60 years old | In the 1980s, Juha Seittonen was known throughout Finland as Dingo Quuppa, but he doesn’t miss the rock life

When Juha Seitonen got excited about rock music as a child, one important criterion influenced the choice of one’s instrument.

“I wanted an instrument that would make you sweat when played,” says Seittonen.

So Queen, who was banging her drums in a sweat, was on TV Roger Taylor and especially The Who Keith Moon made an impression on the young man from Pori. The matter was sealed: he too would become a drummer.

Seittonen also got his nickname from Moon. In the 80s, the whole of Finland got to know him as Keijo Q or Quuppa, Dingo’s drummer. Playing in Finland’s number one band, the young man lived his dream.

“As a little boy, I really liked Kiss and dreamed that one day I would be able to play for a similar audience and experience that charm. And yes, we almost got there.”

However, the charm aroused by Dingo was probably closer to hysteria in the wildest years, so exceptional was the band’s popularity in Finland. Great moments, but I don’t really miss them, Seittonen acknowledges. You won’t be able to keep in touch with your old bandmates either.

“I can’t say that I miss crappy back rooms and long trips to gigs. They have been seen. It’s much nicer to sit at home on a Saturday night, heat up the sauna and spend time with the family.”

Since Seittonen’s road has taken him further and further away from rock life. He admits that after Dingo broke up at the height of his popularity, he had to seriously think about what he wanted in life.

“I remember it like it was yesterday, when I was sitting in the parking lot on top of my bag and wondering what I was going to do. That’s how much my old man said, sitting on top of a bag, you can’t get bread in your mouth. I had to come up with something else.”

In the 90s, Seittonen studied to become a home care nurse, among other things, and worked in those jobs for a long time.

“It wasn’t a straight calling profession, but I wanted to be in contact with people. I was working for the elderly, in the ambulance and on the disabled side as well.”

Three a year ago, Seittonen changed his field. There was a simple reason for leaving nursing.

“I told my supervisor that I don’t want to be on that squirrel wheel anymore and I’m afraid that someone will die again. I couldn’t bear to do that dune in too much of a hurry.”

He says that he often runs into his former colleagues who work in home care. The message is that the working conditions have not become easier at least.

“I do take my hat off to them. I remember what it’s like to be under a lot of stress and still want to do your job well, even though time is so tight all the time. It eats the nurse to the core.”

Nowadays, Seittonen is in completely different jobs, on the liability repair side of the construction company YIT. Doing things by hand is especially meaningful, as Seittosen has had a side renovation company for several years.

“And sometimes you sweat, although not as hard as when playing the drums.”

A few years ago, playing stopped altogether, Seittonen reveals.

“I hurt my back so badly that sitting for a long time is quite impossible. That was the end of the calls and the fast driving. For forty-five years I had not lived without drums at home, but now I do,” he says.

“But I am by no means bitter. Of course, I was aware that I wouldn’t be calling for the rest of my life.”

Besides he has already revived another beloved pastime of his youth, shooting. It’s actually a life hole, says Seittonen.

“I have been shooting since I was a teenager. The best thing about shooting is that I can do things alone and by myself. In band work, you always had to agree on things with others.”

Seittonen doesn’t aim for the top in shooting, but he takes his hobby so seriously that he trains under a coach. He trains with both pistol and rifle.

“And at home, I have my own shooting range downstairs, now that Soittokamat is out of the way. You can shoot with an air gun there. With powder guns, I go shooting at real ranges.”

Will it happen about age or where, but also Seitto’s own roots have started to interest him more and more.

“I have researched my mother’s family and realized why I am, for example, such a talkative person. Yes, the reason is Karelian blood, most likely.”

Seittonen’s mother was an evacuee child, from Hiitola on the beach of Laatoka. Especially the grandmother told her grandchildren about the home region left behind.

“I remember when grandma was weaving in a rocking chair and my brother and I sat on the floor and listened to stories from Karelia. Grandma still knew how to color stories so that little boys became interested.”

“During the last 10-15 years, I have experienced a change in my life. I consider myself more of a Karelian than a Pori. My mother’s blood has begun to flow in me more strongly than my father’s muddy blood.”

Related to the roots, Seittosen also has a dream, maybe for his retirement days, if the world political situation still allows it.

“I would like to go to Hiitola and sit on the rock where my mother always sat as a child.”