flannelmouth
Disparaging. 1. a person whose speech is thick, as due to an accent, especially Irish 2. a person who speaks in a smoothly deceptive manner 3. a person who uses foul language
Ichthyol. 4. Flannelmouth sucker, a species of fish (Catostomus latipinnis) found in the Colorado River region.
Music. 5. A band, hailing from the Northern parts of Helsinki, Finland. Obscure so far, yet immediately recognisable when encountered by their distinct sense of beauty and depth in the everyday.

L-R: Markus Koskinen (drums), Ari Virtanen (guitar), Tuomo Kuusi (vocals), Mikko Kapanen (lead guitar), Antti Lönnblad (bass)

A classic five-piece guitar band: bass, drums, two guitars and a singer. That was the concept from the very start, as Flannelmouth first crawled ashore from the dark depths of the icy Baltic Sea in 1995. The four "core" members of the band were already there as they still are: Ari Virtanen on rhythm guitar, Tuomo Kuusi on vocals, Antti Lönnblad on bass and Markus Koskinen on drums. Jaro Lehtonen played lead guitar in the early days. The complicated Flannelmouth song writing concept was also there, with Ari providing the lyrics and the basic concept of the song, then proceeding to collaborate on the music with Tuomo, his keen sense of melody bringing the rough ideas to life, and finally the talents of all five band members fusing together in the arrangements.

This system took its time to perfect. The early shows and demo cassettes sounded fairly bizarre with songs ranging from loud, "funky" rock tunes to simply weird songs and even the odd instrumental "disco" song, sometimes laced with a silly drum or bass solo. There may have been promise, buried deep underneath the flailing about and goofy stage manoeuvres, but one would have been hard put to notice. Despite artistic intentions, the band was mostly a lot of fun, and that was all.

In 1998, a four song DIY EP, titled Pop-Out, was released. By now, patterns had begun to emerge in the music. Some of the goofiness had given way to a focus on the essentials: Tuomo's powerful voice and catchy choruses. But the fact that the band never was entirely at home in the American-influenced power pop of that EP was already visible in the more brooding closing number "Blind In The Pillows", a rarity in that the music was written not by the standard songwriting duo but instead by lead guitarist Jaro. More of these darker tones were to follow, especially since Jaro left the band in the following year.

The year 2000 saw a CD single release featuring a new band member, Jaakko Murros on lead guitar. The loud pogo-rocker "Down In A Station" was never a typical Flannelmouth song, yet by some strange shift of fortunes found its way to the A side. The flipside, "Always Welcome", was more representative of the band's pop sensibilities. Neither song, however, had much at all to do with the live shows at the time, which were giving testimony to an evolving overall sound, laden with drama and sometimes bordering on the theatrical.

Another year, another guitar player. Jaakko quit the band, leaving the four original band members once again wondering where they were, and where to go from there, wherever it was. After a period of questioning and confusion, Jussi Lahtinen (formerly of The Pansies, a mid-to-late '90s Helsinki band which found some success but eventually split up) joined the band, bringing with him a fresh point of view and a keen sense for improving arrangements.

The melodramatic side of the band finally blossomed on 2001's promo-only four song EP Here Comes The Fight. Some experimentation with electronic sounds took place, but the focus on the simple bass-guitars-drums outfit was never in question. "Last Exit" from these sessions was later released on the Rhythm Barrel compilation Meet The Scene, bringing Flannelmouth some much-needed attention.

In early 2002, the band backpacked their way to Stockholm, Sweden, to record yet another self-financed four song EP. Titled I've Seen Nothing Yet, the EP marked the beginning of a band who finally knew who they were and where they were going. The wholesome vintage rock sound created by producer Tom Hakava may have sounded surprisingly mellow to some, with acoustic guitars, analog keyboards and even a touch of Mellotron setting the tone, but the band felt the new-found intimate sound gave their deeply emotional music more room to breathe and hence a greater sense of presence and depth than the large, echoey sounds of earlier outings. The classic pop song "Collection" became a new favorite, alongside the alarmingly cheerful failed-suicide anthem "Dead Moody" and new versions of previous year's "Last Exit" and "Lost And Found".

In September 2002 the band finally received some recognition (besides flattering reviews) for their persistent efforts to reach audiences abroad. The jury of the In The City music business convention deemed the EP good enough to invite Flannelmouth to play at the event in Manchester, UK, as one of 54 bands chosen from among the over 5000 that applied, making Flannelmouth the first Finnish act ever to participate in their unsigned band category. Although no immediate record deals ensued, some eager ears were caught and many phone numbers and emails exchanged.

After some more gigs and a slipshod demo recorded early in the year, the late summer of 2003 saw the band's old inside joke about "the windy spot in the band" growing stale, as yet another lead guitarist left the band. The cavalry soon rode in to save the day in the shape of Mikko Kapanen (formerly of The Paisley, a heavily '60s inspired high-energy outfit), bringing a more aggressive approach to the lead guitar and infecting the band with his enthusiasm and high spirits. The fall of 2003 saw Flannelmouth making music in a more inspired atmosphere and at a faster pace than they had done for a long time, and having loads of fun in the process.

In the year 2004 Flannelmouth finally scored their first full-length compact disc extravaganza. Titled Rain Inside, the end-of-December debut was preceded by the seven inch vinyl release of the band's new favourite "Comeback" along with b-side rocker "Bravado" (both releases came out on the Gridrecords label). Again produced by Tom Hakava, the full-sounding 10 song album contained both matured versions of favourite songs from the 2002 EP and lots of previously unreleased songs.

Early 2005 sees the band gathering its strength for new challenges with the cobwebs of earlier years finally swept away.