Anna Phoenix

It's here!

2011-09-15T02:56:00.000-07:00

Anna's new album For one and all has arrived at Univocal Music headquarters!

If you would like to get your own copy before the release October 8th you can pre-order it for only 12 euros (shipping included) by emailing alexandra@univocalmusic.com. Cd's start shipping September 23rd (or after payment is received) - and we'll be at Musik & Talang at O'Malley's in Vaasa that night selling a few copies to lucky music lovers!

Musik & Talang 2011

2011-08-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Anna Phoenix spelar på Musik & Talang vid O'Malley's i Vasa den 23.9 kl. 19.00!

Musik & Talang är en storsatsning för alla inom musikbranschen med föreläsning och spelningar i två dagar. Mer info www.musiktalang.fi!

Looking for October

2011-08-18T03:07:00.000-07:00

So we're hearing that doomsday 2012 might happen in the end of October this year. That's fine - we're going for a release October 8th!

At the moment Univocal Music is buzzing with energy - Harju is now a resident of Sweden with more studies ahead, Alexandra is working on the release in big and small, and Anna is getting back to school at LAFO. Apart from Anna's album there's also a lot happening with Univocal Collective, of which Anna also is part, and we hope for a release by the end of the year.

Freefall 2011 is coming up on Saturday in Jakobstad, and even though Anna isn't playing this year Univocal Music will be there supporting local music, having local music support us! We are selling records especially to support the release of Anna's album and we hope people will step up to our booth and go crazy music shopping!

On stage this Saturday:
Amanda
The Iniquity Descent
New Charlesville Sound Art Collective
Risqué Disclosure
Thoby Loth
Velvet Six

And close to our hearts with their records on our table:
Kaamos FX
The Napkins
Porcelain Moon

More info: www.pimu.nu!

In peace, love and music,

Univocalists.

recording "for one and all" - the lövö sessions

2011-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Richie really got the record together somehow.

Lotta always brings sunshine!

No worries, Harju is on it!

Jumping for joy!

Vocals, brass and some additional guitars were recorded at Soulmama's house, and Univocal's new headquarters. Home turned studio can be quite cosy!

We're looking forward to the release in October and hope everyone keeps an eye open for news!

Peas. //the phoenix crew.

recording - the last with the band

2011-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ah, recording in the countryside.

Samu by the grand.

Eggcellent!

Some vocals.

Take your pick.

Mandolin man Set, aka the Hulk.

Anna is finding time to kiss the mandolin man. John in the background.

Adam posing.

Rasse took on the djembe. He looks at ease.

Conga man is finding the beat.

One happy braider, and one less happy braidee.

Anna is playing some bass on this record. If it looks this good,
it has to sound even better.

Some BBQ:ing in the cold.

Anna plays a game. It was boys vs. girls, so out of respect to
any and all of the sexes the winner will not be announced.

That was all from our weekends at Studio Lafo. We know what it sounds like, and soon you will too!

2nd album - video blog

2011-05-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Just something to keep you satisfied while we get photos uploaded from our last sessions.

This is Niklas Harju, much loved producer and sound engineer, playing Pong on a D-Control at Studio Lafo a few weeks ago. We keep busy, you know.

As of right now we're entering Alexandra's tiny, green house to record vocals. A fire is burning in the kitchen turned temporary control room, and mattresses are up the walls in the bedroom. Let's go! :)

2nd album - 1st studio blog

2011-04-20T10:20:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend Anna Phoenix entered Studio Lafo to start the trip towards the magic second album. Sister/producer Alexandra and engineer/producer Niklas were of course by her side, together with the young musicians showing up to do their thing.

Three full days of Anna Phoenix' originals, drums, bass, congas and some Rhodes. (As well as additional inspiration from albums like Moving Pictures with Rush, and the "splendid" "hit" "I'm so excited" that also made it into the spontaneous jam sessions that occured). We were excited to get the album going and although all projects seem heavy at times, this first weekend went pretty smoothly. We're gonna throw you some photos as evidence.

We started out with a quick practice so that the producers knew what was going on in the latest arrangements. From the left: Anna, Adam, Benjamin, Mika, Rasse, Set, Kimme, Jenny and Kim rocking the song "Skin on skin".

Niklas, drummer Rasse and engineer slave Axel, speedy as always!

Fast but precise, that's the engineering duo for you!

Jaws dropped by the awesomeness that took place.

Laying the line. Niklas at the controls, Jenny on the bass and Anna on supporting vocals and guitar.

Trying to stay on top of things...

No comments.

Guest star and bass god Mats Ödahl.

Anna is debuting as the Eggman. I'm telling you - no missing this album!

And a final "Until next time" from Kim Påfs, conga man.

We are sure our studio blog will mature over time. Or will it? Stay tuned!

In peace, love and laughter,

The Phoenix Crew.

113. SAN FRANCISCO, THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT!

2010-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning we overslept to celebrate our last whole day on the west coast, and had to, once again, hurry ourselves through the morning. We left Andrea's apartment and darted across the street to buy some breakfast at the small grocery store. Some juice, cheese, yoghurt and bananas richer we walked two blocks down to pay our new friend Lisa a visit and eat our breakfast there. Her and her dude Paul's (who already had left for work when we got there) apartment was really nice and cute, and we spent an hour with Lisa eating and talking. Thanks for the invitation and the brownies, Lisa! :)

We had plans to meet up with Alex' relative Tanja so we took the BART to Civic Center, and walked to City Hall from there. Tanja picked us up and we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, a first for Anna and Harju. Even though Alex had seen the bridge before she was also amazed by its red beauty, and all of us were thrilled to cross the bridge and drive up the hill on the other side. The view up there was astonishingly beautiful, you could see the whole bridge, far out on the sea, Alcatraz and the San Francisco skyline. We enjoyed it up there for a while, and then drove down the hillside and back across the bridge.

Yep, soccer outside City Hall. For F's sake!

Tanja then took us downtown to visit the crystal store Satin Crystals that Sheila and her sister Lisa (from the dinner the night before) own. Lisa was working that day, so we got to meet her one more time, and talk a bit. We got thrown away by the amount of different crystals and their powers, and had a hard time choosing pieces as gifts and for ourselves. Eventually we picked out the right ones, said goodbye to Lisa and headed back out.

