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Yebo's reportage from the Crunchy Frog show in Reykjavik
This
was definitely one of the most fun weekends in my life. And I've had
some pretty fun weekends lemmetellya. As bright observers of this very
website will know, it all started when we got a showcase booked at the
prestigious Airwaves festival in Reykjavik. The Icelandic airline,
Icelandair then offered musiclovers from Denmark to go with us on our
magical mystery tour to Iceland for a great rate. A good number of
brave vikings took the offer and so it came to be that an aeroplane
full of thirsty danes took off from Copenhagen Airport on Thursday 20th
of October
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Departure
from Copenhagen - Journalist Ralf Christensen from Information, epo's
X-manager Manja, Toby (stand-in drummer for Powersolo), Mikkel Max and
Bo "Brain" Jeppesen. Photo by Nalna
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THURSDAY: SHOW NIGHT
Junior
Senior, PowerSolo, epo-555 and The Crunchy staff were all there in
Reykjavik to let off some steam and deliver a great show - only our two
sweet interns Karen and Michael stayed home to man the phones.
Actually, two of our old interns decided to join the trip: Mikkel and
Mads (of Sterling fame). And what a jolly old time we all had.
Jessica and I arrived the day before to make sure
everything regarding the show was in order and to have meetings with
our new distributor in Iceland: Smekkleysa. Great guys by the way. So
on thursday, when the bands arrived directly from Keflavik Airport, the
records were on display in the cities' record shops and all the promo
was set up nicely. After a few brief soundchecks everybody got some
grub and the bands did some interviews. At the café where we ate, we
saw the most outrageous and unlikely rap-outfit ever. Thugs on Parole
was three skinny teen age Icelandic boys in tracksuits. They were
rapping about "bitches" and "hoes" and "fucking them in the asshole
until they loose control (on the dancefloor)". It was hilarious. Either
this is a great comedy act or the worst damned hip hop band ever. They
certainly had a credibility problem, as their lyrics about cracksmoking
left us wondering if they are even allowed to smoke cigarettes in their
mom and dad's house, where they surely still must live. A great warm up
for the Crunchy shows. Wish I had a picture of them to show y'all.
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Photo:
Søren Solkær Starbird
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The
*real* warm up for the Crunchy shows at the venue, NASA were in fact 4
Icelandic artists. The last one - just before epo-555 - was the former
lead singer of Gus Gus, Daniel Águst. His one man show was pretty
weird, but what I've heard of his record sounds really good. We were
too busy handing out flyers and Crunchy catalogues to really notice,
anyway. People were lining up to see the Great Danes.
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When
it was time for epo-555 to enter the stage the place was absolutely
packed with people. Apparently, it's a 550 capacity venue, but there
was 8-900 people in there and a huge line out in front of NASA. Inside
we were happy to note that Mr. David Fricke from Rolling Stone magazine
attended our shows and also the superstar superieure of Iceland: Björk.
She is a friend of Daniel Águst, so she hung out backstage for a while
which totally freaked out Joy from JrSr who is a huge Björk-fan.
Jessica and David Ramone Fricke chatting at Smekkleysa HQ earlier in the day. Photo: Yebi
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Backstage action during the big Crunchy show. From top left:
Roffe
Beer Hound. Nalna Papa-Razzi. Junior on the way to the stage. Mr. and
Mrs. Epo hugging Atomic Child (?). Jenni from JS getting her shit
together for the show. Our book keeper Rud and The Great Nalna goofin'
around with the mini-Korg. Kim Kix suckin' down the Jack. Myself next
to the *empty* beer fridge in the dressing room (a guy guarded it
aaaall night and made sure nobody got beer without authorization, but
in the end he just gave up and let os drink the goddamned beer). The
toilet queue before the JS show - lotsa small bladders in that band.
Jessi and Junior having a serious discussion after the show. The
backstage room fitting 3 bands and the Crunchy entourage (Atomic Bo,
Junior being interviewed, my ass, Jesper Manja, Mikkel, Mads Sterling,
Kim Kix and Toby).
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Needless to say all 3 shows went really well. The audience embraced the danes like family.
Actually
both epo-555 and PowerSolo had played the island before and rounded up
a devoted group of fans, and Junior Senior had had a hit with Move Your
Feet in Icleand *and* had a local beauty in the backing band. Thorunn
has actually released a solo record in her home country and is somewhat
of a celebrity of her own. This night she wore a dress made out if
men's ties. Cool kitten.
