Hometown Tales with Sam Huber

Sam Huber

The Hometown Tales have been really cool for me. Even though the vast majority of the respondents have been Americans, they've told us all about new places.

It's easy for people in other countries to forget just how large the United States is. Our nation is the same size as Europe.

You might recall my review on Sam Huber's latest vinyl release.... He's from Helsinki, Finland. Apart from the Black Metal bands and Hockey, I can't really say that I know too much about the Scandinavian nation.

Let's find out some more about it together.

1. St. Louis City is my hometown. I've lived here for most of my life in and around the city. Where are you from?

I’m from Helsinki, Finland. I’ve lived here for all of my life.

2.We have three things that don't really exist anywhere else: the slinger, the gooey butter cake, and toasted ravioli. Tell me about your hometown delicacy.

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and is a melting pot of all different foods so we don’t have specific foods that you can’t get anywhere else. 

Fried Baltic herring with mashed potatoes is the closest, though you can get it almost everewhere else in the country and also even in Sweden. Also all kinds of different fish dishes are very popular here, because Helsinki is a coastal town.

3. In St. Louis, though there have been others. Our biggest hometown team is the St. Louis Cardinals (formerly the St. Louis Perfectos, nee: the St. Louis Browns, not the AL team that moved to Baltimore.) There is nowhere you can go to escape it. I'm a hockey fan, not a baseball fan, so it's a bit weird to me. 

Tell me about your hometown's big team.

Finland is all about icehockey. The two biggest teams from Helsinki are HIFK and Jokerit. When I was little everyone in my class were HIFK supporters except for one hardcore Jokerit fan. 

Boy, was in he trouble every day for this...

4. St. Louis isn't really known for any one type of music scene. The biggest acts I can think of to get out of here alive were Gravity Kills, Nelly and the St. Lunatics, and Sheryl Crow. There's always been a vibrant concert scene though. 

What about where you are?

The music scene has always been very strong in Helsinki, as it is the capital. The biggest names that have come from here are Hanoi Rocks, HIM, Apocalyptica and The Rasmus. 

Also on the classical music side we have a lot big names coming from here, like composer Kaija Saariaho and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

5. 20 years ago, St. Louis had about 300 murders each year, floods, and all sorts of other fun things. You might have heard about us being named the Murder Capital of the USA. Nowadays, a lot here is 150. But there are lots of parts of the city that are returning to former glory. On the whole, St. Louis is a better place to live today than before. 

Is there any thing like that where you're from?

Finland in general is very peaceful and the same goes for Helsinki. The murder rate is quite low compared to the USA. 

According to Wikipedia: "In 2016 there were a total of 63 murders in Finland and the murder rate was 1.14 per 100,000 population. Finns have the fourth most firearms in the world per capita but guns and other weapons are tightly regulated. 

One must separately apply for a gun license, which cannot be issued for "self defense reasons." Even other weapons, such as pepper sprays, are regulated. 

Carrying weapons, including guns and knives in public is not allowed.” Guns are mostly used for hunting, like for instance in Canada.

6. Are you still there?

Yes, I’m still based in Helsinki but I’m a frequent visitor of New York that I nowadays call my "second home."

But my roots are firmly buried in Helsinki soil and it’s hard for me to picture myself living permanently anywhere else.