Tanja gave us a ride to the BART station, and in a few minutes we were back in Oakland. We got back to Andrea's and started preparing for our trip to Berkeley where the Open Mic at Freight & Salvage was about to take place that night. We met Tommi's girlfriend Liis who had arrived in San Fran that day, and together with her, Tommi and Aksel we took the BART to Berkeley. When we arrived we gave the three others directions to Telegraph Avenue, and when they set off we walked the other way to check out the spot for the Open Mic. Freight & Salvage wouldn't open until 7pm so we sat down at a café/juice bar, and walked a few blocks up and down to kill time.

We didn't expect the Open Mic to attract an awful lot of performers, so we went back to Freight just before 7pm. Oh, how wrong we were. A long line had formed while we were gone, a line filled with only performers. When we got in and Anna signed up we noticed we had gotten there last minute, they stopped the sign-ups at performer no. 33, Anna was no. 30. Tommi, who had planned on doing a song just for fun, didn't make the list. He was first on the waiting list though, and eventually got to perform anyway.

The show started around 8pm, and the audience got to see a lot of different performances. Some weren't very impressive or interesting, but in the crowd a select few really stood out with either their talent, their message, or both. For example we really enjoyed the music of a singer/songwriter from Louisiana, Kelly Love Jones and her little kid Sky whom she had brought with her on stage. Alex even bought a CD from her and connected a bit for future collaborations. Another act that really impressed us was a group of five young people from Seattle and their guitar, violin, upright bass, banjo and mandolin. They were called the Blackberry Bushes and stunned the crowd with their extremely fast playing, beautiful harmonies and fantastic energy.

During the show our new friend Salome, who was about to stay at Andrea's together with us the next night, showed up and introduced herself. She is a really nice young girl from Switzerland that we liked even though we got to spend so little time with her.

The Open Mic show was very long, and unfortunately some people eventually started to pack up and leave. Anna had to wait four hours to get to perform, and was by then really tired and not really in the mood to perform. But she did "Oh James, when all's lost in confidence" anyway, and even though she didn't think she played too well she thought it was fun and attracted excited applause and a few cheers. Tommi played a cover after Anna, borrowing her guitar, and after rewarding him with our applause and compliments we ran off to catch the last BART. We got to the station just in time, and back in Oakland we eventually went to sleep.

Wednesday morning (well, more like afternoon) we woke up, not as well rested as we would have wished but still up and going. We said goodbye to Andrea who had to leave for work early, and left the other Finns a note since they took off without goodbyes (we figured they probably thought they'd see us before we left). Packing our stuff logically was a fight, and after brutally losing the battle we began our next one: getting our painfully heavy load to the BART a few blocks down. That trip seemed to last forever and resulted in lots of sweat, bruises, sore muscles and a really bad mood. Unfortunately those symptoms returned to us many times during the rest of our trip, but I guess that's close to fair since our trip home would take three days which we would spend with heavy bags, irregular eating and almost no sleep at all. In other words, we didn't look forward to it the least bit.

Andrea taught Tommi a bit of hula hula, while he taught her to change bike tires. Nice trade!

At the Millbrae BART station relatives Greta and Vicki picked us up and drove us to Greta's place. Spending our last hours in San Francisco together with them, Tanja and Rob got our moods up and we shared a few conversations and laughs together with them. We also ended our stay in San Francisco the same way we started it: with takeout from Chef Wang's. Yummie! Thanks for the food and the company, guys!

An El Rancho shuttle picked us up, and after hugging everyone goodbye we got on it, and were at the San Francisco airport in a few minutes. Checking in and walking through security went smoothly, and on the other side we bought some water and snacks, and waited for our 10.30pm plane.

New Jersey airport, with a view of Manhattan!

ZzZzzzZZzZzZ!

This flight would take us to Newark (the New Jersey airport) where a twelve hour layover waited for us. The flight was five hours long and we lost an additional three due to the time difference, so it was night during the whole flight. At least Anna didn't sleep a single second during that flight (well, any of the flights for that matter) and the situation wasn't much better for the other two either. On that flight we were also disappointed in a few important matters and are planning on contacting United Airlines to tell them off.

First of all, we were sitting in the emergency exit row, which meant that we in case of emergency would have a huge responsibility that the other passengers didn't have. So of course we had to read a separate safety card to get the information we needed in how to operate the exit and so on. So we were instructed to read no. 1-10 on a list of actions to be performed in case of emergency. Here's the thing, though; Alex noticed that right beside those 1-10 were requirements that pointed out who had the capability to perform the emergency actions. If you couldn't fulfill those requirements you had to move to another seat. So you wonder: why the hell weren't we instructed to read that part of the manual? Isn't it a pretty essential part of rescuing a hundred people being able to do so? For example, one of the requirements were that you had to know English and understand everything on the manual. Well, beside us, on the other side of the row, sat a woman who clearly didn't know English since she had to ask someone what all of it meant. No one payed attention to this and this woman, who didn't know the languange, was one of the people who held the rest of the passangers' lives in her hands. Comforting?

Another thing that was very disturbing was the fact that another woman in the exit row was seemingly drunk already when she got on the plane, and continued drinking during the flight. No one payed any attention to her condition, and you can also ask yourself if it is okay to serve alcohol to people required to take action and be aware if needed. System failure? Definitely.

Another thing United Airlines will hear about is a certain, very unfriendly, flight attendant. This was a woman who took advantage of her supposed power and position and obviously put us passangers below herself when she eyed us or talked to us. She constantly gave us rude looks and seemed to hate doing what she did, serving and helping us. When you have the job she has common courtesy is not too much to ask for. A concrete example would be her serving us drinks; she spilled water all over Alex and Anna, and didn't give a crap about it.
She was also the one who, with a horrible attitude, commanded us to read the manual. When Alex couldn't find the Swedish translation for a word Anna hadn't heard before we asked her, and she, instead of just giving us an obvious synonyme that Alex thought of a second after, started explaining the word slowly as she was mocking us, as if we were 5 years old, or stupid. It felt really undermining. Being around her was very unpleasant, she didn't smile at all, not once during the entire flight. Quit the attitude, woman! If you have a bad day and let your bad and grumpy attitude affect your passengers of clients, then you have the wrong job.

