Aviv Geffen practices his Irish

August 25, 2010 - 12:01 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Music, Politics, Pop Culture 

They may not be coming to Israel, but U2 will still have an Israeli tinge to their show next week in Athen, Greece.

Aviv Geffen, the one-time bad boy of Israeli rock, and now just another talented mainstream singer/songwriter, will be one of the opening acts – along with Snow Patrol – for the Irish superstars at Athens’ Olympic stadium on September 3rd.

It will undoubdedly be the biggest audience of his life for the 37-year-old singer who has been a staple on Israeli radio for close to two decades. Geffen’s original anti-establishment, anti-war, and mascara-wearing attitude and appearance aligned him with the Israeli Left and alienated him with everyone else.

He also did little to endear himself to the average Moshe when became vocal about not serving in the IDF, though officially, he was dismissed for medical reasons. But in the ensuing years, there’s been a softening on both sides, and what once was outlandish and borderline unacceptable in Israeli society is now mainstream.

Geffen, the son of writer and poet Yehonatan Geffen, has been concentrating on his international career in English over the last few years – including releasing his own albums and collaborating in the band Blackfield with Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson.

According to Yediot Aharonot, Geffen has gained an audience in both England and Germany, and his show in Greece is indiction of his growing popularity there too.

Maybe if he gets a chance to chat with Bono, he can talk him up about returning to Israel. The last time U2 performed here was in 1999. And even though the band has long aligned itself with liberal Amnesty International-type causes, there’s no indication to think that that the reason they’re not hopping over to Israel from Greece has anything to do with a boycott. It’s most likely that with all the money spent this summer on the big time artists who have arrived, local promoters are playing it tight in regards to U2′s obvious enormous fee.
Too bad, a U2-Aviv Geffen closing the summer show in Park Hayarkon would have been the perfect way to glide into September.

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Aviv Gefgen to release first album in English

October 23, 2008 - 10:44 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

Aviv is EmoIsrael’s number one moperocker and emo poster boy Aviv Geffen is poised for, ahem, ahem, international stardom with the release of his first all-English solo album. Gefen has recorded in English before, most notably with Stephen Wilson of The Porcupine Tree. The two achieved success in Israel and Europe with their band Blackfield which delivered two albums of pretty damn good prog-pop. His new album is being produced by veteran producer Trevor Horn and Geffen has lined up a few key opening spots on former Suede frontman Brett Anderson Berlin and Paris gigs as well as a few opening spots on Mercury Rev’s current tour. Geffen and Mercury Rev go way back. A few years ago I saw Mercury Rev at Hangar 11 in Tel Aviv (incredible show!) and Geffen joined them on guitar on a song or two.

Ynet reports:

“Anderson got my latest album from my London office,” Geffen told Yedioth Ahronoth. “We met for coffee, he told me he loved the songs and then asked me if I would like to open for his Berlin and Paris gigs. “I was floored. He just set it all up with the office. We’re also talking about headlining a concert together. He’ll be performing my songs and I’ll be performing his. This is a really big deal,” Geffen continued. “Brett Anderson, to me and to an entire generation that grew up in the 90s, is a big deal and someone to learn from.

While I do concede that Geffen has an incredible gift of melody I am a bit skeptical whether he can pull off an entire album in English. You can hear a couple of tracks on his myspace page. His accent isn’t as strong (thought it is there) as I have heard in the past but the lyrics are, uh, not so good.

You can watch his electronic press kit on the YouTube:

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