Once upon a time there was a chick from Tampere, Finland, who loved heavy metal music very much, from the bottom her heart. During her 25 year long life she has had a number of bands that she has fallen in love with and that have affected her life in a way that words couldn't possibly describe it, and among them, one band stands out particularly. That band, ladies and gentlemen, is called Brother Firetribe.
It all started several years ago when I was sitting alone in one of my favorite bars, Jack The Rooster. I think it was the time when I was supposed to meet up with a handful of friends and we were supposed to go to The Rooster's Sunday jam, but in the end none of them showed so I thought oh what the hell, I'm staying here anyway. lol. At some point of the evening a song came on by this particular band in question, and I immidietaly fell in love with it. When I got home, I instantly started to look it up, I was under the impression it was a song by Leverage, the singer's other band. I searched through their entire discography, yet I just could not find the song, and almost came close to madness trying to track it down. But then, through sources I can't remember right now and will name it when I do, I found out that Pekka, the lead singer of Leverage has another band as well, Brother Firetribe, and also discovered that the guitarist of my life long favorite band, Nightwish plays in the band as well. I found the song, FINALLY, after an eternity of search, and started listening to the band's other stuff as well. They had only made two albums at that time, but I bought them both and fell head over heels in love with the band. I never got the chance to see them live, sadly, as they were on a break, but after years of anxious waiting, my prayers were answered and they announced that they are working on a new album and will be returning to the stages the following year. My GOD, was I happy! I waited for a while for them to announce tour dates, and when I found out they were coming to a music festival in my city, I felt jumping through the ceiling lol.
At last, my wait was rewarded and the weekend of the festival came. I had tickets for both days, it was a two day festival and Brother Firetribe was playing on the second day of the festival. On the first day there were a couple of bands I liked, but the best and my most anticipated performance for the day was by one of my other favorite bands, Sonata Arctica. Well, the second festival day came, I was both excited and terrified since I heard they were doing a signing session before their show. I felt a little kid going to see Santa Claus LOL. My hands and feet were shaking, my heart beat was up to the roof and I was just so nervous, standing in the autograph line. When it finally came for my turn, I went there, let out a very shy "hey" and the guys all just smiled and were all "Hey, how you doing! Nice to see ya!" and cracked a few jokes with me as I went on collecting all of their autographs on my poster of their new album, After chatting with them for a while and taking a few pictures I sneaked away to meet up with a couple of my friends, and was so happy, that I actually got a few tears in my eyes. A real fan girling moment, ha ha. The evening passed, I caught a perfect spot in the front row in the tent the band was playing in, and all that was left was to wait. And finally, came the time for the show. I can't even describe the feeling when they came on the stage, there they finally were, right in front of me, of course I had seen Emppu (the guitarist) with Nightwish many times, but I sure was happy to see him again too. Once the show was over, I was full off happiness and I felt like I was gonna flow off the ground lol. All of my agonizingly long wait had finally been rewarded, and let me tell you, it was DEFINATELY worth it! Below a couple of shots from the show and the meet and greet;
So yeah, in case it's hard tell from the picture the South Park festival happened on the 7th of June, 2014. lol.
Well, then... Some time passed, and then I learned that the singer, Pekka, is gonna doing a solo gig in Jack The Rooster in August, the very place where I first heard the band's music. I didn't even have to think about it, of course I was gonna be there. So, me and my two friends headed to the Rooster, went to sit on our regular spot and the show started sometime around midnight. As we waited for the show to begin, we were just chatting, and drinking some beer, at one point I spotted Pekka at the bar and was too cowardly to go and talk to him, lol. Finally, the gig started, Pekka and the Rooster house band played all kinds of classic rock covers, such as Bon Jovi and Kiss and etc, Once the show was over, he walks down from the stage and smiles at me, and then he disappeared to the backstage, at least I'm assuming so since he was nowhere to been for a while. Anyway, after a while, I started getting a bit... well, drunk lol, and we once again spotted Pekka at the bar. One of my friends was like, there's your chance, go and say hi and I was like hell no, I can't. Suddenly, my friend said something like "I'm just gonna go over there for a minute" and then he just left, I assumed he was going to the bathrooms or something but... after a moment, he comes back to our table, with Pekka along with him, who comes to me smiling, sitting next to me and shaking my hand. We introduced each other, and you can just imagine how I was feeling at the time, I was screaming so loudly inside lol. We took a picture, chatted for a while and then he left, and pretty soon after my friends and I left the bar. I got home, and went to sleep once again as a happy little fan girl. Below; The first ever picture taken of me and Pekka, that night in Jack The Rooster. August 23th, 2014.
