Paul Sterk is a Dutch novelist. He is also a columnist for Bospop, an international rock- and pop music festival in the Netherlands. Saturday 1^st of August he will be in the Whale Museum in Húsavík to talk about The Giants of Húsavík, a band from the Netherlands and to present their CD.  Where else in the world is a better place to present an album of a band called The Giants of Húsavík? Everyone is velcome to join this event.

In December 2008 Paul Sterk's novel "Via Stars and Mermaids" has been published. (Only available in Dutch as "Via sterren en zeemeerminnen.") A better definition might be: rock ‘n' roll road novel, because there is a lot of music in it. The novel is about a man who searching for authenticity and answers to the questions of life. It also is a story about coincidence. In order to find answers this man travels from the Netherlands to the USA. He remembers the songs that are important in his life. With a stopover in Iceland the main character will return home. The novel ends with a happy end under the Icelandic sky. In the book are also some flashbacks about Iceland, including Húsavík. The Dutch press said about Paul Sterk's novel: "lovely!", "inventive and modern writing" and "an uncommon debut".

"Via Stars and Mermaids" is a rock ‘n' roll road story about coincidence. But there is more Icelandic and musical coincidence. Just when the novel came out, Paul Sterk heard of a new pop group with the name The Giants of Húsavík.

The Giants of Húsavík is a project of two musicians, singer Maurits Westerik of the Dutch rock band GEM, and Jason Kohnen, better known as break core guru Bong-Ra. The first album of The Giants of Húsavík was recorded in 2008 in Sandgerði, Iceland. They were inspired by waterfalls, geysers, big skies, trolls and whales. However, Maurits and Jason never visited Húsavík. Their album is critically acclaimed in serious Dutch pop music magazines. The Giants of Húsavík played in May 2009 in the Netherlands a concert with musicians with Icelandic roots: Valgeir Sigurdsson and Ben Frost.

Paul Sterk talked with the band about their name and their music, his rock novel and about Húsavík. The idea came up to present their album in Húsavík in the Whale Museum. This presentation is a symbolic gesture to all the people of Húsavík.

For the future, Paul Sterk and the band are thinking about doing more for Húsavík. They already have a name for that: The Húsavík Project. Some ideas... Paul will write about this project. And The Giants of Húsavík would like to play in Húsavík someday, of course.  Maybe it would be interesting if local artists and musicians could join this project. Anything is be possible in this project.

Hopefully the Húsavík Project will be continued after the presentation in the Whale Museum...

Paul Sterk

Novel: Via Sterren en Zeemeerminnen (Via Stars and Mermaids, 2008. Uitgeverij TIC / TIC Publishers, Maastricht, The Netherlands)

Columnist for Bospop, a music festival in Weert, the Netherlands. Headliners which had played Bospop include Neil Young, ZZ Top, Sting, Santana, Doors, Roxy Music, Simply Red, Toto, UB40, Status Quo, Bryan Adams, Joe Cocker, John Fogerty and many others.

Website: http://www.paulsterk.nl/ and http://www.bospop.nl/

The Giants of Húsavík

IN A CABIN WITH: http://www.inacabinwith.com/site/ for downloading or buying the album The Giants of Húsavík. Or for a blog of The Giants of Húsavík, about recording their first album in Sandgerði.

Music: http://www.myspace.com/thegiantsofhusavik