On top of everything we noticed a disturbing thing about the general safety on board. When the safety belt sign is lit the flight attendants walk down the aisle checking that everyone has fastened their belts. Only they don't check. On this particular flight (though this has been the case on pretty much every flight we've ever been on) the stewardesses cast a glance to each side now and then, missing whole rows and not seeming to care the least bit. We even tested this by hiding our belts so there was no way they could have seen we had fastened them if they didn't stop to check. No one did, they just walked by.
Okay, so it is your own responsibility to have you safety belt on while flying, and if you're stupid enough to ignore it then well, sucks to be you when you fly around the whole plane during turbulence. Only, the fact is that you not being tied to your seat actually is a danger to everyone else on the plane too, which is why the cabin crew shouldn't be so careless when making sure the possibility of people getting hurt because of someone's stupidity doesn't exist.
You either take away people's responsibility and then take care of them (not recommended), or you leave it up to them but also take care of them as they will of you (recommended). What they practise now is neither. We call it fake safety. And it makes you wonder, what else is fake safety on board? Scary thought.

So the San Fran-New Jersey trip was tough, and it wasn't comforting to think that we weren't even close to coming home yet.

The first thing we did when we got to Newark was finding our gate, getting a bite to eat and laying down on the carpeted floor to desperately try and catch some sleep. We actually succeeded and slept all in all about three or four hours, but we still weren't very rested since the hard floor and horribly strong and cold air conditioning woke us up several times during that time. But it still paid off in some way, cause when we woke up we were in a pretty good mood considering the circumstances, and after that the rest of the waiting time didn't seem too long. We spent our last dollars on some pizza and, in Anna's case, a donut (hey, I had to try a Dunkin' Donut when I had the chance!), and got on our second plane to Copenhagen.

This time all our seats were not in the same place, Anna's was apart from the others. Now, this flight would be seven hours long, of course we all wanted to sit together. Anna kindly asked a young man who was in the (aisle) seat next to Alex if he wouldn't mind swapping seats with her so that she could sit with her friends. The guy's answer was no, because he wanted an aisle seat. "I go to the bathroom a lot" he said. Anna also, and kindly, asked the man with the seat next to her if he could consider sitting in the middle, giving this young guy his aisle seat. He rudely said no without hesitation or explanation. It almost looked like he really enjoyed watching Anna having to sit down away from her sister and friend. A stranger who had nothing to do with the situation even dropped the comment "We like the aisle". The unspoken answer in Anna's head sounded something like "Well, I like my sister, and seven hours is a friggin' long time. But if an aisle seat really is that damn important then I guess there's nothing I can do." So okay, fine. We figured these two aisle-sitters had really good reasons for their no's.
We later learned they didn't. After seven hours of, in Anna's case, not being able to sleep and having no one to talk to, we were getting off the plane, all three of us deeply pissed. The young guy sitting beside Alex not giving up his seat slept beside the damn aisle the whole trip and got up to use the bathroom ONCE. He even looked really mad and disrespectful when Alex had to get up to use the restroom. And the guy sitting next to Anna also got up to use the bathroom twice, tops. People are really selfish these days. If any of us three were travelling alone a long flight and saw someone sitting apart from their group, OF COURSE we would give up our seat so that they could sit together. What good would it do to have them sit apart when they don't have to if you just find a little generosity in you? And seriously, if you travel alone, how the hell can it matter so damn much where you sit? So yeah, the second flight wasn't much of a success either.

In Copenhagen we had another 8 hours worth of waiting before our last flight to Helsinki would take off, so we decided to take the subway to downtown Copenhagen to look around and maybe see Christiania. So we bought 24 hour tickets so we'd get to downtown and back at any time, and got on the subway. When a ticket cop (heh :P) came over to check our tickets he told us to get off at the next station; apparently you had to stamp your ticket. At the airport we looked at a stamp machine and thought we didn't have to since it told people to only stamp ten trip-tickets, which was not the kind of ticket we had. So we got off the subway train, stamped our tickets and waited for the next one. You would at least expect stamp machines not to have the wrong information on them, resulting in you having to get off the train during your trip. System failure, Denmark. Not cool.

We got downtown and walked a long ways, saw a little street market and sat down on a bench to rest our legs. Harju had been feeling a little dizzy and had a headache for our whole trip, and suddenly realized he had a fever. Poor guy.

Do the Danes really need this info? And we thought the Americans were stupid!

Hmm...

We then decided to try and find our way to Christiania. We eventually did although we sadly just had a short time there. Christiania is a safe haven for hippies, which sadly is losing its independence. We were happy to see it before it's just tourists and no herbs. See, here marijuana is grown pretty much everywhere, and the houses are hand-built and the people generous and kind. This is something that works - but of course the State wants to tear it down. We enjoyed ourselves though; the people, the colours, the beautiful plants, and a quick coffee at Woodstock café. No smoking for us, this time. ;)
And for you people who think this is a "bad" neighbourhood with violence and hard drugs - you're way off! This is peaceful, and violence, hard drugs (which marijuana is NOT!), weapons and theft are all illegal. You have to be accepted by the community to get to live there, and no weirdo's (by their and our standards) are let in. This is a place for people with real moral standards. Real values. We like!

After enjoying Christiania we headed straight back to the airport to get something to eat and search for our gate. We stopped to eat something at a place at the airport called Kitchen & Co. Anna and Alex had some pizzas and were fairly okay with the outcome. Harju on the other hand was really disappointed with his meal. So due to expensive prices, bad service and the food not tasting good, Harju, after evaluation, instead of giving points TAKES four garden chairs from Kitchen & Co.

After eating we tried to sleep on another carpeted floor for an hour or so, and then got on our last plane. Alex and Harju fell asleep, those lucky bastards. Anna could, once again, not sleep for a single second. Damn. After the flight we went to claim our baggage, and Anna noticed in horror that her guitar was missing. Damn you, United Airlines. Her guitar, man! Hopefully it will arrive in Kronoby next week, though.

We left the airport to take a bus into the city. At this point we were really frustrated with our luggage and not having slept properly, and tried to hurry our way to get some train tickets for the train the next day. After getting them we took the tram to Alex' friend Hanna's apartment where we would get to sleep one night before finally heading home by train. Thanks Hanna for giving up your place for a night, the good night's rest and cuddling with the cats did us much good!

