(no subject)

Today I sent an email to one of my favorite Finnish music groups, Ville Kangas and his band (well, OK, to be honest I only know 2 Finnish groups, but they're both great...). I mentioned that I'd seen them play about 3 years ago and asked whether there'd be any shows in Finland before I leave, in pidgin Finnish.

I got a nearly-immediate reply that indicated that this is the first fan letter they've gotten. They had a great gig THREE YEARS AGO, I remind you, and they've already released a second album. Man, these Finns are a little behind the curve on how to keep good musicians around. ;) Anyway, to my chagrin I learned that there are no upcoming gigs. Boo! BUT they said they'd keep me posted if there was ever a US tour. :)

Unfortunately, the similar email I sent to Värttinä has not yet been favored with a reply. But Värttinä are probably the most famous thing to come out of Finland besides Nokia*, so it's perhaps to be expected ;).

*OK, OK. And Linux. And IRC. How about "the most famous non-nerdy thing to come out of Finland"?