An interrogation of a Drama Queen!

2Pixies is known for being big time curious and therefor they have arrested the hostess of the Champagne Lounge in Euro Club for an interrogation. Hear all about what’s on the program, the secrets behind the dress and all about nothing in our quest for the utterly spectacular show-truth!

 

Let the interrogation interview begin.

First of all you need to know. You have the right to have a glamorous lawyer. All you say will be used and abused in the best possible way.

State your full name?

DQ: My name is DQ - Drama Queen

Your age?

DQ: My age – You bitch!

That remark will be noted! Occupation please?

DQ: Singer and entertainer.

What are you warring and why?

DQ: I'm warring a smashing blue dress, because I like blue. Do you like it?

Yes, but we are the ones asking questions - not you!

Tell us about this "champagne lounge". What time does it open and close?

DQ: It opens most nights at ten o'clock and closes at four.

And why do you want us to come to this champagne lounge?

DQ: Because it's the best place to be in Euroland. And because I'm there to host it and there will be a lot of fun stuff happening like sing-along and quizzing. A LOT!

Alright! Are you sure there are no hidden agendas?

DQ: hehe… Noooo! None that I know of!?

Hmmm… Will there be champagne?

DQ: We have cava. Is that okay for you?

(…)

Will there be bodyguards?

DQ: Yes of cause, lots of them, what do you think!

Will there be go-go dancers?

DQ: If anyone in the audience feels like being wild go-go dancers, then yes there will!

Meaning, that you secretly hope so!  Will there be singing?

DQ: There will be a lot of singing.

Who will sing?

DQ: ME - of cause! And of cause people from the audience will sing. Everybody can sing, 2Pixies can sing if you want to.

(…) 

So we have heard that you are good friends with Tina Turner and Birthe Kjær. Is that correct?

DQ: Oh yeah! We are very good friends you know! And I sing their songs.

Will they stop by at some point?

DQ: Maybe. You'll never know.

Alright. You said there will be quizzing.

DQ: Yes there will be quizzing and there will be good prizes too.

Okay, what can WE win?

DQ: You can win… well I will let that be a surprise.

Okay, so what are the answers for these quizzes? Where do we find the answers?

DQ: Ehh… If you now anything about Eurovision, especially this year you will know the answers. But I wont tell you.

Okay thank you for being interrogated, we will be back with more questions during the last days of Eurovision. You can go now!

DQ: And thank you for letting me go.  

If you want more of this girl #JoinUs at EuroClub.  

2nd rehearsal day for Aarzemnieki

This morning Aarzemnieki left their hotel very early to attend their 2nd rehearsal at the B&W Arena.

Today they opened the arena for the press and that gave the group someone to perform to, which added a bit more BADABING to their stage presence.

Aarzemnieki doing their thing

Total harmony on stage

And then a bow to the audience

After rehearsals it's time for the press conference.

During the short press conference they answered questions like which cakes they liked, what to drink while eating cake and Katrīna Dimanta was asked how it was for her to be in a band with three boys, when she is used to work closely together with her sisters home in Latvia. She answered that she has a big family with four brothers, so she don't think about it, she likes to work with both boys and girls.

Katrina and the boys!

Tonight Aarzemnieki will perform at Euro Fan Cafe round 21:00.
See you there!

EuroClub was Awesome-nieki

Wicked Wednesday at EuroClub turned into total Awesome-niekiness when the Latvian group took center stage, and performed for the accredited press and fans. We got some video clips for you here.

Of course they sang their Eurovision entry "Cake To Bake". Raitis on cajon (thanks to 4Sound here in Copenhagen for lending it to us!), Guntis on sax, Jöran strummed his guitar and Katrina rocked the violin!

Aarzemnieki also performed the classic Eurovision winner "Love Shine A Light". The audience was amazing - great night!

Aarzemnieki doing their sound check. Everyone is very focused.

Soundcheckin'

Time for the concert!

 

Flag fun!

Great night @ EuroClub

Come #JoinUs @Euroclub for a Wicked Wednesday!

Come and join the fun at EuroClub's Wicked Wednesday, round midnight.
Aarzeminieki will perform their Eurovision song on stage together with the artists from the Romanian entry Paula Seling and Ovi and probably many other fun acts.

Be there and be WICKED!

Win a Eurovision cake!

Now it's your chance to win a Eurovision cake from the amazing cake artists at Dessertdragen in Cakenhagen.
The cake will be delivered between 17-18 on Saturday May 3rd by Jöran from Aarzemnieki! 

