He is a Finnish actor... I found him here:
[link]

He's in the first video. Those are four very awesome, high-budget informal videos, each about 3-5 minutes long, and are extremely interesting.

But yeah, apparently he's an actor, and his favorite band is Apocalyptica, so go figure. But... I'm wondering what shows/movies/etc he's in, because he seems like a likable person.

On another Finnish note, I found a new very nice website for learning very basic Finnish... [link] I really like it's layout and explinations... if you're curious about picking up Finnish, I highly suggest this website.

Anyway, autumn is in the air... I feel it in my bones... Winter is on it's way and it couldn't come fast enough. I'm starting to feel alive and youthful again... coming out of my summer hibernation. It might sound odd... but I can't survive in the Texas heat and sun. I feel horrid and prone to depression during late spring and summer... It's definately shown in my art uploading patterns. Thankfully, if you hadn't noticed, my adobe is back and I've been practicing my tablet for a few months now.

Current projects:
Finishing a very long comic about a strange dream I had involving Tony. 85% complete.
A Car trip with Lost Divinity, I haven't forgotten about them. 25% complete.
Meet Lost Divinity, it's very cute, and covers a few roadies. 1/12th complete.
Kentucky Fried Stage - SA comic. It's only a panel long, but it shows exactly how small the stage was and what the guys were like during the show. Underlines complete.

It was f***ing GREAT! We just hit the Sonata Arctica USA gig in Louisville Kentucky, drove 1000 miles to get here. The venue was Uncle Pleasant's... smallest venue in the history of venues, I swear. Which means... we were pretty much in the front row again. I'll explain the "pretty much" in a second. America is good for some things eh!

Let me start from the beginning.
Warning: This is a bit long.

I invited Markus, dad, and his awesome girlfriend Rachel to come with us... Markus because he's my concert buddy and bandmate haha, dad because he loves Kentucky and knows where the sights are, and Rachel because Kentucky means something to her... and I'm pretty sure she really likes SA.

We showed up to the venue about six hours early... so we had a conversation with the guy that owned the place. He'd talked to Sonata Arctica before, and knew them and Nightwish (and their crews) well. Said they share alot of the same crews and that they're damn nice people. He got a big kick out of us meeting Marco and Emppu in the elevator. Anyway, I guess he saw my love for the band... kind of hard to miss with my SA beanie, SA wolf necklace, and special-pre-order wolf shirt on. But he let us have a big concert poster for free. Had to stand on their couch to get it down but... ah well. I'll be posting a picture of it and my other gained merchandise soon.

We headed back to the hotel and came back an hour after the doors opened... because three other bands had to play before them. We plowed our way to the second row (politely) while the first band, a local steampunk band named Mungus, was still playing. The one woman that was in front of me would duck her head far down to let her hair dangle, and then headbang, anytime music started. And the stage didn't even have a railing... so I was getting a damn good view because of that.

IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE OPENING BANDS, SKIP TO THE LINE THAT SAYS "SONATA ARCTICA"!!!!

Mungus was pretty cool for one of those bands with complex outfits... (Not in the Lordi or Gwar way ) ([link]) For a not well known band, they've got a damn good adobe artist among them and some very nice custom guitar bodies. We picked up their free cd... or Rachel did, but I'm sure we'll all listen to it. The main guy had an extremely complex monocal, bassist had a crazy colorful steampunk outfit with sleek visor shades and one of those nice guitars. The lead guitarist was awesome... I'll look for a picture of them/him.

The next band Overthrone was fun. ([link]) The lead singer, Ryan, was some very nice eye candy... It very much upset me that his voice was drowned out by the music through 90% of it. Jack, their bassist (and Sonic Epitaph's bassist too, apparently) was HILARIOUS. Knew how to work the stage... he was almost within arms reach the whole time. Ok, once during what almost looked like a bass solo (oddly enough) he looks at me with large eyes, smiles, I cheer him on, and he reaches up and gives me a "zip your lips" kind of mannerism. I was like "You don't want me cheering your name at a metal concert? Are you out of your f***in mind?" Not like he could hear that, but I was playing around with him anyway. That was pretty fun. Jack played that insanely hard super mario bass song while waiting. Everyone yelled "DO ZELDA" and he was like -thumbs down-.