Photo: Jessica Tolf Vulpius
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Mikkel
from epo-555 was more active than ever on stage. Running around,
shouting at the audience and doing everything to whip them up into a
frenzy. And they loved every second of it. My personal musical
highlight from this evening was actually epo's new song "HyperSchlieb".
MAAAN, that track is going to be a hit on their next album. Great show.
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After
the highly successful epo-experience, PowerSolo took the stage. The
railthin bruthaz were joined by stand-in drummer and stand-up guy,
Tobias. Together they rocked the house for real. I don't know what it
is about the power of solo and the Icelandic spirit, but it seems that
every time the band has played in Reykjavik, people just go nuts for
them. And who can blame them? As stage manager, I had to cut the
PowerSolo set a little short (sorry about that Kim), but the very short
periods for change overs meant that the shows were fairly short. But -
what the hay - better to leave the crowd begging for more more MORE.
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Now
it was up to Junior Senior to give them more, and much more they got.
The JS live band has a good number of shows under their belt by now,
and they truly groove like never before. Even though the curfew was 1
am Junior Senior was allowed to finish their 1 hour set.
David Fricke wrote in his Airwaves report in Rolling
Stone: "In their Icelandic debut ... Danish party boys Junior Senior
had the same effect in the same room, showing off the peppermint-dance
power of their new album, Hey Hey My My Yo Yo. It doesn't matter where
you're from: You're dead all over if you can't smile and jerk to a song
called "Hip Hop a Lula."
What a great night! Couldn't have gone better. We were all so proud. And happy. And drunk.
The
next morning the reviewer in the large paper Morgunblaðið had the
headline, "Crunchy saves the night" and proclaimed our shows to be the
best of the evening!
... and the crowd seemed to agree...
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After
the shows it was off to the hotel for some early morning drinking in
Jenni, Joy and Mads' room: Manja and Joy sharing a drink, a book and a
bed. Mads Sterling, Anders (Søren's homeboy), myself and Søren (Anders'
homegirl). Xenia. Photos: Jessica Tolf Vulpius
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FRIDAY: EBBE GETS MARRIED + CRAZY BBQ
Ouch!
Hangover-time. I had been hi-jacked by Søren from Crunchy to be the
designated driver for a tour of Reykjavik with Junior, Senior, Boogie
TV and two competition winners of a trip to Airwaves with Junior
Senior. Such a thing can be rather akward, but it was actually quite
nice. We went to the Hallgrim's Church and up in the tower to have a
view of the city. DING DONG! DANG! Suddenly the bells started to toll -
just next to us. GODDAMN that was loud. Especially when you are nursing
a wee bit of a hangover. After this wake up call we proceeded to the
most western part of Reykjanes and threw some rocks into the water. And
then visited the Town Hall, where Jeppe did a not so impressing Richard
Attenborough impression.
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We
finished the tour just in time for me to pick up Jessica and head for
the "Sysselman" where Ebbe Frej Frej Frej was going to marry his
girlfriend, Stine (soon to be Stine Frej Frej Frej). Their families had
travelled with them to Iceland for the occasion. It was a nice
transaction. The Sysselman was really a Sysselwoman and she did the
honours in both Icelandic and a fairly good Danish. Afterwards we got
some cake and champagne, which cured the last bit of hang over and made
us all nice and thirsty again.
Photo: Jessica Tolf Vulpius
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epo-555
of course spent the friday in the city and at Ebbe's wedding, but
PowerSolo and some of the Crunchy boys rented cars and drove out to see
the Geysir and Gullfoss and other natural highlights. The more sporty
guys rented bikes and Junior Senior strolled around the city and
chilled out.
