Running up that hill

Hi!

It’s fun to actually write a blog again after all this video blogging we’ve been doing. To be honest I’m not very good at editing the videos, I’m more involved with creating the stupid comic reliefs (and that does not even happen on purpose). 

From the video blogs you have witnessed that we had an amazing tour. I have to say that Norway is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve been to. The elevation of the terrain gives a third dimension to the small towns, with colourful (or white, as in Stavanger) wooden houses built on the hillsides, creating a web of picturesque small streets. 

We first arrived to Bergen, a city at the atlantic coast in western Norway, late in the evening. We did not really have time to discover the city that night, so I decided to take a jog around the town next morning. I had already located a mountain (Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains, creating an interesting weather phenomena resulting in all the humid Atlantic sea air raining down on Bergen as the clouds climb up the mountain, reaching the colder air of the hilltops. Thus it rains 270 days each year in Bergen on average. It was perfectly clear weather during our visit though.) that I wanted to run on top of the first night. We had to leave the hotel at 8:30 the next morning, so I had to get up at 6:30 to make it on time. But hell yes it was worth it! When I left the hotel it was still dark, and I could see the lights of the sightseeing spot on top of the mountain, far away, so I headed towards the light with no real clue of the streets there. I ran through wonderful small wooden houses built neatly side by side, each reaching over the other as the hill elevated. All of the apartments there must have had a great view over the city, as each of the bright coloured houses stretched over the previous one. It was a far more exhausting run than I had expected, with the hill soaring many hounded meters above sea level, but when I finally reached the top of the mountain, the sight was even more breathtaking than the workout itself.

I’m surprised of how effectively I could utilise the free time that we had on exercise, reading and occasional songwriting. I can almost say that this tour was one of the coolest things in my life so far, and I’m expecting a lot from our future tours! I really hope we can come back to Norway as soon as possible, and in fact it is very likely to happen in the near future (inside information). BEWARE! WE’LL BE BACK!

See you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43OdtAAkM

//Paul

Totally incoherent

Hello!!

I'm writing this while sitting in the studio control room waiting for my turn to rock the string bass to the song Beautiful.

We could make the acoustic video on with TV in the control room! Good ol' VHS

Out studio home-boy Hannes

Yea, we're finally doing acoustic versions of the songs properly in the studio. We'll more of that when they're ready.

I'm killing my abs with this exercise every second day. Try it out! It's good! Thank's for the tip Sampo <3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-9L0J_9qag

What else?

Check out the radiostation LOOP regularly, cus I'm making a fashion blog with their reporter Jekku (<3) Berglund. Already done a few episodes, and the future is bright. Breakthrough concept. Fame is behind the corner. It's a lot of fun! This is a link to my tag on their site: http://www.loop.fi/#!/esiintyja/Paul%20Uotila
More stuff is pouring in constantly!

-Out of context picture-

Less than two weeks till the album release!!!!! And our Finnish listeners have had the opportunity to hear the album on forehand on YleX website starting today. Exciting to say the least!

Made some weird mascarpone dessert today. I'm not usually the best chef when it comes to dessert. To be honest, I'm not a fan of many of the classic deserts. At least not making them. But the things I love are cream and fresh berries (or fruit).

Soooo. This is a sweet heavenly dessert cup with the following layers (starting from the bottom):
- crushed "domino cookies" or any cookie you like, digestive is fine.
- mascarpone cheese(2/3) blended with quark (1/3)
- berries! (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry)
- whipped cream
- crushed dark chocolate

Tadaaaaa!! :D

//Paul

Merry Xmas

Merry Xmas!

written on 23.12.2013

Having just put my gravlax in the refrigerator (lol), and almost all gifts shopped, with still one effective day left until Christmas; I can't help not to feel joyful and relaxed. The last few weeks were intensive to say the least, and all culminated in our gig on Barona Areena on friday 20th. I could not think of a better Christmas present than to play for a full size arena packed with people. Thank you! And thank you for this year! I think the Barona gig summed up the year 2013 pretty well. Two singles released, both ranking good on radio airplay charts, zillions of songs written, three fourths of a hounded gigs played, thousands of new fans from Finland and abroad… you name it! And it still leaves next year full of new challenges!

