I just laid down vocals this afternoon in the studio for Mad Croc Racing‘s new theme, as written and recorded by my southern blues rock outfit, Crossfyre.
Yours Truly laying the vocal smack down at Studiioman Studios for Mad Croc Rock
With Crossfyre mainman Danny Cross’ Studioman Studios serving as the scene of the crime, “Mad Croc Rock” was given the breath of life (with apologies to God above), and I have to believe that this tune is going to be a hit.
Danny Cross at the engineering sound desk recording the Mad Croc theme
The main songwriter for the tune was Crossfyre’s second guitarist Jaakko Kinnari, who did a helluva job, constructing a catchy, classic rock-flavored main riff that carries the song from beginning to end.
Jaakko Kinnari lets a solo rip at the Finnish 2011 Tirmo Blues Festival
I wrote an upcoming article today for The Wrestling Press (which will be out at the end of this month) about what I believe to be pro wrestling’s sacred Valhalla in Europe: Malmö, Sweden.
I wrestled in Malmö just a week back for SWS Wrestling. My opponent was Gothenburg’s Bad Buddha, one of the top wrestlers in Sweden today. To describe the 500-strong sell-out audience as electric would be a vast understatement … they were magical in response. It didn’t matter what was on the menu, be it headlock takeovers or plain old bodyslams, the Malmö audience popped for everything. My finishing piledriver received such an ear-shattering response that you’d think everyone in the building won the lottery simultaneously.
Surreal would be a fitting description of the atmosphere at Malmo’s Wrestlingpalatset venue. During my match, I thought to myself, “If only every audience were this easy, our job would be a cakewalk!”. Yeah, if only.
The SWS crew down in Malmö knows that they are spoiled. Spoiled rotten is more like it.
It’s official: I will finally get my shot at FCF Champion “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä at Fight Club Finland’s Jatkosota 2012 event on Friday, April 20th in Helsinki.
To say that this match has been a long time coming would be arguably the understatement of the year. Ukonselkä has been a strong champion, thwarting all challenges to date, coming out on top like the king of the kill. However, on April 20th at the Old Student House, smack-dab in the heart of the nation’s capital of Helsinki, Heimo Ukonselkä is up against one of the top professional wrestlers on the continent of Europe today.
Get your tickets early, this event WILL sell out.
To quote the legendary Four Horsemen member Arn Anderson, “I hate to toot my own horn, but TOOT, TOOT!!”. Heimo Ukonselkä, along with everybody else knows, that StarBuck is not only a 4-time FCF Champion, I am also a 3-time European Champion, a 2-time Italian Champion, the first SMASH Champion in Japanese history, along with being a German tag team champion. I have faced the best of the best worldwide in 17 countries over 17 years in the game. From legends like Japan’s Genichiro Tenryu to multi-time European Champion Bernard Vandamme of Belgium to greats like former ECW World Champion Steve Corino, they have all fallen to Yours Truly inside of that squared circle. Heimo Ukonselkä, the “Wildman” and current FCF Champion, is next on that long, elusive list.
Heimo, start counting your remaining days as champion, because they are coming to an end on April 20th.
I will be coaching an exclusive pro wrestling beginners’ course at Amin Asikainen’s Ringside Gym in Espoo, Finland, starting on Saturday, April 14, 2012.
For any and all that are seriously interested in this opportunity to step up to the plate and show their wares, I welcome you to challenge yourself and enter a demanding course that covers areas such as body control, coordination, balance, fluidity, acrobatics and stamina.
This is your chance to learn from a former 3-time European champion/SMASH champion/4-time FCF champion/2-time Italian champion/German tag team champion, who has toured 17 countries in pro wrestling and been in the ring with the top competition worldwide.
I recommend this course to anyone who is athletically-inclined and can think “outside the box”. Mainly, the beginners’ course will cover mat-based techniques, chain wrestling, holds and counter-holds and various take-downs over a 10-week period. Regardless of whatever your current fighting art is, adding effective pro wrestling techniques and attributes to your repertoire can only help you to become a more complete fighter overall.
The entry fee is 150 Eur/person and for those who are seriously interested, make an open application and send it to me by Apirl 12th, complete with a current photograph of yourself, your height, weight, age and athletic background: starbuck (AT) fightclubfinland (DOT) com
This past Wednesday night – March 14, 2012 – a somber mood set over Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, as Japan’s SMASH organization held its final show, closing its doors forever.
