Sami Vänskä facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sami Vänskä
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| Background information | |
| Born | 26 September 1976 |
| Origin | Finland |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass, drums |
| Years active | 1994–2008, 2016 |
Sami Vänskä, born on September 26, 1976, is a Finnish musician. He is best known as the former bass player for the famous Finnish band Nightwish. Nightwish plays a type of music called symphonic metal. This music mixes heavy metal sounds with classical music elements.
Contents
Early Life and Music Journey
Sami started playing the bass guitar when he was nine years old. He went to music school to learn how to play. Bands like Rush, Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Metallica inspired his bass playing style. Besides music, he also studied computer science at university.
Joining Nightwish
Sami Vänskä was once in a band called Nattvindens Gråt. The members of Nightwish, including Tuomas Holopainen, Emppu Vuorinen, and Jukka Nevalainen, remembered Sami from his old band. They asked him if he wanted to join Nightwish as their bass player.
Sami first played on Nightwish's second studio album, Oceanborn, which came out in 1998. He then went on tour with the band. During tours, he often preferred to stay by himself at the hotel.
He also played bass on the band's third studio album, Wishmaster, released in 2000. Sami also contributed to the EP (Extended Play) Over the Hills and Far Away.
After the EP was released and its tour ended, Tuomas Holopainen felt that he and Sami had different ideas about music. Because of these differences, Tuomas asked the band's manager to tell Sami that he needed to leave Nightwish.
After Nightwish
After leaving Nightwish, Sami Vänskä joined a blues band called Root Remedy. Blues music is a style of music that started in the African-American communities of the Southern United States.
With Root Remedy, Sami recorded three albums: Medication Time With, Root Remedy, and The Crawler. He left the band in 2008.
Years later, on August 20, 2016, Sami had a special reunion with his former bandmates from Nightwish. Tuomas Holopainen had asked him if he would like to perform one song with them. Sami joined them on stage to play the song "Stargazers" on his bass guitar.
Music Albums
Here are some of the albums Sami Vänskä played on:
With Nightwish
Studio Albums:
- Oceanborn (1998)
- Wishmaster (2000)
Live Albums and EPs:
- From Wishes to Eternity (2001)
- Over the Hills and Far Away (2001)
With Nattvindens Gråt
Studio Albums:
- A Bard's Tale (1995)
- Chaos Without Theory (1997)
