Ding dong! Get the door, Günther's just cum

Swedish Pleasureman Günther and his Sunshine Girls tra-la-la to town

Yale's first month of 2006 had its share of clangs and bangs: Alan Kennedy-Shaffer, DC '06, took his last stand against the YCC E-board; Jason Abromaitis, TD '07, eviscerated faces on the basketball court; a tanker dumped 2,000 gallons of gasoline into the New Haven harbor; radiators continued to explode in Pierson College, steam ate away at the Sterling Memorial Library's Cambodian collection; floodwaters penetrated Connecticut Hall's computer cluster. Perhaps these January calamities reflected nervous anticipation towards the arrival of Swedish recording artist Günther. He will appear in hisfirst U.S. concert Fri., Feb. 3, at 10 p.m. in Commons Dining Hall and willfeature campus rap group 108 Tongues, led by Gabe Hernandez, DC '07, as the concert's opening act. The Yale College Council (YCC) and the Committee for Campus-Wide Activities (CCA) have allotted up to $16,000 to host Günther, along with two of his managers, and his backup singers, the Sunshine Girls, for two nights in New Haven. Yet who is this Günther?

The main source for Günther info has beenhis gunthernet.com. Thewebsite features plenty of photos and four music videos, including "The Ding Dong Song," his signature tune,better known as the "you touch my tra-la-la" song. According to the semi-reliable Wikipedia, Mats Söderlund, age 36, was a model and a club owner in Malmö, Sweden before embarking on his musical career as Pleasureman Günther. His chart accomplishments include three Swedish No. 1 songs from 2004: "The Ding Dong Song" (No. 37 Eurochart), "Teeny Weeny String Bikini" (No. 23 Eurochart), and "Touch Me" featuringSamantha Fox (No. 20 Eurochart). All of themappeared on Günther's Pleasureman album, released in the United States in 2005.

Though Günther gained in Europe for his persona as an international playboy with a sexy accent, sensuous lips, hot backup singers, and a long mullet, he has had very little exposure in the U.S. Günther first acquired American fans in the fall of 2004, when the humor website eBaums-World posted a link to his "Ding Dong" video. Along with O-Zone's Romanian Eurochart No. 1 "Dragostea Din Tei" and Eric Prydz's sexy "Call On Me" video, Günther's hit made Europop fashionable across American colleges.

Yale was not immune to the Europop addiction: Agroup of Saybrook freshmen, led by Mike Lehmann, SY '08, was inspired by Günther's music to throw Günther-palooza, a party held on Jan. 28, 2005 that spanned three entryways and eight suites in Lanman-Wright Hall. The party's centerpiece was a seven-foot-tall fountain with a photo of Günther on it, designed by architecture major Peter Maxwell, SY '08, which supplied 30 gallons of punch throughout the night to the biggest Old Campus party of the school year. "We got the idea to have the party because I kept annoying my roommate with the ‘Ding Dong Song' ringtone," Lehmann said. "And then we realized that it would be a great idea to throw a party in Günther's honor."

Nine months later, as sophomores, the Saybrook 12-packproved they had kept Günther near to their hearts. "I wondered, ‘What would it take to get him to visit us at Yale?'" Lehmann said. "So I started sending e-mails to his managers through the website." Lehmann's suitemate, Ian Tattersall, SY '08, added, "We were mostly skeptical about his attempts." Then, one of Günther's managers, Olaf Ringsberg, responded to Tattersall's e-mail:"Off 'cause [of course], we can bring Günther to Yale." The 12-pack, however, could not afford to pay for Günther's visit to the United States. "We didn't have money for him and the Sunshine Girls, but I continued to correspond with Olaf, Henrik Uhlmann, and Günther's U.S. agent, Mayar Zokaei, into the fall, hoping that something will happen," Lehmann said.

Lehmann's hopes were answered with the creation of the CCA in November. The CCA funds, totaling near $25,000,make up a share of total disbursement of revenues that the controversial optional student-activities fee generated. "Any undergrad could apply for CCA funds to host an event at Yale," YCC and CCA representative Bill Fishel, CC '08, said. "The only requirement is that the event is open to all undergrads."

When Lehmann learned of this available pool of money, the 12-pack hastily prepared a budget to bring Günther to Yale for a concert. Their application was approved by the CCA, the YCC, and the Yale College Dean's Office within a week. "We were lucky that Günther was planning his first U.S. tour for the spring of 2006," Lehmann said. "And we were able to convince Günther to come to Yale not only because of the CCA allotment, but also because, among various concert requests from colleges across the U.S., we impressed Günther's managers the most with our photos from Günther-palooza 2005."

Though getting Günther to come to Yale has been a tremendous accomplishment for the persistent Saybrook sophomores, their work is hardly done: They are also in charge of promoting the concert and taking care of Günther when he's at Yale. Günther's busy schedule includes a limo ride to New Haven from the JFK Airport, a two-night stay at the Omni Hotel, a Master's Tea in Saybrook College the afternoon before the concert, and an exclusive post-tea dinner in the Saybrook Master's house.Master Mary Miller, GRD '81, appeared somewhat excited to host the man with a plan to sexualize the world, though she refused to recognize him as an artist. "If you look carefully at our [Master's Tea] posters, they call him a ‘Swedish pop sensation'," Miller said.

The 12-Pack and Fishel, their YCC/CCA liaison, are encouraging Yale students to get excited for Günther's arrival, despite the skepticism this unusual concert has gathered from the student body. "When people say that Günther is trashy, they're not approaching him in a proper way," Tattersall said. Trashy, apparently, is good overseas: "You could call his style ‘Eurotrash,' but it's not a bad thing," added Dylan Stern, SY '08. "His whole persona is an act, his music is about having fun, and Yalies should go to his concert to have a good time."

So what does the student body really think of Günther? A survey conducted by the Herald found that 10 percent of the 300 respondents still have no idea who Günther is, 45 percent knew of Günther by May 2005, and 20 percent found out about Günther only after the concert announcement. As for the $16,000 investment, 20 percent considered it worthwhile, and 60 percent were opposed to the high price tag. The remaining 20 percent vowed to decide after the concert. Still, despite his price, Günther has fascinated Yale minds: 45 percent of those surveyed stated they were likely to attend the concert. Indeed, the 1,500 free ticketsissued through YaleStation on Wed., Feb. 2, sold out withinnine hours, according to Yale Station chair Will Tsui, BR '06.

Not even the most skilled New Haven fortune-tellers could predict how Günther's performance will go with Yale student body, anuncertainty that has fueled anticipation for the concert. "The concert will be rocking Friday night and it'll be historical,because Günther has never performed in the U.S. before," Fishel said.

Will Günther touch Yale's tra-la-la this weekend? Looks like going to the concert—or, perhaps, sneaking into the Omni—may be the best way to find out.

Original Source: http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=4443
Author: Ivan Dremov

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