The capacity crowd on hand at Korakuen Hall watches the main event of SMASH.FINAL
Many people are both asking and wondering what has led to the closing down of the promotion, considering SMASH rose in its two-year run to become one of the leading puroresu organizations in Japan. SMASH started from zero in March of 2010 and rose like a phoenix amongst both fans and media alike over the next couple of years. Their events in Japan drew great houses and showcased some of the finest pro wrestling to be seen anywhere. So what exactly is at the root of the demise of SMASH?
Starting the match off against Tajiri in classic wrestling fashion
Very simply, the answer lies in the divergent visions of SMASH president Mr. Sakai and SMASH creative director Tajiri for the company and its future. As Mr. Sakai owns the SMASH name and its respective title belts, this rift and separation proved to be a fatal blow to the company. Without the creative genius of Tajiri, SMASH would simply not exist. Tajiri was truly the soul and heartbeat of SMASH, and for Sakai to continue without him would have been foolhardy and a questionable risk. Thus, at SMASH.FINAL on March 14th when all was said and done after the main event, Mr. Sakai announced publicly that there will be no SMASH v.2 post-Tajiri. SMASH is now finished.
Tajiri clamps a chinlock on Yours Truly
The video below narrates (in English) the meat of the matter rather well.
I am greatly honored to have taken part in the SMASH.FINAL main event alongside FCF Wrestling teammate Hajime Ohara against the team of Tajiri and Akira Nogami. I think it would be safe to say that SMASH was built largely on the four of us and our contributions to the promotion, so having this tag team main event headline the final SMASH show in history is truly prolific.
Double-teaming Akira Nogami, I plant the elbow into the upper back as Ohara stays the course
I really couldn’t think of a better way to go out on a high note. Being in the ring with three of my best friends in this often cold, dog-eat-dog business on a night that enveloped so much emotion and weightiness meant a lot to me. We fought tooth and nail for 25:50 of a wrestling classic before Akira was able to nail Ohara with his Musasabi Press splash off the top rope to end the epic encounter.
Akira has me in the Old Boy submission as Ohara tries to make the save
The night prior to the SMASH.FINAL, I was able to be part of Akira’s birthday party at the world- famous Ribera Steak House. Although we knew that the next night we would be facing each other in the fight of our lives, only the sense of mutual respect, admiration and friendship was present at our table.
At Ribera Steak House, toasting Akira's birthday with Josh O'Brien and Tajiri
Knowing that I have fought so many times in the same ring against esteemed opponents the calibre of Akira and Tajiri only heightens and strengthens the comraderie between us. The quality of our matches has always been top-notch, and being able to bring out the best in each other, regardless of the outcome, is definitely a key element that spawns great friendships in our trade.
Akira eats a nasty spike piledriver from Yours Truly
I can only hope that Tajiri starts up a new wrestling company in Japan following the demise of SMASH, as the man is one of the smartest minds in our business, and if anyone can do it, Tajiri most definitely can. Tajiri definitely knows what classic wrestling should be all about, and I will most certainly support him in whatever his future endeavors are.
Akira pins Ohara following a huge Musasabi Press in 25:50 of a wrestling classic
After the main event was said and done at SMASH.FINAL, SMASH Diva Champion Syuri also vacated her title, as the wrestlers came to the ring to bow out and say goodbye to all of their supporters and fans over the past two years.
A real sweetheart of a girl, Syuri was the last SMASH Diva Champion
The last SMASH Champion Dave “Fit” Finlay vacated his title last month at SMASH.25 after defeating Tajiri in a fantastic match.
The wrestlers pay their respects to the company and the audience at the end of SMASH.FINAL
I would also like to thank all of the SMASH fans personally this one, last time for allowing me to become a star in their country. As I said at the SMASH.FINAL afterparty, Japan is the #1 country in the world for pro wrestling, and it has been a dream come true for me to become a household name and celebrity in Japan through my pro wrestling adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Finnish Embassy in Japan came out to see SMASH.FINAL
I just finished a 3-day jaunt of vocal recordings at Drumforest Studios in Viitasaari, Finland with engineer Nikke Niemispelto and my good friend Christian Palin (Random Eyes, Beyond Belief, ex-Adagio) serving up a fabulous set of backing vocals to my leads.
Yours Truly mugs for the camera between takes.
