September 14, 2007

My Misadventures in Ireland; What's The Point?

My Misadventures in Ireland, What's The Point?

By Brenda Clemons, Staff Writer

It would be several years before I returned to Ireland. During that time alot changed for me. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (a form of cancer closely related to leukemia). I endured eight months of intensive chemo therapy. My father was diagnosed with lung cancer almost a year to the day after I received my diagnosis. I survived but my father did not. He passed away only a month after I finished chemo therapy.

But, it wasn't all bad. I couldn't work during chemo and in order to keep myself from going insane I did volunteer work for a social justice organization in Washington , DC. On the days that I was able to get out of bed; I rode the train in to DC and did typing, filing, organization, helped with press conferences, and attended Congressional hearings.

It was through the volunteer work that I finally met Bono. Imagine that! I ran all over Ireland trying to meet this guy; when all I had to do was be myself. I have never mentioned to him the night I spent outside of his house but I bet he would laugh. At my volunteer job I must behave and pretend that I am not much of a U2 fan, because to do otherwise might very well cause me to lose the privilege of being able to work with him. Don't get me wrong; it's not that Bono doesn't want fans working with him, but it would not go over well if I went running into Senate chambers screaming, "Oh My God! Bono!".

My second trip to Ireland was not a U2 hunt. This trip was for me to unwind, release negative energy, and revive my spirit. Of course, I did stop in at Dockers, only to find that "Paddy" had sold the pub to someone else. Things had already begun to change down at the docks. New, modern buildings were going up and it no longer felt so unsafe to be down there.

I splurged on myself and spent a night at the Clarence. It was a Saturday night and people were coming and going; so I wasn't paying much attention until I heard someone say, "Hey, Googie." I turned around to find Bono's friend Googie standing right behind me. I introduced myself and said that I liked his paintings (which were on display all over the Clarence). Googie announced that this called for, "group hugs all around," and so we hugged.

In another part of the hotel, my friend Christa sat smoking a cigar. Gavin Friday spotted her and approached her. "Excuse me, but are you smoking a cigar?", he asked. Christa grew up in Hollywood so celebrities do not impress her in the least. Christa replied, "Yeah, so what?". Gavin said, "It's just that I have never seen a woman smoke a cigar, before." Christa just shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm on vacation."

And so it was that we were invited to hang out with Googie and Gavin (I must say that the photos I have seen of Gavin do not do him justice. This guy is gorgeous.) Of course, lots of alcholic drinks were consumed by everyone and I soon lost count of the glasses of vodka that came my way. Things got really fuzzy really quick. I do remember that Christa pointed out to me that everyone laughed at my stupid jokes. Gavin and I talked about spirituality.

I know some of you have asked what the point is to my stories. Some of you have even been outraged by my misadventures. The point is this: you never know what tomorrow may bring. Things can be going along just fine and then one day you wake up with cancer; or something else happens and your life is over. You can't put off until tomorrow the things that you really want to do because tomorrow might not come. Yeah, you have probably heard this before, but it's true. I know because I have lived it.

So make each day an adventure! Sure, some adventures might be complete screw ups like having to spend the night drunk sitting outside of someone's house. But, it is out of these misadventures that you become a more complete person. Out of these misadventures comes many golden moments and you just might wake up one day to find yourself sitting right next to Bono during a Senate hearing.

Posted by Brenda at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2007

Edge's House

My Misadventures in Ireland: Edge's House

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Bono's security guard told us where Edge lived. The throbbing in my head made the up hill walk long and torturous. We stopped long enough to watch the sun rise over the Irish Sea. The changing hues of pink and purple only added to the vision of the dolphins playing; the purple hues of the sky being reflected off the splashes the dolphins made while jumping and singing.

When we arrived at the house that was supposed to be the home of Edge; I immediately thought that we had been on the receiving end of a practical joke. There was nothing about this place that looked like it belonged to a world famous rock star. There were no gates, no security systems, I didn't see any guards. In fact, the property looked very ordinary as if it belonged to the average family. The house would not have stood out at all if it weren't for the color--pink. Yes, dear U2 fans, The Edge lives in a pink house.

Bridget immediately went about inspecting the property. She walked around and found a few things that would seem ordinary if this were an ordinary house -- but it wasn't an ordinary house. This was the house that was supposed to belong to a legendary guitarist, therefore, a toilet sitting in the backyard was a remarkable object of interest. "Look", she exclaimed, "it's The Edge's toilet! He has a toilet sitting in his back yard." I am not as impressed as Bridget and I simply shrug my shoulders and say, "So? He is probably having his bathroom renovated."

Bridget started looking into the windows. I sat on a tire swing, realizing that this woman had no clue about Westerners and our need for privacy. I was wondering how to explain it to her when she yells at me, "I see trophies and I think one is an American Grammy." This statement gets my interest and I leave the swing to join her at the window. To my surprise there were very little curtains in this house. I peeked through the window and saw several Grammy's and MTV awards sitting on a high shelf. This is when reality hit me. I was really peeking in the window of Edge's home. Oh! My God! Edge lives in a pink house with a toilet sitting in the back yard. After the shock and the hysteria left me I was able to concentrate on what I was seeing. The Grammy awards looked very stylish, but the MTV awards looked like something that my son would make in first grade art class. This made me laugh and I thought that if I were Edge I would be keeping the MTV awards in an attic or basement. I was pondering this when Bridget announces that she was going to ring the door bell.

"Oh! No!" , I exclaimed. I was not going to have any part of just ringing Edge's door bell at 7:00 am. I tried to explain to Bridget that we were trespassing, we were intruding on his privacy and that we should have more respect. When this argument failed I tried to explain to her that Edge had probably stayed up very late and would not appreciate being awakened by fans so early in the morning. Bridget stood firm in her conviction, "I have come to Ireland to meet U2."

She rang the doorbell and a young girl answered the door. This child looked almost exactly like Edge. It was in her eyes the most. Her eyes had a look about them that made you think that her soul kept millions of secrets. Bridget told the girl that she wished to speak to the Edge. "Oh!", said the girl, "I will go get my Dad." She left us standing at the door and went to get her father. I stood there thinking that the poor child must be too naive to think that she had to obey the commands of two strange fans lurking at her front door. A woman came to the door dressed in a silk gown and robe. I immediately recognized her as being Morleigh. Bridget does not wait for Morleigh to speak, but instead jumps quickly into, "I wish to speak to the Edge,". Morleigh apologized and said, "Edge is not receiving company today," before shutting the door.

We walked back with our heads hung low. My head was hung low because it was throbbing with pain. Bridget's head was hung low because she did not meet U2. I walked the entire trip back listening to Bridget complain about how spoiled Westerners are. I was too tired to be on the defensive and just let her ramble on. I promised myself that I would never drink in Ireland again. I wouldn't; at least not for several years.

Posted by Brenda at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2007

Why it is Never a Good Idea to go to Bono's House Drunk at 1:00 AM

My Misadventures in Ireland: Why it is Never a Good Idea to go to Bono's House Drunk at 1:00 am

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

While in Ireland I met Bridget. Bridget grew up in East Berlin during the cold war. She became a U2 fan when her older sister brought home a copy of "The Joshua Tree" which had been smuggled in from West Berlin. To Bridget, U2 were pure magic (never having been exposed to spirituality or religion; she could not understand any other concept but magic.) Now that the cold war was over and the Berlin wall had crumbled, Bridget was free to travel as she pleased. She came to Ireland to meet the people whose music was so special to her.

It was Bridget's last night in Ireland and we had spent the night drinking Guinness after Guinness after Guinness. I don't know how many of you have ever been drunk on Guinness--but let me tell you that every idea starts to sound like a good idea (maybe this is how the Pop lemon came about!). It was after 1:00 a.m. and the pubs were all closing. We had been drinking for hours when Bridget decided that we were going to Bono's house. "okay!", I said. We put our drunken heads together and decided that we had enough money between the two of us to take a cab to Bono's house and then take the DART back to Dublin at 6:00 a.m. the next morning.

Bono doesn't actually live in Dublin. He lives south of Dublin in a little town nestled between Dalkey and Bray. Everyone knows where Bono lives, I mean just everyone!. While in Dalkey someone actually gave me directions to somewhere by using Bono's house as a starting point. "Okay, say your standing at Bono's front gate. You walk down the road a few feet and take a right. Then a left a ways down the road...", said the man. The DART train travels right by his house. I found this out while traveling to Bray. Suddenly, a few people on the train jumped up to see if they could see anyone in Bono's back yard. This is how I found out where Bono lives. The point is that everyone knows where Bono lives; everyone except for the cab driver that picked us up at 1:00 in the morning.

He was an elderly man with a green cap and a pipe. He could have been the poster boy for Irish tourism. He was a sweet old man with an accent so thick you could barely understand him (or maybe it was the Guinness). He referred to me and Bridget as "lassies" and said how he could not let, "two lassies like yourselves walk around Dublin alone this late at nite." He had no idea who Bono was or where he lived. I told him to just drop us off at the DART station near Bono's house. Our cab driver got lost. I know that he was truly lost when he turned off his meter. When we finally found the DART station, Bridget and I quickly left the cab. As we were walking away, I glanced back to see the cab driver staring at us with a confused expression on his face.

Bono's house was just a short walk from the DART station. Bridget decided that it would be a good idea to climb the high brick wall which surrounds his property. I'm not sure if it was the Guinness or a moment of good common sense, but I would have no part in climbing the wall. After several tries, Bridget successfully reached the top. I asked her what she saw. She replied that there were a large amount of red lights criss-crossing the wall, "A security system!", I yelled, "Get down quick.". Bridget made her way down and we ran across the street and hid in the bushes. Our cab drove by.

While we were hiding in the bushes a young man came along. He immediately set upon the task of scaling Bono's brick wall, He was obviously as drunk as we were and was having great difficulty getting up the wall. I called to him and warned him of the security system. He waved me away and continued upon his task. He reached the top and stood upon the wall in victory. He staggered and his body rocked back and fourth before he slipped and fell off the wall and into Bono's yard.

A few seconds later the great gates opened and a security guard came out dragging the young man with him. The young man staggered and slurred his speech, " But, des Bone hve any ber I's could heve?". The guard replied, "No, Bono doesn't have any beer you can have". The guard sent the drunk man on his way. He then called to us, "You, there behind the bushes, I know you are there. You can come out now." We started across the street but had to stop and wait as our cab driver went by.

The guard turned out to be very nice. His tough exterior melted away as Bridget told her story. As we were standing there talking to the guard, three car loads of people rolled past us and through the gate. The three cars contained all women and just one man--Bono. (At least, Bridget said it was Bono. I had to take her word for it because I was still too drunk to see clearly). The guard excused himself before disappearing behind the gates.

Bridget and I sat quietly. The Guinness was starting to wear off and I was beginning to think that this was not such a great idea. To amuse ourselves we talked about U2. Our cab driver went by for the third time. I wondered if he was cursing us. We heard "Miss Sarajevo" coming from the other side of the wall. Bridget found this amusing, "Ha!" she said, "This is funny. He is Bono and he is listening to U2 music. You know, I have heard that he can not play guitar so well."

The guard reappears to tell us that Bono and his friends are taking a late night swim in the pool. (I wonder if Ali knew about this). The guard advises us to go home. We explain that our plan is to wait for the DART to start running in a few hours. The guard appears to be surprised, then he informs us that the train does not start running until 10:00 on Sunday. After some thought, the guard gives us directions to Edge's house and advises us to go there. "Edge does not have a fence around his property", the guard says with a wink. Off we went to Edge's house, and that is a story in itself which I will save for another time.

