur to get an update on  his dealings with Landsvirkjun.  /// So, what has happened since we last spoke to you? – Not much. Landsvirkjun decided  to go a different route. I refused to  give them permission to go through  my land and that was that.  /// What about the surrounding farmers? – Well, the farmer at Eyrarteigur  decided to call it quits. The power  line was being built 100 meters from  his house and he decided that living  so close to a power line that big was  not a viable option.  /// At first the farmer at Eyrarteigur was only being offered 1,200,000 ISK as settlement for the use of his land, was that the final outcome? – I believe he managed to get about  the worth of the house from Lands- virkjun. He moved to Akureyri.  /// Has the attitude among the locals changed in any way? – People are worried about the  economic outcome in the long run.  There is a lot of money in traffic, but  most of it does not belong to us. We  are just borrowing it. People worry  about economic downturn that is  going to follow once the construction  is over.  /// How was your experience having a demonstration camp living on your land? – It was very good. Everyone was very  polite and considerate. I would never  have trusted a group of Icelanders of  this size to camp out on my land.  /// Do you believe that a concert like this will raise awareness of the issue? – It does a great deal, without ques- tion. I think it is a very respectable  enterprise. I think that the dispute  over Kárahnjúkar is going to help  others in their fight to preserve areas  that Landsvirkjun wants to go after.  I believe that eventually Kárahnjúkar  is going to be a monument to stupid- ity and short-sightedness.  The Insurgent Farmer by Sveinn Birkir Björnsson S Í M E N N T U N Innritun fer fram á Grensásvegi 16A, í síma 580 1800 e›a á heimasí›unni www.mimir.is Íslenska fyrir útlendinga Icelandic for foreigners Kennt á öllum stigum. Kennsla hefst 16. janúar. All levels of classes. New courses will start January 16th. Registration is at Mímir-símenntun, Grensásvegur 16A, tel: 580 1800 or website: mimir.is E in n t v e ir o g þ r ír 4 .1 4 7

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