I have to admit that Drumforest is one of the best places I have ever recorded at, and the fact that it is out of the way, in the middle of the forest, really helps the artist to relax and focus on the task at hand. Drumforest also offers lodging, as their studio is built into an old wooden school building, which offers wicked acoustics with its 100-year-old bulky beams. Acclaimed sound engineers such as Mikko Karmila (Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, Swallow The Sun, Amorphis, Sonata Arctica, etc.) venture all the way out to central Finland to record artists at Drumforest Studios because of the superb quality of its acoustics.
Christian Palin shows who the gatekeeper at Drumforest really is!
Melodic maestro and vocalist extraordinaire Christian Palin brought a hell of a lot of useful ideas and background vocal arrangements to the fore. This guy shreds on tape, and his work with Adagio and Random Eyes has been stellar. I highly recommend him to any bands that need someone who can pull off Stryper-like melodic hooks and has a definitive knack for hit melodies. Christian most definitely spiced up our Overnight Sensation songs, making them sound bigger than life.
Nikke Niemispelto, the boss at Drumforest Studios, tweaking the audio inputs for the vocals.
As it stands right now, with Overnight Sensation we have 11 killer, hard rock cuts for our upcoming Life’s a Bitch album. I have finished all of the lead vocals, and only a few songs need backing vox anymore. Next month I believe that the recording process should be entirely finished, and from there on out it’s all about editing and mixing en route to the dawning day of the album release.
For more infos check out Overnight Sensation either on our homepage or at Reverb Nation.
FCF Wrestling just announced a huge match-up for Punishment in Porvoo 2 on Sunday, March 11 in Porvoo, Finland: StarBuck vs. Jessica Love for the #1 contendership to the FCF Championship, currently held by “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä.
Gender bending fan favorite Jessica Love and myself could not be further apart as polar opposites. Jessica embodies the alternative lifestyle of the modern age that is being pushed hard in the media and everywhere, whereas I represent the old school right down to the man being the head of the house and women wanting it that way. Jessica is a high-flying risk-taker, I stick to the basics to get the job done as efficiently and simply as possible.
As much as we have traveled together to Japan to wrestle on multiple occasions, Jessica and I have never really gotten along. We have more or less tolerated each other, for the sake of the business that we are in. I know Jessica Love has never really cared for StarBuck, nor have I ever really cared for Jessica Love. Perhaps you could say that in this respect, we are natural enemies.
Now, in one week’s time at Punishment in Porvoo 2, Jessica Love and myself vye for the #1 contender status as it relates to the FCF Championship. I have held that title belt four times to date. Jessica is still looking for that elusive first time to wear the FCF Championship.
Jessica Love will have to bring the damnedest fight that he/she has within him/her on Sunday, March 11th. Anything less will spell 100% sure defeat for the gender bender, because Jessica Love knows that StarBuck shows no remorse and gives no quarter.
Jessica Love has quickly risen in popularity in FCF Wrestling and in Japan with the SMASH organization over the past two years. I am sure Jessica would love to rise above StarBuck and cement a personal legacy in professional wrestling by one day becoming the FCF Champion – a title that has changed hands on two continents and has been held by five different nationalities since its inception, making it one of the most sought-after titles in the world of European professional wrestling.
There’s only one problem though. That problem is named StarBuck.
Jessica Love will need more than Lady Luck to topple this veteran in Porvoo on March 11th. Jessica is going to need a miracle.
Last night at FCF Wrestling’s flagship show of the year – Talvisota VI (Winter War VI) in Helsinki – the fans on hand witnessed a truly memorable event that will undoubtedly go down as one of the best cards in Finnish pro wrestling history.
With a capacity audience on hand at the Helsinki Sports Hall, human tank Ibo Ten and gender bending fan favorite Jessica Love fought a wicked Tables, Ladders & Chairs match, which was stellar and absolutely breathtaking on every level. In addition, it was dangerous beyond description and a very high risk affair, but the bad blood between those two finally came to ahead last night and Jessica Love walked away victorious.
In one of the most insane moments that I have ever witnessed live, Jessica leaped off of the scaffolding that was set up for the lighting around the ring onto a prone Ibo Ten lying on a table in the ring. After the crash, the three-count was merely a formality, ending the war in 23:08.
