Old Town School – On The Road

Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.

Somewhere In the World

Somewhere in the world someone is unable to sleep, a long way from home and restless. Somewhere in the world someone is thinking of loved ones, wishing to know what they might be doing at a single given moment; wondering with whom they may be talking, or on what they might be working. Somewhere in the world someone listens through a deep morning quiet, replaying scenes and events which led them to a place and circumstance before now they could not have imagined.

This morning I am all of these and none of these. It is five o’clock and I have popped awake after only four short hours of sleep. The sky is gray, as it has been since we landed in Stockholm. Rain dribbles down, tapping upon shingle and window pane making a kind of music that is somehow familiar, but again unlike the sound of rain against my window in Riverside, Illinois.

Last night, Paul, Colby, John and I played a wonderful concert at Reunenan Gallery, a basement photography studio seven minutes walking distance from Helsinki’s city center. Juha Reunenan is a soft-spoken man and the proprietor. By showtime, he, his son and his daughter Laura, transformed their busy space into a funky elegant concert venue, complete with backdrop, stage lighting and a headless female mannequin torso partially clad in one of Paul’s short sleeved shirts and a black scarf.

Perhaps thirty-five listeners were in attendance and as an audience, they were simply lovely. After the show, Juha ordered sandwiches and a small party began to unfold. Having slept only about ninety minutes apiece since leaving Chicago, we four were exhausted yet jubilant. We played and sang well, remembered all of our parts and weaved together a musically interactive and varied program. We enjoyed each other and were thankful for the gracious hospitality of our hosts and audience.

Before long our gear was loaded into a taxi cab and we piled in. We sped into the damp summer dusk out of Helsinki, towards the village where the main event of our visit is to take place, the Rootsinpyhyaa Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival and Rendezvous. A little more than an hour later, the van pulled up a gravel road and stopped in front of an old country house where Wasal Arar waited to welcome us in. Wasal is one of the main movers and shakers who made our visit to Finland possible. He showed us our rooms and showed us how the showers work. Bottles of beer were opened for Wasal, Paul and I, and Colby and John each poured a small glass of a black liquor drink called Salmiakki.

Wasal speaks English well. He is intelligent and articulate and thoughtful. And he knows a whole hell of a lot about American bluegrass music. We are looking forward to jamming with him later tonight, and looking forward to hearing his band perform at the festival tomorrow.

So far on our adventure, we’ve encountered only people who are friendly and generous, eager to make us welcome and comfortable. For a million dollars though, I couldn’t tell you how to find us. The only clue I can offer is we are in Finland, somewhere in the world east of Helsinki. There are trees all around and we are near a river. All is wet and quiet and beautiful.

My cell phone doesn’t work out here, so you can’t call me and I can’t call you. And it will be hours before I can get to a place to make an internet connection. If you do happen to be looking for us, please take your time. We like it here a great deal.

Filed under: DMT in Finland,Finland,Notes from Mark by Mark | June 6, 2009 | Comments (1)

Weary Prodigal Come

Pohjanmaan kautta means “Cheers!” in Finland, and I am wondering how to say it. Is it po-SZHYAN-mahn? Or PO-john-man? Is it KAW-ta?

I looked it up on line and learned the more literal translation is “down the hatch,” which I haven’t heard in any language in a long time. The last time may have been on a Three Stooges episode I saw when I was a kid.

I am honored then, to represent the Old Town School of Folk Music along with my colleagues Colby Maddox and Dr. Paul Tyler for a whirlwind tour of Finland as part of Bau Graves’ international faculty exchange program. We three are being billed as DMT (pronounced Moe, Larry, Curly). Bassist John Abbey will also be joining us for the shows, and we are mighty glad of it. Everybody knows there were really four Stooges.

Here’s what I know about Finland so far: In June, it is daylight almost the whole time. In Finland, it is unmannerly to wear your BVD’s in the sauna. In Finland, they eat a lot of fish. And reindeer. Helsinki is the largest city and is only 437 miles from the Arctic Circle. That’s roughly the distance between Chicago and Dover, Tennessee, where I met a retired tobacco farmer at a music festival last week. Though he acknowledged having been north of Paducah, Kentucky only twice in his entire lifetime (Chicago both times), he cautioned me to be careful around the women in Finland. He also said it’s cold there.

I am looking forward to meeting our hosts Juha and Wasel. I am excited about the chance to play and sing with Colby, Paul and John, all of whom are excellent musicians and dedicated instructors. We’ve rehearsed well over the last six weeks or so and have found some musically exciting common ground. We’re a little bluegrass, a little old-timey and somewhat folky. “Just good” is what I would say. That’s vain hyva in Finland.

WEARY PRODIGAL COME
God is calling the prodigal “Come without delay”
Hear oh hear him calling, calling now for thee
Patient, loving and tender lie still the Father’s plea
Hear His loving voice calling still

Calling out for thee
Weary prodigal come, weary prodigal come
Calling out for thee
Oh weary prodigal come, weary prodigal come

Come there’s bread in the house of the Father and to spare
Hear oh hear him calling, calling now for thee
Lo and the table is spread and the feast is waiting there
Hear His loving voice calling still

Calling out for thee
Weary prodigal come, weary prodigal come
Calling out for thee
Oh weary prodigal come, weary prodigal come

- from The Carter Family

Filed under: DMT in Finland,Finland,Notes from Mark by Mark | June 3, 2009 | Comments (1)


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