Yesterday morning we took the train up to Bennäs and the waiting family. Now everyone is a bit more rested and are slowly landing on this west coast. We still want to give everyone that have helped us out a big thank you so here's a list and we hope no one is forgotten:

Petas, Emma, Hanna, Inga & Julia
Vicki, Greta, Rob, Tanja & Allie
Ryan Fikejs
Maureen Whittaker & Brandy
Ramona
Asana Tea House
Bad With Names
Amanda West & Pete Coates
East Village Coffee Lounge
Mason Smith (+ the other frat dudes!)
Scott Kosits
Jeff Cleland at Hyde Street
Lynn Gentry
Mama Buzz Café
Steeltown Coffee & Tea (especially Adrian!)
Tragic Ends
John Vanderslice at Tiny Telephone
John Mount
Andrea Donnelly
Tommi, Aksel, Liis, Salome
Sheila & Lisa Satin, Matthew, Lisa & Paul and the others!

And of course our sponsors:
Musikstationen
ÖP
Svenska Kulturfonden
Kronoby kommun
Kronoby Andelsbank
Medwind läkarmottagning
Högnäs
Café 13

And just to sum things up we would like to quote some people:

- It's like a well-orchestrated, but very depressing puppet show.
(John Vanderslice about the American government.)

- Look, dude.
- Nice, man. It's like a flower. It's like a rose.
- Yeah.
(Frat boys, summed up!)

- I can feel her spirit around.
- Her spirit is a walker.
- No, your spirit is a walker, man!
(Heard on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. The hippies are still around spreading the truth.)

Articles about the trip can be read on ÖP and Musikstationen shortly! So be sure to follow up on our adventures. We on the other hand will head out on a new one - roadtrippin' to hippie festival Burg-Herzberg (and NO, we won't be blogging about that!).

Stay peaceful and stay in touch!

//the phoenix crew signing out.

112. PRIDE, CONCERT, BBQ, SHOOT & DINNER - YEAH A WHOLE LOT!

2010-06-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been busy - but here we are in Andrea Donnelly's RAD apartment in Downtown Oakland. So, yes, we've moved to another couch (loft bed and air mattress!) but first yesterday.

Anna and Harju went to the Pride parade. They saw the San Francisco one for the first time, and well, what can you say - WOW! The pride weekend is a huge thing here, and apart from all the fun and touching stuff in the parade (dragqueens, trucks with people partying on them, families fighting for equal rights and so on) it was fantastic to see millions of people celebrate this event on the streets and waiving their rainbow flags to show their support. You just don't see this kind of openness and happiness on the streets in Finland, even during the Pride weekend, and experiencing this was fantastic, especially to Anna who has two moms. Due to this, she actually shed a couple of secret tears during the event, overwhelmed by the fact that the happy and accepting attitude Finland lacks exists in a huge city like this. There is still hope for the rest of the world, so keep on fighting!

Our new friends from this night's dinner (the story follows later in the blog) had an interesting way of describing the parade.
Lisa: It's so positive! It's like a Grateful Dead show!
Matthew: With assless chaps!

After seeing the parade Anna and Harju set off to Golden Gate Park for a free concert organized by the popular radio station Alice. Lifehouse were the first ones Anna and Harju saw take on the stage, and Anna was super-excited about that and pushed her way closer to the stage, took a lot of pictures and enjoyed a great performance that totally rocked! Even though other artists and bands were about to play later Anna and Harju didn't stay any longer since Lifehouse seemed like the only interesting act that day. So we joined the crowd that swelled out of the park and walked towards the traffic lights where we would eventually get picked up.

While they went off into the city Alex took some time to herself (as she has seen the parade before back in 2003) and ate some fruit down by Lake Merritt just a few blocks from Scott's place. Then she headed to South San Francisco and relative Vicki picked her up and brought her home to treat her to some Swedish(!) coffee, coz frankly the Americans can't make proper coffee.

When Anna and Harju were done in Golden Gate Park Alex and Vicki picked them up and we all headed back to South San Francisco to have a barbeque at the Venstad's. Vicki's husband Rob, daughter Tanja and friend Allie, as well as "grandma" Greta were all there and we enjoyed some great chicken, baked potatoes (of which two EXPLODED in the oven!), and other goodness! Oh yeah, "pussy willow" is "videkissona" - just so you all know.
Big thanks to you all for good company and a great kinda family get-together!

After that we just headed back to Scott's in Oakland, had some wine and fell asleep.

This morning we got up pretty early to catch a cab over to Andrea's. Not far, but our luggage is out of this world. There are also two other (Finnish!) couchsurfers staying here for a few nights, of which one, Tommi, Alex hosted just a few weeks ago. Aksel is the other guy, and they're both great. Small world!

We had some lunch with them and while Anna and Harju did Oakland's Chinatown Alex headed back to Scott's for a (nude! and partly nude!) shoot! Censored photo below! :)
On our way back to Andrea's we found Oaksterdam University, got some info and Alex also spent some money on books in their gift shop.

At about 6.30 we arrived in West Oakland (kinda sketchy, so we haven't been there before) for a dinner in fellow couchsurfer Sheila Satin and her dude Matthew's awesome loft! Some of their friends, as well as Sheila's sister, showed up and we enjoyed Thai noodles, good stories as well as a short lesson in crystals (Sheila and her sister have a crystal shop and make holistic jewelery, more info after we visit the store tomorrow!). Alex even got to taste Sheila's coffee drink, for the evening named "After Dinner Satin Surprise". Big ups! :)

Harju likes the giant bamboo! We might open a greenhouse called Univocal B&B (not Bed & Breakfast but Bamboo & Buds! :)

We took the BART home with new friends Lisa and Paul, and on that trip Harju had a pigeon (bird family Columbidae) shit on his head. Dislike! We got over that (Harju is probably still working on that!), and are here doing late-night blogging for you at home or anywhere!

We are living in luxury when it comes to hosts, homes, friends and food. Until tomorrow - much love,

the phoenix crew.

111. TINY TELEPHONE, HAIGHT & A LIVE VIDEO!

2010-06-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just a question: Is this a terrorist?

