Floating Cockroach Festival

The festival report by Andres Roots, originally published by Free Magazine. http://www.freemagazine.fi
No Sweet Home Chicago!
"The atmosphere was amazing! When I was playing, it felt like I was playing to my friends - the crowd was really responsive and we were all riding a wave upon which the distinction between performer and audience melted away," L.R. Phoenix says of the first Floating Cockroach alt.blues festival, held on the restaurant boat Wäiski in Helsinki on 29th September.
The English-born Joensuu resident and his "aboriginal" drummer Mika Vauhkonen kick off the proceedings with a celebration of their brand new EP, The Hypnotic Songs of The Forgotten Dead. The title of the record being the last reminder of the duo's heavy metal history, they turn in an energetic set of electric hill country blues; the crowd is gathering, the room is getting hot.
Next up is Bullfrog Brown, but as I have the good fortune to constitute 1/3 of that group, I'm not going to voice an opinion here - festival organizer Jukka Juhola's kind comment "the gentlemen's live show is great to watch" will have to do. With Tuomari Nurmio next in line, people keep piling in, and by the time we finish, there are actually more than 300 people crammed into a room fit for 250 - that's including the performers and according to Juhola.
"Is he… alone?!" a long-haired rocker gasps as the honorable Judge is taking the stage. Yes he is, and has absolutely no problem filling the stage, the room and the air with his raw and rugged electric blues that sounds positively ageless. Spicing his set with a few mutilated cover versions ranging from Hank Williams to the Beatles, Tuomari Nurmio must be the undisputed star of the evening for many; I tend to agree. The boat is steaming.
A change of pace, and 22-Pistepirkko's PK Keränen and the Gambian percussionist Janko Manneh embark on a journey deeper into the vast treasure trove we know as the blues. Paradoxically, while their set is the most primal and blatantly African in nature, it is also the most distinctly Finnish-sounding performance of the night. The people appreciate that, and the house keeps rocking.
Midnight tolls. By now, it is obvious that this is a festival unlike any other I've witnessed. The bands are on schedule. The sound is great. The audience seems happy and genuinely thrilled, and not once has anyone shouted: "Play Paranoid!" Also, and perhaps most strikingly, there is no banner advertising drinks or newspapers or anything else on the stage - no, Katja Juhola's fantastic blues paintings provide the perfect backdrop for the show.
It's time for Black River Bluesman & The Croaking Lizard, the latest and greatest of Jukka Juhola's own alt.blues quartets, fresh from the Himalayan Blues Festival in Kathmandu. Possibly the heaviest act on the bill, the audience reaction is best illustrated by the fact that this is where the schedule finally fails: Black River Bluesman's encores make Cosmo Jones late for the stage.
Towards the end of the good Bluesman's footstomping set, the rows of the audience seem to thin somewhat: some have been rocking since 8 p.m. and simply drop, others run to catch the first thing smoking or - to put it less poetically and more to the point - to catch the last bus home. But there's plenty to remain, and the joint is still jumping as Cosmo Jones Beat Machine hits the stage in the wee hours of the morning. It's a big band, and a loud band, and the crowd is spellbound by their mixture of eastern melodies, atonal cartoon-soundtrack sounds and, yes, the blues.
"I think we were successful in creating a whole: each set fit the spot perfectly, no two bands were alike, and the audience seemed to dig every performer without reservation," Jukka Juhola says a few days later. "I think the biggest difference compared to a regular blues festival was that we didn't get to hear Sweet Home Chicago not once during the evening - and there were NO wailing guitar solos!"
Indeed, at a time when the Blues In London e-zine is marketing T-shirts with the happily dyslexic and heartfelt slogan "Clapton Is Dog", Finland is right on the ball. As plans for next year's fest are being discussed, the non-profit organization behind it, Alt.Blues Finland ry, will be putting together a Finnish tour for the Italian Papa Leg Acoustic Duo featuring Stefania Calandra in February 2008. According to Juhola, that just might include a Floating Cockroach club night with 3-4 bands; if not, the alt.blues boat is due to set sail again next September.
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The 1st Floating Cockroach alt.blues festival will be held on restaurant boat Wäiski in Helsinki on September 29th, 2007. At present, acts confirmed to appear include Tuomari Nurmio, Cosmo Jones Beat Machine, Black River Bluesman & The Croaking Lizard from Finland, Janko & PK from Gambia/Finland, Bullfrog Brown from Estonia and L.R. Phoenix from the UK. During the festival, Katja Juhola´s exhibition of blues paintings “Wang Dang Doodle” will also be open on Wäiski.
”It’s a blues festival for all those young people who come up to you at gigs and say: ”I don’t normally listen to the blues, but this was great!”,” festival spokesman Kari Kauppila said. ”It is also a festival for those blues fans who may have started to dread live blues somewhat, as modern blues bands often sound alike without offering anything new. We will be trying to showcase artists who are creating something original within the genre without letting go of the musical and spiritual roots of the music.”
