the Finnish hard rock band Colditz
In 2003 I discovered on the internet that there is a hard rock band in Finland with the name Colditz. Hard rock is, honestly speaking, not my favourite music but I was very eager to know why the band was named Colditz. Is the name related to the well-known POW camp? I sent an email and one day later my question was answered. Saku Ovaska, vocalist and guitar-player, wrote: “Yes, you are completely right! When I was a young boy I watched the British television series about Colditz Castle.”
In the spring of 2005 I decided to spend my summer holidays in Finland so I wrote to Saku that I would be very pleased to meet him and the other members of the band. The band is based in Hyvinkää, a town about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Helsinki. Saku suggested me to come to Hyvinkää which enables me to see their rehearsal room as well. In the meantime I gathered some Colditz books and other items as a present.
On 21 July 2005 I travelled by train from Helsinki to Hyvinkää. I had an appointment with Saku in the evening so beforehand I had the time to look around in the town. Hyvinkää is a quite modern city which is not crowded by tourists. In spite of that, it has some interesting places of interest, including the Finnish Railway Museum.
At 6.00 p.m. I went to a pub near the railway station where Saku was waiting already. He was very pleased with my presents which were thankfully accepted. Saku offered me a CD with 13 songs of the band (it is undoubted not a coincidence that the CD is named Colditz Story 2000-2004). After chatting for a while we drove to the rehearsal room. Saku apologized that the other band members were on holidays so it was not possible to hear the band live. This was a little disappointment but it has saved my ears! However, Saku played on his guitar for a moment so I was able to take some photographs.
The rehearsal room is located in a basement under a post office. The room is used by another band as well so they can share the cost of renting it. Saku told me that they are quite happy with this room as it is very difficult to find a suitable place where you can practise without causing too much inconvenience.
None of the band members has ever visited Colditz but who knows this will happen in the future. Saku was very interested in my photographs, especially from my first visit when Colditz was still behind the iron curtain.
At last Saku drove me back to the railway station and I made the return trip to Helsinki, looking back at a special day. Keep on rockin' is Saku's slogan and I said kiitos (= "thank you" in Finnish).
The photograph shows the members of the Colditz band. Front row from left to right: Saku Ovaska (vocals and guitar), Pekka Koivuniemi (bass) and Teemu Utti (guitar and vocals). Ari Thomander (drums) is sitting behind them. The photograph is taken in front of the building in which the rehearsal room is located.
When the band was founded in 2000 it was decided to name it Colditz as Saku and another band member watched the TV series about the castle in their youth. Apart from that, the name is short, easy to pronounce and the ending z sounds a bit "heavy". The band has played gigs in several Finnish towns, often they play in a pub or a restaurant. Up till now they have produced about 40 songs. Colditz plays traditional hard rock with influences from the 70's. Their music is related to well-known bands from that time such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Kiss.
You can read more about the Colditz-band at their website www.colditz.tk (in English as well).