Klavs Andreassen

The song - 'Min nabo har lige klippet hæk' - could be translated ' My neighbor just cut his hedge' - it's a song about two neighbors - one had just sat down to enjoy a beer from the local brewery - an Ale nr. 16 - as it's called. When the neighbor on the other side starts his noisy lawn cutter - and it seems as if this noisy neighbor is provided with all the equipment you can deal with in the garden - all motorized, polluting and noisy.

“Goodbye and good riddance” (in Danish, “Goodbye and tobacco!”)

-sings the Danish troubadour, who quit smoking when he made a contract with himself.

It was precisely a Martin guitar, Klavs Andreassen from the Danish duo DET LYSNER fell deeply in love with, one summer´s day, in the city of Aarhus.

In reality, he had visited the guitar shop - Akustikken – to buy an amplifier – but the shop-owner, Ole Abildgaard, couldn´t resist presenting one of his more rare items - a left-handed

Klavs Andreassen, who is a left-handed guitarist, very rarely has a new guitar in his hands where the strings are “the right way ´round” – and certainly not of the quality and price-level

What kept him, in the first instance, from buying the guitar, was just that – the price – which, it goes without saying, lies at the more expensive end of the scale. But, he was sold – in love, seduced and tortured. It resulted in sleepless nights – and the little sleep he got was filled with passionate dreams of the guitar.

Suddenly, the solution appeared – like a revelation! He had long fought with quitting smoking. He had even composed, written the lyrics to, and recorded a song, which, both long and short term, had proved its use when smokers wanted to give up their vice.

The song had received innumerable testimonials from ex-smokers, who had stopped with the help of the song, which, quite simply, is titled “Goodbye and Tobacco!” (Danish for “Goodbye and good riddance”)

Now it finally began to look as though this “long term hypnosis” had begun to work on the author himself.

Along with the order, Klavs Andreassen made a contract with himself – that he could only own and play his new acquisition so long as he didn´t smoke.

He received the precious package with the post, July 26, 2005 – the day of his father´s 89^th birthday. The parcel was opened with extreme care. Again he was met by the awe-inspiring sight of a top-quality guitar, where every detail is lovingly crafted and the finish totally perfect.

In spite of the long journey, it was well-tuned and he relived the same moving experience as when he had sat with the guitar for the first time. It was as if it played itself – and the very first day, it produced the melody for a song about meeting its happy owner.

Klavs Andreassen had been smoke-free for four days. The only help he had to fight withdrawal symptoms and the urge to light a cigarette was the joy of looking forward to the next reunion with his new love.

“There we sat – my new guitar and I – time and space disappeared – I was again seduced by the strings´ crisp sound, and not least, by the scent of the precious woods that make up the body and neck of the instrument. I have now been smoke-free for more than a half year, and dare guarantee, that I won´t “fall off the wagon.” That´s why I can tell this story now –

“Goodbye and Tobacco!” (Goodbye and good riddance!) – a song that works – especially if one, like Klavs Andreassen, at the same time satisfies a burning desire. He quit smoking from the moment he first held his new Martin guitar.

A Martin guitar is the ultimate instrument, and has been instrumental in the making of many a musical legend. Bob Dylan, for example, composed most of his songs on this unsurpassed instrument.

In Denmark, it is imported by “Akustikken” – a music-shop in Aarhus that has specialized in having a selection of guitars for connoisseurs.

DET LYSNER have released 2 CDs with their own lyrics and music. They call their musical genre “Fúnenish Folk Blues” (They live on the Danish island of Fùnen). The previously mentioned song “Goodbye and Tobacco!” (“Farvel og Tobak!”) – is from their 2^nd album –

“Det går s´gu nok!” (”It´ll be all bloody right!”) They are probably most known for the song,

Their 3^rd album is to be released in the Fall, and includes a tribute to the legendary guitar.