It was past 10:00 am when we made it back to Bono's house. My armpits were stinking, my breath was foul, my head was pounding, and I had a severe case of bedhead. All I wanted was to get back to my hotel room and the comfy bed that was waiting for me there. There was a crowd of fans outside of Bono's house. It must be the Sunday thing to do--hang outside of Bono's house in hopes of a picture or an autograph. A couple pulled up in a small car. I had to stop my walking to amuse myself by staring at the man's pants. He wore biking pants with red and white checks on them. He looked like a walking checker board. He did not wear any underwear or cup--he was letting it all hang out. He parked in the middle of the road, effectively blocking traffic. A security guard came out to make him move his car. The man seemed egotistical and showed the guard a framed version of a U2 album. The guard made the man move his car to the side of the road. He opened up his car downs and blasted U2 music. The crowd went wild. I saw the man smirk before getting into his car and rolling up the windows and shutting the doors so that no one else could enjoy the music.

I started to continue on my way to the DART station when I was stopped by the sound of a gate opening behind me. I turned to see Bono sitting in the driver's seat of his little red sports car. He saw me and Bridget and I swear I saw him mouth, "Oh f__k! They are still here." He looked like he was thinking about rolling down his window and saying something to us. I was so embarassed that I just wanted to jump back into the bushes and hide. There were too many people there for me to make a quick getaway. I was trapped so I just waved meekly. Bono waved back. Bono was suddenly startled by a banging on his car door. It was the man in the biker pants. He was waving his framed CD in the air with one hand while trying to open Bono's car door with the other. Bono put his foot on the gas and rode off down the road. The man with the CD was left running after him.

I sighed and went on my way to the DART train. My hotel bed never felt so comfy as it did that day. This is why it is never a good idea to go to Bono's house, drunk at 1:00 am.

Posted by Brenda at 02:36 PM | Comments (2)

April 05, 2007

U2 Station Exclusive Interview with Rob Trigalet of The African Well Fund

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Why is it so important to dig wells?

Rob Trigalet, Vice Chairperson of the African Well Fund: Everyday thousands of people in Africa, some of them children, die from illnesses due to the lack of clean water. What I'm talking about is people dying just because they have diarrhea or parasites, not AIDS or malaria, but a bug or a stomach virus. In the west, this would not be tolerated. 10 or 13 people getting sick from lettuce at Taco Bell is national front page news. So, wells are easy and inexpensive to do and that's why the African Well Fund thinks it is important. Because it's something we can do, so we feel that we should.

How many wells have you built so far?

Our last total was 43 water projects but we are waiting on several reports to come in for projects that are nearly complete.

Were you surprised at the amount of money U2 fans have donated over the years?

Absolutely. The first year we asked for donations (2003), our hope was to raise enough money to build one well. We ended up building 13 in Uganda with our first fund drive and have raised over $200,000 since inception. We here at AWF think that U2 fans ROCK!

What African country has the most need for wells?

This is a difficult question to answer as I believe it would be hard to obtain objective information. But from a purely statistical viewpoint, I believe Ethiopia has one of the highest percentages of people without access to clean water.

How do you decide where to build each well?

We work with an organization called Africare based in Washington D.C., who actually have people on the ground in 26 countries in Africa. When we collect money from a particular fundraiser, we receive proposals from the Africare staff in D.C. who receive them from their staff in the field in a particular country and then we decide together how the money could be used to help the most amount of people in the worst situations.

What is involved in digging a well?

As I just said, there is a review process where Africare employees "nominate" water sites that will benefit the most people, they submit a proposal to the home office in their respective countries, which then in turn gets submitted to D.C. where it is presented to AWF. Once the project is approved and the money released, the local Africare staff will then purchase the necessary equipment such as trucks, if needed, supplies such as plastic liners, stones and gravel, concrete, etc. They will use the labor of the beneficiary community to help dig the water hole, lay the pipes, while the community will provide food and shelter if outside contactors are needed.

What is the reaction to the people when they see the first drops of their clean drinking water?

While we've never been there to see the "first drops" we're told it's quite the celebration. That's something that I think each of us at AWF hope to experience someday. I can tell you that on our recent trip to Uganda, where some of the wells are three years old, there was still a great amount of celebration and thankfulness on the part of the people we met.

Have you traveled to Africa?

AWF made our first trip to Africa this past September (2006)

What are your impressions of the land and it's people?

The countryside of Uganda is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to in my life and I remember thinking, "why aren't there tourists just flocking to this place?" As for the people, the word that keeps coming back to me is generous. Generous in the sense that, they had no problem in welcoming us and telling us their stories. I just found the people we met so gentle and beautiful in spirit. I found a thankfulness that I hadn't encountered before.

I was amazed at many of the facts on your website -- especially those concerning women's health issues. I never thought of the lack of clean water as something that contributes to premature births or spontaneous abortions. Can you give a bit more information on this?

Unfortunately, when you talk about the struggle for water in Africa you are mostly talking about women and young girls. If people there have any money at all to send their children to school, the culture is such, that they will send the boys before they send the girls, or else, the seach for water is so time consuming that the children simply don't have the time to go to school. In Uganda, Steve, the guy who was filming our trip, thought it would be great if we would carry the jerry cans from the well to one of the houses in the village and let me tell you, I'm 5'10" and not a slight man and it was very, very hard work. I can't imagine doing that several times a day. And more so, I can't imagine doing all that work when the water you are carrying will most likely make you and your family sick. But as we were carrying these water cans I noticed that all the people were just laughing hysterically and I turned to our guide and asked him what was so funny and he said, "you are doing a woman's work." So, it is certainly a culture that is different to what most of us would be used to. But I found the women to be remarkable.

What about the safety of the women as they travel long distances to bring back water?

Certainly, I'm sure there are parts of Africa that are more dangerous than others. In the places we visited we were not made aware of any danger to the women.

Is wild life a problem?

Again we were not made aware of this. I don't think that it would be an exaggeration to say that it is probable that the most dangerous animal in Africa, in terms of numbers of victims, would be the mosquito and it's ability to carry malaria to vast numbers of people.

Do you guys listen to U2 music during your daily routine?

Well, unlike the other Board members of AWF, I have a wide range of musical tastes other than U2, but the rest of them are U2 FREAKS!!! (just kidding) Actually, I couldn't answer for anyone else at AWF, but for myself, I probably listen to U2 a few times a week, certainly not everyday. Volunteering for AWF is a lot of hard work and it takes quite a bit of our free time. But the fact is that AWF was started by a group of U2 fans who were inspired by Bono's work in Africa. And for me, its so inspiring to be a part of an organization that is so dedicated and determined to make a difference in other people's lives. So while we might not listen to U2's music every day, I think the spirit of the band truly underlies the work we are doing and hope to accomplish.

How is debt forgiveness and trade agreements related to the amount of clean drinking water in Africa?

I'm not sure that I can answer that question from any sort of informed view. I don't really consider myself a "numbers" guy. I find world trade and economics fairly daunting as a dinner subject. In fact when I go out to speak to people about the need for clean water in Africa, I tell them to throw out the numbers, that in a sense, numbers like 600 million people without clean water are meaningless to the average person, who can imagine 600 million people? Who can in their minds, comprehend 3,000 children dying every day? So, to try and answer your question, in my opinion, every dollar spent on debt repayment is a dollar not available to the goverments of Africa to spend on infrastructure in their own countries, whether that be roads, electricity or water.

What effect does poverty have on conflicts in Sudan and other regions?

Again, when I signed up to serve on the Board of AWF, I wasn't and still am not anything close to an expert on the problems facing Africa. In fact, one of the things that attracted me to AWF was the simplicity of the idea. You see, I, like most people I meet, see the problems of Africa on the T.V. and I think to myself, "that's horrible, but what could I possibly do?". I think that AWF, by concentrating on just one aspect of the problems in Africa, water, empowers our donors to see a tangible way of helping and seeing results. So all that to say, in reference to your question, it is obvious that poverty leaves populations more vunerable to the effects of a conflict. In an area like Sudan where people tend to live near viable water sources, conflict drives people from their homes and then places tremendous strain on the water souces in the areas where refugees relocate to.

I heard Bono speak at Penn. U. He made a joke about building wells but the women still walk the distance to watering holes to get away from the men. This makes me think about traditions and what place water has in African society, their traditions, and their religious/spiritual ceremonies. Are there any you would like to see changed?

I am not familiar with this joke, but to answer the second part of your question, Africa is a place of thousands of traditions and religious beliefs, and while sometimes these beliefs can be frustrating to us in the west, especially in regards to AIDS / HIV, I strongly feel that there needs to be a respect of the people. For example, in the villages we visited in Uganda, it was explained to us that many people there have protein deficiencies, so Africare installed a Child Health & Nutrition program, where they have the children raise rabbits and fish for a source of protein and also carrots for a source of Vitamin A in their diet. We were told that many of the adults refuse to eat these "new" foods as they are foreign to them.

If you had one wish for Africa, what would it be?

That the rest of the world would come to see Africans not as a poor, needy desperate people but as beautiful and strong people, who, given the opputunities, are ready to work and to achieve great things.

What do you think needs to happen for that wish to come true?

It's about changing perceptions I suppose. It's about educating people that the problems of poverty and disease exist and that there are ways for each person to contribute, to make a real, tangible difference, in whatever small way they can. I feel hopeful about Africa, there are so many people who are waking up to the problems there and there are some brilliant ideas out there on how to solve some of the worst problems. Blood Water Mission comes to mind as well as Kiva loans. I feel like there is a sort of realization going on that this generation can truly change the way the world is and I'm humbled to be a part of whatever small role that AWF plays in that.

What is next on the agenda for the African Well Fund?

Well this year is already starting to fill up. We have several new partnerships with organizations like the American School Of Paris & Project H2O in Atlanta. This spring, we'll be releasing a documentry DVD about AWF. We'll have the Bono Birthday Well Campaign in March & April, and we've already collected several autographed items from different celebrities for our annual Got Water auction in November and we're also looking at another trip to Africa for 2008. The most exciting part is the growing amount of people and organizations that continue to contact and ask us how they can help.

Editor's note: If you would like to help the African Well Fund, please visit their site (africanwellfund.org) to help build a well for Bono's Birthday anytime between March 22 - May 6, 2007.

Copyright © 2007 U2Station.com. All rights reserved.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:13 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2007

U2 Station Exclusive Interview with Abbey Fisher of The Jubilee Network

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

1. Can you explain a little about the Jubilee Network. What it is that you strive to do?

Jubilee USA Network is part of an international movement focused on canceling debts of countries in the Global South (these are also known as developing or Third World countries, which is an historical and outdated term). There are Jubilee groups many European nations and over 60 in the Global South, which are collectively known as Jubilee South. Jubilee is an Old Testament principle about freeing slaves and righting relationships. The debts were often accrued under dictatorial or undemocratic governments, with the knowledge of Western (U.S., European) governments, and now the people must pay back debts, at the expense of basic needs like healthcare and education. The most famous example is probably South Africa, where about of their US$23 billion debts were given to the Apartheid government. When Nelson Mandela was elected President in 1994, he was given a bill for that debt, part of which was used to imprison him for 27 years.

We focus primarily on debts claimed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). We do not use the word "owed to" because we feel that, in many cases, the debts have been repaid several times over or the "dictator" loans are illegal and should not be recognized. If for no other reason than it would allow governments to use the money to benefit the people,

we feel that debt cancellation is necessary and the right thing to do. The World Bank and IMF have a lot of power in the global economic system and they set rules for debt repayments, as well as impose harmful policy conditions on countries to qualify for their inadequate debt relief program (the same one the G8 countries agreed to expand in 2005). These conditions include imposing user fees on basic health and education, reducing teacher salaries, which the Bank and IMF say are designed to help the government balance its budget. They have typically been referred to as Structural Adjustment Policies, or SAPs.

