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Eicca. Yhdistävä tekijä
Kotona maailmojen välissä.
Miten repaleisissa farkuissa ja bändipaidassa Sibelius-Akatemian karmeja kolistelleesta nuoresta miehestä kasvoi Apocalyptica-yhtyeen myötä Suomen kansainvälisesti tunnetuin sellisti?
Kun Metallican rumpali Lars Ulrich valitsi musiikkia häihinsä, hän soitti Eicca Toppiselle Suomeen. Kun Richard Wagnerin 200-vuotisjuhlaesitykseen tarvittiin säveltäjä, soi Toppisen puhelin jälleen.
Ura miljoonamyynteihin yltäneen Apocalyptican nokkamiehenä on vienyt Eicca Toppisen ympäri maailmaa. Kaikkia todennäköisyyksiä uhmaava menestystarina alkoi, kun Eicca opiskelukavereineen päätti versioida Metallicaa neljällä sellolla. Syntyi musiikkimaailmoja aidosti yhdistävä orkesteri, jonka uralle ei näy loppua.
Bändielämän keskellä Eicca kasvatti kaksi lasta ja vietti tavallista perhe-elämää Sipoossa - kunnes pitkä avioliitto päättyi. Ero ei ollut kivuton, mutta jokin pakotti eteenpäin.
Miten repaleisissa farkuissa ja bändipaidassa Sibelius-Akatemian karmeja kolistelleesta nuoresta miehestä kasvoi Apocalyptica-yhtyeen myötä Suomen kansainvälisesti tunnetuin sellisti?
Kun Metallican rumpali Lars Ulrich valitsi musiikkia häihinsä, hän soitti Eicca Toppiselle Suomeen. Kun Richard Wagnerin 200-vuotisjuhlaesitykseen tarvittiin säveltäjä, soi Toppisen puhelin jälleen.
Ura miljoonamyynteihin yltäneen Apocalyptican nokkamiehenä on vienyt Eicca Toppisen ympäri maailmaa. Kaikkia todennäköisyyksiä uhmaava menestystarina alkoi, kun Eicca opiskelukavereineen päätti versioida Metallicaa neljällä sellolla. Syntyi musiikkimaailmoja aidosti yhdistävä orkesteri, jonka uralle ei näy loppua.
Bändielämän keskellä Eicca kasvatti kaksi lasta ja vietti tavallista perhe-elämää Sipoossa - kunnes pitkä avioliitto päättyi. Ero ei ollut kivuton, mutta jokin pakotti eteenpäin.
- GenresMusic
290 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2023
4 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 28, 2024
"Eicca-The Connection Creator" is an autobiography co-authored by the eponymous musician Eicca Toppinen and the journalist, Petri Silas. While the personal anecdotes provide insight, I found the emphasis on the recent years somewhat dismissive of the 23-year-long partnership with his wife. The narrative leans heavily into personal life, leaving me wanting more details about his journey as a musician. The abundant use of photographs, seemingly to meet a page quota, feels like filler. Moreover, the hefty price tag of 45 euros for a signed copy may deter potential readers. Despite these drawbacks, the book offers a glimpse into the author's life, warranting a fair but reserved rating of 2/5.
February 4, 2025
Olin vielä alaikäinen kun näin Apocalypticaa ensimmäistä kertaa vuonna 2000, siskoni kanssa jolla oli ajokortti, lindaussa. Mikä kokemus!! Olin myyty. Vaan 2 vuotta myöhemmin muutin Suomeen. Kiinnostus kuitenkin alkoi hävittää kun apocalyptistä tuli vaan toinen rock metal bändi jolla on sellot. Sellot pitäisi olla pääasia tässä. Onneksi Apocalyptica teki 20 vuotis juhlakiertue ensimmäisen albumin kunniaksi ja tulivat myös Ateenaan. Olin kuin transissa. Helvetin pitkä ja kova setti. Vuonna 2024 he tulivat jälleen, tällä kertaa myös plays Metallica vol. 2 albumin taskussa. Voi hitto nyt puhutaan!! Back to the roots täysillä. Ostin albumin ja eican kirja. Olipas mielenkiintoista lukea. Tykkäsin kovasti enkä ymmärrä täällä goodreadsillä se heikko arvostelu. En tiennyt kaikki ne sivuprojektit. Hän selittää myös kaikki musiikki bisnekseen liittyviä asioita. Henkilökohtaiset kertomukset ja musiikin liittyviä juttuja. Hieno kokonaisuus. Olisin halunnut lopussa kaikki hänen projektit kasaan. Muuten vaan jees. Nautin.
