Night of the living DEAD ELVIS

When there´s no more room in hell, Dead Elvis will walk the earth.

Last night the undead king of rock ´n´ roll did exactly that as he is haunting Finland at the moment. His first stroll on finnish mortal soil took him to Bar Loose and of course I was there to attend upon His Majesty.

Let me shortly explain what that guy is all about. If you haven´t heard about him before, you might think: "Oh boy, yet another Elvis impersonator. Squeezed into that horrible 70ties suit with no singing skills but a big bag full of bad song choices. No, thank you..." That is precisely what I thought when his name popped up for the first time. Luckily I checked out some of his tunes on the interrrNJET and was surprised to find no covers but some raw and raunchy originals!

Turned out that the aptly named DEAD ELVIS & HIS ONE MAN GRAVE is a one man band that has more in common with the likes of Hasil Adkins and Charlie Feathers then Mr. Presley. His gimmick is to pretend to be the resurrected Elvis Aaron, finally free from all the Priscillas and Col. Parkers. Now he´s the one calling the shots and handles all instruments (guitar, bass and snare drum) himself while crooning to the smash hits he wrote in his grave. Great stuff indeed but the real thing is to see DE perform live, because that man is outrageously funny! I have seen him at least 4 times back in Germany and everytime he had me in stitches. Very nice and humble guy, too. I met him unmasked (he was) before a show in Bonn, we had a little chat and he proved to be an overall no-rockstar-bullshit guy.

Now you can imagine that I was very thrilled when I got the info about his upcoming Finland tour and the gig in Helsinki. It´s not his first time over here, if I recall correctly it must be already the third. His link to Suomi is the two man band BLACK MAGIC SIX. I saw them with DE at the Sonic Ballroom in Köln and they kicked some serious ass. Needless to say that the two Finns are on the bill this time around, too. The unholy package is wrapped up with KAROSHI LOVERS (also from Finland) and HOLA GHOST from Denmark.

Let me now quickly drop a few words about Bar Loose, the venue where the whole spectacle went down last night. I like the place a lot and I warmly recommend it to you. If you are in Helsinki and into good rock music don´t hesitate to pay the joint a visit. Bar Loose operates on two levels, of course both of them have a bar. Upstairs you get warm food and hot turntable music, the real magic happens downstairs where the bands are playing. Sound is always good and you should just have a look on the long list of combos that performed there!

Could the similarity be a coincidence?

Daaaaamn right...

You have to show Angus your ticket before descending to R´n´R hell. 

None of the bands on the Black Rainbow Tour have a conventional line-up which I think makes the whole thing even more interesting. It´s cool if you get tempted to check out the opening bands as well instead of only coming for the main act. So the only bummer of a otherwise great evening was that we missed out KAROSHI LOVERS, who started their set way earlier than announced by Bar Loose. It´s a pity because their blend of styles sounded quite interesting. As stated on their homepage they mix hard guitars with a Blondie meets PJ Harvey vibe. You actually can´t do wrong with an album called "Death Pop" either. They would have been the closest to a normal band, having three members in a drums - guitar - piano/vocals constellation.

Karoshi Lovers

So the first band we got to see was BLACK MAGIC SIX and my-o-my, it is amazing how much noise just two guys can produce when armed with a miniature drum kit and a Stratocaster, run through some mean pedals and a Marshall amp. They played a highly distorted melange of garagy, blues-infested hardrock for lack of a better descpription. High energy was the name of the game and I somehow liked them better this time, compared to the show I saw a few years back in Germany.

Black Magic Six at work. The drummer must have some serious back problems.

The crowd dug ´em as well and after 45 minutes they left behind a satisfied audience. Next up was my personal surprise act, a surprise in a way that I didn´t expect sooo much from them but they absolutely nailed it! HOLA GHOST, yet another two man band, includes guitar slinger Peter Sandorff (ex-Nekromantix and Mad Sin) and a vintage drum machine. I think Sandorff must manage damn well to alienate more than 50 % of his former following instantly with his current project, a following that he build up with the aforementioned psychobilly institutions. "No stand-up bass? Drum machine? Get outta here...", I hear them say and even I was sceptical, but let me tell you: when they hit the stage every doubt was eliminated. I think their attempt to combine Sandorff´s rockabilly-tinted punk attack with a distorted bass and this funny, eighties-sounding drum machine really worked out remarkably well.

From left to right: Drum machine, Jeppe Jessen, Peter Sandorff

Sandorff proved already in Nekromatix that he is a good songwriter and I think he´s a good singer, too. He´s making no exception with HOLA GHOST, the tunes were real catchy and that drum machine gave their spaghetti-western like "flamencore" a beat you can dance to. I especially liked that some melodies were played by that distorted bass instead of the guitar which gave the sound a nice twist. They also showed some good humor when they introduced the band and did not forget to mention the drum machine. They did that in the middle of a song and thus had programmed that thing so that it played some ridiculous fills when being mentioned by the band. Great show!

