THE STORY

The Astman Brothers came into existence by sheer mistake in the beginning of the '90s decade.
A band called the Kickels Blues Band, who held a common dislike for smoky hotel rooms, had been booking rooms by that name when touring. Later, the name was adopted by a band who really wanted it. A band with a gig, but without a name. The Astman Brothers were given birth while the finnish depression was on its worst, when people were sad and without hope. The brothers mission were to bring joy and happiness to people through their music.

«Де Эстман Бразерс»

«Де Эстман Бразерс» появились на пике финской депрессии. Их миссией было нести людям радость и счастье вместе с музыкой. А сейчас публика «Варангер-фестиваля» должна быть готова встретиться с этой юмористической финской группой.

The Astman Brothers started out playing requests and golden oldies, whenever and wherever they were asked.
One day the boys, Pepe, Tare, Hande and Timo Astman realized that they had a common interest: rock before rock, jazz before jazz festivals, smells before the invention of deodorant!
Numerous evenings of "negotiations" in local pubs were needed to decide upon the small details. Soon, the "astman spirit" was out on the streets, in small bars, in jazz and rock festivals, as well as onto their first release “BOOT TA LA ZAH”.

The band has also broken an unusual Finnish record:
On a single day, the Astman Brothers played 13 full sets of 45 minutes in 12 different bars and pubs around Rovaniemi. Their first gig took place at 11am and after an eventful day ended at 3am at the local Irish pub, where they were joined by another basist, a drummer, a pianist and 6 female singers. The 15 minute transition from one place to another was facilitated by the band's roadie, Tuono Astman, who took care of moving the two sets of equipment during the day.

The Astman Brothers have around 100 gigs per year.
Their main form of transport throughout the year, rain or shine, has been Tare Astman's trusty white '85 Nissan Sunny.
The indoor temperature of the car is usually slightly different from the outside.
Now Tare is thinking about getting a new car.

The Astman Brothers debut CD came out in the Autumn of '98. It contains 21 tracks recorded monophonically. The recordings were made in December '97, and with the help of a few sponsors and especially the efforts of graphic artist Elmo Astman, the CD was released in the summer of '98.
The band has gradually moved into the modern age through their video for "I Like My Baby's Pudding" which had its debut show on the local cable channel of Rovaniemi.

THE FUTURE


The Astman Brothers' music is old, but their ideology is new. Their principle is to constantly develop new and unusual ideas. The setting of a new Finnish record and recording a monophonic record in the1990's is only the beginning...

The missionaries of Happy Jazz are spreading their joyful message around the world.

The band can never break up because it was never formed.

FICTION? 

HERE, YOU CAN FIND FUTURE PLANS OF THE ASTMAN BROTHERS WHICH WILL EITHER HAPPEN OR THEN NOT HAPPEN.

FROM FICTION TO FACT: THE RÄNTÄ (SLUSH) JAZZ FESTIVAL

The first festival of the year was organized for the first time ever in the spring of 1999. The event was organized by the Astman Brothers Company. Originally, they had hoped it would rain slush from the sky, since it was an outdoor festivity. After all, the idea was to hold the most depressing festival of all times. To their dismay, the sun shined all day.

The Astmans also played Summer Jazz, a festival in Jyväskylä, Finland. It as an enjoyable festival with lots of great performers.

The Kalottijazz in Haaparanta-Tornio, half in Finland and half in Sweden, was also an excellent festival. The Astman Brothers played outdoors during the day and in clubs at night. The band was content with the demanding but entertaining festival weekend.

The next festival was Elojazz in Oulu, South of Rovaniemi. Then Kaamos Jazz in Saariselkä, Varanger festifal in Norway and lots of others…

OH, BROTHER!

  TARE ASTMAN

Tare Astman played heavy metal as a kid and traditional dance music as a teenager. Later, with a bass he found lying on the beach, he started actually practicing it. After meeting Pepe Astman, he had to learn walking bass pattersns and traded the old beach-bass to a real instrument. One which he aquired for cheap from an old alcoholic traditional dance music bass player.

When asked why he chose his particular instrument, a famous aphorism of Tare's is "a bass is a bass". Knocking firmly on his bass, he often describes his bass as sounding better the colder the weather. Last year at a jazz and blues festival in Ylläs, in the north of Finland, the temperature fell to negative 40 degrees Celcius, and the richness of the sound of Tare's bass was a cause of wonder and bewilderment among other musicians.

Tare is responsible for most of the band's amazing ideas . In addition he is also skilful with numbers and acts as the chief of transportation for the band. Most of the ideas which Tare Astman has provided the Astman Brothers have caused the band near bancrupcy more than once. In transporting the band members, on the other hand, he makes the trips safe and secure in his 1985 Nissan Sunny, for which he has recently had to buy a new back tire (for the second time).

Tare Astman is also a piano tuner. Let Tare tune your piano, and you'll find that the black and white keys will regain their melodies.

  PEPE ASTMAN

Pepe Astman is the oldest and sickest of the brothers. Like a father, he guides his wild younger siblings, whose lives have only recently gained meaning. Pepe Astman is an orphan. His father only found out about his oldest son in his last years while in the smoking room of a lung disease rehabilitation center. There they met, two men, each with a single lung.  Only when his father's description of his young love matched Pepe's description of his mother exactly, did they realize they meant the same person.

Since then, Pepe has been searching. He has been searching for the other children of his father, his brothers. He has followed his father's zig zagging tracks, and found what he was looking for. He has found Tare Astman whose vagueness is not far from the chaos theory. He has found Hande Astman, whose lazyness and appetite are unhuman. He has found Timo Astman, whose crooked nature cannot be measured by any present manner.

But above all, he has found himself, Pepe Astman, the son of a travelling salesman, whose duty in life is to bring joy and happiness to all. And this duty he carries through with help and support from his brothers.

  Timo ASTMAN

When Pepe Astman, the strict but just leader of the Astman Brothers finally found his youngest brother Timo Astman after years of searching, he was in an enormous igloo under treacherous arctic weather conditions. At the time,  Timo Astman was playing Greek drinking songs for Italian tourists.

After witnessing this depressing sight, Pepe decided to lift his brother out of sad position he was in and Timo Astman joined the brothers. The next few years the Astman Brothers played in igloos and played Greek drinking songs for Italian tourists.

One day, Pepe Astman decided to send his youngest brother to learn how to play guitar with the gypsies. Just in case, he broke two of Timo Astman's fingers and his thinnest guitar string.  

This is how Timo Astman evolved through various trials and tribulations into a rather good, but presumptuous, guitarist.

   HANDE ASTMAN

As mentioned earlier, the Astman Brothers have the same father, but different mothers. Mr. Astman, the dad, worked in several mobile proffessions after the war, for example as a milkman and a mailman around Finland, thus producing the brothers.

The tallest and second oldest of the brothers is Hande Astman. His genes originate from the Eastern side of Finland, Carelia, where Mr. Astman worked as a travelling vacuum-cleaner salesman in the mid 50's. His childhood was spent in the forests of Carelia, where he played magical tunes with his straw flute, making his audiences weep, and causing men to fight for his  favour.

Talented but intolerably lazy, he continued to study the flute, and even went abroad to pursue his studies until he decided to burn his overalls, started lying about his hobby of ornithology and  broke his flute. Hande Astman bought a motorcycle and a saxophone. He also started drinking more.

This is the path Hande Astman has treaded since he united with his brothers, and he probably always will.