January 28, 2024
The book provides great insight on Eicca. His band....his childhood, the music industry and his journey as a writer and artist in great detail. Allowing to understand Apocalyptica and his personal career and celebrities and musicians he has met, or any issues he has faced. Which is very interesting and on some parts not expected! Eicca has accomplished a-lot in his life and should be proud of it.
However, sometimes it feels the writer is counter arguing his own statements. Leaving the reader lost on understanding....what does he want or what he is seeing as right. Which possibly, plays on Eicca's search on what he wants from life. But some details are unfinished, like his relationships. He described his many year marriage....the divorce in couple of sentences, with no culmination or real understanding in detail. Which is abrupt, as he writes in great detail about his family life throughout the book.
I don't understand why the book went in great detail about his childhood...as if, the writer is not over some traumas he had. However, they are hard to fully understand- what is the issue the writer cannot get over as an adult.
Regardless, I would recommend it :)
However, sometimes it feels the writer is counter arguing his own statements. Leaving the reader lost on understanding....what does he want or what he is seeing as right. Which possibly, plays on Eicca's search on what he wants from life. But some details are unfinished, like his relationships. He described his many year marriage....the divorce in couple of sentences, with no culmination or real understanding in detail. Which is abrupt, as he writes in great detail about his family life throughout the book.
I don't understand why the book went in great detail about his childhood...as if, the writer is not over some traumas he had. However, they are hard to fully understand- what is the issue the writer cannot get over as an adult.
Regardless, I would recommend it :)
November 12, 2023
"The cello obediently followed my every command and sounded divine."
"I am living my renaissance, and the whole world is wide open."
Are you sure about that? Are you really sure?
Eicca Toppinen and Petri Silas in "Eicca, the Connection Creator" speak very pompously for... not much?
Okay, Eicca is a world-famous cellist, not because of his talent in cello, but because he created the world's first "cello rock" band, which is now a bit washed up and irrelevant.
We are subjected to Eicca's megalomaniac thoughts and his huge sense of entitlement. He's bitter towards his father because he took his mother to the countryside for their retirement years and didn't let his mother provide free babysitting to Eicca's kids while Eicca was an absent father, touring with his band and leaving his ex-wife, Kirsi, to be both a mother and father to his sons.
Eicca always claims innocence and doesn't take the blame for anything. Oh, Apocalyptica used a sample without someone's knowledge? No, they weren't at fault! Oh, they broke a contract with a PR firm? Not their fault!
Bad economic decisions to buy extraordinary bows and cellos? Not his fault!
Oh, he started having an affair with a groupie he met in Oslo? Not his fault! He didn't mean it! He just didn't have the courage to face his wife of 23 years and tell her he had a side piece. So, when the mistress called him while he and his wife were in the sauna after her Venla award, his love affair was exposed.
But it's not an affair, you see. She helped with his midlife crisis; I mean, now he lives his renaissance with someone 17 years younger than him, his Rock of Gibraltar, as he mentions in the book.
The details about his mistress/current girlfriend seem out of place, probably hastily added after the paparazzi photos for damage control, and it shows.
Eicca also talks negatively about previous Apocalyptica members and their rock lifestyle.
In general, he doesn't take any accountability for his actions on personal and professional matters; everything is someone else's fault. He's a perfectly talented angel.
He even excuses the fact that he chose a small record company for one of Apocalyptica's albums when I doubt big record companies want them nowadays.
The lack of self-awareness in this narrative is glaring. It's a very poorly written book, like someone threw together various Facebook posts in an afternoon.
They should have put more thought into this.
"I am living my renaissance, and the whole world is wide open."
Are you sure about that? Are you really sure?
Eicca Toppinen and Petri Silas in "Eicca, the Connection Creator" speak very pompously for... not much?
