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2010
Since You're Looking...
For a good excuse to take this Friday off, look no further!
On Thursday night, Oct. 7th at 2200hrs three of Kuopio's foremost kick-ass bands will take the stage at Henry's Pub (Kuopio).
Starting with Märkä läikkä followed by Ultra Brewtality and Band of Shysters will close the night. Tickets are 5€ at the door.
And hey, we're breaking out our new fiddle player Anni, plus we've got a couple more surprises up our collective
sleeve so drag your arse down, it's gonna be brilliant!
A Change In Our Line-up
As you may or may not have heard Anssi Salminen has left Band of Shysters. His departure is due to scheduling problems (read: impossibilities) and personal reasons. Anssi is bloody busy these days playing in about a dozen bands in Helsinki so squeezing in a 13th band in Kuopio just didn't fit his timetable anymore. Though Anssi's presence will be missed in our ranks we wish him all the best. He is definitely headed for bigger and better things, and I believe we are as well.
Anssi's vacancy in the band is filled by fine Kuopio fiddle-artist Anni Ronimus who not only brings loads of experience and a refreshing classical-infused approach to the table, but is also a veteran fan of the traditional music of the Celtic peoples whose knowledge & wisdom in some areas, I'm afraid, will leave the rest of us in shame. Oh yeah, I sense good times are coming.
Album Delayed
Like you're surprised! Yeah, yeah, yeah... It's A Long Way To Tipperary If You Wanna Rock & Roll has again been pushed back. It's a force majeuere thing. Look for more updates as the matter progresses. So just for now, and just between the two of us, the album will be out for x-mas, but fer chrissakes don't tell anybody! We don't wanna jinx it. Again. Nope, not this time.
You Must Never Hesitate
On Sunday, June 20th 23.00hrs intro Bar & Grill, Kuopio we are making our contribution to the Kuopio Dance Festival. Starts at eleven. We are followed by DJ Soulmate. Admission is free.
This may also be the last chance to get your stinkin' paws on one of the much coveted BoS T-shirts. Only a few remain and we are expecting a complete sell-out after the show.
About what Jimmy Rabbitt said, you must react quickly and drag your arse downtown. intro is THE place to be this Sunday night & all the offices will be quite empty come morn.
We shall see all your arses there, I do believe!
GIG!!! ON MARCH 17TH IN KUOPIO!
First and foremost, WE HAVE A GIG! Coming up on St. Paddy's Day. That is, on Wednesday, March 17th drag your arse down to Henry's Pub by 21.30hrs to catch a quick workshop and performance by Irish dance troupe Kipeät Jalat [Aching Feet]. Our set will follow @ ten o'clock sharp. Admission is free if you're 18 or older. If you aint, it ain't. I urge you to be there, we're gonna play some new tunes from the upcoming album.
New Song & Video Everywhere!
The song is "Fields of Athenry" and will be featured on "...Tipperary". The video was shot at a gig in Turku. It is up right now on Facebook, Youtube, Myspace & what have you. It's also on our Listen-page. BTW, also added an audio player to said page & took down the old index-page.
CD-Single SOLD OUT—Download version still available
Yup, the 2nd and last printing of "The Girl From the North" is pretty much sold out. CD Baby still has a couple on the shelf, three I think, but other than that I'm afraid it's the download version for you until "...Tipperary" comes out...
Album Release Postponed—We are hoping for June 2010
...Which reminds me that I have the repugnant duty to inform you that we are pushing back the release of "It's a Long Way To Tipperary If You Wanna Rock&Roll". We don't have an exact date yet. Current estimate is June 2010. Why? Quite simply because it isn't done yet. Working without the pressure from a record company we are taking full advantage of the luxury of being able to just take the time, and make the best damn album we possibly can. Also, we're a tad short on cash and can't afford to rush things much for that as well. If it comes to it, we might be taking pre-orders to make up the difference. In any case, the album will be done when it's done. You'll be the first to know.
And finally – JUSSI IS BACK!!!
Yes, after an excruciating wait our prodigal son has returned from his 8 month hiatus in Goa, India, and rejoined our ranks! We are naturally exstatic. Actually, he got back already in early November, but you know how it is. You need time to adjust. :)
More news will be forthcoming, hopefully sooner than later.
2009
3. June
First, just quickly: We're up on Spotify, check it out.
And now...
Remember how we got state funding for our album a while back? Well, we're glad to announce that we are in the middle of the pre-production phase of the process of releasing our debut album. This means that we're writing, picking & arranging songs and planning all the practical stuff, logistics, dates and such. So there's still time to share suggestions or thoughts into what should/shouldn't go onto the album. All input comes much appreciated.
Our plan is to record -- mostly live -- around 15 songs of various origins at a special location (more later) in August/September. We'll start to lock plans come July, so that's how much time there still is to have your say.
The planned release date is St. Patricks Day 2010 and the working title is It's A Long Way To Tipperary If You Wanna Rock & Roll.
