Esa Kärenmäki (Sir Skeleton)
Bass (occasionally keyboards) I got my start in music business with Vesa "Vekku" Järvinen in 1977 when we were about 15 years old. In the beginning we played our own weird version of rock´n´roll and blues with guitars and cardboard boxes. Reggae came into the picture when Vekku gave me a reggae collection as a Christmas present, and when I saw U-Roy and the Mighty Diamonds on TV. In about 1980 we gradually formed a reggae band with schoolmates Jari Eskola, Jussi Tirronen and Teemu Virtanen. Quite naturally and without tears the bass became my main instrument. We liked the style and name of the Jamaican reggae band the Revolutionaires and chose the name Levitationaires as a sort of a compliment to them. In 1983 the name was shortened to the Levitators and the band made its very first gig that year. The rest is history. |