Sahara Hotnights Professionals
by Patricia O'Cone

Amid the tourist tornado that is Rockefeller Plaza/NBC Studios, two obvious foreigners join the first audience lining up for "Late Night with Carson Daly." Hirsute and suited, their chests proclaim their purpose: They're here for Sahara Hotnights.

The two men tell the throng of waiting Carmen Electra and Ali G fans they are the band's "biggest fans." This appearance on "Carson Daly" marks the band's premiere on an American late-night talk show and the start of a 35-date North American tour for the Fab Four from Sweden. Although America's largely asleep and therefore bypasses the "TRL" host's 1:35 a.m. slot, Alexander Johansson and Johan Johannesson traveled thousands of miles to be there, and they wouldn't miss it for the world. Together, they have seen the Sahara Hotnights perform a couple dozen times in Europe; by the end of their US vacation, they will add another 15 shows.

The enthusiasm of the world-weary and slightly jet-lagged fans is contagious. The two Swedes easily charm and amuse the other waiting audience members, making comparisons between Sahara Hotnights' debut to the Beatles' Ed Sullivan appearance, correcting the nasally Northeastern pronunciations ("Sa-hoor-ra Haught Nights!"). They frustrate NBC's security with their many bags and steel-tipped boots. Pony-tailed, sporting pressed pinstriped suits and full of smiles, Alexander, a hardware salesman, and Johan, a mechanical engineer, could be Sweden's cuter and worthier version of Wayne and Garth. Tonight is a double header: After the almost two-hour "Late Night" ordeal, they (and the band) hightail it downtown to the Hotnights' sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom.

At first, Alexander and Johan's obsession seems a bit strange — they don't partake in what one generally considers "fun" at a show. They don't dance — they have been to so many Sahara Hotnights shows and heard the songs so many times that they are dancing-disabled. Immune to the rock riffs, they only bop their heads to the beat and smile. They don't drink to excess. They don't even fancy a particular member of the Sahara Hotnights. They are, in their mind, "Sahara Hotnights professionals."

The two consider themselves to be Europe's Sahara Hotnights ambassadors to America, and their mission is an altruistic one. They plan on videotaping every US performance they attend to showcase the American shows to their European fans. They don't receive payment for their documentation services — this is purely for the love of the rock.

Nor are they supported or formally affiliated in any way with the Sahara Hotnights. They simply log onto the Sahara Hotnights website and coordinate their itineraries accordingly. They make their own arrangements (a quick peek at their travel book reveals a highly organized black binder — separated by city and categorized by date — about 100 laminated pages of ticket confirmations, hotel information and MapQuest directions), exchange e-mails and international phone calls with the venues and drive themselves from city to city with their own sense of direction and intuition. The three-mile trip to the next night's show, in Hoboken, N.J., takes them three hours to travel from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Maxwell's. (Lincoln Tunnel, anyone?).

To them, following Sahara Hotnights is part hobby, part vacation. Before following the Sahara Hotnights, they followed another, more heavily made-up, quartet, KISS, around the globe, lending creedence to their contention that "We're not doing this for the girls." Following the Sahara Hotnights also gives them fun and interesting reasons to visit international locations — in this case, America. "People think it's crazy to go to America and see 15 concerts," Johan says. "But I think it's crazier to go to the Mediterranean and lie on the beach, drink beers and get wasted — that's stranger for me."

It's expensive being a professional fan — this particular trip will cost approximately $2,000 for transportation and lodging. Because they videotape the shows and give the band a copy, they don't have to pay to enter the venues, guest listing it the whole way. They finance their trips by forgoing partying at home. Socialism is another helpful factor: Sweden, having more of a socialist bent than the United States, has five weeks paid vacation, making several annual, extended international trips possible.

Why the Sahara Hotnights? Why not the Hives ("They are more famous here in America," Johan said.) or Soundtrack of Our Lives or one of Sweden's other seemingly endless supply of exportable bands? The Sahara Hotnights, as a band, is tight, the group's lyrics are sound, they rock out live.

But what is it that compels a mechanical engineer and hardware salesman — who remember, lack groupie attraction — to travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to follow a band? Johan explains: "We think it's a Beatles-thing or a KISS-thing: You have four [members] who are ... if you meet them on the street, you can tell they are from the Sahara Hotnights because ..." He's at a loss for words, the Swedish emotions inside of him not translating into English.

"They have real star quality," Alex says. "They are four individual pieces that are really strong together ... it's not a band with a frontman. It's like comparing [them] to the Beatles ... it's pure star quality. When you see them together, it's like they have a gloria [halo] over their heads in some ways — it really feels like that, it's really shining around them."

Influenced by the old pictures of the Beatles and KISS, Alex and Johan see touring along with the Sahara Hotnights as an opportunity to see rock history in the making. They hope their hard work, experiences and photographs will be admired years from now, when fans wax nostalgic about the early days of Sahara Hotnights. They want to be able to say in 15 years, at the karaoke bars, or while a cover band plays Sahara Hotnights song, "We were there when it happened!" For both, this is a gamble in rock posterity — to be able to be the quintessential authority to future Sahara Hotnights fans.

With all of this preparation, coordination and money, don't they secretly have a favorite member of the Sahara Hotnights? They demur, "It's cheaper to go to a club than to follow these girls around — [this is] an emotional investment." It takes some prodding, but they finally confess their secret, using yet another Beatles analogy. It's the manager, the fifth Sahara Hotnight.

E-mail Patricia O'Cone at pkocone@hotmail.com.