Today we took the BART and a bus out to Potrero Avenue and Tiny Telephone.

That is one awesome studio, and the owner, John Vanderslice is a great guy. Open, honest and really passionate about what he's doing. Tiny Telephone is built with love, which you notice right away. But it doesn't only consist of love, it's also home to a lot of great equipment. We love the Neve, the Neve and all the mics (the Jospehson's!), the tape decks, the Neve, the B3, the guitar amps, the Neve, the B3, the Wurlitzer and the atmosphere! Yeah, we're excited, and would love to come back for a recording session!

After the intense tour we headed for Haight. Again. This time we went a bit crazy at Amoeba, listened a bit to Bill Kirchen live, and ate some Mexican food while other people went a bit crazy over soccer.

When we got back to Oakland Scott had made it home from his business trip. Anna and Harju made a delicious dinner and we talked, ate and started opening wine bottles. Still working on that, while enjoying some hemp(!) chips from the Cannabis Company.

Anna gave the chips 3.75 trash cans, Harju gave them 4 suns, and Alex gave them 4 erection rings! Pretty good!

Here's something for all of you that wish you were here with us! Big thanks to John Mount for filming Anna and promoting her a bit on YouTube! Here's one of his videos from East Village Coffee Lounge in Monterey, our new song "The dress that Jesus wore". You can find several more videos from that gig, and other great gigs at the lounge, if you go to his channel on YouTube.

Just a reminder before we go to bed and get well-rested before tomorrow's Pride parade:

Nighty-night, folks!

110. STEELTOWN!

2010-06-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

Today we took BART out to Pittsburg (California, not Pennsylvania - no, we're not touring the entire country, yet!), and missed the connecting bus out to Old Town Pittsburg where we were gonna play.

So we took a cab with a really nice and funny driver. He was going on about celebrities he has driven, and all the crazy stuff that goes on in the San Francisco area. In his own words:
- If you're not from around here it could be like Alice in Wonderland for 8 hours, not knowing what hole you fell down!

We found Steeltown Coffee & Tea, which is in a bank. That was a first! We give our big thanks to Adrian, the owner, who booked us and did great promotion for the gig. We felt appreciated and at home. We enjoyed some yummy smoothies and headed to the marina to enjoy the sun (yes, finally some California weather!) and the breeze.

Again some green! Plastic mugs made out of plants! Fuck Big Oil!

After some guitar trouble the gig went great although there weren't too many people. But they tipped generously and we are very grateful. Also thanks to Tragic Ends for lending us their PA! After another missed bus were happy Adrian could drive us to the BART.

Tomorrow we'll have more time to blog, so maybe you'll get more to read then! Goodnight, folks!

//just us.

109. MAMA BUZZ & THE ROOFTOP

2010-06-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

We went to the art collective Rock Paper Scissors today. That was pretty cool, and we're happy to see volunteer-run collectives that make things go 'round even in this economical climate.

Anna and Alex bought a few small items from their store and then we headed to Mama Buzz to get some vegan food. The food was good and the venue real cosy.

Unfortunately they hadn't promoted the gig in any way and we even had to put up posters last-minute ourselves. So no one was there for the music, and no one even hardly knew there was gonna be any music. But Anna and Harju played beautifully anyhow, and we hope to see a change in attitude.

The art was awesome (although a bit anonymous as well) and we hope to see Mama Buzz focus a bit more on the arts so that all artists get the promotion they deserve.

We really liked the political issues coming forth in the works. "Bay to Taipei" by graffiti artist Optimist.

Oh yeah, we found the rooftop (of the old CANDY store that we're staying in!)!

Some red wine and a movie. Tomorrow Pittsburg!

//t.p.c.

108. BRAIN WASH & HAIGHT-ASHBURY!

2010-06-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, friends and fans!

Yesterday we headed for our new home in Oakland! The very generous photographer Scott Kosits is lending us his apartment even though he's out of town most of the week. And what an apartment! It's a studio apartment with living room, bedroom, kitchen, office and photo studio all in one with a high ceiling and gorgeous pictures on the walls.

When we got settled in we headed into the city, and the very cool laundromat, cafe and club Brainwash! We did some laundry in a machine named Yo'Mam (we did the drying in Nacho!), had some coffee and waited for the Open Mic to get started. Which took some time.
The guy who was supposed to host it didn't show up and no one seemed to know if it was gonna happen or not. Finally someone else took out the sound system and tried to get the show going. Unfortunately that was someone who didn't know what he was doing and he was very unprofessional running around moving mics and what not during people's sets. But Anna did her two songs and we also kinda liked a Jeremy who played after her (and borrowed her guitar!).

Today we overslept and rushed into the city again, this time to visit the legendary Hyde Street Studios where Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other cool people recorded back in the days! And some cool people are still recording there of course, maybe it will be us someday! We like the Neve 8048 and the atmosphere there, and give our big thanks to studio manager Jeff Cleland for showing us around Studio A and D!

Jeff showing us Studio D.

After the quick visit we took the Muni bus to Haight-Ashbury and our hippie roots. It may be a bit touristy nowadays but the vintage and smoke shops are still giving the neighborhood its hippie feel. And the architecture in Haight is to die for.

We enjoyed some Ben & Jerry's (yep, Alex tried the fantastic "Imagine Whirled Peace") and Harju even bought a personally written poem on the topic "world peace" from Lynn Gentry on the street.

Now we're relaxing in the apartment after a good dinner consisting of organic ground beef, onions, mushrooms, peppers and zucchini all from Whole Foods. Alex wants to share some interesting findings before we put on a good movie on VHS:

If you ever wonder where he's at - maybe this is it!?

San Francisco is a very green city and we see the CHANGE everywhere even though Babylon is constantly present.

Conspiracy theory? Well, some of the people we've been talking to seem to realize that Obama is not in charge of anything, the true leaders are unseen and unknown. Talking politics with Americans can also go wrong, but we've been lucky and we've heard some interesting views on the topic.

Just trying to help out! Love is in the air!

Oh yeah. This is a new contest called GUESS THE DISEASE. Alex is troubled by a sun burn or allergy that has evolved into a kinda disgusting form. She might be turning into a reptile one of these days - so anyone who advices her on the right cure will win a Hey, Hugo single! :)

Interesting facts:

Popcorn seems to rain from the skies.