And then - finally- to the typical See, See Rider intro, he made his way to the stage, shaking (guys) and kissing (girls) hands. Like said before, I´ve seen DEAD ELVIS a couple of times before. But although every artist has a certain routine, his gigs never feel like a mere repetition of stuff you have seen already, he´s not only going through the motions. If the guy wouldn´t need to sit (bass and snare drum duties, remember) you could call a big part of his show stand-up comedy. He can go with the flow and reacts easily to the crowd or given situations. When I saw him one time in Köln, his guitar wouldn´t work. He made up a hilarious story around it that kept you so busy laughing your ass off! You just didn´t realize the little break, in which he got another guitar and then continued as if nothing had happened, almost as if it was part of the show. Last night though might have even been the best DE gig I´ve seen so far. The guy was almost sparkling when he started to take care of business.

Hit came after hit and not unlike BLACK MAGIC SIX he produced a wall of sound, just with even less means! It was one of the rare gigs that I didn´t want to end but the inevitable happened after almost an hour of killer r´n´r songs straight from the garage grave and a lot of fun. Unfortunately we had to leave right after the show, I would have liked to have a short chat again and tell him how cool it is to have him here in Finland. That by the way is something not all bands and artists necessarily do. Norway? Check. Sweden? Check. Denmark? Check. Finland? Hhmmm...difficult. Not so DEAD ELVIS. He has performed also in Turkey, Russia, China, Brazil and is due for a Japan tour in 2012. So if the dead man comes to a town near you, I urge you to go see him - There´s no way you will regret it!

The man himself and yours truly

Dead Elvis leaves the building.

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT:


Dead Elvis & his one man grave

Hola Ghost

Black Magic Six

Karoshi Lovers

Bar Loose
(choose English if needed)                    

Is there anybody out there?

Chkrs...krks...Major Jott to ground control...sshhhkrk...are you receiving?...chrshkrrr...Hello? HELLO??

Well, dear blogheads, seems like we got disconnected for a little while here on Life-in-Hel...just a little curvature in space-time continuum caused by intensive language courses, band activities, summer holiday in Germany etc.

But to all of you who still give a damn: there is still pretty much life in Helsinki (Totgesagte leben länger) and I have decided to break the silence now. I´d like to go back to regular posting, but this blogging business is very time consuming if you wanna write more than just a couple of words per post. Everyone who runs a blog him or herself knows that.

Since time has become more limited over here compared to my humble beginnings in both the blog world and good ole Funland, I will try to keep it briefer now (with occasional exceptions, of course) but KEEP IT UP!

Now I only have to walk the talk...

SONG FOR TODAY:

Pink Floyd - Is there anybody out there?

Jäämies tuli Helsinkiin

Ladies and gents,
I hereby proudly present:
The Ibanez Iceman IC 400! I´m very happy to finally own this guitar that I have tried to track down and buy for a considerably long time. Like mentioned before it hails from Germany, where I found it on Ebay for a reasonable price. The axe came already enhanced with two Rockfield Mafia humbuckers instead of the regular Ibanez pickups. Only a few minor alterations were required but now it´s ready to go. My weapon of choice was hard to come by because the production of the 400 series ceased about three years ago. The new 700 series that you´ll find easily nowadays looks way to modern for my taste. Although the body remains quite the same, the fretboard inlays and reversed headstock turn that thing into a nu-metal atrocity, as far as I´m concerned. But beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and I know that quite many people don´t like the shape of any Iceman model, come what may. For me it´s the perfect punk/metal hybrid that manages not to be too much of one or the other. Best of both worlds! Plus it´s oldschool, reminding a lot of the seventies and early eighties.

Talking about reminders: the thing about guitars is that most models or brands remind people of certain musicians, almost to a point where player and instrument become an undividable entity. You know the drill:

Angus Young/Tony Iommi = Gibson SG, Keith Richards = Fender Telecaster, Brian Setzer = Gretsch, Slash = Gibson Les Paul, Stevie Ray Vaughn = Fender Stratocaster, etc. etc...

When it comes to the Ibanez Iceman, many people think of the following players:

Paul Stanley, evolution´s missing link.