Chestnuts

written on 24.12.2013

So this is Christmas? Yey! I guess. All presents are packed, and I'm soon to take a shower before I leave home, and head for my cousins place. I'm a bit cold and hungry. Happy, but not overjoyed. It's just a normal day after all, this Christmas eve. And I love it that way!

I'm not over fond of the consumerism way of celebrating Christmas with tons of expensive gifts. I think it's ok for the kids… after all I can't deny how important Christmas gifts are for(/and where for me as) a child. But even when a bit grown up I can't say that a really bulls-eye personal gift wouldn't always knock me off! I just love personal gifts. The problem with them is that they are so time consuming and there's no guarantee that you will even succeed. 

And this year I think most of my gifts are pretty dull, but to compensate that fact I have tried to make the wrapping a statement instead! You see gifts packed in wonderful decorative wrapping, but when you open it, the wrapping is often destroyed! What a shame! So this year I have wrapped all of my gifts in excess rubbish (but still tried to make them look nice)!

Foam rubber, plastic film, aluminum foil, baking paper, plastic bags, old rope, toilet paper and an old shoe box.

Some of my gifts were better, like this bark boat i carved for my grandmom! I had a chunk of bark which I started randomly shaping, and soon this sailing boat motive merged from it. :) And for my dad I made some special homemade herring, which he's a fan of. I hope he likes my take on it. 

And thank you for all of the gifts we've got from you fans!!! Thanks!!!

Merry christmas y'all! 
Eat and drink too much! 
Model or not, food is "gott"! 

//Paul

Clothes

Now, don't take me for a shallow or cosmetic person. But, I love clothes. I haven't always loved them, but during the last few years I've grown a big fan of "couture". It was a mere moment of realizing that what you wear can be more than a warm necessity. Clothes can be art. That's obvious. And all clothes can be art. And clothes are always a statement. 

My love for clothes started in the military. That's a place where clothes are given a very central role. You've got different clothes for different purposes, for different practical situations and formal situations. In the army you're forced to pay attention to the way you dress: clean your boots, tie a good tie and check your collar(and more importantly the rank marks on other peoples collars). Because all the conscripts have the same set of gear, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to have shinier boots. So I started paying attention on the small details, and eventually ended up hooked in the world of menswear dress code. (I'm on the far right on the pic)

The meaning of clothes did not occur to me before I was taken away my freedom to choose my clothes myself. 

When I (finally) finished the army I started experimenting with new styles… first very clumsily… but now my eye is better trained, and I've slowly learned what I really like. A good helping hand for me is Tumblr. It's a good way to stay on top of todays trends. I have an own fashion blog, for inspiration and to keep track of myself.
My tumblr HERE

This is me in ninth grade (16years)… what great taste… ;]

This is me at my best...

This is just a few months ago… so I guess you can say that there's been no real progress.

Sometimes I try to dress up a little

Take care

//Paul

Food

Hello readers!

I'm in a good mood, for no real reason I guess. This is a great time to start writing a blogpost. 

I bought some tea from my favorite tea shop on my way home through downtown. At the shop I asked for a random green tea, and they handed me a big bag of green tea to scent... and ohhh, I smelled a marvelous field of new, sweet, spring grass. It was the same tea that I had bought the very first time I visited this little boutique. It  remains my favorite green, even though I had forgot it for a few years. It's a Chinese green tea from the Jiangxi province, named Wu Lu Shan. Luve it!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

This meatless oriental yummy-wok was my todays experiment. Being a complete vegetarian this October has opened my eyes for a new super-tasty protein source. These so called soy-slices are one of the best meat substitutes you can get. You can make them so nice and squishy when prepared slowly, or you can fry them until they're crispy and crunchy (and the superlazy one can eat them just as they are...dry...nogood). AND they contain 45g protein per 100g.

