Jaan Wessman

MySpace Layouts It all started when I was but a wee toddler… I was lucky enough to have born to a family where everyone seemed to have a musical agenda of some sort. My dad was a big Dixieland and swing enthusiast, my mom was whole-heartedly into classical music, whereas my considerably elder siblings listened to the rock and pop music of the day – everybody in tandem, everybody paying attention to what it was that somebody else was playing in the next room.
And so it was to be that I learned to walk… According to my parents, my verbal development as a baby took a swing to the red some time ‘round my being about 1-1½ years old. Little should they have worried – I started my yabbling when I was old enough to complete simple phrases of some variety. Before that, however, I had grown a habit of pointing my finger at a couple of records I had a feel for listening to. Not bad for a 18+ month old baby: my choices were The Beatles’ 1967-1970 and The Doors’ Weird Scenes Inside A Gold Mine. Thus began my love for music, alongside all the per-usual stuff that echoed ‘round and about the household.
I must have been about three to four years of age when my sister Lili and her then-boyfriend did something that was to change my life forever. The very sister from whom I had stolen a hefty collection of vinyls presented me with a pair of drumsticks! The usual pots-pans-and-bongos action ensued and, fortunately enough, my family took notice. From there on, just about every Christmas present batch contained a noise-making gadget of some sort. Which eventually led to me getting a toy drum set for my… 8th birthday? Can’t quite make out for sure if it was for my 8th or 9th birthday but what the hell, you’re still reading, right?
With the luxury of a drum set, albeit a toy one, we soon assembled a trio together with a couple of friends. What we did not know at the time was that this threesome was to contain two thirds of our first real band effort, called Pincer.
Pincer grew up to be a ‘hometown hero’ type of a band, with something of a cult following. No doubt we received a lot of credit and kudos for being so young and enthusiastic, but we actually did win most of the ‘Battle of the Bands’ type competitions we ever enrolled ourselves for! And thanks to Antti, the guitar player of Pincer, I took notice of how cool an instrument the guitar actually is...
(After reading that last sentence, I felt I should elaborate on the topic just a little more. I remember when I was eight years old and seeing Hendrix on TV. The program was something in the style of "The Decades of Rock'n'Roll" where important artists of each rock'n'rollin' decade were presented with a few select cuts. When Jimi came on [a clip from Monterey, if my mind serves me right], I couldn't for the life of me figure out how he could hold the guitar by its neck, covering his face with the Strat's body, and yet simultaneously make these other-worldly sounds on the instrument. Little did I know about feedback those days... The other cut featured was Jimi's legendary Woodstock rendition of Star Spangled Banner. It was this footage that actually got me to pick up a balalaika which missed a string [a total of two strings intact] and learn the American national anthem by ear. Long before the electric drill antics of Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, I also had my way of unusual "picking" techniques. I found out quickly that by uninstalling a bathtub toy boat's propeller, I would soon possess a wicked plectrum that would swivel away at the strings at rapid speed. Even if I didn't know about feedback back in them days of halcyon, you couldn't have blamed me for not seeking some serious sustain via other means.)
By autumn 1985, I had taken on guitar lessons alongside the drum lessons I had commenced myself into after getting a ‘real’ drum set. Things soon took an avalanche-type snowball effect when I picked up the bass, not to mention that the ‘mandatory-piano-lessons-when-you-were-a-kid’ flashbacks started flashing back ever more frequently… (Though, to this day, I wish I’d been a more patient student of the keys, the intermediate-slacker-of-the-blacks-and-whites that I still am…)
By the early 1990’s, I had several bands I was involved with. Actually, around 1993, I counted out all the bands and projects I was involved with, and came close to a figure of about fifteen or so… ‘Round and about this same time, I got a hold of my Chapman Stick which I still have to this day. I would never claim to be an expert on this wildly exciting instrument, but it’s still something I can proudly add up to the list of instruments I enjoy playing. That is, whenever I won’t have to go out ‘cold’ and play Mahavishnu Orchestra covers all night without any prior warning or rehearsals.
Come mid-90’s and my coming of age had truly begun. I’d be playing the drum kit with Brazil Project one night (Brazilian cover material, as I’m sure you already guessed), sessions the next day on the bass, writing my own material at home on the guitar and keys, playing the theater ‘pit gig’ occasionally… For someone who loves all kinds of music and hasn’t decided on his main axe quite yet (and never will, for that matter): a real dream come true.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege to perform and live alongside some extraordinarily fantastic musicians. Tango For Four – consisting of yours truly on bass, Kalle Elkomaa on piano, and the world renowned violinist Jaakko Kuusisto and accordionist Mika Väyrynen – spiced up the 2000 Independence Day Presidential Gala Night (a major event here in Finland), as well as playing for an excited audience on a three day run of shows in Tokyo in 2001. Paleface, one of the truly talented hip-hop artists emerging from Finland, was a close comrade ‘round the time his critically acclaimed debut album came out in 2001. Playing alongside the ever-incredible guitarists Richard Hallebeek and Antti Kotikoski. String arrangements for Apulanta and Yö, two top-selling bands of Finland. Gold records to prove my contributions to redords of Negative and Irina, two highly succesful Finnish acts. And finally, touring for a while with the ridiculously talented Mike Keneally (of whom you’ll learn more about by pointing your browser to http://www.myspace.com/mikekeneally) who’s influence on my life and music could never be fully spelled out so that it wouldn’t sound like a raving fan-boy idolizing or too much ass-kissing…
They call me a renaissance man, they call me a Jack-of-all-trades. Me? I’m just living out a dream I’ve always had. Hope to see you down the road one day!
Let’s boogie?