NEWS July 28 / 08 Back from my Minnesota trip. It was great to be back in the land of Bob Dylan. I was particulary impressed that the city has finally given some acknowledgment to Mr D in the way of a major route being named after him...personally I think they should have named the area of Highway 61 that runs through Duluth after Bob...but what do I know! The folks in Thunder Bay were always proud of the fact that Highway 61 ends in Tbay because they knew the connection to Bob Dylan.In terms of the gigs I played...I was particularly happy with the performances with Juli Wood Quatert and with my old buddies Conga Se Menne...from a reaction response, the first DECC gig and the Tori gig got the best feedback. On an interesting note ( for me anyway ) The President of Finland had circled the Jazz gig with Juli Wood Quartet as an event she wanted to see, but the secret service nixed it because of sheduling issues...apparently President Halonen is a Jazz fan. July 15 / 08 Gig Schedule for Duluth Minnesota USA July 24th - 3pm Featured set @ Duluth Entertainment Centre
Guest spot in "The Kantele Room Showcase" 4 pm @ DECC July 25th - 2pm Featured set @ Fitgers Inn Courtyard
Performer & Host of Jazz Night @ DECC ( featuring Juli Wood Quartet ) July 26th - 11am Featured set in the Tori @ DECC July 26th - Guest artist with reknown Michigan reggae band, Conga Se Menne at the Paulucci Hall in Duluth Minnesota. I am looking forward to seeing many of my Finnish/American friends in Duluth this month. Hopefully there will also be some old friends from Thunder Bay making the scene as well. June / 08 I had the opportunity to visit with my old buddy, Carl Strempler. Carl has been busy over the years developing his chops as a session guitar player. He is also a bit of an equipment maven...if you want to get the latest on a piece of gear, just call Carl. Carl has been putting together a nice little virtual studio at his home. We laid down a few tracks on acoustic instruments during our visit...totally "in the moment" type of stuff. Carl torn up his guitar and I provided jouhikko and mandolin. A nice time was had by all. Check out Carl's news and views on his website at http://carlstrempler.com April / 08 Grassroots music studios in St Andrews is the home of Wayne Posnick. I met with Wayne recently to discuss the posibility of some future projects. Wayne has just released a new cd entitled "Its not my fault". Some great writing on the disc...its worth checking out. Under the "listen" tab on this website there are a trio of new tracks entitled "the Jari Suite". These pieces were written in memory of my cousin Jari. All of the tracks feature Jouhikko playing. March / 08 This summer I will be performing at the Finnish Festival in Duluth Minnesota. The event will be in late July. I have been spending some time playing the jouhikko and the nickylharpa. These instruments are ancient nordic instruments that are bowed. Whether I include some tunes on these instruments in my sets is yet to be decided. The jouhikko is a lot of fun to saw away on, but at this point it might be more fun for me that for the listener. Feb / 08 My top 20 favorite guitar solos... these are the tracks that stop me in my tracks, and make me turn up the volume. As a Canadian guitarist, with roots in Finland, I find myself drawn to musicians that cross boundaries in genre and sound. So here's my list in no particular order... The Messiah will come again - Roy Buchanan Europa - Carlos Santana A Day in the Life - Jeff Beck Midnight at the Oasis - Amos Garrett (Maria Muldar) All along the watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Reelin in the years - Elliot Randall (Steely Dan) Walk on hot coals - Rory Gallagher My Baby thinks he's a train - Vince Gill (Roseanne Cash) Country Boy - Albert Lee Woodchoppers Ball - Alvin Lee (10 years after) Sultans of swing - Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) Feel so good - Grant Geissman (Chuck Mangione) Time "Live version" - Phil Keaggy (2nd chapter of Acts) How High the Moon - Les Paul (w/Mary Ford) Last Train Home - Pat Metheny Ramblin' - Jukka Tolonen Beat it - Eddie Van Halen (Micheal Jackson) Something - George Harrison (the Beatles) Bean Time - Leo Koetke From Here to Eternity - John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra) *Honourable mention...anything by Steve Khan* Jan / 08 Greetings! The move to Winnipeg is now complete, although we still retain ties to Thunder Bay. The new place was purchased from the Kreviazuk family (of Chantel fame) and has an outbuilding at the back of the property that hopefully will be converted into a rehearsal and recording facility. There hasn't been much of an opportunity to do any performing since the move, but the plans are to start searching out players and gigs this year. So far the only upcoming gig is in Duluth, Minnesota, July 24-26...more details will follow on that one. ttfn. The "Hoito Project" has been officially released! The sessions were filmed by Shebandowan films in HD format, and recorded by Danalog Studios. Further details are available at the www.hoito.ca website. click here for a sample clip LETTERS FROM KARELIA CD NOW AVAILABLE!  To order your copy of the Letters from Karelia soundtrack recording, simply e-mail your request and shipping address to: alahdekorpi@gmail.com or send you request to Suite 237 1020 Dawson Road Thunder Bay Ontario P7B 1K6. The cost of the cd is $ 20.00 which includes shipping and handling. For more information on the NFB film, "Letters from Karelia" click here. Also available is the new download CD entitled, "A Matter of Record". This cd is available through CDbaby.com.
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