People here have no cigarettes because they always seem to ask us for them.

The holes are deep.

Tomorrow we're playing Mama Buzz Cafe & Gallery in Oakland, 7pm. See you there or elsewhere!

Love!

107. BERKELEY & NORTH BEACH & SOME POLITICAL & SOCIAL THOUGHTS

2010-06-21T22:35:00.001-07:00

So we've been spending time in Berkeley. It is a hippie mecca and we're enjoying ourselves looking through awesome small stores, and watching people of all sorts strolling down Telegraph Avenue.

So this is where we're staying - the Delta Upsilon fraternity of UC Berkeley. (To get a picture of the fraternity, here are its stated principals: the promotion of friendship, the development of character, the diffusion of liberal culture and the advancement of justice.) It's a gorgeous old mansion, although a bit rundown inside. All the guys (Mason, Noah, Alex, Dylan and the rest of you!) are awesomely nice and helpful. We're staying in "the bumming room", a room of tradition, the walls filled with names of all the people graduating (some are nicknames, we hope, like: Pink Simpson, Boom and Dick Blewett!).

(an enormously big slice of pizza from Fat Slice!)

Yesterday we went to the North Beach Festival. North Beach is the Italian district of San Francisco, but it is also the birthplace of the Beat generation. This is where the artists, poets and musicians got together to change the world. We saw A LOT of people that were in the way of all the beautifully cool buildings and stores, but we also found some great clothes (recycled/organic fabric and beautifully painted!)

Today we walked down to the UC Berkeley campus. And the "campus" they're building in Jakobstad ain't nothing compared to this!

See that tower? That's the world's third tallest bell-and-clock tower. And yeah, we went up there to see the entire bay! It has a 61-bell carillon, with the 12 original bells dating back to 1917.

That's the San Francisco skyline and the Bay Bridge, although in a haze and therefor nicely photoshopped! :)

We also met some nice squirrels as we walked through the lush, green campus.

After getting off campus we walked back and forth down Telegraph Avenue, had some lunch at Blake's and shopped both from hippies on the street as well as in different stores. We shopped for records at Rasputin yesterday, so we stayed away from Amoeba today saving it for the one in Haight! Oh, and frozen yogurt from Papamingo! Thanks to the guy there who google:d the closest grocery store for us!

There is no doubt about the fact that we have come to a very liberal part of America. San Francisco, and especially Berkeley, is very liberal, diverse, gay- and drugfriendly. Mason told us that when it comes to marijuana the cops in Berkeley couldn't care less. You are more likely to get caught for jaywalking than for weed. Which is something you easily notice, there is that certain scent in the air at all times as you walk down Telegraph. And the smoke shops are everywhere. Even though there are signs all over the shops stating that all products are sold for tobacco use only, and any suggestion that they are going to be used for something else may mean you can't buy their stuff. But we're talking bongs and pipes of all sizes, as well as the "drugs" Salvia and Spice. This is liberal America at its best. The medical marijuana dispensaries (that aren't yet closed down) are also a sign of this. Evaluations and prescriptions cost like a hundred bucks, and there's a lot of clinics to get them. They seem to know that this is good medicine, and even the "street users" get left alone.

But there are other sides to Berkeley as there is to the whole country. There's a lot of hard drug users on the streets, and the needle exchange station (in a photo below) in Berkeley is necessary and in good use.

Drug free zone? Hardly. This is Berkeley, and that zone can't possibly be more than a few square feet.

We've seen a lot of beggers on the streets here. But also homeless people, that usually are street artists, or just wants to offer you a smile, that seem to have chosen this lifestyle. They value other things in life than work, and owning stuff. Something much more valuable. Many of them seem really happy. Like the girl, and the two guys Alex bought the painting of (last photo). The girl claimed she didn't have any supplies left, and that she even sold a painting for 80 cents earlier. Alex definitely paid more than that to support her art, and got a hug as a bonus along with the beautiful cardboard painting. That is love and happiness and equality. We like!

Saying goodbye to DU and Mason, tomorrow we're off to Oakland, and also an Open Mic at the Brainwash Café! Wohooo!

//the phoenix crew.

106. THE GIGS!

2010-06-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

We are sorry that pictures and stories are a bit late, but Alex just didn’t have strength to get it done last night after the gig, but now we are ready to tell you all about the last few days.

On Thursday Ryan, the kind and awesome tourist guide, drove us over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Santa Cruz. We saw some spectacular nature, and had a blast. We’re glad we took the extra time to go a bit off-road (or off-freeway at least) to see the mighty forest, and cool down his boiling car (yep, cars tend to overheat if you push them too hard going over the mountains).

So we arrived in Santa Cruz and found Asana Tea House where the gig was going to take place. We put all our stuff in their storage space and set off to the streets. While Anna and Harju sat on the sidewalk practicing the set list Alex went to talk to an awesome guy who made bracelets a couple feet away.

He made a really strong point by NOT selling or trading the (hemp) bracelets, they were only there for appreciation. A group of young people were totally mind boggled by the fact that they couldn’t buy the bracelets and offered him pretty much anything just to OWN the bracelets (that they hadn’t even really looked at that much, it was just a matter of getting what you can’t have). Alex on the other hand got his point right away and sat with him on the street for a while discussing the world and art. In the end he got Anna’s album, and sure enough he wanted Alex to have a bracelet as well. She didn’t really get his name though, so she doesn’t know who to thank for that experience and the gift, but he said he’s bad with names, so Alex will just give him the Native American name “Bad With Names”. :) Thank you!

Bad With Names

After having something to eat (and trying some small Elixir shots, Alex tried a Crown Chakra shot, Anna tried one for the heart and Harju tried a Solar Chakra shot) at the tea house we met up with Amanda West, a talented Californian singer/songwriter who Alex has been in touch with since long before the trip. She helped us set up the sound system, and then we played the first gig of our California tour. The place was a coffee shop so there were almost no people in the audience, but we played for a few excited faces that really seemed to appreciate the music.