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PowerSolo
laying out the strategy for maximum powertourism. Crunchy-Thomas,
Vibra-Fzat and Mads Sterling at Thingvellir. PowerSolo licking the
egg-water. Power-Geysir. Photos: Nalna
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In
the evening our great friend and trusty secret agent, Thorhallur
invited all 30 of us to a CRAZY BBQ. Let me tell you about Thor. He is
not only as handsome as a fuggin God, he is also the sweetest guy
around. He and his wife Arndis simply moved out of their apartment, so
that Cruchy could have 8 people sleeping there. Thor also helped set up
the shows promo-wise and helped us get connected to Smekkleysa. And
then - to top it off - he invited everybody from the label and the
bands for a great BBQ dinner. Arndis' parents farm sheep, so Thor and
Arndis went to the farm to slaughter some sheep. Arndis even whispered
sweet soothing things in the ear of the sheep before it was shot, so it
had a relaxed and totally unexpected death!!. Note to the non-butchers
out there: this makes the meat tender and nice, as there is no panic
and tension involved in the slaughter.
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The CRAZY BBQ session at Thor's house. From top left:
Fzat,
Mikkel, Soundguy Mads - already looking like a guy who's gonna miss a
plane, Peter - drummer for JS, Rud and his girl Christina, Thor and his
wife Arndis, Nalna, epo-Camilla, top chef Hjalmar, Crunchy-Søren, Tobi
and Bo from PowerSolo, Jenni, Yebo, Mads Sterling. Top right: Søren
Solkær - official photographer, Joy Hoyledolmeren, Roffe, Junior, Lars
i lommen, Tunes-Thomas, Kim Kix and Mikkel Max. A picture saying less
then a thousand words - actually only two: CRAZY BBQ! Our old intern
Mikkel showing just how sexy he can be. Kim Kox and Mads Erling sharing
a moment of intimate eye contact. Photos: Jessica Tolf Vulpius, Fzat
and Nalna.
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The CRAZY BBQ
session was a great way to hang out with everybody and drink a lot of
the booze, we all had brought (because of the high high prices in
Iceland). Thor's friend Hjalmar made the best damned salmon dressing
EVER (for the incredible smoked salmon hors d'oeuvre) and the lamb meat
was tender and well marinated. A really cool dinner among good friends.
After the food the drinkin' took over. I learned of a little shot, when
I was in Iceland about 8 years ago called Russian Cocaine. 1 shot of
vodka. 1 slice of lemon. 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of ground coffee -
make a sandwich of the lemon, coffee and sugar, pour down the vodka and
snack the lemon and you're all set for fun! All that "cocaine" sure did
make an impact on the people. Bo and I tried to gas ourselves in the
electrical oven, and after that Bo pretty much passed out. Fzat got the
hiccups so bad that Rud had to pull down his pants to stop it. Standing
there butt naked cured him for a little while. Nobody asked Rud to keep
pulling the pants down the rest of the evening of course.
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 When
we hit the street at about midnight, we were hit by the amazing sight
of aurora borealis. Sadly I missed the full power of it and only saw a
little bit of the afterburn. But - MAN - that's a treat too.
So anyhoo: everybody left Thor's place with a bottle of
booze in their hand and headed for the venues. After this everything is
a little dim. I just know that I didn't get to see the shows I wanted
to, but had a great time at NASA drinking with Kim, Søren Solkær (who
was the official photographer), Rud, Jessi, Roffe, Mikkel and Mikkel,
Camilla, Junior and some more people.
"Hey Jess! That aurora borealis is nothing compared to the psychedlic colours of my kox." Photo: Yebaz
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The
#1 price as Boozer of the night goes to epo's ex-manager Jesper Manja.
Mikkel Falk saw him being dragged out of a bush by the police -
unconscious. They tried to find his pulse, as it can be quite dangerous
passing out at 5 C below zero. Mikkel and Jesper Lydmand (soundguy for
epo) got Manja in a cab, and Jesper took him home. In the cab he hurled
chunks all over the interior of the car and Jesper had to pay 10.000
Icelandic kroner for the cleanup.
#2 goes to Mads Nørgaard (soundguy for Junior Senior)
who stayed another day for the CRAZY BBQ. This meant that he had to get
up WAY early to catch the first flight to Heathrow, where he was going
to - supposed to, that is - jump on the Mew tourbus and do a show in
Oxford on saturday night. But - alas! - Mads in his drunken state set
the alarm in his mobile phone and set the phone on silent mode. So he
missed the Mew show and had the worst day ever on saturday
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SATURDAY: HANGOVER IN THE BLUE LAGOON + STRANGE FOWL
On
saturday the Airwaves festival had arranged a DJ-concert in the famous
Blue Lagoon. A couple of us crawled out of bed and onto the bus. I went
with Nalna, Mads Sterling, Thomas, Mikkel, Fzat and Jessi. On the way
we saw Søren Solkær shooting pictures by the lagoonish landscapes of
Mikkel and Camilla from epo-555 for his upcoming photobook "Beat City"
(with a soundtrack - both out on Crunchy Soundtracks this month! don't
miss it).