To enter the competition you must go to Dessertdragens Facebook page and share the photo. Only residents in Copenhagen K, N, V and Ø cake enter.
What's not to cake?

Get your piece of Eurovision now!

Post by Dessertdragens kageværksted.

First rehearsal, first meet'n'greet, first EuroClubbing

Yesterday Aarzemnieki had their first rehearsal at the B&W arena and it was the first time the press was given an impression of the staging for their song. It looked very nice and had a nice garden party atmosphere about it. These first rehearsals are mostly for cameras and technicalities, so there could still be changes made, we guess. Here's the clip Eurovision.tv made:



After the rehearsal the band met the large group of journalists and photographers at the press centre and politely answered all their questions. You can watch it here:



This Monday night was also the opening of EuroClub, which is held at Vega. There were several of this year's performers there - among them of course Jöran! Happy as ever and chatting to everyone. He also had a chat with our friend DQ who represented Denmark in Eurovision Song Contest 2007, and they already made plans about performing together in the special "Champagne Lounge", where DQ will be entertaining accredited press, artists and fans every night for the next weeks. To conclude: a great first day!

Presentation of Aarzemnieki: Guntis

Last but certainly not least is the multi-instrumentalist Guntis, who also composed "Cake To Bake". Find out where the phenomenon space cake fits into the picture and what word he'd never say. We present Guntis!

Guntis

Age:
38, and not married.

Instrument:
Guitar, saxophone and piano.

Work/profession:
Musician, composer and employee at a casting agency for films and advertising.

If I was a cake, which cake would I be and why?
At the moment it's cake cake cake, all the time! So it's hard to answer. Right now I will say... a space cake!

When I'm not standing on a Eurovision stage, I'm….?
Just a man like everyone in the street. When I'm wearing my hat people recognises me in the street, but when I take it off I'm just ordinary.

A special/funny/weird/awkward musical moment I've had:
Once in school my teacher wanted me to take part in a music contest, but I didn't want to, but then I was told I couldn't finish the class if I didn't. I didn't practise a lot for that, so, when I was playing I suddenly forgot what I should play, and just started improvising for 7 minutes or something. Afterwards my teacher left without saying anything to me! But then the next day they told me I got 3rd place! That was funny and weird, but not sure I deserved the prize.

A person I would like to meet:
I don't have a special or famous person I'd like to meet. I like ordinary people who don't pretend to be something they aren't.

Something I would never do:
I would never say "never".

My favourite Eurovision song:
I don't know. There are many songs, but I can't choose one.
(Bonus info: Jöran told us Guntis really likes to play the saxophone part in "Der står et billede af dig på mit bord").

Aarzemnieki has reached Copenhagen!

It's hip to be square(d)!

Aarzemnieki is not that foreign any more! Today we finally met Team CakeToBake. The energy and excitement meter was full and we all needed to jump together - so we did. If you would had been @ the City Hall Square around 21:00-ish you would have experienced it first hand. We also have a video surprise coming up later (as in, maybe tomorrow). Tomorrow the band is going to have their first rehearsal at B&W, and right after meet'n'greet with the press. Be there or be square.

WELCOME TO COPENHAGEN, dear friends from Latvia!

 

Last venue before it becomes the real venue

Tomorrow this big, grey but yet festive box of surprises will become THE box to be in if you're in Copenhagen. (This box is not to be confused with "Boxen" in Herning. That's really a totally utterly completely different box you don't want to be at tomorrow) Because this box is going to be the center piece of all boxes, when it's going to welcome the first ESC participants for their first rehearsal in the light of the staged box. Can't wait! Today there's not a lot to see, but from tomorrow we'll all be like fat cats in a box.

Jöran surprises Basim with a Danish song medley

Jöran Steinhauer took the Danish artist Basim by surpise when he gave him a delicious treat by performing a medley of songs by Kim Larsen & Poul Køller in perfect pronounced Danish. 

Aarzemnieki's music video reached 50.000 views

Aarzemnieki has released their new music video to Cake To Bake, which has been created together with director Aija Strazdiņa. The video is shot in Open Air museum, in a very Latvian environment. The video has in few days already reached over 50.000 views.

Lead singer Jöran Steinhauer says:

"The idea of the video is the same as for the song – a person on their own is not able to know everything that is why they occasionally need to ask for help, which is especially challenging for men. In addition, in the moment when people are ready to ask for assistance, the others are really willing to show their support and give a hand. It is exactly what has happened during the video shooting."

He also says, the song is written in the way it is possible to sing at any time and any place having just some musical instruments and good friends around. We're looking forward to hear Cake To Bake in the Danish capital at any time!