I waged my personal vendetta against Mikko “Finnhammer” Halme at Talvisota VI, a match that was a tight brawl from start to finish. Finnhammer really fought like he had a point to prove, and that very well may have been the case, but in the end it was all for nought, as I spiked Finnhammer with my trademark piledriver for the winning pinfall in 17:53.
New FCF General Manager Robert Holmström went out of his way to pour some salt into Finnhammer’s wound of loss, firing him from FCF Wrestling after the match. Me personally, I think my old friend Herr Holmström is having a hard time wielding the scepter of power, as he has gone a on a few tangents and powertrips as of late. If this continues, Robert is going to need more backup than his new bodyguard Murskaaja Mieto can afford him. Just saying…
I was also just recently approached by SWS Wrestling out of Malmö, Sweden, and I will be making my in-ring debut with their company on March 24. I hear a lot of good things about SWS drawing very good houses and rabid audiences in Malmö, so it will be very interesting to see what the wrestling business over there is like at the end of this month.
On a sadder note, I will be wrestling with SMASH for the last time on March 14 in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall in the main event alongside FCF Wrestling teammate Hajime Ohara against Yoshihiro Tajiri and Akira Nogami at SMASH.26. The company is closing down due to directional differences between SMASH President Sakai and creative director Tajiri. Having been with SMASH since its onset, I can only say that I am honored to be in this main event match with three of my good friends in the wrestling business, and we will give it our all on March 14 when the curtain closes for the final time.
Also coming up in two weeks time, FCF Wrestling’s Porvoo Punishment in the town of Porvoo, 40km east of Helsinki. This card will feature international guest star El Generico in action, so get your tickets early!
I just arrived back home from Tokyo a few, scant hours ago. Yesterday, I took part in the gigantic SMASH.25 event at TDC Hall in Tokyo, teaming with FCF wrestlers Hajime Ohara and Jessica Love to face the ZERO1 trio of Masato Tanaka, Shinjiro Otani and Ikuto Hidaka. In a fast and furious match, Tanaka scored the pinfall over Jessica Love with his sliding elbow strike in 12:40. In the main event of the card, hard-nosed ring veteran Dave “Fit” Finlay retained the SMASH Championship (which he won from me on Nov. 24, 2011) defeating “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri in one of the most credible and awesome professional wrestling matches that I have EVER seen live in my life. Also, Syuri finally defeated Kana for the SMASH Diva Championship in another absolutely stellar ladies match, that has to be seen to be believed.
Ohara also took Jessica and myself to eat at NOAH & PRIDE wrestler Yoshihiro Takayama‘s yakitori (chicken) Stomach Hold restaurant, which I must say has a brilliant name when you consider the fact that it is owned by a wrestler. I had the pleasure of meeting the boss himself, who was a very friendly big man, along with his wife Natsuko, who helps run the place. For anyone traveling to Tokyo, be sure to check out Stomach Hold, you will love the food there!
Hajime Ohara, Yoshihiro Takayama and StarBuck (photo: Satomi Kanau)
I also visited the world-famous Ribera Steak House in Tokyo with my Japanese friend Mr. Terasaki, and was pleasantly surprised to see my photo posted on their wall of fame alongside wrestling greats such as Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, The Funks, Dick Murdoch, Hulk Hogan and a slew of others. All I can say is that it was a very humbling experience to join such esteemed company, knowing the significance of Ribera in the wrestling world. The boss of Ribera even gave me a new black Ribera jacket as a present on this visit, and every wrestler worth his weight knows that those jackets are given like medals of honor to those who wear them.
Me with Veneno from Mexico at the SMASH.25 afterparty (photo: Shinobu Tanaka)
At the SMASH.25 afterparty, I was once again presented with gifts from the Japanese fans. Among the items I received were seven DVD album box set releases, given to me my my superfan Mayumi, and a stunning framed portrait of my SMASH Championship win from October 2011, given by superfan Masa. I must say that there is absolutely no other place on Earth that I am aware of, where the fans make the wrestlers feel like larger-than-life icons through their actions, such as noted above. Just one more reason why Japan is indeed the #1 country for pro wrestling in the world, bar none, in my humble opinion.
Pointing to my photo on the wall of Ribera
I was also pleasantly surprised to see Finnish press from STT (www.stt.fi), who were at ringside shooting the FCF vs. ZERO1 match for Finnish media coverage. This came totally out of the blue, as I received an email upon landing in Japan from the STT people, claiming they had seen the article on me in Finnair‘s Blue Wings magazine, and of course SMASH.25 was plugged in that piece. They got in contact with the SMASH office, received accreditation, and were part of the official press crew at the event. In addition, members of the Finnish Embassy in Japan were on hand, rooting for FCF Wrestling, which was very cool indeed.
