Simo

I started playing drums and guitar at the age of 10, then some piano a few years later. Actually I made my first drumkit out of cucumber cans as the Santa did not bring me one. Playing drums was always number one to me. I have played in various dance, pop and brass bands. Later I studied drums and percussion in Joensuu Music school in Eastern Finland. I always have been much into making musical instruments as well, such as guitar, mbira, anklung etc... I studied to become a car mechanic and that gave me lots of practical skills and ideas with metalwork. In 1988 I heard a steelband in Stockholm, Sweden and lost my soul to pans and made my first steelpan soon after that. Of course it took many years and hard work to learn to make a good one. In 1997 I started with Kitee Steelband. In 1999 I had a chance to visit Trinidad and see the great steelbands and tuners there. From there I went to study pan making with Chris Wabich and Dave Beery in L.A. as well with Esa Tervala in Switzerland. Since 2000 I have focused on building and tuning steelpans, besides I have taught music and lead steelband in schools of Kitee. I tune a bunch of steelbands in Finland and Sweden on regular basis and have made pans for players in Sweden, Norway and Italy as well. During 2004-2006 I visited Thailand to make steelpans for Bangkok Calypsociation Steelband. In 2007 we recorded a cd with Steely Wonder from Kitee. I keep on making and tuning pans and the hammering goes on....Stay tuned! For more info on steelpans and steelband workshops etc. please contact: 2pansimon(at)gmail.com