Sonic Epitaph came on next. ([link]) They are definately worth a listen. They're a symphonic metal band from Louisville... but damn they were amazing. Do check them out. They couldn't get their keyboardist set up well and her mic wasn't working well... but that was the only problem. Getting the keyboards set up, which had to be set up off stage due to space, cut them short by one song. The lead singer, Cristina, was amazing... voice was pretty good, though a bit drowned out by the venue's bad mics... but my eyes were locked on her despite Jack being right in front of us the whole time. She was... hot... in a mystifying hot-topic-clothes kind of way. Without knowing any better, I was guess her to have Rroma (gypsy) blood. I think I might buy their cd sometime.

NOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

SONATA ARCTICA!!!!

Took the house crew about fifteen minutes to get the sounds right... I was tired as hell too... thought I was going to pass out, but my love for Sonata Arctica pressed me through it. Plus the fact that the house sound guy Kevin kept needing Ahti's help... He'd call over the crowd with Henkka's mic "Ahtiiiiii!" and he'd answer back with a house mic... The last time, Ahti was right behind Markus's shoulder! I turned around and about pissed my pants. Makes me feel bad for never drawing that comic with him in it like I wanted to. His voice is adorable.

The crew was chattering away in German and Finnish... Methinks the German was coming from Fleischmeister... I didn't see him though. But anyway. When they FINALLY finished testing the sound... the side door that we were very close to came open... and in came a familiar face...

We all screamed... and it was only Marko. XD He just gave his usual, shy smile and propped against the wall. Then came in Tommy, then Elias, then Henkka... and they stood around goofing for about five minutes before Tony finally came in the door and propped against the corner. Then...

Everything Fades to Gray (Instrumental) happened. Prerecorded like most band intros. Then they run on stage excitedly, starting with Tommy, and my heart about lept out of my chest. Marko was damn close to where I was standing, and Henkka was even closer... within a few inches of my fingertips. GOD! Of course... our lovely Tony, playing the stage, came over to our side frequently to shine that beautiful smile. Or just make faces. It'd be hard for this to have gone any better.

HA! The first thing Tony did was the first thing I did when we stepped in. He looked at the low cieling like wtf? then raised his arm straight up... his fingertips touched the cieling. I feel really bad... it felt like it was the smallest venue they'd ever played.

The next song played was an instrumental version of Paid in Full... only because Tony's mic wasn't working. You could see the song's emotion in his eyes as he tried to sing over the instruments... but he wasn't legible other than the chorus a bit. Hehe... after the song, he crossed his arms, tapped his foot, and went.. "Ahtiiiii...." with that "you're in trouble" tone. Then he rambled a hell of alot in Finnish. I only knew one word of what he said.

So Ahti attempts to fix the mic and they go for it again after Tony greets Louisville. Then they went for their more recent single, Flag in the Ground! Still couldn't hear them too well... but Ahti fixed it well after the song. Next was Caleb... my former favorite SA song. Singing along to every word of that one was amazing. Then was The Last Amazing Grays... the "in the eyes of every newborn" part had me almost in tears each time it came on. Very emotional moment for everyone.

Elias had to take 20 seconds to tune his guitar, so Tony attempted to do the Old McDonald had a Farm game with us. The audience picked dog as the key animal, though Tony insisted on Moonshine Distillery... ! Sadly, no one could see him because the stage was short, so we made it to the "woof woof"s and called it quits. He was like "Are you done Elias? Ok, thank god. "

!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next was Last Drop Falls, a song I did not expect them to play. BUT HAHA OH MY GOD!!!! There was an extremely awkward instance in the middle of the song... I had been watching Henkka's fingers on his keytar... and I glanced up to see his pretty blue eyes, and he locks eyes with me. And... stares. And... I stare back... and we stare at each other for 15 seconds straight if not more... then he finally closes his eyes and gets really into the music. My reaction is still...