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The
f***ed up crew on the way to the hang over party. Screwyface-Mikkel,
Hiccup-Fzat, Critical-Mads and 4eye-Nalna. Photo: Jessica Tolf Vulpius
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The
blue lagoon is such an amazing place. It is even more amazing, when you
hang out in the blue water sipping beer and listening to an excellent
organic DJ with 10 fingers. And then the sun came through the clouds.
Oh - what a sweet way to get over last night's madness. Søren joined us
after his photo session and we all did the synchronized floater (you
had to be there). On the bus back (well both ways really) the flasks
were passed around.and the bad bad jokes got worse and worse.
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Beautiful hang over in the blue lagoon.
Thomas,
Nalna and Yebo hanging out at the DJ session (Photo: Søren Solkær
Starbird). The Blue Lagoon + the DJ in action in front of bathing crowd
(Photos: Fzat)
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Moments after the BJ-incident. Photo: Jessica Tolf Vulpius
A
lot of the people from the bands left the island on saturday morning,
so the last night the rest of us decided to all meet for dinner. We
crammed 15 people into a small room at the excellent Vid Tjörninan fish
restaurant. We had some special Icelandic black bird - which was really
good and gamey. Then a couple of fish dishes. Great stuff for sure. The
dinner was a strange and weird experience in a very good way. Everybody
had been partying for days and were part hung over and half getting
back in the saddle. Part of the time everybody fell totally silent and
sometimes we were all rolling with laughter. Fzat "entertained" us all
with a story about Melvis, Nalna fell asleep a couple of times, but the
best moment was when Roffe was looking for his shoe under the table and
the waitress thought he was giving Nalna a blow job. Priceless!
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Checking out the crunched up glamour-photos in the newspaper at Hafnarhusid saturday night. Photo: Yebu
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Saturday
on the town proved to be a tough time, because of the extreme queues in
front of some venues. We stood for more than 1 hour in front of NASA
and then went to Hafnarhusid and watched The Zutons. Here we met Junior
and Lars i Lommen. Junior was very drunk and lost his voice, so the
rest of the evening he danced his emotions to communicate (at least
that's what I think he did). Lars and Junior ended up at the cool bar
Sirkus and both forgot their coats (amazingly, taking the subzero
temperature into account).
Got a 750 kronur döner on the way home. Yes! It is indeed a pricy country.
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SUNDAY: JUUUST CHILLIN'
On
sunday everybody else went home. Some got to try the Blue Lagoon on the
way to Keflavik Airport, and Rud even prosposed to his girl Christina
at the lagoon. She answered: "Will you stop that!" - and then added
"Well, if you really mean it". Well, I guess that's a "yes". Jessi and
I hung out with Thor and Arndis. Cleaned the house a little and asked
them out for a good dinner to thank them for all their help and
hospitality. I recommend Apotek restaurant. A little more expensive
than kebab, but also much much better.
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One
windbreaker proposed to another in the romantic setting of the Blue
Lagoon. Pablo Ne-Rudaz spontaneously fell to his knee and popped the
big question. Photo: Peter Leth
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MONDAY MORNING: SAVED BY GONZALEZ
We
had a shuttle bus pick us up at 4.55 in the center of the city. Got up
at 4.30 and got all our shit together and hauled it downtown. BUT: the
motherfugga stood us up. So there we were: 5 in the am on a cold cold
monday in Reykjavik and 50 km to Keflavik. We noticed a dude standing
waiting nearby. It was Jose Gonzalez - the Swedish singer/songwriter.
He had a pick up a little later together with the International Noise
Conspiracy. They saved our sweet asses and got us to Keflavik in time
for our flight home.
Looking back now a week later and watching the pictures,
I have to admit that I am NOT done with Iceland, Reykjavik and
Airwaves. Hope to go back many times. This was the BOMB!
Yebo
Crunchy Frog thanks Icelandair, Airwaves, Smekkleysa and most of all Thorhallur Rafns Jonsson.
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