Reykjavik! have been one of the highlights of Iceland Airwaves for years and years. But even better than that has been their annual interview with a website called 'iceblah'. And the unbelievable, distressing, but ultimately true fact that Reykjavik! are not playing this year wasn't going to end that particular brand of fun…
Airwaves 2013 and I can't find your shows. Help me out. What is going on?
Hey Mark Ollard!
This year, we are only playing SECRET SHOWS at SECRET VENUES
that will not at all be publicized. It is like a meta publicity stunt. As a
band of philosophy students (good news: two of us have graduated now, so soon
we shall be a band of philosophers!), we thought we'd explore that old
"tree falling in the woods/no one hearing it" cliché, by exchanging
"tree" with "band" and "falling" with
"playing" and "woods" with "music festival". This
was necessary, as there aren't really any trees in Iceland, so we could not
confidently conduct the thought experiment as it was meant to be conducted.
There are no trees, but there certainly are a lot of bands and, actually by
now, a bunch of music festivals.
Wait, Mark, this is maybe not true. Maybe we aren't playing
any secret shows this year. Maybe we won't be playing at all? I can't say for
sure.
What I can tell you for sure is this: we haven't been very
active this year, aside from drinking together and writing some songs together
and whatnot. This is mostly due to me (Haukur) mostly living abroad and others
having other stuff to do (Valdi had a new kid, Geiri is pregnant, Bóas moved to
Ísafjörður, Kristján runs a bookstore and a radio show, Gummi runs the city of
Reykjavík, etc etc
It's weird, not being on the schedule though. I think we've
played every Airwaves since 2004. Or 2005? And we've had a blast every
time.
Maybe not playing this year will make playing next year
extra special fun? Maybe it'll make us realize what we're missing, so we'll put
like 400% energy in it next time? I don't know?
Maybe we're not playing as a courtesy to the band Fucked Up,
because we love them and don't want to upstage them (as we surely would)?
I don't know.
This is very serious. Can Iceland Airwaves cope without
those legendary shows? What will you do instead?
I honestly don't know if Airwaves can cope for that matter.
They are trying though. We have to
give them that. They got a bunch of legends to play, to ease the pain. Like
Fucked Up and Yo La Tengo and Kraftwerk and whatnot. I am sure this will help
things along a bit.
Nei djók. The festival will be fine. It's never been about
any one band anyway, it's about love and joy and shared experiences. It goes
way beyond any one band or venue (you should also note that GusGus aren't
playing this year either! What is this world coming to!?!)
As for us, during the festival: We'll go watch Fucked Up!
I wasn't
planning to go either this year, but I'm seriously wavering as it gets closer.
Are you SURE you're not going to play?
Wait a minute? This makes no sense?!? A Mark Ollard-less
Airwaves? Who will I promise to buy a beer and then never buy that beer for
them now?
Yeah of course we're wavering. But Airwaves is a giant
festival at this point. By now they have all their schedules and everything
written out in DOUBLE EXCEL and there's not room for change or last minute
additions. The programme is set in stone. So even if we changed our mind, I
don't think we could play.
Thank god the audience list isn't set in stone like that.
You can still come, Mark! Do it!
OK, how about I will
if you will?
This is tempting, really tempting. Does that mean I can not
buy you that beer again this year, too? Because if it does, I might try to pull
some strings.
[UPDATE: since this conversation, and only partly because of this conversation, I AM going to the ball, come say hi]
Pull them strings
sir. So, what is new in the world of Reykjavik! recently?
Volcanoes and babies.
Both excellent
things…
So much dancing.
Oh yes?
There was a wedding. We made a video to commemorate it (as
we couldn't play, as there was vesen). You can watch it here:
We also wrote a couple of songs.
Any good?
Yeah they were pretty good. One has harmonica and handclaps
and everything. Truly pushing the boundaries. Hey! But, then, what's new in the
world of Mark Ollard? You got a new job, right? How's that working out? You
also got a new baby, as far as we can tell from places like Twitter and the
like. How are you fitting into that new role? Is the responsibility almost
breaking you, Ivan Drago-style? Did it break you? Any Philly trips on the
horizon?
Well yes, there is a new baby Ollard and a new job, and also
a new house (you missed that), and those three combined are trying to break me.
I should probably treat myself to a trip to Iceland right?
I saw you described as a bunch of sexy Dads (just like me)
is that fair? (actually that may have been a comment on the whole city but
there was a ! at the end so I assumed it's you guys)
That's fair. Those of us who are dads are rather sexy. And
those of us who are not dads are also quite sexy (me included – I've been
working out and everything).
Sexy indeed.
Hey, do you remember Airwaves 2007? This guy killed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVs532LkiAA
I remember some of
Iceland Airwaves 2007 *enters reverie* Ah, Airwaves 2007… when Vicky were still
called Vicky Pollard. When The Teenagers last released an album (COME ON GUYS),
when Reykjavik! had dancing girls.
Oh yeah the dancing girls. Man that was fun. We got so much
shit for that. People thought we were being rock star assholes, like Mötley
Crüe or something. Hahahaha. If only they'd known. Those girls were a dance
group that our (well me and Gummi's) niece Valgerður had going at the time. We
thought it would be fun to invite them to partake, they hadn't performed a lot
for audiences at that point – we also invited them to dance with us at that
year's Gay Pride festival. Family fun.
So can we expect an
energetic return to action and some smokin' hot or glacially cold ROCK music in
2014?
Of course you can!
Well that’s OK then.
Miss you guys…
Miss you too, Mark. We all do.
I will have to not buy someone else a beer this festival if
you don't show up. And then I will cry some very real, very sad tears in that
non-beer.
OK, I’ll be there,
that non-beer is just too tempting. See you there, it’ll be like a sexy Dads
convention, what with that Paulo Sullivano turning up too. Lucky Iceland
Airwaves.
What? Paul is coming too? That's amazing! It'll be a good
bash, for sure.
Totally true. See you all there.