As If the World Wasn't Ending was next. That'd be my dad's favorite song from the new album... and one I hold very close. The first few lines, from beginning to "but that just has to do" mean alot to me.



I'm not very happy with 8th Commandment though... I've been sick to my stomache about what Tony did. It's one of the only two moments Tony interacted with me. But... fuck. Ok, so we all know what 8th Commandment is about... the hatred towards the liars. That song, despite being amazing, has always made me sick... I've been the liar. Heavily. I hate that I was... but it happened. And I continued doing it for years before the burden overpowered me. And this song... feels like he's singing directly to me/people like me.

But what upset me during the concert is... During the line "Can you feel the fire burning..." he looks at me, he points at me, and he loses his smile... then backs up with his finger and eyes on me, and goes to the other side of the stage. I know he was putting on a show... but it made me sick immediately... It's like fate will never let me live that down.

Anyway... They went on to play Juliet. Hehe, he introduced it as... "Shakespeare had Romeo & Juliet... We have Caleb & Juliet." Oh no! My own reality... Mirrors and smoke... that is getting stuck in my head now that I've thought about it.

After that was White Pearl, Black Ocean!!!!!!!!!! The song I was so highly upset that they left off of the live dvd. That set my soul ablaze. Best song experience from a concert period... though I've only been to three. I got chills during Henkka's piano solo. I must learn to play that... Tony also commented that that song should be made into a movie... My dream was to learn to use an animator like java or something and draw a music video for it and send it to them. I only wish I could.


This was HILARIOUS! Then, Henkka began playing the intro to Fullmoon... that creepy piano you know? And Tony creeps up behind him as he's playing... Henkka is fully into the song, eyes on his piano... and when it comes to the part where Tony is supposed to sing "sitting in a corner all alone" etc... he goes "Turrrn around.... every now and then I get a little bit lonely..." etc. Henkka turned around with a strange expression, but Tony stepped to the side and had this sinister look on his face... Henkka didn't notice. So he started singing Turn Around again, and Henkka finally caught him. Marko walked out like "What the fuck!?" and Tony bursted out laughing and started singing Fullmoon from the beginning.

Next was THE CAGE!!!! It meant so much to me! That's the first Sonata song I'd ever listened to... it's the one I sing or hum constantly, especially while I'm doing the dishes and such... and one of the only ones I can keep up with Tony's pitch in. I was singing at the top of my lungs... and in tune, unlike singing along to Nightwish. I mean... I could tell... and I felt like the crowd was my voice. Most empowering moment of my life thus far.

Then they all walked away... no byes or anything. We started chanting them back out... and randomly... Tony starts yodelling. And he does a damn good job of it too! I bet he yodeled because we were in Kentucky. He comes out with a brown chair, sets it in the middle of the stage, and stands on it, saying: "Well, we've never had to do this at a concert before! We were going to play the drum game, but it's too hard for everyone to see me, so we go back to the farm song!"

At least that time we completed the song. It made Tony happy.

So he asked which song we wanted to play... the guy next to us kept yelling "TALLULAAAAAAAH" as if he was about to die or something. But we decided on Don't Say a Word. I'd forgotten how much I love that song. We got to do Tony's classic "wave" thing where you sway back and forth to the music in that one... several others too, but yeah.

He ended Don't Say a Word with the ending from Everything Fades to Gray (full version)... made it very "epic." Then he closed the whole concert with the Hava Nagilla VODKA song.