The 2005 debt deal was a huge victory, but we have to make sure that the G8 lives up to its promise. It takes countries, on average, 5-6 years to complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt cancellation program. Only then do they receive 100% cancellation of their loans to the IMF and World Bank. We campaign to cut those conditions, because delay means death and sadness for so many people.

Debt is a form of economic slavery and poverty is a form of violence. I realize that the system might sound complicated, or that we're up against some very powerful forces, and we are, but debt cancellation is a critical first step in righting relationships between countries and people, the monetarily rich and poor. You don't have to be an economist to understand that poverty is wrong and we can eliminate it!

2. African nations are getting a lot of attention from the media. But, there are other countries in need of debt cancellation as well. How do you feel about African nations receiving so much media attention?

I think it's very necessary but I worry that Africa is seen as "trendy." I feel that the media needs to not put so much focus on celebrity but to actually pay attention to why celebrities are going to African countries. I also feel that there are other regions of the world that also need attention - like Asia and Latin America. We all focused on the countries affected by the Tsunami in at the end of 2003, but what the media didn't cover was the fact that these countries still had to pay back debts, instead of using that money to help the people who lost their homes.

3. What non African nations do you think is in the most need of debt cancellation?

Wow, there are so many. Certainly many countries in Central America are poor, like Nicaragua, but there are also Asian countries like Vietnam who have a lot of debts and a great deal of poverty. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but about 2/3 of its debt was from loans stolen by two dictators - a father and son named Duvalier. There are 67 countries that need 100% debt cancellation, in addition to increased aid, to even hope to meet the Millennium Development Goals. About 23 of those are non-African countries, including most Central American and many Asian countries.

4. Critics used to say that debt cancellation would not work and that the money would be wasted. But, the critics have been wrong. Can you give some examples of what countries are doing with the money they have as a result of debt cancellation?

No country that has ever received debt cancellation has ever used the money for military purposes, and has used most of it for poverty alleviation. Zambia is one of the best examples of debt cancellation that works. The country has abolished user fees on primary education. When the 2005 G8 deal was announced in 2005, the Zambian government announced that it would use the savings to put 100,000 people on free anti-retroviral HIV medication. 100,000 people who have a new brighter future! How awesome is that!

Tanzania (another African country) received $3 billion in debt relief. Tanzania has increased funding for poverty reduction by 130 percent over the last six years. Tanzania has focused the savings to increase education spending and eliminate school fees for elementary school education. Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6 million kids returned to school. By 2003, 3.1 million children were back in school. The net enrollment ratio has risen from 58.8 percent in 2000 to 88.5 percent in 2003. With debt relief savings in 2002 and 2003, Tanzania built 31,825 classrooms and the number of primary schools increased from 11,608 in 2000 to 12,689 in 2003, a net increase of 1,081 schools. Also in these two years, 17,851 new teachers were recruited and 9,100 science-teaching kits were supplied.

5. Why should other countries (such as the United States) care about debt cancellation? Does debt and poverty have an impact on the US as far as it's economy, environmental pollution, etc?

Absolutely. There is a great report called The Debt Boomerang by the Institute for Policy Studies that shows how poverty in the Global South directly affects us here in the U.S. What some people don't realize is that debt is used as leverage to pass unfair trade agreements in countries around the world, most notably in Central America and Mexico (NAFTA being the most famous example). Thousands of jobs have been outsourced from the U.S. as a result of these policies. Also, these trade agreements lower environmental standards in developing countries, so the countries are more "attractive" to foreign investors, namely oil and extractrive indrusties. We all know about the pollution caused by unsafe resource extraction, which hurts all of us.

Here's a link to the summary page of The Debt Boomerang: http://www.ips-dc.org/boomerang/summary.htm

6. Have you ever traveled to any HIPC countries? What were your impressions of the land and it's people?

I have only traveled to South Africa, which is not considered a HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Country) because the export income is too high compared to the total amount of debt - that is honestly the main criteria for being considered a HIPC! Forget that there are millions of people living in poverty and that South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS of any country in the world (over 5 million people). It was a life-changing experience, though, and I will never forget it. Absolutely beautiful country - we even got to go on a safari! The people were beautiful and all the women sang to us wherever we went. As a greeting, as a farewell. One of the women in our group was from South Africa, and she told us what one of the songs meant, because it was sung in a traditional language. It was "we are counting on you to help us," which was heartbreaking because it sounded so beautiful and actually joyous, but the message was "help us." It was insane to think that these women felt that they needed us, that we were somehow their saving grace, and it showed the totally messed up relationship between people in "rich" countries and people in "poor" countries. It is dehumanizing to all involved and very sad.

7. A few years ago much attention was given to Jubilee because of Bono's association with the organization. Do you feel that Bono's association has helped or hurt Jubilee?

I think it has been good and not-so-good. What I have seen is people being excited wherever he goes, but unfortunately, if he is no longer associated with an organization, as he no longer is with Jubilee, some of the people who were involved leave and go to the organization he is now involved with. A lot of people were involved with Jubilee USA during Net Aid and the Elevation tour, when he first got really involved, and it was great. I would not know anything about Jubilee if it hadn't been for Bono's involvement, and I am eternally grateful for it, but I am also a very loyal person, so I don't understand how some U2 fans could so easily jump over to the ONE campaign. Now people say "Oh I didn't know Jubilee was still around." Of course we are, and we need you to join with us! But after Bono wasn't involved, people didn't hear about it as much because it's very difficult to get large amounts of media coverage.

I also think celebrity involvement in general sometimes hurts because certain organizations have a very superficial level of education they give their members. We are dealing with very sensitive and important issues of justice and fairness and literally life and death, and I feel that the media and some organizations don't want to give the whole story, the one that says that yes, actually the U.S. and other rich country governments play a big part in this injustice. Or they sugarcoat it to say that all you have to do is sign your name to one letter, one time. Every action is important, but we have to keep going and pay attention to what happens AFTER Congress passes a bill, or after the G8 makes a grand pronouncement that they're going to fix something. I greatly respect celebrities who educate and commit themselves to an issue, and many have used their relative power for good, but they have to include the people they purport to help in the discussion. Brad Pitt did that when Diane Sawyer wanted to interview him - he wouldn't do it unless she went with him to Africa. Then I saw Bono and Bobby Shriver on Larry King and there wasn't an African person there talking about how the RED campaign gave them a job making clothing. It was a bunch of white guys talking about "helping" poor Africans.

8. You started at Jubilee as a volunteer. You have also worked as their tour organizer and been on the Board of Directors. How does one position differ from the other and which position did you enjoy doing most?

What is similar, and what I love about all of the positions, is being surrounded by people who believe that ending poverty and debt is possible. It makes me feel like I'm not crazy or alone for believing it too!

There is a lot of freedom to being a volunteer, and we have a tremendous amount of input into the organization. The Jubilee York, PA group, which I organize, is a member of the Jubilee Network Council, which is made up of 75 organizations, some of which are other grassroots groups around the country. The Network Council is the main decision-making body of the organization.

Being on the Board of Directors, which we call the Coordinating Committee, is an honor. It has been a huge learning experience for me and I recently had the privilege of chairing our Strategic Planning Committee through the planning process in 2005. We created a three-year plan for 2006-2008 and it was so inspiring. I wanted to start the Abbey Fisher Strategic Plan as a result and am now looking at going to grad school for Non-profit management to learn more of the nuts and bolts of making positive change in our world.

The tour was amazing - definitely an educational experience! We were blessed to travel with four speakers on two different parts of the tour - the speakers were from Nigeria, the Philippines, Zambia and Peru. They were all incredibly kind, brilliant, wonderful people and we covered 11 states! None of did all those stops, but I traveled with each of the speakers at some point and personally traveled to 8 states over 5 weeks. It was exhausting but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It really was like being on tour! I got to go to Chicago for the first time and went to THE Gap store that Bono and Oprah went to. We went to Colorado and I got to go to Red Rocks and stand in the seats.

It brought out all of my strengths and weaknesses as an organizer, but I met a lot of amazing people. I actually learned something very important - that Jubilee's staff works incredibly hard and it's very easy to get burnt out. I care too much about Jubilee to want to be in that position, because I want to stay involved for as long as Jubilee exists, so I don't think I want to be on staff again. It's very hard work, but ultimately the most important work we will ever do.

9. During the Elevation tour you helped to organize Jubilee booths at each concert. What was that like and would you do it again?

It was really fun! I think the most challenging part was finding good volunteers in each city the tour traveled to, because we didn't necessarily have Jubilee folks in each place. I had a connection with one of U2's promoter's staff who was in charge of making sure that Jubilee, Amnesty International and Greenpeace each were able to have a table at each show. It was interesting because we had two sets of boxes of tabling materials that "leapfrogged" each other to the next tour stop. I actually love figuring out all of those logistics and I was so blessed to be able to do it. I was responsible for about 40 tables during the 2nd North American leg of the tour and tabled at I think four shows, including opening night in Ft. Lauderdale.

The fans, for the most part, were incredibly supportive of what we were doing. Obviously, there were a lot of people who didn't know what Jubilee was, but we got so many compliments and "you're doing a great job" - it was amazing. I also got to take some of my friends to a show where we had tables and show them exactly the kind of work we're doing. It was a thrill to have my favorite things come together - friends and Jubilee and U2 concerts!

One thing I should mention is that we didn't automatically get a ticket to the show. I had tickets for every show I tabled at, but occasionally if there were extra floor wristbands the promoter would come to the table and give one to someone. I think the table volunteers shared them on a few occasions, and would watch a few songs each. It was the same for the Amnesty and Greenpeace folks. I had heard that ONE volunteers got to go into the Ellipse during the Vertigo tour, so I'm just slightly jealous about that - ha ha. I did it solely as a volunteer, which meant a lot of late nights organizing everything, but I'd do it again in a second.

10. Tell us about the Jubilee Sabbath Year.

According to the Old Testament, every Seven Years is a Sabbath Year, and every 50th year is a Jubilee year, which is why we had a Jubilee 2000 campaign. Seven years after the Jubilee in 2000, we are having a Sabbath year, which calls for a righting of relationships and remembering this concept that is common to all faiths - helping the poor. I don't consider myself to be a person of any one faith, but it is definitely a campaign that everyone can get behind. The best description of the Sabbath Year is on our website: http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/jubilee_congregations&page= sabbath_year.html There are a lot of really exciting things happening this year and we are looking forward to making more of a difference!

11. How can people become more involved in Jubilee and/or debt cancellation?

They can contact me anytime at abbey@jubileeusa.org. You can also visit our website at http://www.jubileeusa.org. We have a lot of ways for people to get involved and several local groups around the country. There's a monthly action email alert you can sign up for and lots of other ways to educate yourself. We're launching a brand new website in early February so we hope ya'll will check it out!

Copyright © 2007 U2Station.com. All rights reserved.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2007

U2 Buy Me A Pint

Part 2 of My Mis-Adventures in Ireland

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Like I said in the first part of my story, there was absolutely nothing to do on a Sunday in Dublin during the 90's. And it definitely wasnt a good idea to go wandering around the docks at night. So, I was more than just a little excited when I happened upon Dockers.

Now, of course I knew what Dockers was. Dockers is the Dublin pub famous for being a U2 hangout. However, I did come upon it by accident. I really wasnt expecting to find it, literally, just around the block from Windmill Lane. In fact, I bet if you looked on a map, it would be directly in front of Windmill Lane. Dockers definitely didn't look like a hang out for world famous rock stars. It looked more like the kind of joint where you would find rowdy mid-shipmen. The kind who have been at sea way too long and looking to blow off some steam.

