Old Town School – On The Road
Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.
Why Finns
Finns hold back until they can give you a genuine response. Being from God fearing, Southern Illinois stock, I was prepared for the reserved part, but I was genuinely surprised and constantly charmed by how genuine Finns can be. It might take a few beers, or it might take until the end of the night but I was often locked into close conversation with folks. This kind of talking did not feel selfish, invasive or demanding and only occurred after some initial relationship had been established.
Matti, banjo player for the Clayhill Brothers, approached me on Thursday night to talk about how he got his banjo from Chip Covington 20 years ago, and how he had the chance to take a lesson with Bill Keith. We hit it off right away and shared stories about Chip, a mutual friend, and about Bill Keith’s curious fascination with the Circle of Fifths as a teaching tool. After a really great Friday night jam session at the bar (good rhythm, good turn taking, no contests), Matti secured a drink for me and began to talk about how he regretted not keeping up with the tall, boastful American who had sold him his first banjo. Matti was truly savoring the moment and allowing his emotions to bubble out like sweat from a good Sauna, and it was a surprising change from the usual “beer stories” that guys like to exchange.
Juha Reunanen, the owner of the venue we played at on Thursday night, found himself holding my mandolin about 30 seconds after I found out that he played mandolin. He played beautifully, and I figured if I gave it some time and slept on his floor for a few hours we would have some things to talk about later. Just before the show he introduced me to his musical friend who first gave him a mandolin, and as we were leaving he and his daughter Laura were overjoyed to receive a copy of the OTSFM songbook. A few days later I got an e-mail from Juha saying that Laura “got so carried away, that she is willing to pick up the fiddle after
years break.” Juha finally ended up in my Monday mandolin workshop where he picked everything up at lightning speed and was the first in line for my chord handouts at the end.
Kaisa, a musician and actor in the re-enactment camp, took on a whole bluegrass band with her accordion and beautiful singing at a late night Saturday night session. As the night wore on she was singing new verses to Shady Grove in Finish. The next evening when we returned to the camp we continued to exchange tunes with Kaisa, and by the time Paul and I had agreed on the titles, she had figured out the whole tune. Right click on this link to hear a sample.
After our Monday workshop in Helsinki we were treated to an incredible dinner by the folks at the Kansanmusiikkiopisto Folk Music School, and Kaisa dropped by after her work to say goodbye. Over a dinner of Reindeer meat and a dessert of fresh strawberries we got a chance to talk a little. She explained that her sister was attending the Sibelius Academy and that she had chosen to work a regular job, participate in a small theater company and enjoy developing her music at her own pace.
Wasel Arar, our endlessly friendly and helpful host, did not let on that he was a mandolinist until day two of our stay. Dressed in 19th century clothes from the re-enactment camp and sporting perfect English and a taste for American humor (both picked up from the American school he attended as a kid in Helsinki), Wasel became our bridge between Finnish and American sensibilities. By lunch on Friday I was playing early 20th century American instruments with a Finnish guy dressed up like an American frontier banker, and by late afternoon we were all crammed into a sauna cracking beers with our shaman, tour guide Wasel–mildly surreal.
Turns out Wasel is a really good mando picker, and I loaned him my mandolin on Saturday to play on stage with The Blue Velvet Band–his traditional bluegrass band. I spent the late part of Sunday evening playing Mark’s guitar while Wasel ripped through a bunch of bluegrass standards on my mandolin and Mark, John and Paul whooped it up with the Fins from the re-enactment camp (it takes a village to sell a mandolin).
Wasel arrived at our Monday workshop in Helsinki still in period costume handed me his 1996 Gilchrist Mandolin in exchange for my 2005 Gibson Sam Bush and sat down to participate in the workshop. I am honored to have one of the leading Finnish bluegrass teachers and musicians taking my class, thrilled to play his legendary and incredible mandolin, and floored at how fast the Finns are able to pick up the tunes I am teaching.
As the workshop is breaking up, Wasel lets me know he has decided to buy my Gibson. In the middle of making payment arrangements we find out that both of us lost our fathers and went through stressful legal battles in 2006, the same year that I won the Gibson at a Colorado competition. We took some time to share our experiences, went out to an excellent dinner with Lassi and and Maija from Kansanmusikkiopisto Folk School, and then Wasel maxed out his ATM card and brought two big piles of Euros to my hotel room in exchange for his new instrument–very surreal.
Filed under: DMT in Finland, Finland 2009, Notes from Colby by Colby | June 13, 2009 | Comments (0)
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