Also, we're performing at a private function on Sunday, June 7th in Pannuhuone here in Kuopio. If you know what's what & who's who you can surely score an invite still.
Another gig is on Wed. June 17th, the last night of the Kuopio Dance Festival in Henry's Pub.
19. April
Gig tomorrow night @ Henry's Pub in Kuopio with Pauliina Pohjolainen, Verigreippi and Dave Forestfield. Show starts nineish, I think we are the last act. Free admission for over-eighteens -- no admission for those under.
12. January
So we did our first bit of a tour: Midwinter Folkpunk Nights; Fucking Brilliant! Great time was had by (us) all. Wanna shout out a HUGE THANKS! to everyone who was involved (in spirit or in practice), especially to Jaakko&Jay and Marru. Here's a couple of pics from the Turku gig on our Facebook page.
5. January
NEW GIGS:
Jan 6th, Midwinter Folkpunk Nights, Henry's Pub, Kuopio, 2200hrs, free admission
Jan 7th, Midwinter Folkpunk Nights, Klubi, Tampere, w/ Jaakko & Jay, 21hrs, 6€
Jan 8th, Midwinter Folkpunk Nights, Klubi, Turku, w/ Jaakko & Jay, 2100hrs, 5€
To comment on the timely fashion of this info, please refer to the quote on "Gigs" page. (Also updated website a bit.)
2008
10. Oct
Wow. Long time, no news. Well, now we've a few things to share.
The first printing of our debut maxi-single "The Girl From the North" sold out pretty fast. We just got in a second batch of CD's and it's once again available. You can get yours directly from us, from Levykauppa Äx or from CD Baby.
Download versions are available from Amazon, CD Baby, iTunes, Rhapsody, Ruckus, Tradebit, PayPlay and LaLa. Ringtones from GroupieTunes.
During the summer we got Band of Shysters T-shirts done. The shirts are black and green (Kelly Green, green #47, grass green, very Irish) with the Barrel logo in white on the front. Optional slogans "Who's Your Paddy?!" or "Bastardizing the Tradition, est. 2006" are printed in white on the back. Sizes from S to XXL (3XL in black shirt only), ladyfit sizes XS to XL. As of yet shirts are only available directly from us. 15€ for straight T-shirts, 20€ for ladyfits.
Our shirts were the hippest, coolest & trendyest summerwear in Kuopio this year and the single played on local radio a couple of times, which was nice.
Now we are planning gigs for the rest of the year & January and working on a shirt gallery for the website. More on those soon.
17. May
The single is done (LISTEN NOW!)and Finland is playing for the bronze. The release bash is tonight. The venue is Crony's Bar in Kuopio, and we will start playing right away after the ice hockey match. Should be around 00.45, or so. Come early and watch the game large screen at the pub.
In the meantime, listen to the single on myspace.
What we don't have tonight though, is shirts. And they won't be coming for a while, either. The local printers are too busy at the moment, and can't make them until probably August. But good things come to those who wait, eh?
See you tonight at Crony's!
30. April.
Gigs! May 17th & June 12th. Please come. :)
19.Mar.
Our single is delayed due to gear malfunctions and Huotari (who will mix the thing) being on tour with another band until April. Read all about it on our myspace blog.
11. March
The Shysters-trio will play Parnell's on Gummeruksenkatu in Jyväskylä next Friday as part of a Saint Patrick's Day Tour.
14. Feb.
We managed to put out a press release about the grant, and the story made Editor's Picks on MI2N.com. Yay! Read the whole story here
8. Feb.
We have received a 1000€ grant from the Arts Council of North-Savo to cover part of the production costs of our first album. We are simply thrilled, and hope to make some kind of statement some time soon, if we manage to calm down a bit.
Oh, also updated the website a bit. More changes coming.
1. Jan.
We had so much fun last night that we had to put up a brand new guestbook. If you were at the gig last night we'd love to hear your thought & impressions. Or even if you weren't. Please, drop us a line.
2007
21. Dec.
Long time, no update. Firstly, you'll be glad to hear of some new gigs. We'll be playing Crony's on New Years Eve and The Shysters will play as a quartet on January 4th in Intro for Kide Festival. Both gigs are in Kuopio, we've yet to make it out of town. Damn, that's too many damn links for a little paragraph. Ah, well. :)
Unfortunately Huotari can't make it to the New Years Bash but we are very glad to announce that the fabulous Jani Kivelä will be joining us for the occasion.
The Kide -show will be a quartet with Aapo, Antti, Jani and Jussi, so come check that shit out! We will be having both an Irish bouzouki and a cittern in the band at the same time, and Jussi has been a new playing style to simulate the bodhrán on the bass, so that should be an interesting show. Please, come join us. You have to be 18 to get in for both gigs, but admission is free.