Doran Malakan of System of a Down

Well, I´m not one of those people. KISS is a phenomenon for me because it´s one of the very few bands that I really tried hard to like. I failed miserably. I don´t dislike them either but never got the magic. So many of my fave bands though name them as initial spark for their own humble beginnings. I thought that there must be something to it, and when I just try hard enough I will eventually understand it. Nope, didn´t happen and I have long given up. As for System Of A Down, I didn´t even try. I can´t stand this nu-metal stuff at all, although I think that they are better than the rest of that breed. Despite that they mean absolutely nothing to me. What made me want to play an Iceman was a totally different gang of string-rippers.

Doyle w/ Glenn Danzig of the Misfits

Andy Wendler of the Necros

Pig Champion (R.I.P.) of Poison Idea

That´s more like it, THAT is my world. You might add Tom Gabriel Fischer of Celtic Frost, although calling him a direct influence on me would be inaccurate. Always liked their stuff, though.

I´m not into aping any of the guys above (Stanley and Malakan included), the Iceman just reminds me of the music, style and attitude they bestowed upon the world (Stanley and Malakan excluded). Signature Series are absolutely laughable for me. When I only think about those nerds buying a guitar because it carries the name of their hero, and maybe, just maybe a tiny little bit of his genius will crawl into their fingers while playing it...pathetic! If there would be a Pig Champion Signature Series, I still wouldn´t buy it. And when I imagine some creative Ibanez folks, able to think outside the box, ringing his doorbell to offer him his own series, I can also imagine what would have been his reply: FUCK YOU!

SONG FOR TODAY:

The Lurkers - New Guitar In Town

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät

 Yesterday proved to be even more eventful! Coming from Korkeasaari and getting of the bus at the closest station to my crib I almost stumbled over this:

The cool drawing caught my eye right away. After reading the poster I was quite stunned to realize that it announced 1.) a gig of Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, punk rock shooting stars and hottest shit in town 2.) on that very day and 3.) I was standing directly in front of the venue. Seemed that this Utopia Klubi had opened up just recently. Great, a new club in da hood! PKN were about to share the stage with Siiri Nordin (of whom I had never heard) with all the in-betweens spiced up with DJ sets. Right on, but what else did I read there? Doors open at 6 pm? I thought "whatever", it´s so close to where I live that I decided to shake off the island trip´s cold from my bones at home, grab some food and a cup of coffee and search the net for more info on the time table. I found nothing on that but got a hunch (sites all in Finnish, mind you) that this place was actually a youth club called Happi and Utopia Klubi was the name of the event in question. What I did find out without a doubt was that tonight´s show was free of charge. Jackpot! And for the unknown schedule, I went there myself shortly past six to see what was happening when.

I can´t remember the last time these question marks were answered to so promptly without even talking to someone. Right behind the entrance I ran into this:

Ok, almost two hours until Siiri Nordin entered the stage, what to do in the meantime? I had a look around that assured me this indeed WAS a youth club. I was cool with that and I generally think that there should be way more of these places in this world. Give the kids a place to go where they can meet friends, play, do sports, make music, find some support and guidance! So much better than the local bus stop or shopping mall. But I digress... well, being just a bit closer to forty than thirty I couldn´t help myself but feeling slightly misplaced amongst the teenies. My vision of a successful saturday night didn´t include lemonade and vegan food either,  so again I went home to enjoy a different kind of menu in preparation for the mighty PKN. But let me tell you a little bit about the band.

Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät was brought to my attention by a friend of mine who knows my love for punk. He mailed me a trailer for a documentary (!) on the band due to be released in 2012 (!! -is there another Ben Hur in the making?), you will find the clip below today´s post as usual. PKN nicked their moniker from a children song called Putte Possun Nimipäivät (Putte Pig´s Name Day) and modified it to what I believe is the name of the guitar player. If he´s the one who calls the shots in the band, I don´t know. All members are...how to put this the pc way? Disabled? Challenged? Handicapped? Suffice it to say that they are not your average combo for a couple of reasons. But when you see the aforementioned trailer you learn that the Helsinki punks have been enabled to play in far away places like Germany, that they took the challenge and improved their handicap to R-O-C-K! They play a lot around Helsinki and I just recently missed one of their shows that I was keen on checking out. So this Saturday I would finally get to see them, in my hood and for free. Life can be good sometimes...

A press shot of Pertti and Kari

About 8.30 I was yet again in Happi, just to realize that I had missed Siiri Nordin. Later on I found out that she´s a singer / song writer who used to be part of a rather successful band called Killer. The place was now filled with kids and older folks (like me, sigh) and wheelchairs. I decided to wait this time around and at 21.30 sharp PKN finally entered the stage. There was a music stand on the right side and I thought that singer Kari maybe needs a little help to remember the words, but no! They had a guy performing sign language for the non-hearing in the audience and he was the one who needed to see the lyrics. He even translated the stage banter, which I though was great. I was impressed! PKN are definetely fans of the 77 UK punk sound and played really great, all things considered. I´m into this punk shit for more than 20 years now and I have to say that I´ve seen a vast number of "normal" bands (what´s normal anyway?) that would be unable to hold a candle to them, I mean it! Lots of posing in the right clothing in the world of punk, too. All style, no substance. But Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, they were the real deal.