When I walked in, the amount of U2 memorabilia overwhelmed me. You cant help but know whose hangout this is. U2's gold and platinum records are hanging all over the place. If that didnt give it away, then the photos of U2 taken inside of Dockers surely did. But, I didn't have much time to drool over the memorabilia. In fact, I had only taken about 3 steps inside of the door, when a Japanese man approached me and said,

You, rock star?

I think my reply was, Huh?

The Japanese man asked again, You, rock star?

No, she's not a rock star, the bartender said from behind the bar. The bartender looked as gruff as he sounded. Exactly the way you would expect someone to look who worked in a place where midshipmen would hang out.

The Japanese man didnt say anything else to me. He simply turned around and went back to his table. He was sitting with a group of about 7 Japanese tourists. Other than the bartender and the seven at the table, I was the only one in there. I swallowed hard. Suddenly, it seemed rather cheesy to be a U2 fan on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Well, I have been in bars like this before. My father is a construction worker and he taught me how to hold my own.

I chose to sit at the bar. I ordered my very first Guinness. The bartender sat it on the bar. I immediately picked it up and attempted, unsuccessfully to throw it back. The bartender erupted in laughter and said, Your first Guinness, isnt it? Yer supposed to let it sit and breath, like a fine wine. It's tradition. Here, try it again. He put a new pint on the bar. I went to the bathroom while my Guinness was breathing.

The bathroom walls were covered in love letters to various members of U2. This seemed like a waste of time to me. It's not like the members of U2 would ever be using the womens room.

I went back to my stool at the bar. The Japanese man swayed over to the bar and demanded to know why the bartender had not come over to his table to take their orders. We don't do that here. You come to us if ye wante a drink, said the bartender.

The Japanese fan said, I bet you do it for U2.

The bartender replied, I don't even do it for Bono or Larry. He said this just as I had taken a sip of my Guinness. The bartender's words made me giggle, thus snorting Guinness up my nose. The Japanese man asked for a mixed drink. Then got mad because there was no straw or umbrella in it. He came back up to the bar and demanded his drink's umbrella. Okay, I'm not the smartest person in the world and even I knew that this is not the kind of place where they serve drinks with little umbrellas floating in them.

I made small talk with the bartender while the Japanese fans ordered about 5 rounds of drinks without the little umbrellas floating around. It wasnt long before the group started singing in Japanese. Wait! I think I know this medley. It is Where the Streets Have No Name. I asked the bartender if he agreed with me on the song title.

The bartender replied, At this point, I think I have heard bad renditions of U2 songs in every language.

This made me howl with laughter. Okay, I was warming up to this bartender. Apparently he was warming up to me because he told me a secret, "f ye really want te meet the Boys- come back during the week. The fans come in on the weekends, so the boys and their gang stay away. But during the week....They're working back there in the studio.

Note -- just about everyone in Dockers referred to U2 as The Boys.

He didnt have to tell me twice. I came back the very next day. What I found was a bar that was jammed full of people talking and laughing. At first they were a bit standoffish with me. Then the bartender from yesterday announced that I was okay. I must have somehow passed some secret test or something because I was taken in as one of the crowd.

Dockers reminds me a lot of Cheers, the American TV show about a bar in Boston. Only instead of the bar patrons yelling out the name Norm; the crowd at Dockers are yelling out the names of various U2 members as they walk in the door. Dockers, at the time, was owned by a man endearingly called Paddy. He was a fatherly type man who seemed to genuinely care about all of his regular patrons. I recognized Paddy immediately from the Grammys. U2 won a Grammy for Achtung Baby. They accepted their award via satellite from inside of Dockers. They made sure Paddy was in the telecast.

The gang at Dockers are the perfect representation for Ireland. Intelligent, friendly, and honest to a fault. I grew up right outside of Washington, DC and they all wanted to know what it was like. I had long discussions on politics and religion. But, the Dockers gang warned me and were very stern in making me promise that I would never discuss politics or religion outside of Dockers. Ye could get yerself kelled, they said.

Paddy was always concerned for my safety. He worried about my getting back to my hotel at night. He would never let me leave unless he had called a cab and it was waiting outside. I started sneaking out because I found that the cab fare was half the price if I walked a few blocks and then caught my own cab. One day I found out why. One particularly friendly cab driver came right out and asked if I worked for U2. I told him no and that I was just a tourist. He then confined in me that cab drivers charge a lot more for fares that they pick up at Dockers. He said that all of Dublin knows that Dockers is the hang out for Irish celebrities. So, they figure that if you were coming from Dockers you probably could afford a higher cab fare. I felt like I had seen a glimpse of the downside of celebrity -- and I didnt like it.

It didnt take long for Paddy to figure out that I was sneaking out. He put his foot down, again, and made me promise never to do that. Again he said, ye gonna get yerself kelled. At this point the chauffer volunteered to give me a ride to my hotel. I had the chauffer let me off after just a few blocks. I was that scared. He was that drunk. How the boys are still living with this guy driving them around, I will never know.

I loved hearing the U2 stories and many of them were very funny. My favorite is the one about the U2 fans who were being very loud about the fact that they were looking for U2. Bono was sitting right there. The fans did not recognize him because he had recently had his hair cut short. What made it funny, I was told, is that MTV were there filming an interview with Bono. You would think that would be a dead give away, hello, that there is a celebrity sitting there. But, the U2 fans were too drunk to notice.

One night the phone rang and Paddy picked up. I heard him say into the receiver, Okay, yeah.. Then he put the phone down and yelled out, The boys are ready fer ye to go back to the studeo. I watched as all of the U2 employees got up and went out the door in an orderly, one by one, fashion -- sort of like well trained sheep.

On another occasion the phone rang and Paddy answered, again. He then announced that the boys were going home for the night. But, they were picking up the tab for the last round. In the midst of all the activity, Paddy put a pint in front of me. I declined it thinking that I shouldn't just assume that my pint was being paid for. Paddy insisted saying, the boys said everybody. Then I realized that U2 had just bought me a pint! How Cool!!!

I will never forget the night that I was allowed entrance into the very off limits, U2 room. This is the place where the boys always sit. I can not say that it is exactly a private room, it has 3

Posted by Jonathan at 03:31 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2007

"That young Paul, he was a menace.".

My Mis-Adventures in Dublin, Ireland

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Starting this week on the U2 Station, I will be writing about my (mostly) humorous but true accounts of my two trips to Dublin, Ireland. Of course, all the stories will have a U2 twist to them. I hope you all enjoy my (mis)adventures.

Every U2 fan is required to go to Dublin, Ireland at least once in their lifetime. It's like a sacred vow we all take. Muslims go to Mecca. U2 fans go to Dublin. My first trip to Ireland was during the making of the Pop album. (Of course, at the time I don't think anyone knew it was going to be called Pop.)

My husband and I had just separated. Of course I was angry and a whole bunch of other emotions. Getting even was definitely on my mind. It was part of the separation papers that our house was to be sold with the money being shared equally between the two of us. I knew what I was going to do with my half. There was the question of what to do with the diamond ring that I no longer wore. Sentimentality told me to keep it and give it to our son when he became an adult. Then I realized the truth of the situation -- he would probably give it to his first love interest; who would, in turn, probably throw it out a car window during their first real fight. Well, I'll not have a perfectly good diamond go to waste like that. So, I took it to the local pawn shop and got enough money for a down payment on a trip to Ireland. Since, I was mad at my ex; I knew that nothing would make him angrier than my "blowing" my half of the money on something like a vacation.

And blow the whole amount I did. I planned my trip through a top rated travel agent. I brought one of the most expensive packages they had -- eight nights and seven days at a 4 star hotel. (No, it wasn't the Clarence.) My package included just about everything you could want -- theater tickets, tickets to Dublin Castle, tickets to see the book of Kells, a one day bus trip to kiss the Blarney Stone; and a week of unlimited rides on DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit system). I really didn't do any of these things; I didn't catch the theater, I didn't kiss the blarney stone. I spent most of my days sleeping and my nights intoxicated (hey, I had a lot of steam to blow off).

If you haven't been to Ireland and are maybe planning a trip -- one thing you should know is that there is absolutely NOTHING to do there on Sundays. Yes, my plane landed down on a Sunday morning. My taxi went past the power plant that is at the beginning of the "Pride" video. Only a true U2 fan would get excited about seeing a dirty power plant first thing after getting off a 6 hour plane flight. Upon arriving at my hotel; I fell asleep for 5 hours.

Since there was nothing to do on a Sunday, I decided to talk to some of the "locals'. One of the first people I met was the woman who worked in the hotel gift shop. A white haired woman, heavy set and obviously Catholic (judging by the way she liked to talk about the Saints -- St. Malachi being her favorite). Her claim to fame is that she has lived her entire adult life on the street where Bono grew up. "I remember Bob and Iris, and those two boys they had. Yes, I remember Paul when he was just a wee tot being pushed around in his trolley". Okay, I'm having a hard time dealing with anyone with the nerve to call Bono by his birth name. I'm having an even harder time imagining him as a "wee tot being pushed around in his trolley". The white haired woman continued, "It must have been true love. They had it tough those two. Bob being Catholic and his Iris being Protestant. I would see them every Sunday, Bob going one way to church and his misses and the two young tots going the other street to her church. And that young Paul, he was a menace. The whole street would hear Bob yellin, his misses cryin', and that Paul runnin' round causing trouble an' laughin' all the same time. 'Tis was a tragedy when me's Iris died. Things never were the same round there after that. I never did see Bob with another woman......."

She had somehow switched topics and was now going on about St. Malachi and the sinfulness of Ireland. I really didn't pay attention to what she was saying. Her story about the young Paul "running round causing trouble" gave me the hope I needed to carry on in my quest. I decided that the thing to do was to go out and find Windmill Lane studios -- right then and there. Again, if you have never been to Dublin, it's a very bad idea to go roaming around the docks at night -- which is exactly where Windmill Lane is located. The docks in 1990's Dublin would be the equivalent of, well -- the ghetto. And no one with half a brain would go stomping through the ghetto of a strange city at night. Unless, of course, you are a U2 fan going to Mecca.

I never saw any of the members of U2 outside of Windmill Lane. I did see some really great, beautiful artwork created by fans. And I met some great U2 fans. The only day that I really did go sight seeing was when I went to see the Book of Kells with a group of U2 fans from Spain. And I met Bridget from East Berlin. It was with Bridget that I would have my most fun (mis)adventures.

But first, I had to discover Dockers.

Next installment of my mis-adventures in Dublin: U2 Buy Me a Pint in Dockers Pub.

Copyright © 2007 U2Station.com. All rights reserved.

Posted by Brenda at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2006

Interview with Mark Wrathall, Author of U2 and Philosophy

By Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Mark Wrathall is a philosophy teacher at Brigham Young University. He is also a U2 fan. It was while riding his Harley through the desert that he came to the realization that Bono's lyrics would make good examples for his lessons. The idea caught on and soon his students were bringing their favorite U2 CDs to class. This led to the idea of a book. Several philosophy Professors have written essays that make up the text of the book. Mark Wrathall is the editor. He took time out of his schedule to talk to me about U2, Bono and the human soul. (Editor's note: Mark Wrathall's book can be purchased from Amazon.com).

1. Do you believe the world's governments have a responsibility to foster higher thinking or the evolution of the human soul? If so, do you think that they have been successful or have they failed?

I think governments have a responsibility to secure an environment that lets people develop their thinking capacities or improve their souls. But I don't want the government to dictate how this development or improvement is to be brought about. The interesting questions for our time are, first, to what degree governments are capable of fostering this sort of environment in a globalized, technological world culture.
It could be that other actors and social forces are eclipsing the power of national governments to shape the intellectual and spiritual atmosphere. Second, we ought to be asking to what degree political actors can legitimately limit their focus to their own nations, to the exclusion of the rest of the world.

2. During the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the pagan/earth bound religions. Do you see this as evidence that the more traditional religions (Christianity, Judaism) are failing?

