As I said, I have been talking to Henning, the leader of this Danish Joni cover band. I told him that I had a large group of friends that can't read Danish but would love to know more about Big Yellow Taxi and how the duo came to be. This was his wonderful response:
Henning Olsen: "The main reason that I play the music of Joni Mitchell is of course that it is such good tunes, fantastic harmonies and the words that I can "catch" are very deep and wise.It is a special universe and such an outstanding feeling to hear the songs, right from her early days and till now. She has allways had, what makes a person a star, that isn4t created by the medias. I got the idea to play the music of Joni Mitchell because I wanted to combine a duo with the music of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, and I once heard a girl who sang "Carey" in a way that impressed me. I was also atracted by the idea of a little acoustic group that could put up a little "gear" in 10 minutes and make an intimite atmosphere. I use 2 or 3 guitars so that I don4t have to tune all the time. Sometimes a 12-string to make the illusion of a "guitar and a dulcimer". When we first started on Joni Mitchell, I thought that it was very interesting (specially the tunings) and we just wanted to try new songs all the time, and now our duo "BIG YELLOW TAXI" nearly only plays Joni Mitchell. Of course I still love the songs of James Taylor, but they are for another costallation. I have used the JMDL webside a lot, and am very greatful to the people that have shared the TABS and the LYRICS. Without it, it might not be possible for me to play many of the special-tuned songs. In the summer of 2001 I decided that I would try to find another female vocalist and , as if it was destined ,I was lucky to find the first one (Christina Friis-Nielsen) I contacted in a magasine with Musicians search musicians. One in a million. I was convinced that we could play many different places and that people in Denmark would think that it was fantastic to be reminded of these fantastic songs, either at cafes, libraries, receptions, galleries and private parties, but there haven4t been the response that we have hoped for. Joni Mitchell is not known to common people in Denmark. Especially not if they are younger than 35. From the beginning we agreed that it is the love to the music that shall run the game, so we carry on.This summer you can hear us at the streets of Copenhagen." Big Yellow Taxi is: Christina Friis-Nielsen: Vocal Henning Olsen: guitars and vocal
