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The Talmud (hebraic: "instruction", "learning") is one of the basic, most important Jewish books. It's a collection of rabbinic commentaries and discussions, a Jewish social and legal scripture.
The Talmud Beach is a band from Finland, founded in 2006 on Mannerheimintie, the most famous Boulevard in Helsinki, named after the Finish hero (military leader and statesman) Baron Mannerheim, where Petri Alanko and Aleksi Lukander lived and met.
And while they met they found out that both were running out of money. Their conclusion of this shortage: they learned the songs of Juice Leskinen, went back on the streets and played (Leskinen is a musical hero of Finland, a legendary singer-songwriter, born 1950 who died in 2006, just shortly before they met).
Inspired by some Finish painters they knew from the past, Petri and Aleksi got the idea to wander around. So they started to walk and play. They had a guitar and a mandoline and they played in the woods, they played in the cities.they played in the villages. They've played in front of Hesburger restaurants (Finish burger chain, with larger presence then McDonalds), they've played in front of Kioskis (traiditionally Finnish convenience stores). They played by day and by night, whereever and whenever.
Pretty soon they grew out of Juice's songs, more and more their own material emerged. So for some time it's been just them on the streets. Finally in 2010 even a band name emerged during a trip to the Baltics, Talmud Beach – (special story, you got to ask them yourself, how this name came up.Anyway...
After this trip the duo was excited, both about their own material they had and the new name they got. Just they found that the duo was a bit limited, while they knew that they needed some limitation. So they asked the old guy Mikko Siltanen to join the band, due to make it just right.
They went on as a trio, now using bass, drums and guitar. Sometimes later, in 2012, they made their first recordings. Rather for themselves, they put it out on cassette and Helmi Levyt label did a first run of vinyls. After some 22-Pistepirkko show, somewhere, in backstage hang-around mode, one of the cassettes where given to Esa Haverinen (22-Pistepirkko drummer/singer) by somebody of Talmud Beach, rather as a gift. Espe didn't expect much first, and nearly forgot about it. But it ended up in his car stereo - luckily - and he was surprised and start digging it and told Quintus of Bone Voyage about it...
...now let's see where it goes from here....
Recently, the band has been backing up (and opening for) Daniel Johnston for his first concert in Finland (Tavastia, Helsinki). The concert is also available on limited edition cassette. It was a great and touching performance and proofed the delicate and versatile playing of the trio.
Talmud Beach are:
Mikko Siltanen - bass, lead and backing vocals. (Also plays in the bands Räjäyttäjät and Piippu and was the lead guitarist in the band Dynamo.)
Petri Alanko - drums, lead and backing vocals.
(Also plays in the band Muuan Mies and use to play in bands like Joose Keskitalo & Kolmas Maailmanpalo and Dynamo.)
Aleksi Lukander - guitar, backing vocals.
(He has never played in a band before Talmud Beach. He used to drive taxi and found the blues behind the wheel and started playing the guitar. And the blues.)
