Jonas Dahl & Ådne Meisfjord/Norway

My dogs are killing me. Playing tourist can be wearisome, but being weary in Oslo is so exciting! This is the last country on my Scandinavian spree. Today, I visited and spoke at AKSEPT (Acceptance). Since 1987, this HIV resource community center, which even provides housing for PWAs, is located in the center of town in a homey, inviting villa. It used to be the home of the mayor. Tonight, I carouse the nightlife on the popular main gaten, Karl Johan. I stumble into a club, awestruck by the electronica sound emoting from this new rock band, 120 Days. I become acquainted with two of its members, Ådne Meisfjord (lead singer) and Jonas Dahl (bassist).

Both guys are twenty-three years-old and hail from the costal city of Kristiansund, as do the other band members. They were all high school chums and their first rehearsal took place on 9/11. Their debut album, 120 Days, released October 2006 on Vice Records, contains all original music including a nine-minute song, which is unheard of in the business, titled, “Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone).” Their style combines synthesizers, electronics, guitars, and additional drum machine beats reminiscent of such influential seventies German bands as NEU! and Kraftwerk. Earlier this year, the band completed a two-month tour of the North American continent.

After their concert, Ådne, Jonas, and I chow down on a spinach eggplant quiche at a veggie punk restaurant nearby. The night ending swiftly, Ådne suggests meeting them at the Munch Museet the next day, which houses over 1,000 paintings by Edvard Munch.

Ruby Comer: [The next day at the museum, the three of us stand enraptured by the painting, Anxiety, 1894.] Look at those distraught faces! I’m glad I’m surrounded by two spirited Nords instead of those gloomy pusses in the painting. Tell me, what comes to mind when I say “HIV” or “AIDS”?
Ådne: Oh, paranoia, and Arthur Russell, a musician and composer who died of AIDS. He was classically trained on the cello and even wrote and sang disco songs!
Jonas: I first think of devastation on a global level.

Smart. Say, being a new band I don’t imagine you’ve had the time to devote to any charity work at this point, huh?
Jonas: No, not really. We have performed free concerts and in music festivals and I know one last year was called “Day of Music,” but I don’t think it was connected to a charity.
Ådne: Once things calm down, I’d like to get more involved with volunteering. I think toward the end of summer we are booked for a couple of benefits.

“Fabelaktig!” I reply, flimsily trying to sound elated in Norwegian. Suddenly, their cell phone rings and the boys are called to a last-minute rehearsal. Tomorrow I depart for the countryside, on the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour, an adventure-oriented journey through the fjords via train, bus, and ship—a grand way to see this country! I must bid farewell to them. But, they inform me that they will be performing in the nine-hundred-year-old coastal village of Bergen in a few days, my destination. We agree to meet there.

The next evening, after winding through the breathtaking Norwegian landscape by rail, I arrive in the picturesque valley of Flam. I stay at the friendly, classy Fretheim Hotel, which resembles a large estate. Their buffet dinner, which includes a large variety of farm fresh local foods, is fit for this queen. The next day we board a boat on the Flam dock. As we cruise on the glassy waters, we pass many tiny storybook villages, mountainside farms, and goats grazing on the hillside. The seagulls, in flight, even come up to the boat so I can feed them. This excursion is surely idyllic! We soon dock, board a bus and drive up a steep, narrow, twisting road to the peak. On several turns, I gasp, gulp, and moisture soaks my pits. Once on top, words are useless to describe the ultimate view I encounter. Back on the ground, we board a train, arrive in quaint Bergen within a few hours and check into the brand new Clarion Hotel Havnekontoret. The opulent style of the wharf-side hotel, a former harbor office that was built by a shipping magnate, is contemporary merged with antique that results in a whimsical mix of elegance. Our Baroque-designed suite overlooks the festive, pulsating city that includes cobblestone sidewalks and colorful, tapered streets. From my window, I spot Mount Fløyen, where I will meet Ådne and Jonas later that day.

[As I step off the funicular, there’s a grinning, glowing Jonas. Hei, Hei! he greets. Ådne is browsing the souvenir shop, but we all eventually fuse onto the observation deck. We are captivated by the intense birds-eye view of Bergen.] Such a heavenly, peaceful site, huh? I’m in love with this spellbinding town! [I take a deep inhale.] You guys, do you know anyone who is HIV-positive, or has died of AIDS?
Jonas: Fortunately, no. I hope my family and friends remain healthy.

I double that wish, sugarpuss. Hey, what does “120 Days” mean?
Ådne: It comes from the Marquis de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom.

Whoa, yes, that’s an extreme read about sexual debauchery. Good. Now that we’re on the topic of sex, do you two play safely? Tell Ms. Ruby the truth….
Jonas: Naw, not with my girlfriend. But I have in the past, though I haven’t had many one-night stands.
Ådne: Oohh! [He slightly lowers his head, his eyes looking outward lost in the blue skies.] Well, I guess I have to be honest and say I’m not very good with [wearing] condoms. [Jonas gives him a sidelong glance.] I have a girlfriend, too, who lives in Stockholm. We miss them when we’re on the road.

Of course, like a couple months ago when you were touring America. It can get lonely on the road, so you boys have to promise me that if you stick that tool anywhere else, you cover it. No more loosey-goosey, Ådne. [They both nod earnestly. Looking at the view, Ådne points out the various venues of the Kunstmuseum that surround the large circular water, Lake Lille Lungegårdsvann. The museum houses the oldest violin, made in 1562, once owned by international concert violinist, Ole Bulls.] How lovely. I hope to visit there tomorrow. Were you guys taught about HIV prevention in school?
Ådne: Yeah! We got the condom-banana show in ninth grade. We were about thirteen, I think, and the following year, they gave away free condoms. I remember getting one, but I was still years away from actually having sex.
Jonas: I think in some places in America teachers advise that it is better not to have sex. You can’t keep kids from having sex. [He winces at the idiotic thought of it.] The urges are natural, so you just need to enforce the use of condoms.

Being around other rockers, is HIV or AIDS discussed at all?
Jonas: Not really. At times, you hear people say that they don’t like wearing condoms.
Ådne: Yeah, and I’ve read in magazines about guys not liking them.
Jonas: It really disturbs me that not enough people are concerned about protecting themselves, and each other. [He wags his head.]

Yeah, it’s real sucky. I wanna know if AIDS is very much a part of the daily media in Norway? I mean, are people aware of this crisis or has it been swept under the carpet like in America?
Ådne: Well I think it’s a bit better over here, but I think people in Norway feel that the big crisis is over. Still, about two hundred people get [infected with] HIV in Norway every year. When I was a kid in the early nineties I remember seeing a lot more about it on TV and reading about it in the papers.

Yes, too bad other priorities have taken over the media, like Anna Nicole Smith’s death and her baby’s paternity. Anyhow, any advice to your young groupies—or older, like me—about this epidemic?
Jonas: Safe sex. Condoms work. Use ’em.

The word “global” was mentioned earlier. How can we help in the fight against AIDS in a global sense?
Ådne: We need to be more unified in our thoughts and actions to conquer this disease. It needs to be talked about much more, like you’re doing Ruby. [He looks over at Jonas.] What do you think?
Jonas: [He gazes at a bird soaring overhead and in a soft, passionate voice sums it up] Education. Education.

Hearty kudos to Harald Hansen of Innovation Norway for his generosity and total support throughout the development of this feature. To contact AKSEPT, log on to www.aksept.org.

Ruby Comer is an independent journalist from the Midwest who is happy to call Hollywood
her home away from home. Reach her by e-mail at MsRubyComer@aol.com.

May 2007