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Kari Peitsamo | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Joe-poika, Dr. Hong |
| Born | 26 August 1957 Nokia, Finland |
| Genres | rock |
| Occupation(s) | musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | guitar, bass, vocals, violin, drums, percussion, keyboards, fiddle, harmonica, kazoo, sampler |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Love Records (1977–1979) Johanna (1979–1981) Poko Rekords (1982–1984) Johanna Kustannus (1985–2006) Rocket (2007–) |
Kari Juhani Valdemar Peitsamo (born 26 August 1957) is a Finnish musician whose style has changed over the years from acoustic avant-garde pop to electric rock. His best-known song is probably "Kauppaopiston naiset" (Women of business school) from 1977.
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Kari Peitsamo started his career with the EP Kari Peitsamo ja Ankkuli, which was created with the assistance of Juuso Nordlund and Kaj Martin, the backing group of Juice Leskinen, on the studio time left over from Leskinen. Kari Peitsamo's debut album Jatsin syvin olemus (1977) was still performed as a trio but the following albums would be solos where Peitsamo performed his songs accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. Later on, Peitsamo's acoustic guitar was switched to an electric one, and he was joined by the band Ankkuli, with its other members Harri Siirtola (bass) and Yrjö Majamaa (drums).
After this Peitsamo, who had recorded for Love Records, moved to Poko Records, and changed his band to Kari Peitsamo Revival, which was influenced by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Status Quo (Peitsamo also translated songs by both bands into Finnish). After the Revival period, Peitsamo played rock with his new band Kari Peitsamon Skootteri between 1985–1994. Another ensemble of his, Kari Peitsamo & Hirttämättömät, also released one album in 1998, called Bubblegum Warriors In Faded Jeans.
Kari Peitsamo is known for his vast productivity; for example, as many as six albums of his came out during the years 1993 and 1994. However, during the later years Peitsamo's musical activities have receded, and he has worked, among other things, as a grave digger and as a candidate for the Communist Party of Finland in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 parliamentary elections, as well as the municipal elections and elections for the European parliament in 2004 and 2009.
Many of Peitsamo's most famous songs are short rock songs with somewhat peculiar lyrics. His debut album contains a song called "Uskon Beatleksiin" (I Believe in the Beatles) in which the singer is rejected by his girlfriend but he is not desperate because he believes that some day The Beatles will descend from the heaven and bring peace to the world. The title track of the debut album is about jazz music, declaring that the deepest nature of jazz is unknown. In addition to his typical absurdism and oddities, Peitsamo has also written political songs, some of which are anthems to his preferred ideology, communism, for example "Liityn SKP:hen" (I join to SKP) and "Back in the DDR".
In 2013 Peitsamo started studying theology in the University of Helsinki.
