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HEIKKI SILVENNOINEN BIO
Finnish bluesguitarist and singer Heikki Silvennoinen has made a long road as a musician and also as an actor. In the beginning of his career in the 1970s and 1980s he played in many Finnish legend rock and progressive bands. At the end of the 1980's Silvennoinen was a founding member of first remarkable English-language bluesrock band Q.Stone, which was also well-known outside Finland. At the same time Silvennoinen has done an own strong solo career and has belonged to the SF-Blues band project founded 2002. The big crowd knows Silvennoinen at the beginning of the 1990s from Kummeli TV show where he besides acting wrote sketches and made music. Mainly Heikki Silvennoinen works for a musician - as a guitarist, a composer and also as a producer.
1970s
Progressive band Tabula Rasa was founded in 1972 with members Heikki Silvennoinen; guitar, Tapio Suominen; bass and Asko Pakkanen; drums. Same year the band became the second at the pop-bands Finnish championship challenge, and they made support gigs for the other legendary Finnish progressive band Wigwam.
Later on Tabula Rasa members were also Jarmo Sormunen; flute, Jukka Leppilampi; vocals, Jukka Salmela; vocals, Jarno Sinisalo; piano, and Jukka Aronen; drums.
The band's compositions were mainly done by Silvennoinen, and lyrics wrote Mikko Alatalo, who didn't belong to the band.
The band released two albums and a couple of singles. Tabula Rasa quitted in year 1977 - Aronen and Silvennoinen joined Mikko Alatalo's Coitus Inc. band.
MIKKO ALATALO & TABULA RASA
MIKKO ALATALO & COITUS INC.
VÄLIKAUSITAKKI
HERU
Veltto Virtanen; vocals
Heikki Silvennoinen; guitars, background vocals, percussion
Pekka Rechardt; guitars
Ismo "Ippe" Kätkä; drums, percussion, background vocals
Hannu Tervaharju; bass
1980s
THE THANX
FRENDZ
Heikki Silvennoinen;guitar, vocals
Päivi Portaankorva; vocals
pekka Salminen; piano, synthesizers
Jouko Laivuori; keyboards, vocals
Mikko Löytty; bass, vocals
Sakari Löytty; drums, percussion, vocals
Matti Takala; drums
Ippe Kätkä; drums
Safka; accordion, flute
CATWALK
Heikki Silvennoinen;guitar, vocals
Heikki "Pointero/Pote" Vihinen; vocals
Matti Takala; drums
Mikko Löytty; bass
After Tabula Rasa Silvennoinen worked as a producer for many years on several records of different artists. During 1980’s Silvennoinen played in bands called Frendz and Catwalk until that same end of the decade was the shift Q. Stone. Ex-Pro Fide gospelband’s singer Mikko Kuustonen began to make songs in English and released an EP by using name Q.Stone with the backing band Pro Fide. Q.Stone turned in a band by Heikki Silvennoinen, Harri Taittonen (later Markku Tabell), and Jaakko Löytty’s little brothers Sakari and Mikko. Q.Stone was one of the first remarkable English-language bluesrock band's in Finland and released in all four albums. Kuustonen left the band after the third album in 1993 and went to solo career.
Q.Stone activity faded after Kuustonen quit the group and Silvennoinen concentrated on the Kummeli TV show. During the 1990s Silvennoinen played guitar also on Kuustonen's solo albums excluding 1992 released Abrakadabra album.
1990s
Q.STONE
Forward year 1993
Heikki Silvennoinen; guitar, vocals, background vocals
Markku 'Max' Tabell; keyboards
Mikko Löytty; bass
Sakari Löytty; drums
Years 1987-1992
Heikki Silvennoinen; guitar, vocals, background vocals
Mikko Kuustonen; vocals
Markku 'Max' Tabell; keyboards
Mikko Löytty; bass, background vocals
Sakari Löytty; drums
REST
Heikki Silvennoinen; guitar, vocals
Anssi Nykänen; drums
Harri Rantanen; bass
Jarmo Nikku; guitar
HEIKKI HELA
Heikki Hela; vocals, guitar
Heikki Silvennoinen; guitar, background vocals
Anssi Nykänen; drums
Harri Rantanen; bass, background vocals
Jarmo Nikku; guitars
Timo Kahilainen; keyboards, background vocals
During Q.Stone's third album Q.Stone III in 1992 Silvennoinen released his first solo album Mature And Cool. Besides own compositions album included cover of Blind Willie Reynolds song Outside Woman Blues, which Cream made famous.
Second solo album Bobcat was released in 1997. Album's well-known tracks were Silvennoinen's own song Sun Don't Shine, and Jimi Hendrix cover Fire. On the sleeve notes of the album he thanks his idols Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan (he has personally met Vaughan and Clapton).
The third album Sweet Surrender was released in 1999.
In 2000 Silvennoinen released on an own label Blues Blue Sky album - which mostly contains old blues classics.
His latest album is Miehet kaatuu released in 2003 and first time this album contains Finnish lyrics.
KUMMELI
In the beginning of 1990s Silvennoinen became a better known celebrity in Finland due to television show Kummeli. Of four members group (others were Timo Kahilainen, Heikki Hela, Olli Keskinen aka Eero Kakko, replaced later Heikki Vihinen).
Silvennoinen had the largest number of different roles (as Mauno Ahonen, Martti Mielikäinen and Matti Näsä).
On the sketches Silvennoinen had seen especially with Timo Kahilainen.
Silvennoinen has estimated that the popularity of the show is caused by a place for a "nut humour" at that time.
The Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat made a bill about Silvennoinen who said in an interview when Kummeli was very popular that the huge success will only be a temporary phenomenon.
At all events Kummeli has continued its existence with movies, TV shows and tours.
Silvennoinen has been in a central position of group's all phases.
According to Silvennoinen the best Kummeli sketch was the one about Lada summit since it gave an inspiration for the real Lada summit event. Silvennoinen has also said that, he had got his best Teosto royalties from Kummeli character Matti Näsä's song Jumankauta juu nääs päivää, which was made in 20 minutes.
SF-BLUES
In 2002 Silvennoinen formed the group SF-Blues with well known musicians Pepe Ahlqvist; harmonica, vocals and Dave Lindholm;guitar, vocals. The rest of the band was Mikko Löytty; bass and Jani Auvinen; drums.
The band's first album featured new songs from the each three leading members.
SF-Blues made over 40 gigs in a starting year.
The project continued next year and a guitarist-singer Erja Lyytinen replaced Lindholm.
SF-Blues started to work as Silvennoinen's and Ahlqvist's band, where the new quests get a call in turn.
In 2005 guitarist Jukka Tolonen and Mikko Kuustonen joined the group and band made their second album Joutomailla.
In year 2007 the quests were singer Eero Raittinen and keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, with whom the group made a third album Man-Be Careful! and also a tour.
© Auvo Laaksonen