Diary

04.01.2009: Happy this year!

Happy this year!

Dear Diary,

looks like it's my job to write yet another account of a journey, and why not. Last time I reported our adventures in the wonderland called America, and I'm writing this just as jet lagged as back then.

So, New Year's greetings from South Korea! Rajaton was invited to Seoul just before Christmas to give our first ever very own concert in Korea at the gigantic Seoul Arts Centre. We were a little bit nervous beforehand whether anybody would show up, but all our worries would soon prove to be needless; the Vincero concert agency had done some very good marketing once again so there was a plenty of enthusiastic audience present. Actually the word "enthusiastic" is sort of an understatement about the Korean audience – maybe a more appropriate expression would be "the best audience in the world" as I told them before the last encore... It always feels most rewarding when the group gains a foothold in a new market and there's a good following despite the language barrier. Thank you to Katelyn and everyone at Vincero for a very well promoted concert once again!

After the afternoon show we had just a few hours to recover, because in the evening we had promised to do a half-an-hour set at a local jazz club. At the venue it turned out that we had to use the house microphones instead of our own wireless ones, to say nothing of our in-ear monitoring system. We were all in a cold sweat throughout the gig; the floor monitors were almost feedbacking all the time and all you could hear was a vague roar which you can't make out until you suddenly find yourself being a half-step flat... what a nightmare for an a cappella singer! Towards the end of the set I sang the lead for Ticket To Ride so furioso that my voice went for Christmas holidays before me, but the smiles were never wiped off our faces and the audience seemed to really appreciate our efforts. Afterwards, our sound engineer Ilu was trying to convince us that it didn't sound that terrible, but I still sincerely hope that the guy who on his own authority shot the whole gig on his camera phone won't come up with the idea of putting it on YouTube...

The very next morning the others headed back to Finland, while I and my family stayed in Seoul for Christmas and New Year. Two weeks in a luxury hotel right in the centre of a metropolis (and no internet access!), sunny frosty days, friendly service in Korean, deliciously hot food for a song, bathing in Korean sauna, skiing at the possible future Olympic slopes of the Yongpyong resort, visits to an indoor amusement park and a zoo, plus of course shopping, shopping and shopping on Seoul's endless shopping districts – all in all, a perfect counterbalance to the everyday routine! Our stay was just long enough to make the homecoming feel really good. Home sweet home, that's how it should be.

The new Rajaton year starts up next weekend in Cologne. At the beginning of the year we'll be gigging both in Finland and abroad, sometimes with and sometimes without amplification. Be sure to check out our concert calendar every now and then to know if we'll soon be singing in a city near you!

I wish everyone a Happy New Year 2009!

Yours, Hannu