Today's walk report: 091813

Walking in the Finnish countryside.

Tolonen!

When I was in High School there was a record store across the street from the school that I spent a lot of time in. I think it was 11th grade that I discovered "import" albums. I was introduced to many obscure artists from the "other side of the pond" by hunches I would make as to musical content strictly from reading the jackets of import albums. I didn't have a clue who these people were. One great find was a Finnish guitarist named Jukka Tolonen and this album...

 

Right away I knew the name Tolonen was Finnish due to my mother's sense of Nationalism for Finland--she only spoke Finnish when she started school in New York in the 1920s. Some of this was mentioned here on my dearly departed mother's birthday.

I just looked at the guy... I mean look at the guy! Hair in his face, 1971, playing a Gibson ES-335--I had to buy this album. He, in fact, based on that cover shot alone looked a little like me at the time. At least hiding my face in my long blond hair was the same. Besides, it was 1973, I was heavily moving into jazz-rock and there were obvious indications from the back cover that this album was going to fall in line with my developing taste in music. There are some tonal things today that I find a little quirky but for the most part I still really like this album. On vinyl I believe I own every album he released as solo projects, with his band Tasavallan Presidentti, and also his band, Jukka Tolonen Band. I remember taking Tolonen! to several friend's houses and "turning them on" to JT. One of those friends in fact reminded me of this once again, 40 years later, just the other day and it was the reason for my having Tolonen! on my iPod for today's walk. A delightful walk by the way.

Did you see the video of Lucy T. Cat yesterday of her chasing a laser to the band Sylvan's song Presets back in February 2007? Well here's Lucy again from June 2007 playing with what was her favorite toy--a twisty-tie--in my green chair to the song Mountain Stream from the 1978 Jukka Tolonen album of the same name.

And if you still don't get the opening line about walking in the Finnish countryside, here's a song called Mountains from Tolonen! I took a journey away from where I was walking when this song played and like Sibelius with Finlanda, Jukka took me to his homeland.

and here's Finland...