So today I decided to wok them together with some veggies. I paired them up with 100g cabbage, one carrot, one sweet pepper, one garlic, two onions and some fresh ginger. First off you have to soak the dry soy-slices. It'll take some 15 min, so be sure to count that in your cooking schedule. Put the slices in a bowl and pour on some boiling water untill they're totally covered. Next comes an important phase in cooking veggie: You have to spice the soy well!! I happened to use this ready mix of spices for thai wok.... normally I don't use those, but I had one free sample from some past event. I must say it worked very well. Well, still. You can switch that for curry, chili, soy sauce, some fresh garlic, lime, and any other oriental(/or not) spices you like or find suit. Just remember to use a lot!

Vegetables.

The soy and marinade.

You will need:

60g dried soy-slices

100g cabbage

1 carrot

1 sweet pepper

2 small onions

1 garlic (or 2 for the soy-slices)

2 sets of noodles

soy sauce

chili

curry or other nice spices

oil

When you have that under control chop the vegetables and take out a large wok pan. Start by putting a lot of oil. 1/2 dl almost. Be prepared to use a lot of oil for woks, otherwise it will burn, or taste dry. All of the other ingredients have little to non fat, so you're safe here. :) Start by frying garlic and onions, together with the soy, until they've gained a little tan. Then add the rest of the veggies. At this point you can throw in the spicy sauce you marinated your soy with in the wok to give it some extra taste. In the meantime pour some boiled water over the noodles, to give them a fast boil. You don't want them to be completely boiled, more like "al dente" however wrong that phrase rings with noodles. And when the noodles have cooked for some 1,5 min, you can throw them in the wok.

Fry 'till all the fluid is gone, and TaTaTaaa, you're ready!!

Serve with some fresh cabbage cut to heart shape //very important!!!


Kisses and stuff!


//Paul

Running and stuff

Hi,

I'm sitting in my sofa, got too much time to spend. That's unusual. That never happens. Usually I'm always running somewhere. Like yesterday, when I ran a half marathon race, witch is exactly 21.097494 km. :D

That's me there in the red beanie! I started off the race with Miley Cyrus - 'Wrecking Ball' playing. Man I love that song, it really gave me a kickstart! 

Now I have to brag a little, you see I've only been jogging since this april, but I still managed to get a pretty decent time. My time was 1:50:46! Yeyy. 

Apres vingt-et-une kilomètre! 

Well, it's pretty damn cold in Helsinki at the moment I tell ya'. Just a few degrees past 0 C°. Last week I actually encountered some snowflakes falling in the Helsinki city centre!! Crazy. Soo, that's why you're rather spending your days inside right :)

So just hanging inside today... Practiced some jazzzz. Poor quality on this recording but... =) Palle Danielsson's bass solo on Keith Jarret - Country

By the way the whole band is gonna be vegetarian for the coming month because of a thing called "Lihaton Lokakuu". It translates to Meatless October, and is a campaign for cutting down peoples meat intakes. So why not join in =D And then we have Movember coming up soon too ;)

My family's dog Kilda always has Movember. But never Lihaton Lokakuu i presume because this is her puppyface prior to eating some pasta carbonara. Can you say no to this?

Olli's and my hotel room in Vaasa. I always iron on the hotel... just because I can.

Take care.

//Paul

Falling

Today was the first morning I felt that it really smelled like autumn. You see, there'd been a couple of cold days already, but I had not yet felt that vibrant scent of the first burst of chlorophyl leaving the green leaves. And I welcome this, beacause autumn is a time of rebirth, ironically. You finally get yourself together after a long and loose, yet wonderful summer. You quit your old schemes and pursue new challenges. You build up the base for a new creative goal, and let it blossom again next summer. Today I had a strong feeling that this fall is gonna be full of challenges that I or we have never yet experienced. You see, we are facing an ancient dilemma: THE SECOND ALBUM. Oh yes, dear reader, I know we haven't even released our first album yet, but it is now finished non the less, and the songwriting for the next one has started. And whatever the success or un-success of the first record may be, one thing is clear as crystal: the second album HAS to be (even) better! 

