Iceland tourism is booming. When I took my first trip to Iceland October, 2013, it did not take me long to find out why. Iceland’s lovely landscapes, its playful people, and the ubiquitous appreciation for the arts make travel to Iceland a paradise for anyone into that. And now quite a few major airports have…
Iceland Sheep speckling green countryside Towns that only know their name The drone of draining Waterfalls stuttering a shutter Black sand dark like Ashen wool of rams Bred for wildness by Frostbitten fingers Lingering in towns that only Know their name Sunset hues at noon Subside at the season’s Undecided hour Colorful painters Do not…
Guest post written by and photos provided by HEK. I gave away all my books and put my records in storage. I gave up my apartment and walked to the bus station holding a guitar and a suitcase. I was on my way to the airport. With a one-way ticket, I flew to New York…
In rural Iowa Julianne Mason said something I never expected to hear from her. She said, “Luke, I need you and Hek to dig a grave for Tom so that we can burn him in it.” Granted, she was filming a music video, and Tom was still alive enough afterwards to play our first…
Last march I was joined by HEK, an Icelandic Singer/Songwriter and poet whom I had met in the previous year. He wrote the poem “Nowhere” right before he came to the US, and in Brooklyn taverns and late night jam sessions would recite it to whatevcer haphazard groups we’d managed to assemble. It has a…
Travel to Iceland First Time Visiting Iceland The four of us were visiting Iceland for the first time. We arrive in the capital Reykjavik, Iceland, the morning after a night of plane slumbering. No one could say for sure how long we had slept. Two hours? I guessed. But I tend to be liberal in…
A music festival is only as good as its beards. Iceland Airwaves, the hip music festival on the magical island of elves who ride magical puffins, proved its prowess on the music scene by offering an a assorted abundance of multitudinous facial hair styles. Even Jesus showed up. Below is a mere sampling of the…
I have made my thoughts thoughts on the Icelandic dish Hakarl, or fermented shark pretty clear, calling it The Most Disgusting Food On The Planet in a previous post. While in Iceland though, my friend Nick Mavricos and I had to find out, “Who the hell likes this (insert your favorite explicative here)?” Akureyri is…
Thomas is an orphan from a village west of Kisumu, Kenya. He was born a few hours from where my adopted Kenyan brothers were orphaned. From an early age, he saw education as his ticket to a better life. He studied hard and in college he was awarded a scholarship to study in Iceland. When…
Loki and the Fashion Bandits is what you get when a tiny hope mixes with the spice of reality. When I came to Iceland, with Sarah my guitar, I hoped that I might be able to jump into the awesome music scene there. Chance meetings can lead you about anywhere, and before I knew it,…
