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R eleases...
Deep Jimi and the Zep Creams
Year: 2005
Label: Geimsteinn
Seybie Sunsicks Rock’n’Roll Circus
Year: 1995
Label: Geimsteinn
Funky Dinosaur
Year: 1993
Label: ATCO
Deep Jimi and the Zep Creams (EP)
Year: 1992
Label: Phonogroove
Blowup (EP)
Year: 1992
Label: Technicolour
...more info can be found on our official web site deepjimi.com
Us boys (men!) started playing many moons ago. Ah, those were the days my friend. Fifteen, rocking out in my dad’s garage. Actually that’s not quite true, we didn’t get in there until we were about seventeen. Think that was my mum and dad’s idea of keeping an eye on us. Worked out great tho... We lined the walls with layers and layers of cartons from eggs and that foamy bit you get between apples in boxes of apples and all kinds of sound resistant shit. On top of all that we then put carpets on the walls, the ceiling everything. Lovely. But it did mean we could thrash out our stuff all through the night if we wanted - and we did.
Very early on we were set on going to America to MAKE IT. Go to America and get signed with a big record company. We even had the date set for it and everything. Only problems was we had no idea how we were going to finance something like that! But it’s strange how fortune works with you sometimes. We were - surprise surprise - heavily into the seventies rock at the time and it was probably Júlli who came up with the idea of doing a gig were we’d play all our favorite stuff, dress up like them and everything. We loved the idea, set about deciding what songs to do etc. Again Júlli came up with the idea of sticking to only four bands (Purple, Jimi, Zep and Cream) and to call this mock hippy outfit Deep Jimi and the Zep Creams. We all fell about, what great stuff.
This was a few months before the date we had already set to go to America and still there was no money in sight or any clever ideas on how to get them. In spite of that I don’t remember ever worrying about that. Oh, the wonders of youth!
Anyway, when we came to doing the gig, we thought we’d be the only ones there into it - we were living in a small town in Iceland where mainstream pop was almost too out there for most and here we were dressed up like complete freaks, playing music no one was meant to be interested in at all. But what do you know, they loved it and that summer we ended up playing this set two to three times a week, making us enough money for flights, accomodation and basic needs (mainly booze) in America for three months.
When we got there we decided to keep the name Deep Jimi and the Zep Creams - what name could be better? Our old name had been Pandora - how sickening is that?! And that was my idea too! It really makes me understand people who never suggest anything, never do anything and never say anything, how much more pleasant it would be looking back if I’d have followed their lead!
And then there was America! What great times we had! We are thinking about dedicating a special place on this site for stories of Thor. Thor takes on America! Captain America Vs Thor! I’ll leave it to Thor to give you the finer details and the results from the fight. Anyway, we got there with absolutely nothing. Few bob in the bank and a tape and that was about it - well lets not forget the firm belief we were the best thing since... well ever really.
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First we had to find a place to stay. Wasn’t easy. We wanted the cheapest you could get, ie. a studio. Now four guys, bearded and long haired, trying to get a studio together? Err... don’t think so. Oh, did we mention we are in a band? Ah, but you see we were good boys, we wouldn’t lie about something like that. So nobody wanted to house the next best thing. We were staying at a B&B in Queens, spending precious money every night we stayed. But one day trecking up and down the streets of Manhattan, Village Voice under our arm, we stumble onto a sign: Apartments available. This was on Waverly right of Broadway, near Washington Square Park. We go in, talk to some manager type guy and no problem! He loved us! Iceland? No problem! We’ve had Icelanders here before, never any problems with them! Thanks all you guys who went before us.
So we got a place to stay. Expensive, but ours. We slept in one room - four matresses on the floor next to each other - and did everything else in the other room. With that out of the way we celebrated, the only way we knew how, with booze! We drank a lot in those days. That probably explains the kidney problems and all that we are experiencing today...
Next thing we did was getting a tiny stereo - again keeping within the budget. The point of this stereo was it was to be our duplication factory. The one tape we had brought with us was now duplicated on this double tape deck. The wonders of technology! We then made a list of all the places in town playing live music and trotted down there with a tape.
Normally we’d go all four of us, never less then two. We take the tape to the manager, he’d tell us he was booked for the next four months, we’d then say we were from Iceland and we were only here for a short while and they’d say they’d have a listen. We’d then go the day after and see if they had. They hadn’t. I don’t think we were being pushy, we were just really anxious to play - lets get this party going dudes! In the end they’d give us a gig, squeeze us in somewhere. I don’t think the tape was very good at all but maybe the thought of having four big, bearded guys coming to your office everyday was not the most pleasant to have in your head, so cut your losses give the guys a gig and get rid of them. Now don’t get me wrong, we were not big - but Björn and Júlli are tall as fuck and we all looked fucking weird anyway.
So, come the first gig; Kenny’s Castaways. A pretty shit place on Bleeker Street. We did our thing, for about three people - the act that was .. us, Judy Saiya, her guitarist (the excellent John Surich) and some guy watching them. Oh, lets not forget the soundman, our dear friend, Joey Green. Little did we know these people were to become the foundation for the Zep Creams operation in New York. Well, morally and spiritually anyway. This guy watching John and Judy turned out to be their manager, Peter Chiaccia. He approached us and seemed genuenly interested. We played it pretty cool with him, weren’t going to sign up with any guy who approached us. Hey, this was only our first gig! Of course in the end Peter became our manager and even before we had signed anything with him he was bringing people down from record companies to see us.
John and Joey both became our good friends and still are today - one day soon boys we’ll meet again. Those two, with Bob Bellomo, Richard and perhaps one or two others were our crew over there. Crew as in our gang, our clan, our good buddies.
From then on in the trip was much about us ringing Peter fifteen times a day to see how things were going; who was coming to the gig that evening (we played a lot - think it was Peter’s way of trying to get us off his back) etc. etc. Then we’d get hammered and play the gig. That was the order until Peter gave us a serious fatherly talk about what we came here to do and are we serious about doing it and if so STOP DRINKING!
This was after a completely awful gig at a small joint on Broadway called The Pool Bar. I believe the night ended with Júlli mooning the audience after we’d threatened to beat up the sound man (who were we kidding) and some heavy kicking of pumpkins (smashing pumpkins we were...) as it was Halloween night. I had also met this nun on the street before we played, was heavily turned on by the outfit of course and assured her to come and see the best band in the world! That’s not what she saw and I did get anywhere with her. Poor Peter to have to deal with us. Although we were giggling like schoolgirls when he was telling us off we did take his advice and cleaned our act up a bit, made sure we weren’t drunk until after the gig.
But Peter did an excellent job and in the end we signed with Atco-East/West and left for Iceland before the three months were up while the contracts were being sent back and forth between lawyers. Mission accomplished. We are the kings of the world..and then...!!!