It doesn't necessarily mean that traditional religions are failing. It might be we who are failing - it might show that we've lost the strength and focus required to devote ourselves to religions as demanding as traditional Christianity and Judaism. Having said that, it is my opinion that at least part of the interest in alternative religions is driven by a search for an experience of divinity in the world. For whatever reason, many people can't find a 'church they can receive in' (to paraphrase U2's song "Acrobat").

3. Do you think the soul has evolved faster than religion? Or do you feel that religion is a black/white truth and that humanity is basically lacking in its ability to make morally correct choices?

I see no reason to believe that the soul has evolved. Cultures do change, but an essential feature of the human "soul" has always been its capacity to settle into radically different styles of life. Some cultures are more open to religious experience than others. In contemporary Western culture at large, religion tends to be marginalized.
As I understand Christianity, a central feature of its message is that its truth is concealed from the unbeliever. That means that, in our day and age, the possibility of living a Christian life is less and less manifest, and people at large are less exposed to the moral truths that Christianity has to teach them. People lack the ability to live Christian lives because they can't find their way into the faith that supports that life. I would describe their moral failings, not in terms of a lack of ability, but as arising through the loss of the possibility of exercising their abilities.

4. U2 is obviously one of your favorites. Do you remember the first time you heard a U2 song and what affect it had on you?

The first U2 song I remember hearing was "Gloria." It must have been in 1981 or 1982. It caught my attention because, despite sharing a name with Patti Smith's "Gloria" (I was a big fan of the Horses album), it inhabited a completely different dimension. It blew my mind to hear a rock band express that kind of spiritual longing - both musically and lyrically. It changed my whole idea of what rock music could do.

5. You use Bono's lyrics in your classroom. What is the most memorable thing a student has said regarding Bono's lyrics?

I don't know that I could identify one especially memorable thing. It seems that every time I use Bono's lyrics in class, my students teach me something. This usually takes the form of pointing out that lyrics I had interpreted one way could also be interpreted another way. For example, take the opening lines of "Peace on Earth": "Heaven on earth / We need it now / I'm sick of all of this / Hanging around." I had understood this as expressing a kind of philosophical pessimism - as expressing the view that this world is irredeemably corrupt. But my students pointed out that it could be interpreted as basically optimistic - as expressing the view that life on earth could and should be happy (even though it is not now what it should be). Students also get me thinking about the philosophical meaning of songs that I haven't thought about before.

6. The University is obviously very supportive now, but was it always this way?

As an institution, Brigham Young University has always been extremely supportive of me and my work. All good Universities trust their faculty members to pursue their own research agendas, because they understand that the benefit of a particular line of research will rarely be evident at the outset. When I proposed a research trip to Denver to hear U2 perform in concert, that raised some eyebrows. But the proposal was approved.

7. For U2 and philosophy, you are the editor. How is this process different from writing?

Editing an academic book is like herding cats. Each contributor has a very different view about what they want to accomplish in thinking and writing about a subject. These different views don't always sit easily with each other. The editor's job is to identify good contributors, and to try to pull the collection together in a coherent and harmonious fashion. The strength of a single-author book is that it presents a single line of inquiry in considerable depth. A good edited collection gives you lots of perspectives, and in the process rewards the reader with insights that would not have been visible from a single point of view. With a good work of music, there is never a single interpretation that can do justice to all of its various facets. So an edited volume seemed the natural way to go in exploring U2's work.

8. Have you been in contact with U2 regarding your book?

Regrettably, no. I'd love to sit down and talk philosophy with the members of the band.

9. You recruited writers (for U2 and Philosophy) at conventions. Obviously, the reaction was positive. But, were there any negative reactions to your idea?

Not really, no. Nobody that I approached as a potential contributor was dismissive of the idea as such.

10. Based on Bono's lyrics, do you think he has matured spiritually, or do you perceive him as still struggling with the same demons that he had during the recording of U2's first album, Boy?

I think that there is no question that he has matured spiritually. At the same time, he has also developed as a lyricist. If you compare the lyrics of Boy or October with the lyrics of Achtung Baby or How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, this is immediately obvious. He is able now to express many of the same attitudes in a much more nuanced, subtle, and powerful way. Part of that ability undoubtedly comes from having become a master of the craft of songwriting. But I have to think that it also grows out of a more profound understanding of religious faith. He can describe it better because he understands it better.

11. What is next on the agenda for you?

I'm trying to finish a book on 20th century German philosopher Martin Heidegger. Like U2, Heidegger was deeply concerned about our ability to experience the divine and live meaningful lives in a modern, technologically frenzied, globalized world culture.
If I decide to write any more on rock music and popular culture, my next essay will be on Rammstein. I think their music is really philosophically interesting. The problem with such projects is finding a publishing outlet. I am really grateful to Open Court Press for picking up U2 and Philosophy. I hope the success of their Popular Culture and Philosophy series will persuade publishers that there is an audience for more intellectually rigorous discussions of rock music than is the usual fare.

Copyright © 2006 U2Station.com. All rights reserved.

Posted by Brenda at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2006

MTV Turns 25

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station staff writer

MTV is 25! Why, that makes me; never mind how old that makes me. Lets just say I remember that fateful day when MTV first came on the air. Everyone under the age of 30 sat around our sets amazed at the images that flickered upon the screen. Of course, with few exceptions, most videos were cheesy and amateur compared to the ones today. Most were of people with bad hair dos dancing haphazard to (usually bad) electronic music. There were some exceptions of course. I remember Stevie Nicks dancing like a dream in Fleetwood Macs Gypsy. And Michael Jackson defined cool in Thriller.

Oh, yes, those were the days. Michael Jackson hadnt had plastic surgery and was still innocent in the eyes of the public. MTV actually played videos 24/7 and music news was updated every 20 minutes. Thanks to groups like Duran Duran, it was okay for girls to like guys who wore makeup.

Not everyone was in love with the network. Critics complained that videos were killing the integrity of music. Music executives scrambled as they tried to come to terms with the new media. Soon it wasnt as important to sound good, as it was to look good. I think it is true that video killed the radio star. Would we have Britney (Spears) and Ashley (Simpson) if they had to rely solely on their musical ability?

In the midst of the cold war, color and sound were almost as important as air. As we danced with the videos, we could forget that at any second the world might end in a fiery nuclear explosion. The joke at the time was that MTV was really a weapon invented by the communist. They would soon come and invade the West and no one would notice. We would all be too busy watching our MTV.

At its worse; MTV is tacky, and boring. At it's very best it defines a generation. Cheers to MTV and another 25 years.

Posted by Brenda at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2005

The Joys and Troubles of Leading the Pack

By Chris Martin -- U2Station.com

Tonight at U2's second Los Angeles show, and thus far in the Vertigo Tour, U2 has acknowledged their age as never before. Tonight, I saw my first U2 concert at the Staples Center- a concert by a band I've listened to since my infancy, back in the October days. Tonight, a self-proclaimed diehard, one that could sing you the lyrics to Pete the Chop or A Celebration, finally got to see the band he's loved for years and years.

As the seats filled and a typical lazy Los Angeles crowd slowly found their seats, the lights dropped, and I saw Edge walk up the stairs onto the Bullseye from my seat just to the side of the stage. The band struck into the already-familiar melody of City of Blinding Lights, as the LED strings of lights descended and showed a brilliant stream of artistic displays.

As the band ended Vertigo, Bono launched into a short snippet of Stories For Boys... and it was then that in retrospect I saw where U2 is today.

Tonight, this was a band that knows they are at the top of their game. They know they've got us in the palm of their hand and they love it- but for all Bono's showmanship, they still show humility and appreciation for the fans that they've got. And this is a band that is all too aware that they are getting old.

Gone is the Adam of the October days, the bass-strumming heartthrob with a massive blonde perm. Today, it's a smirking Adam with sharply-cut silvery hair who humbly acknowledges his fans and giggles at the silliness they engage in.

Gone is the Edge of the Joshua Tree era, the scruffy cowpoke with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Today, it's a quiet Edge who shows mastery of his guitar and dresses in tight-fitting clothes and a skullcap to cover up a bald head.

Gone is the Bono of the War era, the youthful clown with energy to spare- the showman who would do anything (even climbing to the top of a set of arena risers once) to fire up his fans. Today, it's a Bono who is still the ultimate showman, but a Bono who can't hit the same high notes he used to and a Bono whose voice cracks and fades.

Gone is the Larry of the Boy era, the drum-slamming teenager who played his instrument as if he were in a marching band. Well... no. I take that back. Larry's as youthful as ever, and man, is he good.

They may have aged... but they only continue to grow in wisdom. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?

The band was aware of its long past tonight. During The Electric Co., a banner unfurled and a projector showed the Boy himself. During The Ocean, a song not played in 23 years, Edge and Bono traded jokes as the band felt its way through an ancient tune I would never have expected to hear. During The Fly, the LED lights flashed those good old ZooTV slogans... everything from "EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG" to "WATCH MORE TV."

Yet, as I stood in my seat next to the stage and reveled in the opportunity to hear these classic songs and to see flashes of all those tours I was too young to go to, the majority of the audience sat baffled, and one clown was brash enough to yell "HURRY UP" as the band treated us all to "The Ocean."

The languid Los Angeles fans were fired up... but fired up for the radio favorites. Two middle aged couples both asked me "what that song was all about" after The Fly. Many fans sat down, mystified at hearing Boy songs, songs from an album they probably didn't even know existed.

That's the breaks when you're the biggest band in the world. We all want to hear you... but do all of us want to hear you for the right reasons? What would it be like on this tour if an arena were filled with diehard fans who went crazy when treated to an unexpected classic like The Ocean? It's hard to imagine, isn't it. You'll still have those diehard fans, but you'll have all those people just at the show to be seen. Of course, you'll have those new fans, too, and more power to them. They may not have known those old songs tonight, but I hope they'll go out and buy those albums tomorrow so they can get to enjoy them as much as I do. Everyone should get to know this band and have the chance to know their beautiful music as well as I've gotten to. But being the biggest means you also draw plenty of people that just don't belong.

In my seat, I sat pinned by a Los Angeles Laker basketball player and two idiots who cared more about getting stoned than actually watching the band. After choking on pot smoke for most of the show, security finally kicked them out, and realized they weren't even sitting in their correct seats anyway. During 40, while raising my arms and singing along as the concert drew to a close, I felt the rail beside me bang into me and a twenty-something airhead pulled on my shoulder. She asked if she could "stand in front" of me so that Bono could see her shirt, which read "in memory of Bob Hewson." How classy- try to get Bono's attention by wearing a shirt about his dead father... and then annoy fans who are trying to enjoy the special end of the show as you do this.

And let's not forget the obnoxious and crass wiggling and gyrating in sexual positions we were treated to when a second fan found her way onto the ramp, forcing even the Great Showman to run away from her to avoid further embarrassment. Bono walked the catwalk and even ran it with his first guest, playfully trying to avoid the gyrating idiot unleashed on him by his staff. As the second girl caught up, Bono continued to hold onto the first, seemingly attempting to brush off the lewd second... and when he let the first go, she stood giggling and laughing, amazed at what had just happened. And the second, in contrast, humiliated herself in front of 20,000 onlookers by crawling toward Bono and acting so lewd that the Great Showman could only cringe as he walked away. Thankfully the look on the first fan's face was good enough to make up for it- a beautiful girl who was about as delighted, bashful, embarrassed, and pleased as a person could be to have the privilege of getting up on stage. Why can't we have more of those fans at shows?

And in a sense, that's the band's conundrum. As popular as they are... and as the biggest band in the world... they have plenty of new fans and old fans who are willing to have a ball in discovering U2. And they've got to fight off the equally growing menace of those who treat their music and their fans with the kind of obnoxious disrespect that many showed tonight.

