Drummer Man

« Juha Kiwano, the drummer man. »

Downtown living has a few constant features like drunks and rubbish, but there are also the musicians who play on street corners who you start to feel a sort of fondness for since they are a familiar part of the landscape. I've never chatted with the street musicians like I have with most of the local drunks in the park, who all know Otava and love to visit with him if they are able to stand, but I have enjoyed their music which might be more telling, really. Some play only during the warmer months but there are those who are out in every season, no matter the weather, who comprise the core of the street music scene.

There's 'opera guy' on Aleksi by Pohjola who always dresses in slightly stuffy clothing that you might expect to see on your grandparents. He plays opera tunes on a boom box while belting out the top opera hits in Finnish in a deep baritone/tenor voice. I've heard him out in -25C weather singing away without his voice changing even a tiny bit. I've not seen the talented guy with the electric guitar and disfigured face, from what I have guessed to be due to a severe burn[s], this year but I always wanted to know what his story was. His music was quite good though I never could linger very long as I had a sense of shame when I kept catching my eyes drifting back to his face and the uncomfortable feeling that comes when looking at someone who has suffered some sort of great misfortune.

The Peruvians play in Three Smith's Square almost all year these days instead of just in the summertime. They dress up in the full headdress and costume and seem to do a pretty decent business for themselves. It's just like Zamfir, master of the pan flute, if only he looked like a Peruvian. Once, while waiting for a friend, I was listening to them when I heard an American woman go past me saying very loudly to her husband, "They're Peruvian, not American, honey!" Had I been feeling more pedantic at the time, I would have caught up to them and informed them that Peruvians are, in fact, American Indians. South American Indians.

And then there is 'the drummer guy' who camps out near the Atheneum in warm weather or in doorways on Aleksi in cold weather. I found a copy of Matkaan, the VR rail newspaper, on the bus home last week that had a feature on a few street musicians around Finland and one of them was 'the drummer guy', a.k.a Juha Kiwano. I suspect that Kiwano is a nom de plume since Kiwano isn't a usual Finnish surname and kiwano is also the horned melon hailing from the more arid parts of Southern Africa. I've heard this guy play plenty of times and suggesting that his music has 'African rhythm' is probably stretching reality quite a bit, but what he lacks in rhythm he makes up for in persistence as he's always there, clinking and banging away. I'm not sure why, but I'm always happy to hear him downtown, even from a few blocks away. Voima had a short blurb about him last January that I had Jarkko translate for me since it was a bit more challenging than usual;

Juha Kiwano, a Vantaa resident, warming up the African rhythm culture over the winter, plays percussion instruments at the corner of the Ateneum. His fourth season ended in December 2003. Kiwano tells that the playing stemmed from long-term unemployment, loneliness, and the desire to do something.

"Ten years ago I was looking at street musicians and thought that I wouldn't be doing that. Now, later, I have thought about it from many perspectives that I need to play. I must get to play.", says Kiwano.

There is no particular tune or plan to the three hour long (including break) sessions.

"It comes from deep within", he says and sighs deeply.

A street musician who has been playing in Helsinki for years, and who wants to stay anonymous, remembers the beginning of the downtown percussionist Kiwano. Over time, starting from playing glass bottles and a homemade metallic string instrument, both his skills and arsenal have developed. In the collection of the African-rhythm-adoring musician, carried on a cart, are in addition to the usual drums and cymbals also kettle lids, wooden sticks, and a wide variety of self-made instruments.

"I try to find which ones make a nice sound. Finding them is a nice feeling,", Kiwano says.