Our Copenhagen: Where to go and who to know

Copenhagen is getting ready for Eurovision, and during the upcoming months we'll introduce you to some of our favourite things about and in our city, our Copenhagen. We won't burden you with too many generic tourist sights, you can read all about them on www.visitcopenhagen.com.
Instead we'll serve you some fresh tips on where to go and who to know. As the saying goes: Join us!

First things first. You already know we're a nation known for being proud of H.C. Andersen, our Queen and the royal family, Søren Kierkegaard, Lego and smørrebrød (open sandwiches), and people in this country have a long history with sausage, beer, bike and brunch.

Pølsevogn - get your sausage to go

1. Sausages
On Strøget and everywhere in the city centre you can find the famous "pølsevogne" (hot dog stands). They're open all year round, all days and some nights, and the most popular choices are hot dogs, french hot dogs or just a sausage and bread. In Denmark all kinds of people go to the pølsevogn. Whether you're young, old, drunk or just hungry for a quick snack - doesn't matter - everyone's welcome!

2. Beers
You know Carlsberg, you know Tuborg, but do yourself a favour and check out some of the micro breweries as well. Many bars and cafés are serving special and local beer brands. More and more breweries open their own places, for instance Mikkeller, Ølbaren, Ørsted ølbar, Søernes ølbar and Nørrebro Bryghus. Look them up on Vesterbro, Østerbro and Nørrebro.

Bikes!

3. Bikes
Everyone bikes in Copenhagen! It's easier to get around, cheaper than public transportation (which is not cheap, by the way) and often the quickest way of getting from A to B. There are several renting places around the city, and if you're planning on going all in and be a Dane for a few weeks, then you absolutely should rent a bike. Also, if you're walking - look out for the bikers! Danish cyclist have no shame, and think they're kings and queens of the streets.

5. Brunch
Danes love the café latte life, and nowadays there's even a social segment called "the café latte segment". The brunch concept won the hearts of the Danes during the 90's and has never left the building since. Danes love to meet up on cafés during the weekends and paying 150 DKK for some eggs, sausage, bread, yoghurt, fruit, cold cuts and pan cakes etc.... Value for the money? Not really, but it's cozy - and everything cosy hits home among the Danish people. A warning though. Sometimes you'll have to choose your brunch café with care depending on your location. The quality can be so-so. However, many cafés do serve some quite delicious brunch plates. Some of our favourites are: The Laundromat Café, Kalaset, Restaurant Sult and Cap Horn, if you want something organic in the heart of Nyhavn.

Latvia is going to bake a cake in Copenhagen

The winner of tonight's final in Latvia is the easy-to-spell-band Aarzemnieki with the catchy tune Cake To Bake composed by Guntis Veilands. It was the one song that stood out among the many now-pop and heavy beated productions. This one is simple, folky, acoustic, singalong-able, colourful and with some lovely retro vibes.

Happy surprise! Happy tune! Happy cake!
Welcome to Copenhagen, Aarzemnieki!

Who gets the golden medal straight to Copenhagen

Tonight's the night where Latvia is going to find the representative for Copenhagen. There'll be some special guests in the final as well, several former Latvian winners: PeR, Lithuania’s Jurga, Fomins & Kliens, Lauris Reiniks, Norman Rutulis and Tenfold Rabbit from Estonia. In other words, a lot to look forward to!

Will Latvia in the end favour the same favourites as the jury did in the semi finals? Will Latvia go for modern pop, arty music, folk or something in between? Last year the best performance won, and by judging from the semi finals it seems as the Latvias do love a good show. So ya' betta' watch out for them lights, them propz and them dancin' moves!

Actually, it's not exclusive for Latvians - YOU can vote as well on LTV's website by using Facebook or Twitter.

Dziesma 2014 running order

The running order in Dziesma 2014 has been announced:

1. Revelation - Ralfs Eilands & Valters Pūce
2. Lights on - Markus Riva
3. Moment and tomorrow - Katrīna Bindere
4. Pēdējā vēstule - Dons
5. Stay - Samanta Tīna
6. Here I am again - Niko
7. Going All the Way My - RadiantU
8. Saule riet - Olga un Līgo
9. I can breathe - Aminata Savadogo
10. Cake To Bake - Aarzemnieki
11. If I Could Get Away - Eirošmits
12. You Are The Reason - Katrine Lukins

Looks like it will be a very exciting final on February 22nd in Ventspils! Pixies will be watching! Stay tuned!

Photo from Eurovision Club Latvia

More info @ LTV