Such memories I have from that night. <3
Alright, about 6 months later, in February 2015, Brother Firetribe came to Tampere for a show again. And, while I don't usually believe in this kind of stuff, it's almost like it was meant happen; I happened to be one of the lucky ones in a contest to win a ticket to the show AND a meeting with the band before the show, BACKSTAGE, in the venue, Pakkahuone. I seriously couldn't believe it. Me, the girl who never wins anything, gets a chance like that, it had to be meant to be ROFL. So, me and my new friend that I had met earlier that evening made our way to the venue, and I invited her as my plus one in the meeting. We lucky ones that had won the contest got in about an hour earlier before the doors opened, we were taken to the backstage where the guys came to greet us, they each introduced themselves like gentlemen lol, and we got to take pictures and get their autographs. When my turn came, Pekka shakes my hand, looks me in the eyes and is like "Hey... we've met before, haven't we?" I just stood there smiling like an idiot, and stuttered "Yeah, back in Jack The Rooster last summer" and Pekka was like "Oh yeah, that's right! Really good to see you." All of the guys were absolutely wonderful and sweet, really funny and awesome to hang out with, and I wish we would've had more time with them. But then we left the backstage, and while there was still time until the doors would open, me and my friend went on and checked out the merchandise they were selling. I grabbed a Brother Firetribe t shirt, then we headed to the front row and got perfect spots. The time came for the show, and once again it was something unbelievable. They played a lot of songs from their new album, but also a lot of their old classics. I remember when they were playing "Reality Bites" from their latest album, I sang along really loudly and at some point Emppu points at me and smiled, and I stopped singing right away lol. My face must've been red like a fire truck HAH. The show was once again something truly epic and unbelievable, Another great memory with this band of brothers, <3
And more was to come. After that evening, Pekka has always remembered me and we have always talked before and after his shows. The next time he came to perform in the Rooster was in May, he did two shows, on Friday and Saturday. Guess who just happened to be there on both nights... lol. Both evenings were filled with friends, laughter, hugs, good music, and good vibes. And, after the show on the second evening, while my friend had to catch a bus home I still had some time before my bus would leave, so I stayed outside the bar waiting in case Pekka would show up, and eventually, he did, when he came outside for a cigarette. He came over to say hi to me, thanking me for coming to see him on both nights and gave me a hug, and I thought, it's now or never, ha ha, and I opened up to him about how much his band and their music means to me, His reaction almost made me cry, because I could see he was about to cry, my words clearly meant a big deal to him, he gave me a long, heartfelt hug and said he would indeed give my regards to the rest of the band. He even asked me, "What was your name again?" ha ha.
From that moment on, he and I have become, I would dare to say, closer and closer each time he's come here for a show, and in time, I would also dare to say, that we have become a little bit more than just a fan and idol. Every time we see each other, he greets me with a big, wide smile, clearly happy to see me, we hug, we can talk for ages and pretty much after every show he comes off the stage and gives me a hug. Now, I couldn't possibly list ALL the wonderful moments I've had with this guy, but there are a LOT of them. There is also about a thousand pictures taken of us and if I posted them all here... This post would never end. LOL. But I thought I'd share one last memory with you guys, my latest time of seeing Pekka, and the Brother Firetribe drummer Hannes as they did two shows in Tampere last weekend, on the 6th and 7th of January. At the end of the set, on the first night, as the final song, they played a Brother Firetribe song, and after the show I thanked them for it, Pekka laughed and said to me and my friend: "Yeah we thought last minute at the hotel room to add it there, in case you showed up!" You CANNOT imagine how much it warmed my heart, lol! After the show we hung out at the venue, chatted, took pictures and goofed off. I was wearing my Brother Firetribe t shit, to which Pekka commented with the following words; "Yeah, good looking chick but an awful shirt!" ROFL. It all continued the next evening, we just hung like old friends and I truly, once again, had a wonderful time on both nights.
Me, Pekka and Hannes in Ruby & Fellas on January 6th.
I seriously can't tell you how happy, honored and privileged I am to have such, well, kind of bond with members of one of my favorite bands. And I just felt like I want to share my story with you guys. Thank you for reading, and take care! <3
"Just look over your shoulder, I'll be there. Always."
<3
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