Who I am?
(no doubt a bad man to draw the English flag. 🙂

I am a freelance musician and author. I teach drumming and work a lot with computers; making music, editing audio and video etc. I have been using computers since the 1980s and have had a home studio from 1984 first with hardware sequencers like Roland MC-500 and Korg SQD-1. I’m familiar with Windows but mostly using Mac OS nowadays.

I have had more than 6000 gigs as a musician, first trombonist and then as a drummer (the number would be even higher if the gigs played on the same day were counted as different gigs). I started learning music on a boarding school in the Finnish Armed Forces Band in the autumn of 1968 (age 15) in Dragsvik, Ekenäs, Finland. The following autumn I got to study in the Sibelius Academy’s military music department which collaborated with the Helsinki garrison band (Guard’s orchestra) on whose premises we lived in a boarding school. Later I continued my studies at the General Department of the Sibelius Academy and the Helsinki Conservatory.

Information technology, especially multimedia, I have taught since the early 1990s and working as music technology teacher at the Helsinki Adult Education Center, Computer engineer (multi-media) in Helsinki City Public Works Department and also made IT support work in many places, most of which are recording studios.

I have a small audio and video editing workshop called RioRoad Studio.

Mikko 65 v.
Kuka olen?

Olen muusikko, soitonopettaja, kirjailija siis freelance -media-työläinen.

Teen paljon asioita tietokoneella, tietotekniikkaa minulla on ollut kotona käytössä hamalta 1980-luvulta lähtien. Ensimmäinen -AtariST-tietokoneeseen pohjautuva, kotistudio minulla oli noin vuodesta 1986, mutta jo sitä ennen tein musiikkia Commodore64:llä ja hardware-sekvenssereillä kuten Roland MC-500 ja Korg SQD-1

Nykyisin studion sydämessä on Apple Mac mutta myös Windows on tuttu.

Soittokeikkoja muusikkona -ensin pasunistina sitten rumpalina, minulle on kertynyt runsaasti yli 6000 (määrä olisi paljon suurempi, jos samana päivänä soitetut keikat laskettaisiin eri keikoiksi). Soiton opiskelun aloitin Puolustusvoimain soitto-oppilaana 1968 syksyllä Dragsvikin varuskunta-soittokunnassa ja seuraavana syksynä Helsingin varuskunta-soittokunnan (nyk. Kaartin soittokunta) yhteydessä olleessa Soittajakoulussa, joka muodosti Sibelius-Akatemian sotilas-musiikkiosaston. Myöhemmin jatkoin opintoja SiBan yleisellä osastolla ja Helsingin konservatoriossa.

Tietotekniikkaa, erityisesti multimediaa, olen opettanut ja käyttänyt 1990-luvun alusta lähtien. Olen toiminut musiikkitekno-logia-opettajana Helsingin Työväenopistossa, ATK-suunnittelijana (multimediaa) Hgin kaupungin rakennusvirastossa ja tehnyt myös tieto-tekniikkatukitöitä monissa paikoissa, joista useimmat äänistudioita.

Minulla on RioRoad Studio -niminen pieni audio- ja videoeditointipaja.

At Frankfurt Music Fair 2010
Vem är Jag

Jag är en frilansande musiker, jag lär trummor och arbetar mycket med datorer; skapa musik, redigera ljud och video etc. Jag skriver mycket, men mest på finska.

Jag har använt datorer från 1980 och jag har haft hemmastudio från 1984 först med “hardware” sequencer som Roland MC-500 och Korg SQD-1. Jag känner till Windows men använder mest Mac OS nuförtiden.

Jag har haft mer än 6000 spelningar som musiker, första trombonisten och sedan som trummis (antalet skulle bli ännu högre om spelningarna spelade samma dag räknades som olika spelningar). Jag började lära mig musik på ett militärband vid finska försvarsmakten hösten 1968 i Dragsvik (Ekenäs, Finland) och hösten därefter som musikstudent i Helsingfors garnisonband (Guard’s orchestra), som bildade Sibelius-akademins militärmusikavdelning. Senare fortsatte jag mina studier vid Sibelius Akademins allmänna avdelning och Helsingfors konservatorium.