After the gig we headed toward Felton together with Amanda, to stay at her and her fiancé Pete’s house in Felton for two nights. And we’re telling you, their house is the most amazing house EVER! It’s a small and dark tree house up on the mountain side that was originally built to be used as a summer cottage in the 1930’s. The yard is wild and filled with interesting, small objects and plants. And the inside of the house: WOW. The interior is amazing, it’s really colorful with old fashion furniture in warm, earthy colors, and the walls and the fridge are full of pictures and wise words to read and get inspired by. And all around the house you can find a lot of cute hippie paraphernalia. We love this place!

Pete & Amanda

We slept really well our first night despite Anna’s fear of the huge spiders that are said to wander around the house sometimes (she managed by sleeping closest to the edge of the bed, pinning Alex against the wall, which she wanted to do in order to be able to run away if a monster approached her). We woke up to a beautiful Friday and ate a delicious vegetarian breakfast. Later in the day we headed downtown together with Amanda, visiting a big and totally awesome organic grocery store called New Leaf Community Market. We were excited and spent way too much money there, but it was okay since we just don’t see big eco friendly stores like that where we come from.

We bought delicious sandwiches at the market and drove down to New Brighton State Park beach which was on the way to Monterey where we were headed. The beach was really beautiful and we enjoyed the sun and the waves while eating our sandwiches.

Jeijj! (But notice the dead seal behind us :/)

We then drove down to Monterey and found the East Village Coffee Lounge where we were to play later that night. They did a great job promoting the gig, we found ourselves in Monterey County Weekly (thanks for the beautiful words!) and on posters all over the coffee shop.

Who's playing tonight? Oh, Anna Phoenix!

So after checking out the town a little (strangely enough almost all the stores were closed, but we found a really cool Bob Marley-store where we bought all kinds of different Rasta stuff) and having a bite at the Coffee Lounge we set up for our second gig of the tour. This time the small room where we played was almost full to start with, and the gig went really well. We made some good connections with great people who bought the CD’s and really seemed to enjoy the music.

Anna & Harju were on a big screen in the main room of the coffee house while playing in the music venue.

We then headed back to Amanda’s and Pete’s house and almost instantly went to bed. This morning we once again woke up to beautiful weather and ate a fantastically delicious breakfast out on the porch together with Amanda and Pete. We had some great discussions about politics and what not, and then got ready to leave for the frat house in Berkeley.

Amanda played some awesome tunes!

After travelling by bus (Greyhound of course, which Anna thought was really cool; the movies you know) and Bart we met up with a really nice photographer and got the key to his house where we are going to stay later next week. We then took a taxi and finally got to one of the UC Berkeley frat houses, where we’re going to stay until Tuesday. And well what do you know; this place actually looks like a real frat house! We met our fellow Couchsurfer Mason Smith and some of his friends, and had some Thai takeout. We’re now planning on chilling with them for the rest of the night. Alex says: o.O!

Mason enjoys peanut butter & apples.

Other interesting facts we would like to point out:

1. It’s really cold sometimes, though it’s usually warm outside during the day.

2. The toilet paper here is EXTREMELY thin compared to ours!

So until our next blog: peace!

//the phoenix crew.

105. RIVER PHOENIX

2010-06-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and fans!

We've been having some trouble getting photos uploaded so that's why we're a bit late on sharing these particular pics. It's from our day down by San Joaquin river in Stouffer Park in Ripon (Ryan's hometown).

(everything's BIGGER in America!)

Hanging out with Ryan was interesting and inspiring, and we are all really proud of the song we wrote with him. Big hugs, Ryan!

We'll update you with photos and stories from our Santa Cruz day and gig in just a bit. Alex just needs to totally photograph the shit out of Amanda's and Pete's house in Felton coz it's so awesome!

//the hanger-arounders :)

104. UNIVOCAL COLLABORATION WITH RYAN!

2010-06-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

So we sat by the river with Ryan yesterday (photos will be up soon in our next post!) and wrote a song! This is what Univocal is all about so have a listen to Ryan, Anna and Harju going at it!

UNTITLED UNIVOCAL SONG
written by Ryan Fikejs, Alexandra Sandbäck, Anna Saarela, Niklas Harju 2010-06-17

VERSE 1
I sit without you
by the moving water
Each ripple is a memory
Each turn fulfills a destiny
And I will float along
The current flows steadily

CHORUS
Everything’s changing at an unwavering pace
But I move slowly like the river today
And just like the river my perspective grows wide
and I stumble down my own sides

VERSE 2
So who’s to say
that now is not forever
There’s no end to this
Life’s like a prolonged kiss
And I will kiss along
This love flows steadily

BRIDGE
No holding back
No looking back
I’m moving on
My heart is strong
I have no fear
For I find comfort in change

All rights reserved.

103. RYAN & MAUREEN!

2010-06-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

(peaceful hippies at El Rancho Inn & Suites)

Ryan Fikejs picked us up yesterday and we waved goodbye to our two-bedroom suite at El Rancho while trying to get everything into Ryan’s Honda Accord. We headed for the center of the state and the city of Modesto (interesting fact: the city looks like a small town, but with 200 000+ citizens, and has like the highest car theft rate in the entire country).

We got to experience some of the American traffic jams, but also the mighty San Mateo bridge which lies right on the water, as well as some beautiful hills that we went over to get to the valley on the other side. We even started seeing the famous Jesus-fishes which we are used to from back home.

We didn’t know what to expect going to Ryan’s friend’s house, and thought that this might be the start of our actual couchsurfing. Well, I guess the Universe thought we should be more comfortable than that for another two nights. We arrived at music teacher Maureen Whittaker’s house sometime after 7pm and were totally impressed, grateful and happy to be welcomed into her very beautiful home. She says she likes to decorate on a budget – but you may wonder what budget exactly because the home is just lovely.

Alexandra and Anna got to share a luxurious queensize bed in one room, and Harju got his own room as well. We played some and ate a delicious dinner (Maureen made some awesome corn on the cob and sausages on the grill) and enjoyed really great conversations (interesting fact: Ryan’s friend got run over, literally, by a jogging Pierce Brosnan in Hawaii. He helped her up of course, but the big deal is: he has real ugly chicken legs).

