Home. It’s that wonderful place that brings to mind childhood, sunny summers and ice cream.
Bees buzzing, yellow dandelions dotting the fields and sunlight reflecting off the lake’s surface by the horizon. Grandma's special treats smelling delicious in the large kitchen, set on a long table with benches. The walls covered
with the traditional cardboard lining paper that’s stood the
test of time.
“I came back to Iisalmi five years ago and since then I've realised that for me, this is home. It's a place where life feels
good.”
Wherever life takes us, we all carry the childhood memories with us, and they will stay no matter how many countries, seas or mountains we may cross. It was the experience of this man, too.
“We've been around the world with the band. We must
have performed in thirty countries or more,” says Remmel
from Steve ’n’ Seagulls.
For his people in Iisalmi, he’s Tomi Tajakka, the boy next
door all grown up. The years might have caught up with him but he still has
the same laughter and that same face, not forgetting the
boyish pranks, no matter how much he’s seen of the world.
With his band, Tomi has toured the UK, the States, Sweden, Germany and Australia.
“Iisalmi is a great base. It’s easy to start touring from here,
but it’s even nicer to come back because the people here
are so easy to get along with. It’s effortless, with a laid-back
lifestyle.”
Toni says he lived away from Iisalmi for far too long. He
spent around sixteen years in places all around Finland
before he returned.
“I came back to Iisalmi five years ago and since then I've
realised that for me, this is home.
It's a place where life feels good.”