Let's be clear- tonight's fans may have been frustrating in a couple ways, but I sure loved tonight's show. U2 was excellent- even when flubbing lines or messing up intros and outros. They're human, after all, and I only realized this further as I sat and watched Edge play the keyboard during Running to Stand Still. No person in the arena was closer to Edge, and I reveled in the moment- but I also thought, "man, that guy is short." And so is Bono, barely equal in stature to the leggy and beautiful Asian girl he brought up on stage during Mysterious Ways. These guys are not rock gods. They're just guys like you and me who have special gifts, and I was glad to share in these gifts tonight.

One can only guess that when U2 sets out on their next tour... or, more appropriately, IF U2 sets out on another tour, they will only continue to acknowledge their age as they did tonight. This evening, we saw endless hints at the various U2's we've been treated to over almost 30 years. Next tour, we may see even more. Video clips, anyone? Video clips so we can giggle at those mullets and Adam's massive curly afro perm in the October era? Video clips so we can marvel at Macphisto's pranks? Video clips so we can see Edge in a comical white cowboy suit?

We can only wait and see. But for now, thanks U2. Tonight was special... and thanks for the faith that pervades your music. Thank you for closing the set with those three Psalms... All Because of You, Yahweh, and 40, songs that David himself would write (and in one case, a song he actually did). Thank you for providing tunes that helped me talk to God and thank Him tonight. It was pretty special... and I hope I'll get to see you again.

Posted by Chris at 06:02 PM | Comments (25)

November 16, 2002

Ned O'Hanlon Interviewed

Ned O'Hanlon, producer of several U2 music videos and films (Zoo TV - Live from Sydney, U2 Elevation - Live from Boston), founded Dreamchaser Productions in December of 1990, after leaving the Dublin based film company, Windmill Lane Pictures. In February 1991, Ned produced U2's "Achtung Baby", and 3 years later produced the inaugural MTV Europe Music Awards.

Aja Ferretti (Chia921324@aol.com), a friend of U2 Station, was able to exclusively interview Ned through an exchange of emails, upon discovering his email address on his website, www.dreamchaser.ie. On November 16, 2002, Ned O'Hanlon sent his 14 answered questions back to Aja. The following interview is the product of Aja's ambitious work.

Thanks again for doing this Ned!! We all really appreciate it!! Guaranteed to be easier than A-levels, here are your questions! Just fill in below with your answer.

1. How involved are the talent/those who commissioned your company in the finished product? How does this influence or change your original vision of the end result?

It depends. If the commission comes from the artist, then they usually have a great deal to say about the finished product. If a record company commissions, then the artist is not usually that involved. It's our job to try to deliver the 'Live Experience' as best as possible for a TV audience. Live music is hard to get across on TV, so it's usually quite a task. Without a killer performance, it's hard.

2. In what ways do you attempt to capture the feeling of a live show in the filmed version? Is this a goal of your work, or do you try to convey something else?

Camera position is pretty crucial, maintaining a link between the artist and the audience, but to my mind the really vital element is the sound mix. Most artists want to hear their sound as close to studio quality so what happens is that the mix you get usually has no audience - Big snooze! Sometimes we would include another aspect to the live show - maybe some backstage/interview/narrative of some sort. This is really on a case by case. It really depends on the artist and the show as to what is the most appropriate. We would always try to enhance the show from a television point of view.

3. What difficulties are encountered with capturing a live performance? Are there advantages to doing what seems to be an eternal "one take" kind of thing, rather than something like a music video, where there's a possibility for many takes? Are these two far too different to compare?

The # 1 difficulty is usually in dealing with the touring crew. In all cases, from a touring perspective, the sight of a film crew usually creates a lot of tension. Film crew people can appear arrogant and superior to the "Roadies" and the touring guys resent outsiders coming in to change the show to suit the camera... As more and more shows get filmed, this dynamic is changing but it still exists to some degree. The producer's first job should always be to be proactive about this and head off as much potential grief as early as possible. A clear understanding from the Producer that the touring personnel have years of experience doing what they do and that they know the show way better than the film crew will ever know is really important. After that, it's usually a matter of arguing about camera positions ( The band want the close-ups, but don't you dare put a camera on the stage), who pays for the seat kills, arguing with the Health and Safety people (do you REALLY think you can bring cameras in here?) and finally - lighting. The band never wants to see the audience. It ruins the vibe. They won't like it. BUT on the telly - where's the fucking audience!! Live-to-air shows are the best. It really gets the adrenaline going. Jeopardy. Great fun. You have to get the band on stage at the appointed minute and after that, what happens, happens. The Best. In most other cases, you would probably shoot two nights and cut from both. Still better than shooting a promo. Promos are a very different discipline so it's hard to compare. Long answer - sorry

4. Why did you choose live performance work? Whose work or what recorded performances influenced you to get involved with this aspect of filmmaking?

Didn't really make a conscious decision. I started working on the pre-production of U2's Zoo TV extravaganza, on the screen elements and gradually ended up being responsible for all film/television aspects of that tour, culminating in the live show we shot in Sydney. We kind of went on from there. Wish I could say it was some grand plan but we're still making it up as we go. I'm not sure we were particularly influenced by anyone to get into this business.

5. What steps did you take to become successful?

Still working on that one! As the cliche goes, you're as good as your last job.

6. How has digital video changed/helped/hindered the process of live recording? Has it changed your technique at all?

Digital is great. Especially as you can make look more like film than analogue video. We now use a lot of DV cameras on our productions. We are looking forward to our first all DV shoot. It's just around the corner. Digital technology also means lighting is a lot less critical in one sense. You can work in much lower light and still manage, with a good post-production grade, a great looking performance.

7. How is the issue of sound dealt with? I can imagine that with a video done to market, that it's recorded live and added in post, but how do you do it for something like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show that's aired live?

Actually the Hall of Fame is not live. That show usually runs about 5-6 hours long on the night. It goes out two nights later. This means a huge post production job which usually means a group of seriously sleep-deprived people end up feeding the last two parts of the show to the network as the first part is on air, after which same group of people go drool into some warm beer..... Audio wise we usually mix the music ourselves and, in fact, that's the easiest part of that particular show. But that can be artist specific. The Moonglows would leave it to us. The Eagles, well, that's a different story. In general, a separate sound recording truck is the easiest way to get the sound. 48 track digital recording usually would be enough. This allows to record each track separately so post-production has the greatest flexibility. It's important to record the sound that way, particularly if it's live to air. The guys mixing for the house are doing a very different job. They are concentrating on a very dry, clean sound, whereas, for TV you need to hear the audience and the ambiance of the live sound - a PA sound - to make it great. - Another long answer....

8. Is your work purely documentary or is there an element of "performance" on the part of the talent otherwise absent with the absence of your cameras?

Sorry, I don't understand that one.

9. Is this particular part of the business difficult to get into? Is it like mainstream films where it's all about connections, or is there more of an emphasis on talent and experience? A bit of both perhaps?

It's not that easy to get a start. It is a relatively small industry, so yes, contacts are really useful and important. Initially at least. You have be able to prove you have the goods though. If you can nurgle your way in then you'll do OK if you have any spark. Of course, you need the experience to get to be really good. But if you can get a start, you'll get the work.

10. Is there any attempt to make the production itself entertaining? What I mean is, does your team take advantage of any sort of creative camera angles or lighting schemes to make THE show YOUR show?

Well, of course! We do try to put our stamp on the production. Just to point cameras at something is never going to be sufficient. How you light it, the choice of lenses, shooting style, set design, etc., all lend itself to developing a style.

11. How do you familiarize yourself with the show to prepare for what you will be shooting?

See it as many times as possible. Not always possible. We've quite often shot shows completely blind and usually they work out. There's a greater sense of live in these circumstances - on account of having no clue what we were doing. In that case you'd make a feature of that in the shooting style.

12. What steps should a college student take to get involved with this part of the industry? Is there a sort of entry-level?

I'm not that sure about how that works in The States. Here in Ireland, it's a little more parochial and so can be easier to maneuver around the obstacles.

13. What about unions? Are there strict union policies, as in feature filmmaking?

Unions are a nightmare! Particularly in your great country. Particularly in the bigger cities and venues. It adds a huge cost in both time and money to a production and you have to be so careful of not getting on the wrong side as a tough union house can cause real problems. As far as joining a union, you would need to talk to an American involved in production. There are obvious merits, but there can be restrictions as well. It's a balancing act...

14. And this last question is for me; Lord knows it looks like an essay. You don't have to get into it if you've had enough questions for the day: I was watching the "U2 Elevation Live From Boston" DVD with the "Another Perspective" special feature and saw director Hamish Hamilton shouting commands at different camera operators while looking at a bank of TV screens. What is he doing? Is this meant to mark certain shots for the edit in post, or is he directing the various camera operators at what shots he wants? How does he juggle that many cameras at once?

Hamish, splendid man that he is, does like to get really enthused about his work. He is indeed instructing the cameras as to what he wants. Hamish's skill is in making sure he has enough great camera shots he can choose from so his line-cut (live cut) is as good as it can be. He needs to instruct the cameras as he is the only one who can see all the camera shots and so how they best work together. He also had the benefit of seeing the show many times so he had a very good idea of what was coming up. That way he was able to get his cameras in the best positions to capture the moment.

So, now you know!

Best wishes

Posted by Jonathan at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2002

New U2 Mobile News Service

6.29.02 - U2Station.com

As webmaster of U2Station.com, I am pleased to announce the launch of a unique and exclusive U2 mobile news service. Smart421 has teamed up with GiveUsTheScore.com, in offering customized U2 news worldwide.

About 2-3 times a week, you will have the latest U2 news sent directly to your cellphone, anywhere, wherever u happen to be. The service, developed by the programmers at GiveUstheScore.com, delivers targeted, customized U2 news (and ONLY U2 news) straight to your cellphone.

Our U2 news utilizes the "Short Message Service" (SMS), which is a system by which text messages can be sent between mobile phones. The message can be up to 160 characters in length on most networks. Your fresh, customized U2 news is "pushed" to your cellphone through Short Message Service text messaging. SMS operates on a 'store and forward' concept, so even if the recipient's phone is switched off, they will receive the message. Unlike WAP and other new entrant services, SMS is available to nearly 70% of the general population of North America & most major European countries.

Now, GiveUsTheScore has offered a new and EXCLUSIVE U2 mobile service, in addition to their powerful SMS-based football coverage services.

Based in England, GiveUstheScore was born when a developer at Smart421 wanted to find a way to avoid missing his team's results when out shopping with his wife. The company delivers football scores - including goal-by-goal coverage - real time via SMS to mobile phones on any network. GiveUstheLot offers a free service for lottery results in the same way. It commenced business in February 2000 and currently serves over 30,000 subscribers. It has secured a national promotion in association with The Mirror Group and icFootball, and is affiliated with Eidos and Midas. While the service covers UK football at present, there are plans to extend it to horse racing, formula one, rugby, cricket and more. Smart421 developed the messaging platform used by GiveUsthescore and offers this to other organizations wishing to take advantage of SMS messaging.

You now have the opportunity to try out the only U2 news service of its kind. Start enjoying the convenience of U2 mobile news, and put U2 in your pocket!

Sign up: http://www.giveustheinfo.com/THCustReg.aspx?AffID=12

Posted by Jonathan at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 1998

Melbourne Popmart concert

Melbourne Popmart concert, February 21, 1998

This U2 fan emailed me about his own experience, during and BEFORE this particular concert. This is an exclusive story, courtesy of the U2 Station webmaster!

Subject:
G'day from Australia
Date:
Mon, 4 Jan 1999 23:24:32 +1100
From:
"Batigol"
To:

Hi there Jonathon....I read your review on U2's Pittsburgh show with great interest and I thought I'd drop you a few lines about the show they did in Melbourne on Saturday, February 21, 1998.

