"Come in" they said.. Part I

I was recently reminded upon visiting my erstwhile home in Helsinki, of how good some folk can be. We spend a lot of our time complaining about one thing or another, finding fault with this and that-when, out of the blue, someone comes along, to shake you up with (as Mr. Vance would say), an "Indiscriminate Act of Kindness".

In 2005, just after returning to Ireland from promoting the Finnish release of my debut album, a dj from Radio Helsinki contacted me to say he was sorry to have missed me. Emails were written and it soon became apparent that he had connected with my songs.


Before recently returning to Helsinki to do some prep work for the Desperation video, I emailed Mikael to see if he fancied getting together for a beer. I got a prompt reply (it's Finland after all!) where my hosts to be, invited me to have dinner in their home-plus beer!

It had been a while since I was pleasantly taken aback by such simple hospitality, for I knew that the most contact they'd had with me up to that point was via a few emails and through my songs, which in the end, according to them, was all they needed.


I arrived and was welcomed into a converted summer cottage. The food was on, the records climbed from the floor to the ceilings on more than one wall. There were instruments strewn around the room. There were separates (amps, cd players etc) cds, cassettes and books. There was a lampshade that belonged to Great Grandparents and an earth globe light that Carita had bought them. I was in the home of music lovers.

We ate and quickly cut to the chase on many a topic. It soon became obvious I was in the company of "my own". Mikael's wife, Maru, was earth-mother incarnate, calming, attentive, generous and kind. Having read a bit about June Carter, I couldn't help but imagine a likeness in Maru, for how I had pictured the man in Black's wife to be.

Maru has long dark hair. She oozed the sixties, and it was almost like at some point a while back she decided, in some ways to stay there. There was a peacefulness. We gradually moved around the house, starting with a little room at the back, where the guitars were taken and songs were sung. My hosts were able to request favorites from my album and who was I to argue. Here was Mikeal Wiik and his wife, Maru, playing and singing along with my songs in their house. It was something. Afterwards I played some new songs, some of which hadn't been played to anyone-which says it all really. I was on my toes and without my Avalon, but after 5 new songs and no comments, I finally got some reassuring feedback. I could relax again.

Having my eyes closed I wasn't sure where the harmonies were coming from, whether it was Jenny in my head, or God knows what. It turned out to be Maru, quietly edging her way into the fray. She wanted to sing, and sing she could. We moved to the piano room.

Mikeal sat down to the Johanna.