Eli Young Band
THE BLUESTONE, 583 E. BROAD ST.
614-884-4646, www. liveatthebluestone.com
Freshman roommates Mike Eli and James Young were guitar-toting campus heartthrobs at the University of North Texas in Denton. The Texas troubadours made it to the big time, winning “Song of the Year” at the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards. 7 p.m. Friday $30, or $35 day of
Interviewing a member of the band known for “the worst interview ever” is a daunting task.
About 10 years ago, Icelandic classical-meets-noise band Sigur Ros gathered in a sound booth at National Public Radio in New York City and proceeded to say practically nothing.
The video went viral, delighting YouTube viewers and concerning journalists.
Thankfully, a recent phone interview with drummer and keyboardist Orri Pall Dyrason yielded a more robust conversation.
Even though Sigur Ros is arguably among the top three most famous Icelandic musical acts (along with songstress Bjork and indiepop group Of Monsters and Men), the band has managed to keep a low profile even as they’ve become more recognizable in their homeland.
“There’s just more community in a land of (300,000) people,” Dyrason, 39, said. “Everyone knows each other; everyone’s friends.
“I don’t feel like we’re treated any different, which is good.”
Dyrason joined the group in 1999, five years after Sigur Ros’ founding on the day frontman Jon Thor (“Jonsi”) Birgisson’s sister was born.
Her name — Sigurros, translated as “Victory Rose” — served double duty as the name Birgisson used for the fledgling band he founded with bass player Georg Holm.
While Icelanders mainly leave the band members alone, Dyrason admitted that tourists stop to take a photo with Birgisson, whose thin frame and spiky hair resemble to popular Belgian cartoon character Tintin.
With only three members — down from four in 2013, when keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson left the group — Sigur Ros manages to create an orchestral sound more full than a guitar, bass, keyboard and drum set would seem to allow.
In past years, the group has toured with multiple backing musicians, but its current setup features only the trio playing along to backing tracks.
Dyrason has doubled up on drums and keyboard since Sveinsson’s exit. “I’m a lot worse,” he joked. He had always dabbled in piano but had to brush up before the tour forced him to the front of the stage.
The 2013 album “Kveikur,” the group’s first created without composer Sveinsson, tapped into a harsher sound than the airy arrangements prominent in earlier records.
Dyrason didn’t offer up any deep explanations for the sonic shift.
“That was maybe just the mood we were in at the moment,” he said.
Their next album will move away from the melancholy.
“We’ve been playing lots of (new) music and recording, and there’s a difference in that,” he said. “It feels a little more welcoming, a little warmer.”
All three band members are restless when they’re not creating music and have turned to film scoring to provide an additional creative outlet.
Birgisson remains the most prolific, having written music for the movies “We Bought a Zoo,” “127 Hours” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Dyrason and Holm collaborated on a 2015 soundtrack to a British Broadcasting Network documentary on circuses.
“We had, like, one and a half months to do 70 minutes of music,” Dyrason said. “It was really bad.”
With all the changes and outlying projects, two core band quirks remain the same.
Like predecessor Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) or contemporary Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), Birgisson scrapes a violin bow across his guitar strings on many songs.
The Bach-meets-rock sound is a hallmark of the band’s music, as is the madeup language Birgisson often uses in place of Icelandic.
Named “Hopelandic” after the first song on which it appeared, the lyrics sound something like an ancient monastic chant.
All other songs — save “All Alright,” their only English tune — are in Icelandic, even
though Birgisson lives in Los Angeles with his American boyfriend.
“He probably speaks more English at home than Icelandic,” said Dyrason, who lives in London.
Whatever language they decide on during their show Sunday at the Palace Theatre, expect the band members to say more in song than in speech.
After all, they can be men of few words.
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