They played at Waverley Park....a stadium which is just a ten minute walk from my house. So the night before the show I went down there to have a look at the stage but I couldn't get in. I saw some guy walking around the outside of the stadium and I started talking to him.

His name was John Conk, one of the site co-ordinators, and he has been with the band for more than five years.

He said he'd worked for a lot of bands including Aerosmith but none of them compared with U2. He said they were the nicest bunch of people to work for.

I asked him what to expect from the show and he asked me if I saw Zoo TV. I saw it when it came to Melbourne in 1993 and I told him I was blown away. He said Popmart was better. Why? ``It's different. Just wait 'till you see the show''. This ensured that I would have a sleepless night.

The next day I was helping my dad to paint the house so all the windows were open. Around 4.30pm, I heard the unmistakable chords of Edge's guitar reverberating from the stadium. I dropped my paintbrush, got in the car and went down there again to listen to the sound check. They went through With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name and some other instrumental tracks.

I tried in vain to catch a glimpse of them but security was tight......so after the sound check I went back home, had a shower, got changed and went back to see the show.

I got there just as the support act was finishing, not sure who they were but they were pretty bad. Then they started playing some other songs over the PA...the one that sticks out in my mind is Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve....I think cause it was so loud.

Then the lights went down and there was a mad rush towards the back of the stadium. (Waverley Park, by the way, is where we play Australian Rules football). The band came out of the players race and through the crowd. Seeing them up close made me realise that they are real, they are human beings.

I thought the show was sensational. The sound quality was exceptional. They achieved a CD-like sound quality at an outdoor show. For years bands have come to Australia and have been canned for their sound quality (U2 copped a bit of flak in 1993 for the same reason). But the sound was so crisp, so clean and so loud.

They played the usual Popmart set with all the usual Popmart gimmicks. Olive on giant toothpick, giant mirrorball lemon, biggest TV screen in the world, and an arc that looks like half a McDonald's arc.

They ended the show with One, as a tribute to Michael Hutchence. It really brought the mood down. Usually U2 finish their shows on an uplifting feeling....but everyone just slumped to their chairs and some people were even crying. I suppose that shows that they are the greates live act to ever grace a stage. For a band to reach the inner emotions of people at a concert is a true indication of their power in a live situation.

Having seen them in 1989 (Love Town tour, at the Tennis Centre, a fantastic gig), in 1993 at the MCG (Zoomerang Tour, awesome display of stadium rock), Popmart at Waverley took the cake. A truly magical performance from four men who have touched the hearts and souls of millions of people around the world.

Writing this email is giving me goosebumps.....

Anyway, looking forward to U2's next album. Who knows what they'll come up with.

Sandro Olivo.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:35 AM | Comments (0)

June 07, 1997

U2 POPMART: My Experience

Pittsburgh Popmart concert, May 22, 1997

U2 POPMART: My Experience

by Jonathan Wayne

I really dont care if U2's commercialism is making them look uninspiring.

It really does not matter if PopMart is an idea of a new crazed fashion.

I dont care if U2 doesn't sell stadiums.

The only thing that matters is being there. Being present with the greatest and most profitable band in the world. To experience a new and inventive concert unlike anything created before. To experience other people's imagination and not just to dream it.

So, here I was, about to enter my first U2 concert. I became a U2 fan just after the ZooTV tour was finishing up. After four years of waiting, my chance was finally to come. I had collected all of U2's albums, I had listened to many of them time and time again. Yet one matter had not been settled yet. To attend a live concert of U2.

I arrived at Three Rivers Stadium at approximately 6:05 PM on a sunny, cool, and breezy Thursday afternoon on the date of May 22, 1997. I came by myself. So here I was walking down the Stadium lot. I just walked briskly toward the stadium that loomed ahead. It was rather early by my standards since in the distance I heard Discotheque being rehearsed over the Stadium P.A. Yet, once I walked toward the concourse of Gate A, the music at once stopped and I was left amongst a growing crowd making their way into the vicinity. I of course, being part of Wire (the U2 mailing list) had to find the banner that was supposed to be displayed somewhere nearby. As I was peering about, I couldnt help noticing the merchandise that was for sale. U2 T-shirts ran for $25. Caps for $20. Sweatshirts for $50. Even Condoms were for sale. I suppose they were special "pop" ones that U2 endorsed especially. Well, very intrinsic i must say. All in all, the only piece of retail I bought that day was the official PopMart program that went for $15. It was this shiny and glossy book that had a contraption inside. A fold out Edge standup that could be found on the last page. Yet I didn't have time to look through the program, my first priority was to find the Wire crowd!

Well, I did find them. They were all spread about. A few of them were wearing dog-tags that were entitled "U2 Wire", but that was about it. I was expecting a lot more people but there were less than 10 actual Wire members that I saw. The main thing was, the banner! It was this huge and glorious 70 foot+ long sheet of cloth! I must have hanged around there for at least 55 minutes before I decided that was enough. I met Jason Herbe and another Wire friend named Charlotte who gave me a Wire tag. Meanwhile in the distance, WDVE (A Pittsburgh Radio Station) was blaring some U2 songs out the entire time. It was truly nice to sign my name on the banner. I hesitated for a few moments about whether to sign my name on the "i" or above the "d". I actually did on the d at the end of World. This is what it said to my recollection: U2 PopMart Tour 1997. jwayne2@ix.netcom.com. Still a Wireling! My signature. Pittsburgh May 22, 1997. Of course I could have made it more creative, but I believe the poems could come later. And yes, there were some poems that were to be found on the banner. One girl wrote about her obsession on Bono. Another person put their own song on it. There were funny and strange drawings of the band. And believe it or not, I had found Bono's little skit and signature right next to the "w" in world. Paul McGuinness's was to be found near the "o" in world. Overall, the banner read: WORLD WIDE WIRE. I didn't feel honored to have signed my name. I just felt like it was a nice and silly privilege to be recorded on the banner that was presumably to be passed from stadium to stadium on the PopMart tour. Thus, my Wire experience had it's good fate. Moreover, later after the concert, Edge was able to sign his name on the banner thus making it more infamous than it already was.

But, it was now after 7 PM. I had to get going and part from our Wirelings to make way into the stadium and event itself. I had high expectations that the concert would go well. I knew the set lists beforehand. But as U2 would say: Expect nothing but the best. That I did. How about this: Pop nothing but the best? Or maybe it should be Expect nothing but the Pop. In any way, I had the next 2 hours or so to think this over until U2 would come out and make their presence known. I presume it was 7:23 when I went through the turnstile and handed over my ticket to the collector. Oh yes! I was in!!! I couldn't wait! But I had to. The opening act took an hour. Than another 45 minutes or so of waiting till PopMuzik started. But that comes later! So once I got in amongst a bustling crowd, I made my way two thirds around the stadium and decided to turn back and walk around without a care in the world. I passed vendors of all types. Clothing vendors. Novelty vendors. Beer vendors. Coca Cola vendors. Program vendors. Cracker Jack vendors. But enough of that! And then, I saw in the distance a huge yellow arch with some orange oval on the top. I stood there near the top row of the bleachers for 4 minutes just looking out into the core of the stadium at this spectacle. It was all opened up. Brown field seats littered along the turf. Yellow security people guarding the zones. There I was. Right in front of PopMart itself! Just some hundreds of feet away from my seat on the field. Well, it was early, but I figured it's better off getting to you're chair right away so you don't run into the beer mongers. After a quick stop at the restroom, I started my journey downwards! I passed the first head of security, showed them my ticket, and proceeded down to the next level. Now I arrived at the field security. They took half my ticket, punched it, and put a strap around my wrist. One more block of security until my section. As I was walking, I got closer to the stage and set. I felt differentiated. I felt more "cool" as I was walking closer. Like I was more special that I had close seats than the people far behind me. But in actuality, my seats were not that easy at all as I found out later! I finally found my row. Row G to be exact. and I had the last seat on my row. Seat 23. So I was right next to the aisle. Not good at all. I'll tell you more about that later. But this was it! I was in the middle of this concrete jungle and in the center of it all. If there was a mob, I would never survive it. But luckily, the worst that happened is when I broke my chair toward the end of the show.

7:48 PM. Yup, it's that horrendous opening act starting now. Fun Loving Criminals. This group performed lots of Rap and Funk Rock for about an hour. And there i was, sitting there for 2 hours. Of course I got up now and then to stretch and look around. But I was cold. Very cold. I had on shorts and a sweatshirt. I literally sat there huddled over my PopMart program and a newspaper i had wrapped up in plastic. I said hi to the people around me, asked for the time here and there, and that's about it. A long and boring hour that stretched until 8:45 PM. I was thinking about the possibilities of bringing in a camera or tape recorder. I was thinking if I could get away with it. I was thinking too much. THEN SUDDENLY!!! This loud funky beat started playing. At first, I thought it was the opening to PopMuzik. But it was really this long stretch of ear splitting noise that would last another half an hour until the real show started. While I waited, numerous people started showing up and filling in the seats around me. the air grew cooler, the darkness settled in. An aura of of excitement was also filling the stadium even though I couldn't feel it myself at first. From time to time the Stadium jumboscreen flickered on and there were maps of the seating rows for people. But then, I finally realized the show was about to start when the security started taking the Seating flags away. Well, not to be. Another hopeless 20 minutes came and went while during this time, this loud and crude noise was being played on the P.A. The stadium lights were up. Daylight was fading and I knew its going to start any second. The giant video screen sat there shrouded in beam testing and light tests. Little red lines were dancing the screen making sure everything was alright. On top, the massive orange oval that sits between the yellow arch held the the P.A. equipment and main speakers. To the right was a long pointy stick with a lemon in yellow covering and near the top was an olive and a ring around it that would light up later on.

Somewhere between 9:12 - 9:22: SHOWTIME!

POP, POP, POPMUZIK. This blaring euro-squeaky music played while the crowd suddenly faced one side of the stadium. There, Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry emerged out of the dugout and climbed onto the catwalk to get to the stage. Now the video screen came to life! P-O-P was written all over. With the ball in the middle rotating like some crazy blackhole, U2 took over. Yeah, the crowd lit up like a thunderhead and created a pretty loud background for U2 to perform in for the first few songs. And at once, I stood up on my chair. Everyone around me stood on their chairs. You would be crazy to sit, nuts to stand, but only on the chair you could view the scene in totality. I was right in the middle. The place was alive with sound. Bono was dressed in Boxer's clothes ready to take on the ring, punching his way to the stage as Edge had his pre-rattle n hum outfit on complete with cowboy hat. Adam Clayton had an orange surgical outfit with a mask around his mouth for the first few songs. Larry Mullen Jr. had the drum technician strap some headphones around him but was the most normally dressed. And that's how it started. POP-POP-POP Muzik, Pop-POP-Pop Muszik, etc,etc,etc. for 3-6 minutes. Then Mofo kicked in. Bono took off his hood and uncovered his superman shirt. He swung up and about, clicking to his right, clicking to his left with the mic in his hand and a full blown audience at the core. THE PLACE WAS LOUD AT FIRST, but as the concert went on the magnitude level dropped for a time. This is normal usually. Once the 30,000+ crowd has waited for so long, they release their excitement which blends in with the scene only to settle down midway through. I was in the center of it all. I had to stand pretty high in order to see the stage. Admidst the security's stand against standing, they fell apart once the lights went down. Later during the show, people started standing in the aisles. Actually it happened immediately once U2 came out. And so, Mofo ended and the stadium roared again with the start of "I Will Follow". I'm sure lots of people didn't expect U2 to play such an old song, but then again, I was prepared so it wasn't a surprise to me. During the duration of these two songs, the video screen mainly focused on the band with the live camera. The video screen ball in the center of the screen either showed Bono or different members of the band walking about playing their music. I Will Follow was a great version and one of the top songs in the concert.