Informationsteknologi, särskilt multimedia, har jag undervisat sedan början av 1990-talet och arbetat som musiktekniklärare vid Helsingfors vuxenutbildningscentrum, datoringenjör (multimedia) vid Helsingfors stads avdelning för offentliga arbeten och gjorde också IT-support på många ställen, mest varav inspelningsstudio.

Jag har en liten ljud- och videoredigeringsverkstad som heter RioRoad Studio.

Tyvärr min svenska är fortfarande ganska dålig.

In addition to drumming, I am professionally excited about a video and audio editing. Consequently, I have an audio & video editing studio in my home. I do masterings and authorising for CD:s and DVD/Bluray disc and streaming media. I do also different video and graphics related editing jobs.
My master video editor is Final Cut Pro X. Cubase Pro and Logic Pro for audio editing and recording and Wavelab Pro for mastering.
I do graphics masters for any disc or multimedia packages. Print and disc masters (or DDP) ready for disc factory or print house. I can edit multi-cam or multitrack video with stereo or surround audio. I solve different kinds of problems with computers and other IT related things.

Contact through the contact form bottom of the page.

Curriculum vitae

My full biography is only in Finnish, it’s informal, a list of studies, jobs and significant events in my career. After compulsory education, I have studied at Sibelius Academy and the Conservatory of Helsinki. Passed matriculation examination at Eira High School for Adults. Over the years I have studied music and computer technology. Languages like German-, English-, Swedish and French e.t.c. I have participated in trade union studies (Musicians Union).

Most of my life I have been a musician, as of today     (2020) I have had more than 5000 gigs as a musician,  most of them as a drummer. In the early years, I played  and work as a trombone player. My first studio experiences as a musician (trombonist and drummer) are from the 1970s. up today I’ve played several recordings with different bands as a drummer.

In the 1980s, I became interested in audio recording and information technology. I made recordings in a home studio, which was a big walk-in closet, using the Fostex and Tascam C-cassette-based multi-track and a Panasonic synthesizer keyboard. In the eighties, I had a Texas Instruments and Commodore brand computers, which I used for making music by programming. Later in the eighties and early nineties, I use AtariST, PC and Apple Macintosh in a MIDI environment with synthesizers e.g. Yamaha TX81z and SY22, Oberheim Matrix1000 and Roland MT-32.

My first hardware sequencer was MC-500

My drummer biography

As a drummer, I have been playing a lot of gigs with different artist like the Finnish tango great Taisto Tammi and Eino Grön or pop star Danny (Ilkka Lipsanen) and Johnny (Johnny Liebkind), rock stars like Jussi Raittinen and jazz artist like Antti Sarpila. I have been played with so many great musicians that it’s impossible to remember them all. But on the otherwise, I believe that some of them don’t remember me.

As a teacher…

I’ve been a drum teacher almost 30 years now in several places. At the moment I am a teacher at the Music Institute of North Helsinki.
I also consult computer music and audio recording soft- and hardware (mainly Steinberg’s Cubase & Wavelab).
I started to play the drums at the age of 11. As a teenager, I also played and studied trombone for several years. During that time drums we’re my second instrument but then, after a few years I focused again on drums. My first drum teacher in the sixties was a drummer from a military band in Helsinki. My first public gigs we’re probably in 1968 as a drummer in drum corp changing of the guard.

recordings…

I’ve been played on several records for instance with Pearly Cat (Finnish rock band from 80′ w/singer Kati Virto), Polaris Celebration Band (PCB), René Gothóni and done several cuts with the different artist on different albums.

gigs…

As a drummer, I have done and still do a lot of dance gigs, jazz and cocktail music, street parades and concerts. When I was younger I do a lot of gigs in passengers ferries, restaurants and dance pavillions in Finland and Sweden. My longest gig has been an opening ceremony of a local Ikea furniture store, it lasted 13 hours. The shortest gig was probably a wedding party where we didn’t play at all (timeout 🙂 )

I have been played in many festivals and concerts. For example in Pori Jazz, Kaamos Jazz (several times), Helsinki Festival, Imatra Big Band festival, Classic Jazz festival (several times), Backas Jazz, Dresden Dixieland, Finnische Wochen Düsseldorf and Salgotarjan Jazz festival in Hungary.

Please feel free and use the form below when you want to contact me as a drummer, videographer or video and/or audio editor.

    Nimi / name (pakollinen)

    Sähköposti / email (pakollinen)

    Aihe / subject

    Viesti / message