Old Town School – On The Road

Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.

A Finnish Update

Thursday June 4th 2009

Flew through the non existent night and after transferring in Stockholm finally arrived in Helsinki around 11 am local time.
Hano met us at the airport and we cabbed it to the gallery where we have tonights gig. Our host Juha is tremendous..plying us with coffee and Finnish brandy.
We finally got about 2 hrs of sleep in the venue this afternoon, woke up rehearsed a bit had some more coffee and brandy and in about 30min the show will begin.
A summation of the day to come later:
A beautiful gig…2 sets, about 40 people attending…the transformation from photography studio to concert hall was amazing.
After the gig we packed our bags and took a long taxi ride to Ruotsinpyhtaa and some sleep.
We were met at our hotel ( a 2 unit bed and breakfast) by Wasel Arar. He seems almost singlehandedly responsible for the Bluegrass scene in Finland…a fine banjo player, guitarist and singer.

Friday June 5
We all finally got a good nights sleep. The town we’re in is tiny (even by Finnish standards) and gorgeous and right on a lake.
After a casual day Wasel took us to have a Fin style sauna….sweating in 90 degree C then jumping into the ice cold lake…back to the heat…back to the lake…and repeat….aahhh.
Immediately after we were at the only bar/restaurant in town for an all night jam session.
So many great players here, totally entrenched in the Old Time and Bluegrass syles.
We all had a blast playing song after song with about 10 other musicians…Colby and Paul were especially on fire.
More to follow soon.
JA

Filed under: DMT in Finland,Finland,Notes from John by John | June 6, 2009 | Comments (0)

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)

Ensemble classes at Sibelius

ensembleclass2.mp3

This is the ensemble class taught by Olli Varis. These students are also in their second year. They were making new arrangements of traditional tunes. It was great to listen to them! I shared song from Michoacan called “Jucheti Consuelito”, and Bau taught us “Lay Down Little Doggies.”

Maria :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 22, 2008 | Comments (1)

Flatbush Waltz

flatbush_waltz_sirba.mp3

When we were in Helsinki, we visited the Sibelius Academy’s Folk Music Department.

This is a recording of one of the ensemble classes playing Flatbush Waltz and a song named Sirba from Romania.. These students are in their second year at the school, and their teacher is Eero Grundstrom, a former student of the Folk Music Department. There were two clarinet players in the class, one of whom has a Klezmer band.

Maria :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 22, 2008 | Comments (0)

Barbie Clogs

Barbie’s class was really fun. Steve, Bau and I got to accompany them…

Maria :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 18, 2008 | Comments (0)

Jouhikko

This instrument is totally awesome. This is Emilia Lajunen showing Bau and I how the Jouhikko works. I totally want one!

Maria :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 18, 2008 | Comments (3)

Boogie Teaches

Boogie’s class was awesome! She taught us a West Coast step called “The Mike and Ike!”

Maria :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 18, 2008 | Comments (0)

Global Music Centre

Hi all!

I wanted to tell you about one of the places we visited in Helsinki – The Global Music Centre.

http://globalmusic.fi/in_english/index.html

It’s an amazing place and is supported by the Ministry of Education. The have a great library of books and music from all over the world… and their books and CDs are catalogued in their public library system.

They organize a world music festival called the Etnosoi! Festival.

They house a Global Mobile Studio which they’ve taken to Ethiopia, Tanzania (the first country they visited, I think), Zanzibar, Setumaa, Siberia, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Finland, etc.

They are involved “…with the Sibelius Academy (Continuing Education Centre), and music schools and institutes around Finland to develop multi-cultural music education on a more permanent basis.”

While we were there they were recording an artist from Ghana, and I think were going to produce his record under their label.

Jaana-Maria Jukkara, the director of The Global Music Centre, showed us around and was very open and warm…she gave us a handful of CDs that will be in the resource center.

Basically, it’s an awesome place and you should definately check out their website!

M :)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 16, 2008 | Comments (1)

Oh my goodness!

I think I accidentally erased this post the first time, so sorry if it shows up again.

So, I’ve had a few days to reflect (and find my voice, I almost went back to Helsinki to get it! :)

As my compadres have already said, the trip was really amazing. We met so many people and musicians with big hearts. I know that they are just as excited as we are about future partnerships – and I know they will happen.

The best part was making new friendships with my fellow teachers. I had respect for them before, and I now I have even more. I knew Robert and Barb already and feel that I’m even closer to them (Barb and I did some girl bonding, as we were roomies throughout the trip) I had never spent much time with Joe, Steve, Boogie, or Bau and now we’re buddies.. I love this group bunches!

I’m very grateful to work in a place with a global persective. I know that there will be more of these trips and I’m glad. It’s so important to visit people from other countries and other walks of life. It’s important to learn their music and where it comes from, it’s important to learn a bit of their language. I have grown exponentially because of this trip.

I know it’s after-the-fact, but I’m going to be posting some pics, small videos, and sound samples over the next week so you can feel a small bit of what we experienced. It’s a little slow, but be patient, and keep checking!

Moi, Moi! (Goodbye, in Finnish)

M:)

Filed under: Finland,Notes from Maria,Uncategorized by Maria | April 14, 2008 | Comments (0)


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