Even Better Than The Real Thing was to be the next song of the night. Again, more camera shots of Bono and the Edge doing their thing on stage. I was very impressed with the quality of the video screen combined with the lights on the arch and the lighted olive ring. Not to mention the strobe lights that came to life later on in the concert. Overall, this song though did not capture the ambition in the concert. Not a very good pick for the night. But U2 decided to pick their old singles as backup for their new songs. Gone. Well, I really don't remember hearing the song played but a song that many U2 fans like on the new album. Pride (In The Name Of Love) kicked in after this. Now this was a great song for the evening. Just that it may not have fitted in with the songs around them. A song I wish they had played off of Unforgettable Fire would have been Bad. This song sounds awesome when performed live. As evidence from numerous bootlegs such as Duets and the Wide Awake In America mini album. After Pride, the crowd came to life again. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For was played next. Lots of graphics on the screen and neat lighting going on. Edge was really into it that night. Even Larry was playing above his norm. I was just standing there. I wasn't jumping up and down (only until later) but I was just trying to take in the music and not the crowd. That was a letdown for the evening. Since this was my first ever stadium concert, I may be wrong about this. Just the noise seemed louder than the music at times. The guitar was ok but the drums were weak. I hardly heard them sometimes. Only until later when U2 played on the second stage, did I hear them more clearly. Another problem in the dramatic evening was the discomfort I had next to the aisle. I disregarded all of this during the show, but now that I think about it, it really was a hardship for me. People nearly pushed me off the chair. Since the chairs were tied together, the worst thing that could happen is if you broke it yourself. But read on. That's right, beer drinkers everywhere. Luckily no one spilled any on my lap. Yet, people in the aisle just could not get along with the security. Guys jumping all over the place at times. the yellow guards tried to push people out of the way but during the duration of the concert, whatever sense I found around me, people did not budge at all from the aisles. And so, I found it tough to stand with people on all sides, mayhem going on to my left at times and beer drinkers getting extras to my right.

Here we go. It must be way after 10 PM now. Stand By Me was played right after I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. It was a perfect conclusion to that song. And, oh yes, people WERE INDEED standing by me. Too many of them! But Last Night On Earth was to be played next. Just that this version was not to my expectations. It didn't have the power of the album version. It was wild. It was unrestrained. It was tempestuous. Too much crazy guitar going on. But Until The End Of The World would be a perfect takeoff from this song. To me, this was a great song for the evening. This song has always been a favorite of mine. And oh yes, in the serenity of it all, the glowing blue screen was gloating at everyone. An AWESOME version. At that point, my experience took a turning point, I really started getting into it after that. I started waving my hands, rolling my arms, tossing my head. This all lead to the conclusive wild ending of my destroying the chair by accident. If God Will Send His Angels was poor. But then, everything went RED. EVERYTHING. The screen turned into orange, than red, than maroon. But pure red. Staring At The Sun was to be the next song. A pretty good song as well. An obvious song for the moment since it was the present single off of Pop. But it was fabulous.

"Ok..., Lets cut the crap". Edge walks from the stage unto the catwalk and in the background a fairly attractive woman is shown on the video screen. It was a funny and enjoyable song. The audience got into it with a lot of singing back and forth. Edge sung it all. With the cowboy hat dangling about, the Edge walked up the catwalk and strummed his guitar and the crowd beckoned to him. But beckoned for what? Sweet CAROLINE? Well, Edge sure did his job there. Go for it Edge! Play that Neil Diamond song at full volume! To me, just a folly of a time there. But I wasn't fucking laughing, I just wanted the lads to get the song overwith already! Ok, MY--MAMMY...

Here we go. Miami. A twist of the tropics. "Weather 'round here chopping and changin', surgery in the air, print shirts and southern accents, cigars and big hair..." No, not a silly song at all. Just too mellow. Too realistic. We don't want Miami, we want the end of the world! It just didn't have that U2 taste I wanted. I wanted the dust bowl. I wanted Memphis and the dry Arizona weather of the Joshua Tree. Not palm tree's of the other South. And yes, Bono brought up some lady on stage and danced with her for a time. It was nothing new. Ive seen stuff like that in the old ZooTv videos. Just that this time, Bono looked cooler. This was a new journey for U2. my,my, oh my, miami. Enough!

The spot lights go up. There must have been at least 6 of them all around the stadium. They just go straight up. They dont stream about. Just straight up like a bullet into the sky. It oddly looked like that as well. When U2 played "Bullet The Blue Sky" they nearly made me like that song for once. For a time, it seemed like the arch was the bullet. And the beams made it look like it was traveling somewhat, to somewhere beyond. Yes, a fabulous version for the evening! Bullet the Blue Sky was perfect. U2 nailed it. Please? Please what? Please that I broke my chair? No, it's the song. Please. Another excellent tune off of the new album. But definitely not a favorite of mine. Please has it's possible origins from their roots of Ireland. The song sounded somewhat religious as well. Maybe even personal to Bono? But what came next was the highlight of my evening. HANDS DOWN. Where the Streets Have No Name has always been a favorite of mine and getting to experience it live in concert can't be beaten. Especially the beginning. OH! I really was fired up. But I was touched by the song. I was emotional. I very much was. I'll never forget what I saw. The background grew very bright. The video screen burst up with red's and yellow's and orange's. Even in the ZooTv tour, that song was played with a lot of energy and sparkle. Bono was really going all over the place. I forget now what he was wearing at the time, but I assume he just had his T-shirt on. Oh yes! just great! Where The Streets Have No Name was as surreal as it could get. Hands down.

Now, the coolest part of the concert: The first Encore takes place. Now the lemon is starting to really buzz around. I was wondering how the crew would get that lemon cover off? Maybe it was automatic? In any case, that lemon that was sitting in the right corner of the stage the entire time started to take off! It started to hover above the crowd. It gradually approached the second stage at the end of the catwalk where Larry's drums were already in place. In the background, some remix was playing. I dont know if it was a Discotheque remix or some old Lemon Remix but it sounded familiar! And just like that, I watch as the band steps right out of the Lemon onto the stage. But first they just stand there in this UFO with their arms folded. Just staring away into nothing. They then walk down the lemon ladder and step onto the stage where they play three songs until the second Encore. Meanwhile, lots of things are going on. The strobe lights fire up and play everywhere. The mirrorball lemon takes the brunt of the light and the stadium is lit up into some flashy disco club with disco lights playing the upper deck bleachers. There is gas of some sort, possibly Water Vapor that creates a cloud for the mechanical lemon. Oh, what fun! U2 really knows how to entertain the crowd at the right time! But at this point, I really get a great vantage point to view U2 now. I'm literally 20-30 feet away from the second stage! Adam faces me while Larry plays at his tom toms. Bono also looks out amongst the crowd.

He might have looked at me for a moment? I would never know. It doesnt touch me. It's just great to see Bono's reaction when he looks about at the audience. For instance: what is he really thinking? Just after U2 finishes off Discotheque, they start If You Wear That Velvet Dress. Not good. In actuality, it's not a good choice song for a live concert. Better off picking an old classic instead. What was worse, U2 stopped short in the song.

But then they picked it up with With Or Without You. If this wasn't the best song of the night, Where The Streets Have No Name was. Just a nice emotional song as always. We all have to admit that. I didn't shed tears, but being a committed U2 fan, I did appreciate the song very much. Their older work will live on even beyond the technology of PopMart and any other trend that U2 goes through. With Or Without You is just a classic.

11:00 PM. Is the show over yet? Not yet. Three more songs to go. Now U2 is back to the main stage to perform the remaining songs. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me is the song to start off the second Encore. Again, great version, but what really was the top of the song was what happened to me. About midway through the song, I was jumping with so much esteem that I literally went right through my seat. That's right, I broke my darn chair! Admidst the craziness going on, I really have to blame myself. But isnt it GREAT to be frantic? For a time like that, it was acceptable. Very much so. I mean, you're attending one of the greatest first concerts of you're life. Why not leave an impression that what you took in had to come out in some form or another?! And no, I'm not embarrassed at all. Even at the time I wasn't embarrassed. I just jumped right back up and went on the next chair. A man next to me wanted to get on my chair for some reason so he almost broke this next chair again. What a bastard! Now, that is true. Either the guy was drunk or he was out of his mind! What is this? Sir, it's PopMart. It's not K-Mart, it's PopMart. Think that over. What are the differences? K-Mart sells more merchandise and better chairs than Pop-Mart. Thus, the accident occurred. Hey, people helped me up, but I was laughing! I was laughing because of the scene. Because I had a right to laugh. The hell with the security!

Mysterious Ways takes place. The concert is ending soon. I could feel it. This is always a fabulous song! (Ive said fabulous three times now). But it truly was great for a finisher. That's what some people thought. But, it could have been more tragic than that! Bono nearly forgot about One! Luckily Adam reminded him that there was still one more song to go. And so, the greatest of all songs was played. One. There's nothing else to describe. It's not egotistical. It's not dissonant. It's not political at all though it could be to describe democracy in some regard. U2 has really supported Organizations like Greenpeace and Amnesty International throughout their lives now. Warchild is to support the victims in Bosnia while Greenpeace is to support the environment from corrupt destruction. That's what One is all about. It could be a love song. It could be about relationships. But it's really about peace. Harmonious Love as well. That's why a heart was displayed as the concert ended. It just stayed there until the end when U2 finished the night with a few verses from Unchained Melody. U2 can implement all these important facets into their music but U2 arent wimps. Just because they support peace very widely, it's because they come from such a destructive country. Ireland in all regard needs that peace that U2 has to take so seriously. For the most part though, the seriousness for the night was controlled. And thus, the concert had come to a closure. Ready to take on the next stadium. Ready to expand PopMart for the masses to other cities. Once the lights went up, I left. NO, I REALLY DID! Of course I had to wait for some time to get off the field. It wasn't eerily quiet or anything. But the sound was starting to evaporate into the air. I couldn't of course see the sound evaporate. It's just a nice metaphor to close the night. I walked out of the stadium and got my ride home. It was approximately 11:32 PM. Not bad for a concert. A little over 2 hours of U2 music. Maybe when they get in their 50's, they will have a 3 hour concert and play some real oldies! Such as what Pink Floyd had done back in 1994. But WHAT A CONCERT! WHAT A CONCERT! THAT'S IT! I'm out of creativity now. WHAT A CONCERT! Just let it out now.

To many people, this concert wasn't amazing at all. Just a cool show. But U2 will always be cool. The music is everchanging. PopMart is U2's imagination come to life! They have the money for that. They have the management. All they need is the music. And the music is what we received. PopMart is not visionary. But for a band that is so successful, being visionary may not be a good thing. Just make the music and get on with it! But make it good.

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Written June 7, 1997.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:38 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 1997

Information on Bono's ZooTV sunglasses

The Significance Of The "FLY" Shades

Many years ago, I received an email from a serious "Fly" shade fanatic. Even today, he is continuing his quest to acquire the original "Fly" sunglasses. This is the first (1) of two exclusive articles from Mr. Govaars. A more recent article (2) can be found below. All corrections to be made can be emailed to Peter at: peterg@dvart.com.

(1)

Subject:
Re: u2 bug glasses
Date:
Fri, 9 May 1997 02:41:10 -0400 (EDT)
From:
JPGovaars@aol.com
To:
jwayne2@ix.netcom.com

Jon,

Thanks for your response. I know the pair that you mentioned from the back of Rolling Stone. It turns out they are YACKO (Yet Another Cheap Knock-Off.) They are copies of a pair of Armani sunglasses that resemble the Cutler