The Floating Cockroach festival is organized by Alt.Blues Finland ry, a non-profit organization founded to promote non-mainstream blues in Finland. In addition to arranging the festival and related events that are to feature both local and international talent, Alt.Blues Finland also intends to start releasing CDs and in general do its fair share to help unite alt.blues fans and artists worldwide.
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Vaihtoehto-bluesiin keskittyvä ensimmäinen Floating Cockroach festivaali pidetään ravintolalaiva Wäiskillä Helsingissä 29.9.2007. Esiintyjiksi ovat tähän mennessä varmistuneet Tuomari Nurmio, Cosmo Jones Beat Machine, Black River Bluesman and the Croaking Lizard, Janko & PK (PK Keränen Pistepirkoista ja gambialainen perkussionisti Janko Manneh), virolainen Bullfrog Brown ja englantilainen LR Phoenix. Esillä on myös taiteilija Katja Juholan blues-aiheinen näyttely ”Wang Dang Doodle”.
”Tämä festari on tarkoitettu niille nuorille, jotka keikan jälkeen tulevat sanomaan: ´Normaalisti en koskaan kuuntele bluesia mutta tuossa oli minusta mahtava meininki”, kertoo festivaalin tiedottaja Kari Kauppila. ”Yhtälailla tämä on festivaali niille blues-harrastajille, jotka ehkä jo hieman karttavat keikoilla käymistä, kun aika monet bändit kuulostavat samanlaisilta eivätkä aina tarjoa mitään uutta. Me yritämme tuoda esille artisteja, jotka tässä genressä luovat jotain omaperäistä unohtamatta tämän musiikkityylin musiikillisia ja henkisiä juuria.”
Floating Cockroach festivaalin järjestää Alt.Blues Finland ry, joka on perustettu edistämään valtavirrasta poikkeavan bluesin asiaa Suomessa. Paitsi, että yhdistys järjestää festivaalia ja vastaavia tapahtumia koti- ja ulkomaisille artisteille, se aikoo myös julkaista levyjä ja muutenkin kerätä yhteen kansainvälisiä alt.blues-genren edustajia.
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Floating Cockroach festivalen, som tillägnas den alternativa bluesen, kommer att hållas på restaurangbåten Wäiski i Helsingfors den 29 september 2007. Hittills har följande artister bekräftat sin medverkan: Tuomari Nurmio, Cosmo Jones Beat Machine, Black River Bluesman and the Croaking Lizard, Janko & PK (Gambia/Fin), Bullfrog Brown från Estland och L.R. Phoenix från England. Under festivalen visas en utställning av Katja Juhola: ”Wang Dang Doodle” - konst med blues som tema.
”Den här festivalen är avsedd för alla dessa ungdomar som efter spelningarna kommer fram och säger: ”Normalt brukar jag aldrig lyssna på blues, men det här var ju häftigt”, säger festivalens informatör Kari Kauppila. ”Likaså är festivalen avsedd för de bluesentusiaster som inte längre ids gå på konserter eftersom så många band låter rätt lika och inte alltid har något nytt att komma med. Vi försöker lyfta fram de artister som skapar något originellt utan att glömma bort musikens andliga rötter”.
Festivalen Floating Cockroach organiseras av Alt.Blues Finland rf, som grundades för att främja bluesmusik i Finland, utanför mainstream. Förutom att föreningen ska organisera festivaler och liknande evenemang för både inhemska och utländska artister planerar man även att ge ut skivor och överhuvudtaget hjälpa till att förena alt.blues. fans och artister över hela världen.
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Festival ”Floating Cockroach” leiab aset 29. septembril Helsingis, restoranlaeval Wäiski. Aprilli seisuga on esinejate nimekirjas juba Tuomari Nurmio, Cosmo Jones Beat Machine ja Black River Bluesman & The Croaking Lizard Soomest, Janko & PK (Gambia/Fin), Bullfrog Brown Eestist ja LR Phoenix Inglismaalt. Ühtlasi saab laeval näha ka Katja Juhola pidevalt täienevat bluusiteemalist maalinäitust ”Wang Dang Doodle”, mis on üleval olnud ka Tartus.
"See on bluusifestival kõigile neile noortele, kes pärast kontserti ütlevad, et "ma küll muidu bluusi ei kuula, aga see oli lahe!"," ütles festivali eestkõneleja Kari Kauppila. "Ja see on ka festival neile bluusifännidele, kes on hakanud bluusikontserte vältima, sest enamik tänapäeva bände kõlab ühtemoodi ega paku midagi uut. Meie üritame tutvustada artiste, kelle looming on originaalne ja samas zhanri muusikaliste ja hingeliste juurtega tugevasti seotud."
Festivali ”Floating Cockroach” korraldab mittetulundusühing Alt.Blues Finland, mis on loodud meinstriim-bluusist kõrvalejäävate muusikasuundade edendamiseks Soomes. Lisaks festivalile ja muudele üritustele, mis toovad kokku nii kohalikke kui välismaiseid esinejaid, plaanib Alt.Blues Finland ka plaate välja andma hakata ning üleüldse rahvusvahelise alternatiivbluusi-skene arengut igati toetada.