Aviv Geffen
Photo: Gali Tibbon
'The Israeli John Lennon'
Aviv Geffen gets praiseful article in October issue of British music magazine Q; Israeli musician hopes to boost English solo career with new releases
When Aviv Geffen wrote the song Superstar in the late 90s, the era of "Britpop" featuring the music of Oasis and others had already begun to conquer the hearts of music fans in Britain and the rest of the world. Geffen, although already a local "superstar," was then just beginning to dream of the idea of having successful international career singing in English.
Since Superstar, Geffen has managed to promote his English language music by setting up the band Blackfield with Steven Wilson. The band has attracted fans in Britain and other places and is about to gain some pretty serious international coverage when an article is published about them in the October issue of British music magazine Q.
The one-page article is entitled "Aviv Geffen in the Coca Cola village in Nitzanim—meeting the Israeli John Lennon, including suicide threats!" In the article, the veteran music reporter Dan Stubbs (who gives Geffen's last show in Nitzanim four stars which is a very good review considering the magazine's tough critics) describes Geffen's music as a blend of John Lennon, Robbie Williams, and Tom York.
'Geffens are Israel's Kennedys'
The reporter compares the Geffen family to the Kennedy family in the US and characterizes Geffen as a rebel who believes that "the occupation is a cancer in the heart of the nation." Stubbs also discusses the threats Geffen made that he would commit suicide if he was drafted into the army.
The writer for one of the most respected music magazines in Britain is generous in his praise for Geffen saying that he was impressed with the amount of energy he felt at the show in Nitzanim. He also says that was impressed with Geffen's abilities as a performer.
Stubbs also airs his opinion of Geffen's newest song Black and White which is scheduled to be released in both Hebrew and English in November. The song is one of a number that the Israeli star has recently recorded as solo projects in English.
Not surprisingly, the Israeli musician is pretty satisfied with the article. "I have a subscription to Q and NME and it's a big honor for me to get a full page (article) written about me there. The writer kept saying how amazing it was to see thousands of people with makeup on singing Song of Hope because you don't see things like that everyday."