Secondly, after the recording of our gig for The Irish Festival turned out having failed miserably we realized that we need to make a studio quality promotional release. After much shilly-shallying we resolved to self-release our debut single. We've made a couple of trips to Huotari's Hym Hym Records' studio and laid down some pretty cool tracks, if we do say so ourselves. We've a couple more trips to make before the thing is finished, and the holidays aren't helping any, and besides, we are having some health issues that are also putting some barriers on our progress, but rest assured — with it's original title track "The Girl From the North", the three song CD will be released in January, both in physical and electronic formats. Watch for updates on this site (sic) for info on where and how to get your hands on it. Certainly parts — if not all — of it will be up for listening, here and on myspace but not at full quality. To get the full, unthwarted experience you'll need to spring for the cash. For which we will owe you the deepest gratitude. TIA, guys. The single will definitely be available directly from us, via this site or otherwise, and we are looking into other possibilities for downloading — for your convenience. After all, if you're gonna give us your hard earned money, we certainly wouldn't want you to have a hard time of it! :P
Thirdly, we've pretty much decided to fabricate T-shirts for our trusty fans (well, who do you think?!) to wear. We're thinking two options, black and green, with white line-art of our logo on the front and the phrase "Who's your paddy?!" on the back. How does that sound? Please, let us know.
Fourthly, we want to come up with the perfect drink/coctail/shot to bear the name "Shyster". The idea is that the drink will be sold at the bars where we are playing, the owner will make some extra cash and will ask us to play there again.
Well, that's not exactly true. Of course they will want us to come back, but we're hoping that the increased sales will encourage them to pay us better!
We're thinking it's gonna be a dark beer with a dash of whiskey added, or alternatively, cask strength whiskey diluted with a light vodka. If you have a better idea or just disagree go ahead and let us hear about it.
Lastly, I can't decide whether we should start a separate blog or let this page act as one. There's a couple of entries on our blog on myspace about our recording trips, but myspace is such a PITA to handle, and facebook ain't no better. I think we'll just mostly stick with our own site. Certainly there's not so much changes happening to the site that this page need be devoted to those alone.
Anyway, we ought to put up a guestbook somewhere. Got any suggestions for a good, free guestbook service? Or any suggestions on what we should do for Saint Patricks Day?
Oh, bollocks. It's 5.32 AM. Thanks for reading, and Happy Christmas, your arse! Keep in touch!
11. Sept.
A couple of gigs for The Shysters on short notice.
4. Sept.
Oh shit, I guess we do announce gigs, after all .
23. Aug.
Some gigs are being planned as we write. Details forthcoming in the next weeks. A couple of live songs up on ourspace.
14. Aug.
Today's was our first rehearsal with Huotari. A most excellent dude and player. The feeling seemed mutual. We're very happy to have him on board.
On a heavier note, Mellu missed her last rehearsal today. We are certainly very sorry to see her go, but realize that we couldn't carry on as we did up till now. Thanks, Mellu! It was indeed quite a ride. Sláinte! Here's hoping you get your shit together!
Luckily, Katja Koskinen was standing by ready to jump into the fray. Gladly we welcome Katja to the line-up!
Early August
Folks are returning from their respective summer pastures. Things are starting to get moving again.
June-July
Shysters all over the place. Unfortunately not many of them in the same place at the same time. Aapo and Antti warm up their duo act. Anssi Salminen is moving to Helsinki to study at the folk department of Sibelius Academy, but he will be staying on with the band, though his appearances at rehearsals will no doubt be kind of limited.
April
Negotiations with several booking agencys. Unfortunately we didn't find a suitable ally this time. We'll be handling our own bookings for the time being. Anyways, being there's eight of us we won't likely be getting a good enough price for gigs anytime soon to make the band feel like a job. Keeping gigs scarce seems to sit well with everyone for now.
March
Anssi Huotari from Varkaus will be replacing Pekka and taking over accordion for the band. We welcome Anssi into the band.
February
Pekka Kurki will be moving to the far side of the country, and will be leaving us come spring. We'd like to thank Pekka for his services and wish him the best of luck in all future endeavours.
Jan-Feb
Resumed rehearsals. It's proving diffucult to get everyone together. We're often playing with just Aapo, Antti, Jussi and Sami present. The others make appearances when the schedules match. Mixed a promo-medley from K-klubi live recording. Planning gigs for the summer.
7.-12. Jan.
Jussi in rehab. Nothing happens.
2006
21. Dec.
Our first gig at K-klubi in Kuopio. We're taking the rest of the year off and will return to the grinder after Twelfth Day.
September to December
Frantic rehearsals.
August
Band of Shysters formed. Katja, Anssi, Mellu, Pekka & Sami on board. Started rehearsing our first set.
July
1st public gig at Järvisydän medieval restaurant.
The Shysters became a trio when Jussi joined.
May
First performance of The Shysters at a private party.
Feb-March
The Shysters first came together. Started as a duo by Antti & Aapo.