Finland

Finland started out as an acoustic project of Joshua Fleenors in the Spring of 2007. After writing a handful of songs Josh began playing a few shows around his hometown of Melbourne, Florida armed with an acoustic guitar and a beat up old Casio keyboard. Josh called the songs "melodic little songs with an experimental element to them." He was getting a good response from fans, but never feel completely satisfied with the feel of his songs. After a couple of months playing shows in local coffee shops and opening indie rock shows, he decided he needed more. He reached out to long time friend and roommate Dave Albani for help. Dave and Josh had both played together in the wildly popular Indie Rock band Norther Winslow about a year before the birth of Finland. Dave began playing shows with Josh filling in on second guitar as well as bells, keyboards and percussion. Still not satisfied with the sound of the band, Josh and Dave enlisted the help of their friend and Melbourne music scene veteran Chris Levy or Lev to his family and friends. The 3 began playing shows around town putting out a somewhat unique style of music using acoustic guitars, bass, bells, keyboards, and virtually no drums at all. The 3 then headed into the studio to record their debut cd Awake, Arise The Great Untouchable. Though well received, Josh just wasn't getting what he wanted from the band. He began a process of adding member after member to the band eventually having Finland as a 6 piece at one point. Nothing ever seemed to work until stumbling across a friend of a friend named Adam Winn. Adam quickly fit in to the band on drums which quickly changed the face of the band. Finland suddenly became a four piece indie rock band and left their "experimental" mantra behind. Finally brandishing the type of sound Josh had been missing, the band took off. Soon after the addition to Adam on drums , the band was added to Team Grizzly Records with friends and other local bands Clock Hands Strangle and Jason Choi and the Sea. Finland began playing all over the state opening up for such acts as The Helio Sequence and Handsome Furs as well as BLORR. After a very short stint on Team Grizzly Records, the band opted to go on there own. They went into the studio to record the follow up to Awake, Arise. It was to be an EP called The Difference Between Us. Recording was halted by a lack of funds and the bands difficulty to cope with scheduling conflicts between the band. Adam had begun playing drums with BLORR and taken a job which would keep him out of the state for long periods time. After a year in the band, Finland and Adam parted ways. Josh, Dave, and Lev were a 3 piece again. The 3 decided to take some time off from playing shows, and just concentrated on writing all new material while searching for a drummer. After about 7 months, Josh got a call from long time friend Joey Martin asking if he could play drums. The 4 got together for a session and the rest is history. Finland was back with an arsenal of new songs. They are back playing shows and the response has been amazing. They have been compared to by fans, and fellow musicians as a mix of Death Cab For Cutie, Minus The Bear, and American Football. Finland is planning a tour sometime soon and will be working on a new CD in early 2010, so keep your eyes and ears open!!