(Interview by Vincent Teetsov)
What's the story of your band, the Kalevipogues?
We started around 1990. Some former members of the Toronto-based Estonian rock group Tarkus (1980-1986) wanted to continue performing for Baltic Youth dances. The Lindau brother/sister combo rejuvenated the group and we changed the name to Kalevipogues. It’s a play on words, combining the Estonian folk hero and the Irish band, the Pogues. Most of us have been friends and were socializing and active in the Toronto Estonian community since our teens or earlier.
How has the lineup of the band evolved over the years? Did you all grow up with music in your lives from the start?
In a nutshell, the love of music brought us together. It’s safe to say that every member has been performing in some form or another since we were teenagers or younger. We continue to perform because deep down we are all still teenagers in our minds and we can leave all those adult attitudes in the wings when we’re on stage. The lineup has changed over the years and changes gig by gig due to each member’s availability.
Juulia Lindau: lead singer various percussion
Juhan Lindau: lead singer/keyboard/mandolin/more cowbell
Ralph Leis: electric guitar
Indrek Kanne: bass
Toivo Pajo: drums/electric guitar/keyboard/vocals (newest member as of September 2024)
Peter Sorra: accordion/keyboards/sax/vocals
Paul Pint: drums/acoustic guitar/vocals
Erik Holmberg: electric guitar/sax
Ellen Valter: accordion (as of August 26th, 2022)
Eric Leis: drums
Tõnis Tõllasepp (retired, former member): percussion/drums/cameo vocals
What's the musical focus of your ensemble, in terms of energy, songwriting, tone, and other musical trademarks?
FUN! We love music and there’s nothing like the high of playing live. We are a cover band. Because we’re performers and not composers we focus on what will fill the dance floor or engage the audience in singing along. We have fun on stage and we want the audience to have fun.
What we play has been dependent on what decade we’ve played in. In the 90s we played much more 60s and 70s era tunes because our audience was familiar with the music. These days, the twenty-somethings will get on the dance floor for the 80s and 90s but really want the new millennium rock and roll. It's funny to think that they look at 80s and 90s tunes as “golden oldies.” That’s the way we looked at 60s and 70s rock and roll.
“But the more obvious [trademark] is our bass player who is at the heart of our band and who loves to interact with the band and audience during a show. He brings so much energy to the stage and may even venture out and jig with the audience.”
Because of our varied ages the music we all listened to growing up also varied. For that reason we have a broad lexicon of styles we’ll consider: “Blue Suede Shoes” (Elvis) and “It’s Not Unusual” (Tom Jones) have been a couple of staples over the decades but now we’ll mix in a little “Whip It” (Devo), “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars) and “Mr. Brightside” (Killers). Let’s, however, not forget country (“Chicken Fried”), grunge (“Smells Like Teen Spirit”) and the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”
As for trademarks, we have a broad range of vocal talent so we try to incorporate songs that have some awesome harmonies. But the more obvious one is our bass player who is at the heart of our band and who loves to interact with the band and audience during a show. He brings so much energy to the stage and may even venture out and jig with the audience. During our shows we always mix in a few Estonian waltzes and polkas (with a Kalevipogues spin of course) so if you haven’t had a chance to waltz or polka, you can count on that.
Can you explain what Ööbik’s Simmaree concerts are all about?
This is our first collaboration with Ööbik, but as we understand it, the choir picks a theme and off they go. For example, they did an adaptation of Grease one year.
Not your typical Estonian choir approach and that’s why these performances sell out.
What’s the theme of the show on November 15th? How will Kalevipogues integrate or contrast with this choir? It's not often we get to see a band united with a choir.
When they decided on the 60s folk club jam theme, they asked for our involvement as another component to support that theme. We don’t typically have English lyrical folk music in our repertoire. We play Estonian folk music. So it’s been nice learning these songs.
For the Ööbik event we have a pared down version of our group (just four of us) due to logistical issues with band members. The band is doing a few songs solo and then accompanying the choir in other songs.
What kind of night can audiences anticipate?
What’s cool about this event is that once you buy a ticket you’ll get a QR code to receive a list of songs and lyrics that you’re encouraged to bring along and sing along during the performance.
Are there any other details you can provide that we should know about? Or anything else you'd like to add otherwise?
Over the years we’ve played for the Latvian Congress Youth organization in Cleveland, ESTO (Global Estonian Cultural Days) in Lakewood, New Jersey and NYC in 1992. More recently there was the 2023 Pööriöö Ball (a US Kultuuripäevad anniversary event in NYC) and Suusapäevad (Ski Days) Anniversary at Mt. Tremblant in 2024.
And let’s not forget fundraisers for JK Kalev Volleyball and the Capricornus event for A.K. this past December at Tartu College.
Watch Ööbik team up with the Kalevipogues on Saturday November 15th at 7:00 p.m. at the Tranzac Club in Toronto (292 Brunswick Avenue, just south of Bloor Street).
