Music will demonstrate that it's the universal language ÷ somebody tell Chomsky to stop looking ÷ when Citrus hits the Old Pueblo today.
Citrus, a Southern California band fronted by former UA student Jesper Andreasson, will perform today on the UA Mall stage to promote its newest album, io. The show starts at noon.
None of the Los Angeles group's members was born in the United States. Andreasson (lead vocals/guitar) was born and raised in Sweden, Thomas Hjorth (lead guitar) and Mikkel Heimburger (bass) in Denmark, and Franck Fiser (drums) in France.
"It was pretty random to meet all European guys in the middle of L.A.," Andreasson said of Citrus, which formed four years ago. "I didn't set out to form an all-Euro band. It just so happened to come together like that."
Although he walked in his cap and gown for a graduation ceremony, Andreasson isn't quite a UA alumnus because he never completed the last three units of his film degree.
But don't tell that to his grandparents, who flew in from Sweden for his "graduation."
"I try to keep up the lie to this day," Andreasson said.
Andreasson said he made a couple of film shorts while he was here but eventually felt it was time to leave.
"I was into art and didn't know how to express it," he said. "I wasn't really sure if it was through film or through music that I wanted to express the art I kept hearing in my head."
Andreasson obviously chose music, but playing in bands was nothing new. He'd been playing since junior high, when he played the guitar and wrote his band's songs.
Andreasson said he got tired of singers singing his songs the wrong way. Then, in 2000, he brought out the old voice box and tested his pipes.
"Whether that was vision or ego, I'm not sure to this day," said Andreasson, adding that he hadn't thought his voice was very good when he started singing.
Regardless, io seems to be gaining some success and stage time. On Jan. 23, Citrus played at the Sundance Film Festival and again in February for a fund raiser with Jack Black called "Neuterpalooza."
Critics say Citrus is reminiscent of British melancholics such as Coldplay, Radiohead and Starsailor.
Andreasson said the band gets that label because its music doesn't follow pop music formulas with its own version of moody tunes and obtuse songwriting. Andreasson described Citrus' music as romantic and dark and said he likes lyrics that leave a lot open for interpretation.
"If you don't know what's completely being said, you can make it your own," he explained.
When Citrus played Neuterpalooza last month, Black opened up for them.
"He'd been given a guitar by George Lucas, like a Star Wars guitar, specially designed for him," Andreasson said. " So he was super-pumped to play that for the first time in public. He played the Star Wars theme ÷ sort of like a pseudo, heavy metal, vocal version of the Star Wars theme. It was a fun night."
The trip to the Sundance show was a little less entertaining. The proverbial shit hit the fan when the transmission on the band's van went out around 50 miles outside of Las Vegas, while the van was descending a steep hill.
"When the transmission gave out, we thought that was it," Andreasson said. "Then suddenly, the brakes gave out, and suddenly one of the belts snapped. At that point, we had no brakes, no transmission and the only thing that was working was the AM radio. And so we're barreling down this hill at 80 miles an hour trying not to hit anything in our way."
The 10-hour trip from L.A. ended up lasting more than 19 hours after Citrus pulled onto a side road and had to be towed in.
"I guess it's good that we're alive, first of all, but when one thing starts going wrong, it starts going downhill, literally," Andreasson said. He said the band was able to laugh at the absurdness of it all.
Andreasson said he's looking forward to seeing how Tucson has changed as a town, if at all, when he comes back.
"I got a thing out of Tucson that I kind of get out of L.A., too ÷ it's kind of like an anonymity," he said. "It's a place where people go to be anonymous and to blend in."
As for the UA show, Andreasson said live performance are what Citrus both likes and wants the most.
"We're much better live," Andreasson said. "Playing live is how bands become what they are."