Next up, Winter War VI (Talvisota VI) on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Helsinki, where I face Finnhammer Halme as part of a huge card. Talisota VI will be topped off by the first-ever TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs match) in Finnish history between gender bending fan favorite Jessica Love and the huge human tank Ibo Ten, and FCF Champion “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä defends his title against bad boy and media darling Johnny McMetal. Eight matches altogether at Talvisota VI on Feb. 25, so be a part of the biggest show of the year in Finland this coming Saturday!
I feel compelled to tell all of you about one single, irrefutable and powerful testimony of faith. I have told this story to dozens if not hundreds of people over the years, and it is always equally potent.
On my 13th birthday, April 24 back in 1986, my father’s best friend drowned in a fishing accident in Ontario, Canada. Like my father, his best buddy was a preacher man, and his name was Pentti. We were living in Thunder Bay, Ontario at the time, and I recall Pentti being one of the warmest, good-hearted people that I have ever known. The man had a tangible aura of invisible light about him.
Pentti was an avid fisherman in addition to being a preacher, which is another thing that bonded him and my dad in their friendship. One spring day in late April 1986, a Swedish visiting preacher that was staying at Pentti’s home on his trip to Canada asked if they could go fishing. Pentti knew that the ice was already getting thin even on the northern lakes in Ontario, but he wanted to be a good chap and accommodate the Swede, so they headed as far north as was reasonable to drive to do some ice fishing. One man survived that trip and the other lost his life.
The story goes that Pentti and his visitor walked out onto the ice, which seemed to hold up and be solid, until suddenly the ice gave way and both men were immersed in the freezing waters of the lake. Pentti had a very bad case of rheumatism, and his limbs would often stiffen up in the winter time, even though he was indoors. It’s not hard to imagine what the ice cold water did to Pentti in the few minutes that he was able to keep his head above the surface. Both men screamed out for help, hoping their cries would reach someone’s ears on the shores of the lake. They were literally out in the boondocks, in a very remote area of Ontario, so the chances of anyone being around were slim to none.
Pentti knew that his time was up. Very solemnly, he stated to his Swedish friend in peril.
“My time has come,” and with his last words, he preached one last time … only this this time, he preached to himself.
“In the name and blood of Jesus Christ, ALL of my sins are forgiven!”
And so he sank below the surface.
Man. That just sends chills up my spine every time I reiterate this part of the story. THAT is powerful, folks. THAT is humility. THAT was a righteous man.
The Swede continued to cry out for help after Pentti went down. By stroke of divine intervention, there was a fishing cabin on one side of the lake, and the man’s voice carried across the ice to that spot. A couple of other fishermen heard him from afar and ended up saving the Swede’s life before he was a goner too.
The police were supposed to retrieve Pentti’s body for a proper burial, to say nothing of his widowed wife, who was devastated by her loss. However, the police took their sweet time and were in no hurry to get the job done, so my father – accompanied by 11 other fishermen in four boats – went out to the lake three months after the incident, to where Pentti drowned to do justice to his fallen friend. One of my dad’s fishing accomplices had an old school Sonar device, which was an ancient version of a fish finder before they became high-tech digital things, and the gimmick was that it would actually print out a graph showing the bottom of the lake and the fish herds beneath the boat. Now please keep in mind that none of the 11 fishermen who were with my dad were Christians or men of faith. However, when they came to the place where Pentti lay, about 50m down on the bottom of the lake (which was about 1okm x 25km), the Sonar drew the picture of a CROSS.
Think about that, folks. THAT is a SIGN. My dad was not even in the boat that had the Sonar, as all four boats were using hooked drags to sweep the bottom of the lake, hoping to catch the fallen fisherman on the drag hooks. The paper printout of the Sonar graph with the cross where Pentti was discovered was given at his funeral to his widowed wife. The fishermen on that expedition even took photos of the Sonar drawing, which my father showed to me many years ago.
All I have to say is that this is one of the most powerful testimonies I have from real life. I am sure this has touched many people reading this right now.
Consider Pentti’s last words, and consider what that means to you.
starbuck.fi 