The DAS band kept up the spirits at Hrafnista
Around eighty people had gathered to listen to the DAS Band at Hrafnista on Friday. The atmosphere was unique at this weekly concert. The DAS Band also plays at the harbour on Seafarers' Day.
The DAS band shakes things up at Hrafnista
„Yes, yes, that's why people do it. It's nice to give something back,“ says Jón Berg Halldórsson, one of the members of the DAS band, who play their music at Hrafnista on Fridays. He describes how one of the audience members gave them the best goldfish.
„She thanked them and said, „You're absolutely wonderful. Everyone here loves you.“ It's rewarding to know that people enjoy it,“ he says, laughing. „We play the old songs that people have known over the years.“
About eighty people attended the concert. They all enjoyed the music, and some of them danced. They sang along to the songs they all knew.
A well-organised orchestra
The band is well-equipped. Valbjörn Guðjónsson, Þórður Marteinsson and Jón Berg himself all play the accordion. Ólafur Rúnar Þorvarðarson is on guitar. Magnús Aadnegard and Kristján Grétar Jónsson are on drums and vocals. Jón Unnar Jóhannsson on bass and Elínborg Sigurgeirsdóttir on piano.
„Both Valbjörn and I are half-deaf. You can't hear the other in a noisy place. It's difficult. You get that old. It's all different now. There were no problems with the playing, but now you have to concentrate on hearing and hitting the notes,“ he says, laughing.
„Yes, everything changes with age, but not the fact that music always brings people together.“ The concerts are then broken up with exercise. „Then we do “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. We do it with a floor show. Then I tell true stories to change things up. All sorts of truths, because truth is so broad."
Playing at the harbour on Seafarers' Day
The DAS band is keeping busy. They're playing here at Flensburg Harbour on Maritime Day, and I'm sure many people will recognise them from there. „Yes, we've been doing it for 20-30 years. Always on the quayside. Sometimes bloody cold,“ says Jón. But was he a sailor here before?
„Yes, I was a seaman until I turned forty. Then I quit and moved away from the Islands. That was during the volcano eruption. I moved and gave up the sea, and worked at Keflavik Airport until I retired at seventy. Valbjörn was a seafarer too, Þórður was a carpenter and caretaker. Rúnar was a teacher and Kristján was a power station manager. Maggi was a machinist and Jón used to work at Hrafnista here. Ella was the music director.“
A game under different names
But this band isn't just called the DAS Band. „We're also the Grundar Band. At Mörkin, we're the Markar Band, and at Sólvangur, we're the Sólvangs Band. If we have time, we go to Sunnuhlíð and then we're the Sunnuhlíðar Band,“ he says cheerfully.
„It's all a bit like job-hopping. We're always at Hrafnista on Fridays, but once a month at the other places – on Thursdays.“
The DAS band has gone through various changes. „We had ten accordions when we started. Then Böðvar Magnússon was on the piano. Now so many have passed away and we have three accordions, a guitar, drums, bass and a pianist,“ says Jón. And they are of all ages. „The oldest accordion players are in their nineties and the baby of the band is the 75-year-old pianist.“
Yes, music brings us all together. This is how Fridays should be.