And as if, but not on purpose, to nullify this great speech I give you this picture. It's not staged... :) Hurray. Towards new challenges ya all!

Take care.

//Paul

Finland-tour

Hi!

Sorry I'm late.. :( 

It's been an awesome summer!! A lot of sunny days throughout in Helsinki. We're giggin' full time right now, Saturday in Nagu, Sunday in the amusement park Linnanmäki, next Friday in Porvoo, and so on. A tour in Finland nowadays means that you have gigs every weekend, only occasionally on workday evenings. So, we are on a Finland-Tour a.t.m!! YEAH!

I've fallen in love with the Finnish flora and fauna, again. Happens every summer. 

In Houtskär: 

On Katajanokka

And even in Vantaa!! =D

We got new haircuts the other day in Loreal Studio. The coiffeur put at least a hundred different substances in it! Haha.

Me and John! =D

In my "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." Rediculously Experimentally Culinarist Paul's Extreme Cooking Thread foodblog I'm going to present you with a fresh food invention by me: The Pistachio Avocado Pasta. The core ingredient to the pasta is a pesto  that contains a 100g pistaccio nuts, two handfuls of fresh basil, 1dl grated parmesan and pecorino cheeses in a blend of your choice, and two avocados. I saved a few nuts to be roasted to top the pasta, along with cherry tomatos, some grated parmesan and a few leaves of parcley. The whole idea for a pistachio based pesto was actually a cause of a co-incidece when I forgot to buy pine nuts which I normally use for pesto. I then happened to have pistachios left in my drawer. =D The final tweak to this pasta was also a creation of circumstances. One of the avocados I had bought for the pesto was raw!! Damn!! This has happened earlier, and I was relatively pissed. This wasn't something that I could take happening again! So I figured as much: You can't eat a raw potato, but if you cook it, it's glorious. (well the potato for example is not a fruit like the avocado so not a perfect line of thought... but still) SO I fried a few slices of avocado in sesame oil to give it some more taste, and you know what, IT WAS GREAT! The avocado doesn't taste much either raw or fried, but once fried it was warm and gained a nice meatish texture, with a crisp skin which complemented the otherwise a bit saucy and cold avocado pasta. HAHA perfect! It's a breakthrough!!! Eat that.

Take care!

//Paul

Helsinki cup, what's up!

Oh man I just came home form the gig we had at the opening ceremony of Helsinki Cup, and it was positively stupendously crazy! Great audience, and tons of our fans there too! And thanks for all the funny little gifts you guys gave me. You are too nice!!!

Helsinki Cup is Finlands biggest football tournament, and for juniors only! I've played in the cup multiple times for MPS (Malmin Palloseura) as a youngster and thus this gig had an even greater value for me. The ambience on the opening festivities was relaxed and warm. We met minister Alexander Stubb, and footballers Aki Riihilahti and Joel Pohjanpalo. =D

But hey other than that, we've mostly been relaxing! Haha! We took the weekend off, and I set sails to our summer cottage near Tampere together with my brother! 

This is what the big house looks like.

Rhubarber is tasty!

Here is the sauna! 

 A hammock and a book (+sun). The essence of relaxing!

 Did i mention there is a sauna?!

The cornfield was at it's most beautiful state that weekend!!

MMM... Cooorn!!

Almost like in Gladiator?? C:

The pier by the sauna.

I wanna inform you that the music video we filmed two weeks ago will be sooo cool! Arty shots 'n stuff. This is Axel doing what he does best... or, what is he even doing?! You'll see!!

The island were we shoot most of the video was full of beautiful creatures! 

Here's my take on fauna photography. Discovery Channel beware!!

This cute fella almost got stepped on. Lucky he had got such a shiny shell!

Lil' lizzard.

A lot of pixels there to digest now don't you think!! =)

Take care!

//Paul