On October 25, 2002, in San Remo, Italy, Arto Lindsay was awarded the prestigious Tenco Prize for songwriting. Previous winners of the Italian award are Laurie Anderson and Elvis Costello. Two days later, after a performance with his band in Catania, Sicily, the great volcano Mount Etna erupted, raining ash on the city and forcing its residents to carry umbrellas. In a strange coincidence, Etna had last erupted in July of 2001: the same time as Arto’s previous appearance in Catania! For more on Arto’s uncanny knowledge of plate tectonics, go
here.