Then they lined up, playing sad background music, and did their bows. Just before that, Tony ran to each side of the stage, closed his eyes with a huge warm smile, and threw his arms around himself and cradled himself for a few seconds. It was so adorable. I want to do it so bad. But I couldn't. He's married.

That was alot of FREAKIN TYPING.

But it's Sonata Arctica... My first time seeing them. I'm no longer an SA virgin.

Kind of feeling a little hollow now. Can't believe it's over. I picked up a unique tour shirt... some venue specific things... I kept my bracelet that they gave us at the door.

I didn't post this the day of the concert because I didn't have net access. I was pretty down that night anyway.

But seriously... I think I covered the majority of Tony's humorous random things.
Hopefully you'll get a kick out of it in text form. Most of you have probably seen them live, what am I talking about. Haha.

Right now we're chilling in the hotel and touring around Kentucky. It's so nice up here. Actually feels Autumn. Markus wants to order a pizza but he's too nervous to make the phone call.

Markus has a new devArt account by the way. Clicky: We're about to be working on his ID... he mostly, but he's borrowing my laptop/adobe photoshop.

-iiv

So my preorder finally came in today. But... my headphones are broken... so I haven't had the chance to listen to it. I'm going to DIE. I've read the booklet and I'm wearing the special preorder shirt though. Haha... Tony put World of Warcraft in his special thanks section. He worded it... "the Arstio clan, Peltola family, WoW ," etc XD But yeah... I'm elated. No where on the site did it say it was going to be a double disc set... so you know I'm thrilled.

Also got my tickets issue sorted out... ordered them two months ago and haven't got them in yet. They had set it to that Will Call bullshit that I refuse to use after we almost had a fist fight at the door to the Nightwish concert. They'll be sending the tickets within the next ten days... like I TOLD them to in the first place. So that's a happy thing.

I've also found a new addiction.

Do you have the Travel Channel? Well, at 9pm every Monday comes on a show named Madventures. (On American programming.) It's about two hilarious men from Finland traveling the world, seeing what kind of crazy crap they can find in each country. Riku Rantala does the talking, and Tunna Milonoff does the camera work. The rest of the crew they hire as they go along.

I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Tunna.

Alright... more like a severe man crush. Again, I'm so gay. But yeah... He's hilarious, talkitive, has a thick accent, speaks in Finnish every now and then... Well, so does Riku. But Riku is simply addictive. Tunna puts me in a happy place. 8D

Which is horrible with this brain of mine. You know every time someone asks if I want to make a "Tuna sandwhich" exactly what is going through my head. It's hard not to grin.

But seriously guys, most of you love Finland the same way I do... or are Finnish yourselves, so you Finns might know who I'm talking about already hehe... Anyway, go check out this show! It's very funny, very interesting, and very unpredictable. And... you can pick up random bits of Finnish phrasing from it too.



Now feast your eyes on my Tunna: [link]

Or here's the homepage of the show so you can see Riku too: [link]

[link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Flag in the Ground - Sonata Arctica
Official Video


Tony is looking so HOT there! I mean, damn... I'm so gay.

And I hope to god he never sees that.

ANYWAY!

It's great! I'm having Wolf and Raven flashbacks. It makes up for the last two videos being only them singing. Well... minus the little geiser shots in Paid in Full. Not that I'm complaining about that.

I'm so elated. I immediately drove to Markus's house to show him. That's where I am now. Can't wait to hit that concert in KY.


...A guy should not be this obsessed.

We're going to see the great SA live for the first time ever October 17th, in Louisville Kentucky! Going to be an all-day drive, but who the hell cares. It's SA we're talking about! I've got their new album preordered of course. I want to preorder the single, too, but money only goes so far, eh?

And for those that do not know about it... (found this on the description of [link] by ) Here's a video of the making of the video for their new single, Flag in the Ground! [link]

Tony is looking good with his new, random hair colors. Hearing the song sample has me elated and hyped up. I can't flippin' wait.