Month: elokuu 2015

Tomorrow we ride – again

No, summer is not over and neither is this tour. Tomorrow morning we start a long ride first to Turku and then to Iniö. It will rain in the morning, and we will probably feel miserable.

But we know that after a few kilometers we get into the groove. We still have concerts to play, roads to ride and things to do. The tour continues – a week or so.

It is more difficult to leave, because we have been adapting to normal work schedule for a while. But, hopefully, it will be easier to be away. And it was easier to pack up.

Check out the concert list for more.

Full art, half cycling

About half of yesterday was included in the tour, because we took an old ship to Porvoo and only rode our bikes back. But what we made in Porvoo was full art, one could say.

We united with dancer Panu Varstala and his Trash Heroes project. Its basic idea is simple:

1. we cruise around the city with our bicycles
2. we clean up areas one by one, to make them better for dancing
3. we dance
4. we move on to our next destination

Sounds pretty much like saving the world.

Mila from Tauko Design also joined us. She is also saving the world – by designing awesome clothes from recycled textiles. Mila was hauling her pop-up shop in a bike trailer

In the ship we played two sets just for fun (and for the food). Sun, sea, smiles – the world was really hugging us.

In Porvoo we played (and cleaned up and danced) four sets on the streets, and Mila was promoting her designs.

The whole concept may sound a little hippie and high-brow, but actually it felt the most natural thing to do on a summer day in Porvoo.

It was great to ride home in the cool August night. The summer is nearing its end, but that is very ok with us.

Today it’s back to basics. We ride to Mäntsälä, play in a local small festival and ride back.

Kyllä, onnistuu

Nimittäin viiden keikan kiertue Taiteiden yönä Helsingissä. Autolla ei olisi onnistunut, niin tukossa oli kaupunki.

Oli hektistä mutta hienoa.

Galleria Midorissa Jokke Laivuori soitti Couperiniä ja Brahmsia peräkkäin sekä muuta lohtumusiikkia. Viulisti Kaisa Kallinen fiittasi. Tupa oli ihan täynnä ja ovi kävi jatkuvasti, ulkokaide täyttyi fillareista.

Sitten otimme varaslähdön Kansalaistorin päälavalle ja vedimme pari tehokasta kappaletta. Kiertuekaravaani seurasi myöhemmin ja asettui viinipiknikille.

Vähitellen oli pakko irtautua Teurastamolle. Oskalan Hannu oli virittänyt setin valmiiksi konttikasan kattolavalle, ja jumalauta kun oli upea soittaa, kun jalkojen alla velloi väkeä ehkä pari tuhatta. Koko punavihreä kupla oli tullut Food Marketin antimia nauttimaan ja joutui samalla kansanmusiikin uhriksi.

Sitten KuuKuu-kahvilaan. Ilkka roudasi kuormapyörällään sekä violonen että jouhikon, ja risteytti niitä tiivistunnelmaisesti. Hannu oli tehnyt PA:n valmiiksi, mutta keikan jälkeen se siirrettiin saakelin nopeasti kuormapyöriin ja Bryggerihin.

Siellä Pauli Halme jo odotteli, ja viihdytti baarikansaa fingerstyle-kitaroinnilla. Oli kova.

Ja viimein PA:n roudaus varastoon ja hidas siirtymä Haamupyörälle. Alasen Timo oli roudannut selloaan koko päivän, ja otti sen esiin. Karavaani kohdisti ledivalot valkoiseen fillariin, ja Bach soi. Kaikki paikalla olleet ovat pyöräilleet paljon ja turvallisesti. Oli sopivaa uhrata musiikkia ja läsnäoloa menehtyneelle pyöräilijätoverille.

Split

Today we have to split. Emilia continues to Joutsa for a violin training camp with Suvi Oskala. Then they play a concert in Mäntyharju.

Kare has to take car and pick up our cats from Suolahti and go back to Helsinki to work. That is not fun.

Emilia’s bike setup looks aerodynamic, uh?

  

Hot day

When we meet people on the road they usually start talking about the Finnish summer that has been unusually cold and wet. Well, Finnish summer usually is cold and wet, but this summer has been a bit worse than usual.

 

 
From our point of view it does not matter. We are riding from one place to another, not trying to take sunbaths. The temperature has been comfortable for riding and there has been only three days of continuous rain.

Yesterday was the first hot, sunny day of the tour, and it took time to adapt. We felt lazy. Luckily it was only 168 km ride, so we had time to let ourselves feel lazy.

  
 

 

Now we are in Ilmajoki, which looks like a nice and wealthy little village in the middle of flatlands of southern Ostrobothnia. The local festival Spelit is deeply rooted to the soil and people. The area is full of groups of middle aged people playing together. Some of them may hopefully even end up listening to our concert.

 
 

 
  

On a holiday

  
 

 
 

We have been on a holiday in Keuruu for a week or so. Well, Emilia has been doing a music video for her band Suo and Kare has been doing some maintenance work at his parents’ summer apartment.

We have not given interviews, updated social media, ridden our bicycles or played the violin. And that’s what we needed. This tour has not been a holiday, even though it may have looked like a nice bike tour in Finnish summer.

But now we are getting restless. There is still work to do on this tour. Today we played a little, and tomorrow we will ride a long way to Ilmajoki.