Pertti, Toni, Kari and Sami

 They obviously had a blast themselves and were rocking out to songs like Kallioon (to Kallio, the notorious part of Helsinki and home to yours truly), Miks ei kukaan ymmärrä? (why doesn´t anyone understand?) and Mä vihaan maailma (I hate the world), all featured on their split 7" with Kakka-hätä 77, which of course I bought. Especially bass man Sami was getting into it and drummer Toni kept the fast eighth notes coming tightly, yeah! After 30+ mins they closed the show with the PKN theme song and left behind a satisfied crowd. I still didn´t fancy lemonade, so I left Happi happily and went back to Kallio, just like they had proclaimed in their smash hit.

That´s punk! 

Here´s the trailer for the upcoming documentary on the punk gods of Helsinki. Comes with English subtitles, ain´t that sweet? Enjoy!

               

Oh, and...

Make sure to check out:

Their Myspace

Art meets Ice

Ice Age anyone? Got my share of it today, as I went to Korkeasaari, one of the many islands on Helsinki´s coastline. This piece of land though stands out cause it´s the home of one of the oldest zoos in the world, 122 years and counting! The variety of animals is impressive and last summer I paid most of them a visit. But what about winter? Does the time of hibernation have to be dull and boring?

Nah, seven years ago they thought up an ice sculpture competition called Art meets Ice which is held annually ever since. It´s spread over two weekends and I´m happy that I made it to the second time around. Public transportation lifted my own and many tourist´s asses comfortably to the event that was blessed with weather that couldn´t have been any better. February lived up to its Finnish reputation: cold and beautiful. The 12 € entrance fee where kind of a bummer but what is NOT expensive in this country? I payed up, teeth grinding, fists clenched. Trotting to the island´s peak I reconsidered my attitude and had to admit to myself that I definetely would pay that amount to see a bunch of cool bands, meaning artists. I was eager to see just a different league of artists, so what´s with the whining?

The artists where many and some came from quite untypical countries like Portugal, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Usual suspects comprised Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Norway...THE gunslingers when it comes to a block of ice and a chainsaw. Speaking of which, it was interesting to see the tools used in the competition. From everything out of an average tool box to buzz saws, power drills and the like, it all went into the process of crafting art. The exibits where stunning, highlighted literally by today´s sunshine. But let´s see some pictures already, damnit!

The theme for this weekend.

 Looks like the ram fears the drill of the Mongolian team. 

Eagle fly free.

The Austrian / Dutch team goes ape.

There´s nothing that creeps me out like spiders. Melt, you fucker, MELT!

The Russian artist adding the 4th leg. I would faint after the 6th.

Since living in good old Suomi currently means living in a refridgerator I had to deal with certain ups and downs here. On the downside I had to accept the fact that the spider wouldn´t melt until, let´s say March, if they won´t remove the exibits earlier. But even more urgent: taking pictures wasn´t too pleasant without gloves in at least minus ten degrees! You have to suffer for your art, right? I decided to let the real artists suffer in the cold and went to a kahvila for kahvi ja korvapuusti. After 15 minutes I regained control over my fingertips, so I went to check out the works of last week´s competitors. Yes, last week´s competitors, we´re living in a fridge, remember? And there we have the upside of it all, right there: some pieces were just a bit snow covered, but by no means less impressive since none of them succumbed to plus degrees. And here we go:

Last week´s theme.

One of my favorites. Many exibits underlined the theme drastically.

Like this one. It´s not meant to be beautiful as it depicts an oil covered pelican.

Even the snow looks like a foaming sea.

Another octopus, shaking the world Lovecraft-style.

A seahorse french kissing a woman. The artist´s title, not mine.

This week´s theme "Animal Behavior" might be linked directly to the competition´s host, namely the Helsinki Zoo. Rightly so, and why not? Last week though broadened the view on a wider topic questioning the "Future of Seas", and Korkeasaari, located in the Baltic Sea, is no stranger to that issue, either. I especially liked the very graphic way in which some of the artists brought the urgency for immediate action across. The spectacular was a real magnet for visitors from all over the world, let´s see if it wasn´t just eye candy but also food for thought. Sure hope for the latter. And by the way: this was only a selection, if you wanna see more pics, comment and let me know.

Make sure to check out:

www.korkeasaari.fi (Choose your language on the right)