Oh yeah, Maureen’s dog Brandy is the cutest thing we’ve seen. Ever. And we might just dognap her. ;)

Today we woke up to a beautiful day and we’re waiting for Ryan to show up and take us out on an adventure. Maureen's friend Ramona is here right now and they're listening to Anna and Harju practise while Alexandra is the blog manager. And she's signing off now! :)

//the phoenix crew.

102. PIER 39, CABLE CARS AND AWESOME DUDES

2010-06-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bit of a tourist day for us in the Phoenix crew. We took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to Embarcadero and took the historical streetcar to Pier 39 where we AAWW!:ed at the sea lions and ate some hot dogs.

Then we walked down the street to the cable car turnaround and got on. We climbed the hills slowly and got off close to Chinatown. After a quick stroll down Grant Ave. to the Chinatown gateway we found the BART station where we admired Ansar - a musician with an amazing voice, and a good attitude. Whether or not he's gonna be on TV, like he said, we don't know - but he was great! Alexandra gave him Anna's single, and we got his burnt cd which he normally sells for $10.

Back in Millbrae we shopped at Safeway and headed for bed. Today we had an awesome breakfast with Greta and Vicki in Greta's suite (yes, she lives at the hotel where she's worked for most her life, retired now though!) and then headed to Best Buy to get a mobile broadband.

Soon the amazing Ryan Fikejs will pick us up and take us to his hometown Modesto where we'll be until Thursday morning, hopefully connecting, playing and experiencing.

Talk to you soon! We LOVE you!

//the phoenix crew.

PS.

(this dude also studies bluntology, we support! :P)

101. SAN FRANCISCO, BABY!

2010-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

We started our journey on Saturday when we headed for Helsinki. We met up with Alexandra's lovely friends Petas, Emma, Hanna, Inga and Julia. Some drinks and burritos at Iguana along with discussions and laughs before we headed out to Vanda airport.

When you leave for the US you're supposed to check in 3 hours prior to take-off. Well, we were at Vanda in time of course, but the counters didn't open until 2 hours before take-off. System failure?

(before picture :P)

We flew to Frankfurt where we had NO time to get to the gate. And apparently that was the case for everyone else as well, so the cue to passport control for US travellers looked like a friggin' cattle house. System failure?

The Boeing 747(!) waited for some of the passengers and we took off for LAX. That was about 10 ½ hours of waiting, eating, sleeping, and the occasional(?) coughing by Alexandra. Definitely system failure on that, but the stewardesses were nice and provided her with water in copious amounts while she looked at her lungs resting in her lap. :)

About 4pm on Sunday we arrived at LAX and we went through immigration. Of course. And we felt raped. Fingerprints and photographs. Questions. Customs. Dogs. Definite system failure! We entered Babylon in peace but were doubted like everyone else. And Harju more or less almost missed his flight to San Francisco due to a locked guitar case and the customs officers who were very interested in his guitar that he had taken into the country perfectly legally.

We reached SFO a bit freaked out and tired but were met by Alexandra's relatives Vicki and Greta who kindly took us to the Best Western hotel El Rancho Inn & Suites in Millbrae where we got a complimentary night (that means FOR FREE so THANK YOU!)! Some Chinese take away from Chef Wang's together with Greta, Vicki and Tanja (thanks!) and we headed for soft beds to get a good night's rest.

(Greta, Vicki, Tanja and the food!)

Today we've woken up to the beautiful California skies and we had some breakfast across the street from our suite at the Millbrae Pancake House. Pancakes are a must-try but Harju and Anna agreed with Alexandra's previous experience - it's a must-try but it's bacon and eggs from now on!

(Anna thinks everything looks like on TV and she is convinced that the water weighs less here. Harju thinks the bananas (on his pancakes) tasted spicy, and of pepper. Alexandra found out that it's easier to cough unnoticed at the Pancake House due to the noise level. System success!)

Our plans regarding recording in Santa Cruz have fallen through so we decided to stay one more night at the hotel and see what the week and the Universe brings us. Today we're heading out to Fisherman's Wharf at least, riding some cable cars and maybe seeing Chinatown.

Until our next awesome blog;
Peace & Love!

//the phoenix crew.

HERE WE GO!

2010-06-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

We booked one more show for the tour. We're playing:

Mama Buzz Cafe & Gallery
June 24
7pm

We go south tomorrow, checking in with some friends in Helsinki, then heading out to the airport. Sunday afternoon we touch ground in San Francisco, and will be able to update you again!

Love,

the phoenix crew

We leave in less than a week!

2010-06-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Anna Phoenix live in CA-tour starts on Sunday! With less than a week to go it's busy at Univocal Music, and finally the plans are starting to fall into place.

We're gonna visit Hyde Street Studios (yep, the Grateful Dead recorded there!), Tiny Telephone, North Beach Festival (hopefully providing some street music for the Californians!) and see the Pride Parade, apart from playing these dates:

June 17 - Asana, Santa Cruz
June 18 - East Village Coffee Lounge, Monterey
June 25 - Steeltown Coffee, Pittsburg

(We're still waiting for an Oakland-confirmation, and we're still available for house concerts so stay tuned or contact us!)

Anna got a new guitar (a black Fender T-Bucket 300 CE) and we thank the good people at Kokkolan Laitevälitys for a great deal!

And she graduated from what the Americans would call high school!

Until we return -
PEACE.

//anna, alexandra & harju.

Welcome to the tour blog!

2010-04-29T02:53:00.000-07:00

Anna's tour page is open and our tour blog is here! Anna is heading for California in June and on her tour page you can find dates, venues, sponsors and friends - and right here you can read up on the action on the road.

So far the dates and venues booked are:

17.6.2010 Asana, Santa Cruz, CA

18.6.2010 East Village Coffee Lounge, Monterey, CA

25.6.2010 Steeltown Coffee, Pittsburg, CA

HOUSE CONCERTS

Anna is also available for house concerts during her stay in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, June 13-30. For more info please write to anna.phoenix@hotmail.com or alexandra.phoenix@hotmail.com.

COUCHES

We're looking for musicians and friends to crash at while we're on the road! Look up Amyndra on Couchsurfing.org or write to anna.phoenix@hotmail.com or alexandra.phoenix@hotmail.com.

Now we all hope to see you on the road, or here on the blog snooping around!

Much love,

Anna, Alexandra & Niklas