Okay, Eicca is a world-famous cellist, not because of his talent in cello, but because he created the world's first "cello rock" band, which is now a bit washed up and irrelevant.
We are subjected to Eicca's megalomaniac thoughts and his huge sense of entitlement. He's bitter towards his father because he took his mother to the countryside for their retirement years and didn't let his mother provide free babysitting to Eicca's kids while Eicca was an absent father, touring with his band and leaving his ex-wife, Kirsi, to be both a mother and father to his sons.
Eicca always claims innocence and doesn't take the blame for anything. Oh, Apocalyptica used a sample without someone's knowledge? No, they weren't at fault! Oh, they broke a contract with a PR firm? Not their fault!
Bad economic decisions to buy extraordinary bows and cellos? Not his fault!
Oh, he started having an affair with a groupie he met in Oslo? Not his fault! He didn't mean it! He just didn't have the courage to face his wife of 23 years and tell her he had a side piece. So, when the mistress called him while he and his wife were in the sauna after her Venla award, his love affair was exposed.
But it's not an affair, you see. She helped with his midlife crisis; I mean, now he lives his renaissance with someone 17 years younger than him, his Rock of Gibraltar, as he mentions in the book.
The details about his mistress/current girlfriend seem out of place, probably hastily added after the paparazzi photos for damage control, and it shows.
Eicca also talks negatively about previous Apocalyptica members and their rock lifestyle.
In general, he doesn't take any accountability for his actions on personal and professional matters; everything is someone else's fault. He's a perfectly talented angel.
He even excuses the fact that he chose a small record company for one of Apocalyptica's albums when I doubt big record companies want them nowadays.
The lack of self-awareness in this narrative is glaring. It's a very poorly written book, like someone threw together various Facebook posts in an afternoon.
They should have put more thought into this.
February 9, 2024
This memoir falls short for me, and I'm unsure if Petri Silas or Eicca Toppinen is to blame, or perhaps both.
Eicca delves into his childhood traumas in excruciating detail, revealing every nuance of his early and teenage years. Personally, I was more interested in his life as a renowned musician and his marriage to Kirsi, a fan favorite.
Displeasingly, he tends to throw others under the bus – former Apocalyptica members, famous musicians, and even his ex-wife (the comment about her age struck me as tacky).
Despite portraying himself as always right, his motives and life goals remain unclear, leaving readers like myself puzzled. He appears passive in both professional matters (collaborations, legal issues) and personal life, lacking control. If not for calls from his current girlfriend and ex-affair partner interrupting a sauna moment with Kirsi, he might still be married.
Eicca seems adrift, following the whims of life without a clear direction. His lack of control is evident in both professional mishaps and personal affairs. I strongly disliked how he criticized his Wagner Reloaded show, leaving a bitter taste after reading. The lesson: perhaps it's better never to meet or read about your idols.
Eicca delves into his childhood traumas in excruciating detail, revealing every nuance of his early and teenage years. Personally, I was more interested in his life as a renowned musician and his marriage to Kirsi, a fan favorite.
Displeasingly, he tends to throw others under the bus – former Apocalyptica members, famous musicians, and even his ex-wife (the comment about her age struck me as tacky).
Despite portraying himself as always right, his motives and life goals remain unclear, leaving readers like myself puzzled. He appears passive in both professional matters (collaborations, legal issues) and personal life, lacking control. If not for calls from his current girlfriend and ex-affair partner interrupting a sauna moment with Kirsi, he might still be married.
Eicca seems adrift, following the whims of life without a clear direction. His lack of control is evident in both professional mishaps and personal affairs. I strongly disliked how he criticized his Wagner Reloaded show, leaving a bitter taste after reading. The lesson: perhaps it's better never to meet or read about your idols.
January 29, 2024
Amazing musician, but not a very skilled co-memoirist.
But, as we say Rome wasn't built in a day!
He can always write something else in the future, like a life coaching book!
Not bad for his first try!
But, as we say Rome wasn't built in a day!
He can always write something else in the future, like a life coaching book!
Not bad for his first try!
January 15, 2024
I found the collaborative projects interesting, and some of those plans had gotten scrapped due to conflicting schedules, due to pandemic, but one plan never coming to fruition was tragic.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews